AbstractsMedical & Health Science

This study analyses the relationship between the production and available consumption of eight animal-source food products and emission of greenhouse gases leading to the global warming. The eight products are pork, beef, poultry, egg, butter, cheese, liquid milk and preserved milk and the geographical coverage is Denmark. The aim is to find out whether it is possible to reach a 40 percent reduction by 2020 since 1990 in total greenhouse gas emission by changing the production and available consumption of these eight products. The study takes point of origin in data from the year 2012 about the production, import and export of these eight products. This is done in order to find the available consumption of the products too. Then a report calculating a life cycle analysis on food products in Denmark is applied to the statistical data upon production, export and available consumption in order to show the overall environmental impact the production, export and available consumption of these eight products have. Furthermore, four scenarios are mathematical analysed and illustrated in order to show possible ways of reaching a 40 percent reduction in total greenhouse gas by 2020 since 1990. The four scenarios represents a scenario where the total production of the products is reduced, a scenario where the total production exported of the eight products is reduced, a scenario where no actual meat products are produced including pork, beef and poultry and a scenario where no cattle related product are being produced including beef, cheese, butter, liquid milk and preserved milk. The findings of the study conclude that it is possible to reach a 40 percent reduction before 2020 if: 1) the total production of the eight products is reduced with at least 72.16 percent, 2) the total production exported of the eight products are reduced with at least 83.94 percent, 3) the production of pork, beef and poultry stops. Furthermore then if the production of cattle related products stops then Denmark will only be 0.35 percent away from achieving the 40 percent reduction.