Below is a brief overview of the contents with links to the originals.
Eating less meat and dairy products won't have a major impact on global warming - A presentation at the 239th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society claimed that cutting back on meat and dairy products will not make a major contribution to combating global warming. The presentation was by air quality expert Dr. Frank Mitloehner who claimed that more blame should be laid at the door of farming methods, rather than on livestock.
Mitloehner stated that "Producing less meat and milk will only mean more hunger in poor countries." Instead we should focus on the reducing greenhouse gas production by using more efficient production methods and reducing the use of fossil fuel for heating, transportation and generating electricity.
According to Mitloehner he confusion over the extent of meat and milk's contribution to climate change stems from a section of the executive summary of a 2006 United Nations report, Livestock's Long Shadow. The methodology of the report was inaccurate as the numbers for the livestock sector were calculated by including emissions produced by growing animal feed; animals' digestive emissions and processing meat and milk into foods. The transportation analysis only factored in emissions from fossil fuels burned while driving and not all other transport lifecycle related factors.
The confusion over the emissions of livestock distracts from the real issues of climate change.
More information is available online.
Another document which of interest is the RASE publication Reducing Emissions from Livestock.
This document discusses the reduction in farm-produced greenhouse gases due to improved efficiency in farming and reduced numbers of livestock.
It gives an overview of what has been achieved with suggestions for further reducing GHGs. It concludes that grazed livestock make an important contribution to UK food security and that many of the challenges facing the industry will continue be met with the help of science.
Source of article from the Rural Enterprise Gateway.