Vaccinating livestock against common diseases is a form of direct climate action

Illuminem summarizes for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on The Conversation or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: New research emphasizes that vaccinating livestock against common diseases is an effective climate action strategy 
• This approach can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with livestock farming by preventing diseases that impact animal productivity and increase mortality rates

🔭 The context: Livestock diseases not only reduce farm productivity but also necessitate raising additional animals to maintain food production levels, leading to higher greenhouse gas emissions 
• For instance, avian influenza in 2022 led to the death or culling of 131 million domestic poultry

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Efficient disease control, particularly through vaccination, can greatly reduce emissions from livestock farming 
• Controlling porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome alone could save emissions equivalent to removing over 230,000 cars from the road

⏭️ What's next: Beyond reducing emissions, effective livestock disease control through vaccination supports better food security and livelihoods, especially in low-income countries where smallholder farms are more prevalent

📈 One stat: Every 100,000 sows spared from porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome would prevent over 420,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions

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