Industrial Livestock

Three essential elements for the EU’s forthcoming Livestock Strategy

On July 7, the EU is expected to publish its strategy for building a competitive, resilient, and sustainable livestock sector. A draft of the Livestock Strategy has leaked. While the text is clearly still a work in progress, there are several worrying signs.

Open letter on the importance of addressing methane from industrially farmed animals to help slow global warming and build farm resilience

The following open letter was delivered on June 30, 2026 to European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christophe Hansen, in addition to Executive Vice-President, Teresa Ribera; Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth, Wopke Hoekstra; DG CLIMA Director General, Kurt Vandenberghe; DG AGRI Director General, Elisabeth Werner

Headwinds for factory farm biogas open doors for better alternatives

In April, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it would stop providing loan guarantees for methane biodigester projects on large animal operations for the rest of 2026. While the USDA’s concerns were financial, given the questionable climate benefits and other environmental concerns, pausing loans for biodigesters is a step in the right direction.

IATP Europe gives feedback on the EU Livestock Strategy

In April, IATP Europe submitted feedback on the European Union's upcoming Livestock Strategy, outlining the changes needed to support Europe's farmers, farm workers, and rural communities in a fair, just transition to climate neutrality.

Innovation meets system reform: why methane tech fixes won’t deliver on their own

As limited climate gains from technical methane interventions are outpaced by growth in livestock production and associated emissions, we need to reframe technical interventions as complementary tools, not substitutes, for systemic reform.

IATP comments on the proposed West River Dairy Expansion

The West River Dairy, owned by Riverview Dairy LLP, is proposing to more than double its size to 18,885 cattle. If approved, the expansion would make it the largest dairy in the state by far. The site in western Minnesota is located within the Pomme de Terre River Watershed.

Companies preparing for climate disclosure laws are voluntarily disclosing more — but stragglers remain

An update to our Meat and Dairy Emissions Dashboard finds more companies are disclosing more about their climate risk and emissions as new mandatory global reporting requirements go into effect. 

Flying Under the Radar: Gaps in satellite detection of factory farm methane emissions

In recent years, researchers have begun using satellite imaging to detect methane plumes from factory farms — but the picture is still incomplete. We found that, of the 15,726 total cattle and hog AFOs identified in the U.S., 1,222 aren’t captured by satellite technology, concealing operations that are emitting plumes of methane and harming efforts to effectively measure and address livestock methane emissions.

Global action on cutting methane pollution is falling short: Why this matters for agriculture

Major meat and dairy companies fall short in reporting their climate emissions

With COP30 underway in Belém, Brazil, global attention is turned toward national climate action. Few sectors of the economy sit more squarely at the crossroads of vulnerability and responsibility than agriculture. IATP has produced a new Meat and Dairy Climate Reporting Scorecard that utilizes growing regulatory pressure from climate-related disclosure rules as the backdrop to analyze the climate reporting of 14 major meat and dairy companies.