Livestock production is one of the fastest growing sectors in agriculture. It is driven by meat consumption increase, which is the result of higher income and rise in global population. Greater demand for meat causes increase in meat production, which has especially been emphasised in monogastric sector. The larger scale of meat production is reflected in larger effects that livestock production causes to the environment. Among these negative effects soil and water degradation, biodiversity loss and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are the most pronounced. Meat production is in turn affected by ecosystem degradation and climate change, which are caused by the meat production sector itself. Meat consumption and global population are expected to continue to grow. In this sense it is important to improve resource use efficiency, which can be accomplished by applying appropriate practices, thereby decreasing the effects of this sector on the environment. Livestock production accounts for 14.5 % of anthropogenic GHG emissions. Most important GHGs in livestock production are carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. The largest relative emissions are those of CH4, followed by CO2 and N2O, the latter two sharing an almost equal part. Emissions occur along the entire production chain, as a result of land use change, due to feed production, nitrogenous fertilizer and manure use, during enteric fermentation, and from energy use. Amounts and relative contributions of emissions depend on livestock species, production systems and production region. Emissions vary greatly between and within these emission factors suggesting numerous options to mitigate GHG emissions.
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