Eating less beef could dramatically cut farming emissions

On the other hand, an increasingly wealthy China is estimated to ramp up its red meat consumption by 116 percent by 2050, it said.

"While the study recommends a reduction in beef consumption in general, the focus in China rests on the avoidance of future diet shifts," co-author Charlotte Streck of Climate Focus told Xinhua.

"We are not recommending an abandonment of meat in general, just the reduction of the consumption to healthy levels as well as preference for pork and poultry over beef," she noted.

If the Chinese population were to adopt the beef consumption habits of the Western hemisphere, this would not only lead to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions, but also in health costs in China, not to speak of the loss of a traditionally rich and healthy cuisine, Streck warned.

Eliminating food waste could also "put a major dent" in agricultural emissions, said the report, as some 40 percent of all food is lost as it travels from farm to table.

In China and the U.S., portion sizes in restaurants and catering should be slimmed down, while in Southeast Asia and Sub- Saharan Africa, improving cooling and storage practices would prevent spoilage and food losses, it said.

On production, the report suggested improving the feed of beef cattle in Brazil and milk cows in India to make the methane- spewing animals more efficient.

Meanwhile, China's excessive fertilizer usage could be cut by 30 to 60 percent without hampering production, according to the report, which also showed that most of this fertilizer is produced using coal.

"There are so many ways in which policymakers can help farmers boost productivity while mitigating climate change," Streck said. "We need to dispel the notion, once and for all, that productivity and sustainability can't work hand in hand."