Air pollution exposure disparities among people of color and white people are driven by nearly all, rather than only a few, emission source types, a new study shows.
Air pollution from animal-based food production is linked to 12,700 deaths each year, study says
Air pollution from food production in the United States is linked to an estimated 15,900 premature deaths each year, according to a new study published Monday in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.
Of those, an estimated 12,700 deaths around 80% are connected to production of animal-based foods.
Scientists have known for years that farming contributes to harmful air pollution, but experts say this study offers the first full accounting of deaths connected to the production of certain types of food.
“When we think of the big sources of air pollution in the U.S., our imagination usually turns to smokestacks and tailpipes,” said Joshua Apte, an assistant professor at the University of California-Berkeley, who was not involved in this study. “But it turns out that agriculture is also a major contributor to our air pollution and theref
Air pollution exposure disparities among people of color and white people are driven by nearly all, rather than only a few, emission source types, a new study shows.
Previous studies have shown that people of color are disproportionately exposed to air pollution in the United States. However, it was unclear whether this unequal exposure is due mainly to a few types of emission sources or whether the causes are more systemic.
“Our study reinforces previous findings that race, rather than income, is what truly drives air pollution-exposure disparities.”
The new study in
Science Advances modeled peoples’ exposure to air pollution based on race/ethnicity and income level.