As the European Commission is about to unveils the EU’s 2040 emissions targets, we expose the toll of climate crisis-linked extreme weather events have on farmed animals, farmers’ livelihoods and food.

A global problem

Our recently released Climate Doom Loop: Factory farming’s toll on animals, farmers and food examines eleven case studies – a snapshot of the full picture - from the past decade, in which 14.8 million farmed animals were killed, and 56.4 million people impacted, at an estimated global cost of €103 ($120) billion. 

From heatwaves in the UK to hurricanes in the US, flooding in Italy and Brazil and other extreme weather events across Europe, Asia and Africa, the report spotlights the suffering of farmed animals due to extreme weather events. Many are trapped in cages, left to drown in floods and suffocate in heatwaves when these disasters strike.

Huge animal suffering

The report explores the impacts on farmed animals in Europe and across the world:

Italy, 2023: Witnesses saw ‘piles of hundreds of dead pigs’, alongside other animals swimming for their lives, following flooding in Emilia-Romagna, the Italian region famous for Parma ham and Parmigiano cheese. 
France, 2023: 750,000 poultry died of suffocation and exhaustion during extreme heatwaves. 
Vietnam, 2024:  Over 5 million poultry, 44,000 cattle and thousands of pigs were killed by a typhoon. 
USA, 2024: An estimated 2-5 million chickens were killed by Hurricane Helene.

A ‘doom loop’

Food systems are responsible for a third of total global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The livestock sector – dominated by factory farming – produces more direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than all the world’s planes, trains and cars combined.

The report was released as governments met at the Bonn Climate Conference to shape the agenda for COP30 and ultimately influence whether industrial animal agriculture continues to be propped up by subsidies or phased out. 

Urgent action needed

To break the destructive loop, we urge the European Union and Member States to substantially reduce livestock production and consumption of animal-based foods, switch to more climate and nature-friendly farming practices, and ensure our food system aligns with planetary boundaries.

 Vinciane Patelou, our Head of EU at Compassion in World Farming, said:

Millions of farmed animals are killed each year by floods, storms and heatwaves driven by climate change, yet the very system they are reared in is making the situation worse.  These increasingly common extreme weather events are also catastrophic for people, food security and farmers’ livelihoods. Simply put, we’re trapped in a doom loop. 
 
With the upcoming Climate Law and reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, the European Union must take urgent action to reduce emissions and move away from cruel, unsustainable factory farming and towards responsible climate- and nature-friendly practices. Farmed animals, economies, and the food on our plates are all under serious threat – we must act now before it’s too late.

Sign the END.IT petition calling for a sustainable food system that protects animals, people, and the planet.

Factory farming’s toll on animals, farmers & food security exposed