It’s true. Sounds simplistic? Not really, when you consider the study released by Woods Hole Institute and published in Environmental Research Letters last month.

In laymen’s terms, the study links global warming in large part to the massive use of fertilizers and the subsequent production of manure from animal production.

According to the report summarized in the Guardian, “nitrous oxide, released by fertilizers and animal manure, is the most potent of the greenhouse gases that cause climate change. The UN’s climate body has called for deep cuts to those emissions.”

The study warns that if production (and consumption) don’t decrease by half, then by 2050, climate changes will be drastic. The study falls short of encouraging populations to go entirely vegan, underscoring that reduction in meat consumption–primarily, pork and beef produced by Big Ag–would make significant inroads in impacting climate changes.