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Cattle production is characterized by high land requirements, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the resulting land use change (LUC) and cradle to farm gate processes. Intensification of cattle production systems is considered an important strategy for mitigating anthropogenic GHG emissions. When categorizing production practices into three systems, i.e. pasture-based, mixed and industrial systems, intensification can either take place within one system or through the transition to another more productive system. This study investigates the impacts of these two pathways on farm gate emissions and LUC-related emissions (expressed in kg CO₂-eq per kg of milk or beef) in nine world regions. First, a review is conducted of bottom-up studies on farm gate emissions (without LUC) from dairy production in Europe and beef production in North America and Brazil. Then, a global data set on GHG …