A multipronged strategy for curbing global warming should take aim at meat-eaters’ dinner plates.

So finds a scientific study, entitled published Friday in the journal Nature Climate Change.

The report charges that the copious methane emissions produced by ruminants (cattle, sheep, goats, and buffalo), and nitrous oxide produced in the procerss of growing their food, constitute significant, and often overlooked, contributors to climate change.

To rein in these global warming gases, the authors suggest reducing ruminants by slashing meat consumption through regulations and disincentives—including taxes.

“Influencing human behavior is one of the most challenging aspects of any large-scale policy, and it is unlikely that a large-scale dietary change will happen voluntarily without incentives,” say the report’s authors. “Implementing a tax or emission trading scheme on livestock’s greenhouse gas emissions could be an economically sound policy that would modify consumer prices and affect consumption patterns.”