This paper focuses on the benefits of an efficient use of animal waste from the standpoint of curbing the rise of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. An effective use of animal waste resources might provide a partial, but still important, contribution in reducing net CO2 emissions. In particular: the fulfilment of nutrient requirements of crop plants growing in non-limiting conditions and thus sequestering CO2 at their potential level; the chance of diminishing the use of fossil energy, and related CO2 emissions, required for manufacturing industrial fertilizers; the possibility of enhancing carbon sequestration in agricultural soils by the application of farmyard manure. The future success of agriculture in providing these ecosystem services can only be achieved with a changed social awareness of the links between sustainable land use and global environmental change. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.