Despite mounting evidence that reductions in agricultural emissions must be part of the global climate agenda, the economic benefits of such reductions have not yet been quantified in a manner appropriate for rigorous cost-benefit analyses. Here we couple the global agricultural and industrial economies in a leading macroeconomic-climate model to quantify the climate costs of animal-based foods along several dimensions. Under representative temperature targets, a transition to veganism alleviates necessary reductions of industrial emissions by 25 percent. Under a business-as-usual pathway, standard diets high in animal protein contribute nearly $100 per person, per year in climate damages; about two-thirds of the damages from the average passenger vehicle in the United States. At the product level, the true cost of a serving of beef is 62% more than producers now face. Disaggregating to the regional level, we highlight where food policy could provide the highest social return.