According to scientists, cows are responsible for about 75% of the world’s methane gas emissions. This methane is a a greenhouse gas that is said to be contributing to climate change. How do cows emit all of this methane? Well, it is thought most of it is released in the form of potent burps. These potent burps are 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas.
So, what is one way to stop these problems? Stop the burps from occurring! You may think that this sounds like a crazy idea, but scientists actually are working on breeding cows that burp less. Canadian scientists are breeding a special type of cow that hopefully will reduce a major source of greenhouse gases responsible for global warming. So far they are hoping to breed animals that produce 25 percent less methane than less efficient animals. Other than breeding cows that burp less, there are other ways that farmers have become more proactive with this methane problem. One of their solutions is to feed livestock a diet higher in energy and rich in edible oils.This is because these oils ferment less than grass or low-quality feed. There have been many companies that are trying out this theory and who have had success stories.
For instance, New Hampshire based Stonyfield was able to reduce the emissions by about 12 percent. Stonyfield is an organic yogurt producer. They were able to reduce the amount of emissions so drastically by adding alfalfa, flax or hemp to the livestock feed. I believe that other farms should follow this company’s example and try to reduce the amount of methane that is produced by their cows.
Nancy Hirshberg, the vice president of Stonyfield’s Natural Resources department, states that, “If every U.S. dairy farmer reduced emissions by 12 percent it would be equal to about half a million cars being taken off the road.” That sure could be a great investment and idea for our country and other places in the world.
