February 2022

Anyone who has ever experienced flatulence-knows it stinks (literally). Many people would be embarrassed, but our bovine counterparts tend to let it all out. Cattle skeptics are quick to blame cattle-sourced natural gas for the quick deterioration of Earth’s atmosphere and climates. However, does a cow burping really cause icebergs to collapse?  

As humans fight for climate neutrality (zero greenhouse gases and elimination of other negative environmental impacts), many point to eliminating cattle as a factor in carbon and methane neutrality (reducing carbon and methane emissions to zero). A study conducted by agricultural and animal researchers in Indonesia, actually found that duck feces produce the most methane gas; followed by buffalo, cattle, chickens, goats, then rabbits (Hidayat…2021). Humans create methane too, one article citing that “30-62% of healthy adults excrete methane”, through their breath or colon. Overall, 50-65% of methane emissions come from humans (de Lacy Costello, 2013). So, establishing cattle are not the only methane producing species. According to UC Davis Animal Science Professor, Frank Mitleohner, Ph.D., “Cows and other ruminants account for just 4 percent of all greenhouse gases produced in the United States and beef cattle just 2 percent of direct emissions” (Quinton, 2019). Personally, I would like to ask Frank Mitloehner how much that number changes when we look globally, and where exactly in the U.S. are these emissions most concentrated. (MY QUESTION). Humans, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), humans are creating an extreme impact on our climate, especially since the 1950’s, with the last three decades increasingly warmer than the previous (IPCC, 2014). Globally, electricity and heat production make up a fourth of greenhouse gas emissions. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), humans burning coal, natural gas, and oil for transportation, heating buildings, and cooking in homes, are the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions across the globe (EPA, 2014).  

Cattle may have a smelly first impression, but they also help mitigate desertification and improve soil fertility. According to New Mexico State University Animal Science professor, John Campbell, Ph.D., the soil of the United States is excellent due to where the buffalo used to roam. Allan Savory is a Zimbabwean scientist and livestock producer and has conducted research that highlights cattle that come into an arid area, tramp down and eat dead grass, leave manure and urine, and then leave-which allows for the soil absorb rain and carbon, break down methane, and allow fresh grass to grow again (How to…2014). One 1200-pound steer can leave roughly 490 lbs. of trimmed meat to be stored and eaten, which can provide a family meat for a full year (SDSU Extension, 2020). In many places, livestock production is a much more productive way to feed people than cultivation (Dopelt…2019). Cattle also prevent the spread of unwanted weeds and promote growth of local vegetation (Lipson 2011).  

We can maintain that cattle do, in fact, benefit the people and environment around them. There is a growing and stressful demand for less producers to produce more food on less usable land. This creates the issue of needing to deforest areas, which would lead to more droughts and a warmer climate (Agarwal 2021). Water pollution is also a main argument against cattle production. Cattle production and its practices can pollute valuable water resources with excreta, pesticides, and fertilizers. (Dopelt…2019). Many also cite too much meat availability as being a cause to obesity (You, 2016). The main argument, however, holds that cattle impact the environment the most through the methane they produce (Steinfeld…2006).  One Australian dairy report states that 220 forage-fed cows produce an average of 21.1 grams of methane per kilogram of forage eaten (Moate…2015). The same report states that including dietary lipid supplements and feeding high amounts of wheat significantly reduces carbon emissions from cattle. These dietary lipid supplements include cottonseed, brewer’s grains, cold-pressed canola, hominy meal, and grape marc. It is also recommended that producers breed cattle for improved feed to milk convertibility, vaccines that reduce ruminal methane production, and chemical inhibitors (Moate…2015). However, vaccines and chemical remedies may not be easily accessible and provided to producers.  

Cattle are good eatin’, and some people can’t wait until their next steak dinner. However, in areas that lack the amount of land suitable for cattle operations to feed the community smaller livestock may need to be implemented for a source of protein. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), chicken and rabbit meat is higher in protein than beef and can reproduce and provide yield much quicker than cattle (Yacoubian 2021). Plant based milk alternatives (PBMA) are also investigated and widely used among vegans and sensitive tummies alike. Many argue that PBMAs fail to serve the same nutritional value as cow’s milk. However, many plant alternatives leave a smaller carbon footprint and help to absorb greenhouse gases (Drewnowski 2018). Cattle are also used for their leather hide, for the motorcycle rider and the football field, cow hide is used for a variety of purposes. Recently, researchers have been able to use fungi to bio fabricate a leather-like material by upcycling agricultural and forestry by-products (Jones…2021). Cattle byproducts can also be used to make many medicines ailments-but many of these same products are replicated with vegan and more effective recipes.  

Personally, I believe that everyone has an obligation to decrease the amount of greenhouse gas emissions we put off. I also think it’s time to leave the country folk alone—and help them as they produce the food on our tables. Cattle and livestock do have an impact on greenhouse gas emissions, but not in the devastating way that humans do. Specifically, larger companies and corporations. I also believe in the power of plants and am super interested on how ethanol (plant-based fuel) and other plant derived materials will evolve and how it will affect the climate. All in all, I believe that animal agriculture-along with plant cultivation is an essential part of civilization, and humans are in charge of utilizing our resources efficiently and in an environmentally friendly way. Besides, Mars is a long way away.  

Works Cited 

Agarwal, N. (2021, October 27). What is cattle farming and why is it bad for the environment? Sentient Media. Retrieved February 15, 2022, from https://sentientmedia.org/cattle-farming/  

de Lacy Costello, B. P. J., M. Ledochowski, and Norman M. Ratcliffe. “The importance of methane breath testing: a review.” Journal of breath research 7.2 (2013): 024001 

Drewnowski, Adam. “Measures and metrics of sustainable diets with a focus on milk, yogurt, and dairy products.” Nutrition reviews 76.1 (2018): 21-28. 

EPA. (2014). EPA. Retrieved February 14, 2022, from https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-emissions-data#Reference%202 

Hidayat, C., Widiawati, Y., Tiesnamurti, B., Pramono, A., Krisnan, R., & Shiddieqy, M. I. (2021). Comparison of methane production from cattle, buffalo, goat, rabbit, chicken, and duck manure. IOP Conference Series.Earth and Environmental Science, 648(1)http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/648/1/012112 

How to fight desertification and reverse climate change. (2014). Allan Savory: How to fight desertification and reverse climate change | TED Talk. Retrieved February 14, 2022, from https://www.ted.com/talks/allan_savory_how_to_fight_desertification_and_reverse_climate_change?language=en.  

IPCC, I. P. on C. C. (2014). Fifth assessment report – synthesis report. SlideShare. Retrieved February 14, 2022, from https://www.slideshare.net/IPCCGeneva/fifth-assessment-report-synthesis-report  

Jones, M., Gandia, A., John, S., & Bismarck, A. (2021). Leather-like material bio fabrication using fungi. Nature Sustainability, 4(1), 9-16. 

Lipson, J., Reynolds, T., & Anderson, C. L. (2011, July 31). Environmental implications of livestock: Cattle. Evans School of Public Policy and Governance. Retrieved February 15, 2022, from https://epar.evans.uw.edu/research/environmental-implications-livestock-cattle  

Moate, P. J., Deighton, M. H., Williams, S. R. O., Pryce, J. E., Hayes, B. J., Jacobs, J. L., … & Wales, W. J. (2015). Reducing the carbon footprint of Australian milk production by mitigation of enteric methane emissions. Animal Production Science, 56(7), 1017-1034. 

Quinton, A. (2019, June 27). Cows and climate change. UC Davis. Retrieved February 14, 2022, from https://www.ucdavis.edu/food/news/making-cattle-more-sustainable  

SDSU Extension. (2020, August 6). How much meat can you expect from a fed steer? SDSU Extension. Retrieved February 14, 2022, from https://extension.sdstate.edu/how-much-meat-can-you-expect-fed-steer 

Steinfeld, H., Gerber, P., Wassenaar, T. D., Castel, V., Rosales, M., Rosales, M., & de Haan, C. (2006). Livestock’s long shadow: environmental issues and options. Food & Agriculture Org. 

USDA. (n.d.). Food Data Central. FoodData Central. Retrieved February 15, 2022, from https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/  

Yacoubian, J. (2021, November 10). Rabbit meat vs chicken meat – health impact and nutrition comparison. Food Struct. Retrieved November 21, 2021, from https://foodstruct.com/compare/rabbit-meat-vs-chicken-meat.   

You, W., & Henneberg, M. (2016). Meat in modern diet, just as bad as sugar, correlates with worldwide obesity: an ecological analysis. J Nutr Food Sci, 6(517), 4.