Cow burps and farts account for 14% of global warming gases. Therefore, scientists are thinking of reducing cow farts to be more environmentally friendly.
Farm animals such as cattle, sheep, and goats, are ruminants or ruminants with multi-chambered stomachs. Their stomachs help digest food through fermentation and are full of methane-producing bacteria.
Quoted from The Sun, Monday (13/9/2021) every day, a cow can produce 160 liters to 320 liters of gas, which has 28 times the global warming potential of CO2.
Scientists are currently looking for the cows that produce the least amount of methane and they will breed them into existing herds. Experts are also testing feeds that can reduce animal farts.
"We've been working on this since 2015. We're currently building a genomic profile to select the most carbon-friendly livestock that will make a difference in the long term," said Barrie Turner, of the Aberdeen Angus Cattle Society.
In addition to farts and feces that produce methane, livestock meat itself has contributed to global warming-related problems. The reason is, by consuming more animal protein and its processed products, we contribute to problems that have an impact on health and environmental damage.
Sources of animal protein, especially red meat from beef, have a very high carbon footprint which has an impact on increasing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as climate change.
How could that be? Livestock requires a large area of land, so its development often results in land clearing. In addition, farm animals require feed from plants and consume a lot of water. According to EAT data, the world's agriculture currently occupies nearly 40% of global land.
Conversion of land for food production is the cause of biodiversity loss. Animal food production is also responsible for 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions and 70% of freshwater use.
All of this exacerbates global warming and reduces groundwater reserves. The destruction of the planet will be difficult to overcome as long as we still rely on livestock meat.
Therefore, reducing meat consumption will help reduce the demand for livestock production. It also means there will be more land that can be used to reduce greenhouse gases, thereby contributing to a healthier Earth.
