When cows digest food, microbes in their stomachs break down feed and produce about 220 lbs of methane a year. As global consumer demand for beef rises, sustainable farming practices are starting to address agricultural methane production.
When cows digest food, microbes in their stomachs break down feed and produce about 220 lbs of methane a year. As global consumer demand for beef rises, sustainable farming practices are starting to address agricultural methane production.
Cattle and other grazing livestock, also known as ruminants, host microbes in their stomachs, which help them to digest and absorb nutrients from the tough grasses they ingest. Through a process called enteric fermentation, these microbes decompose and ferment the plant material, releasing methane as a byproduct. The average ruminant produces 250-500 liters of methane a day and there are over 1.4 billion cattle in the world, with demand for beef and dairy continuing to rise.
In addition to methane from ruminants, the agriculture industry generates other greenhouse gases, both carbon dioxide emissions from the processing and transportation of animal products, as well as nitrous oxide, from manure storage and the use of organic/inorganic fertilizers. When you consider meat’s entire lifecycle, each meat eater is responsible for 1.5 more tons of greenhouse gases than a vegan per year.
Livestock and their feed crops currently occupy 80% of all land used for agriculture – which represents 40% of Earth’s ice-free surface. Animal agriculture is also the biggest driver of deforestation, clearing land as the global market for beef expands. As demand for beef grows, adoption of sustainable farming and land management practices across the agriculture industry will decelerate deforestation and promote rewilding of converted forests and grasslands.