Environmental Defense Fund’s Post

The real feat of ruminants (cows, sheep, goats, buffaloes, yaks etc) is their metabolism that allows them to digest things that we can’t eat, grass, leaves and straw and convert them into highly valuable foods. Let’s stick to that instead of having the focus on the methane that is an intrinsic part of being ruminants. With a balance between the land (and thus the feed) and the number of ruminant animals, methane emanations from ruminants can't be seen as "anthropogenic emissions", as a constant number of animals cause no further methane induced global warming, now or the coming thousand years. https://lnkd.in/dJybvqiU

There have been a number of posts circulating about the Liberal governments plan to fight climate change by awarding cattle and dairy farmers emissions credits for adopting measures to reduce the amount of methane belching. For those of you unfamiliar with this plan the following links include a news article by Global News regarding the plan, an article asking whether humans “fart” more methane than cows (that may be correct given most of the methane from ruminants is from belching) and, finally, a fact check article on that question. My underlying thought is this is a half-baked poorly thought-out initiative - likely only created because those in power couldn’t figure out how to tax cow emissions. 😎 https://lnkd.in/dGiUS4Mk https://lnkd.in/d3qifYyN. https://lnkd.in/dPuUjQvS

Decarbonization comes in the most unlikeliest of places: https://lnkd.in/gRNBYPnN #cows #cowburps #methane #diet #climate #decarbonization

Urgent methane reductions from the agriculture sector is the most effective strategy to limit near-term global warming to 1.5°C. Here are three ways USAID Feed the Future is working to achieve these reductions: ✅ Enhancing livestock productivity and emissions reduction ✅ Advancing equitable, low-emissions rice systems ✅ Reducing food loss and waste Get the details on all of these activities in our new blog: https://lnkd.in/efa_R9jE

Thanks to Reuters for this must-read deep dive on why the food industry is facing a methane moment: “Companies are starting to see that this is really about business continuity and supply chain resiliency and risk. We know that cattle ranchers and dairy farmers are on the frontline of climate impacts that are already here – drought, flooding, wildfires (all) create stress in livestock and impact productivity.” – Katie Anderson, Senior Director of EDF + Business Food & Forests. Methane is 80x more powerful than CO2 in the first 20 years after it enters the atmosphere, which means that dairy and beef companies have a leading role to play in driving down warming by tackling methane emissions in their supply chains. See the article here: https://lnkd.in/eKjfK37c Want to learn more about how you can drive down methane from dairy production in your supply chain? Find more info and reach out at https://lnkd.in/eG2QC--q.

The GFLI database is a comprehensive database with the global warming potential as well as 16 other impact categories compliant with the EU PEFCR feed. However, international markets are making their own initiatives based on fewer impact categories. Find out more how this is considered within the GFLI in the article below: https://lnkd.in/ew4XnMT4

It's quite a statement to say that your cattle 'has released net zero greenhouse gas emissions from birth to sale' when all you're basing this from comes from carbon sequestration. As mentioned in previous posts, carbon sequestration is not an exact science and it also doesn't take into account the role of #methane emissions 'burped' by the cattle. Methane will behave as methane warming the atmosphere for around 20 years. After that, there is uncertainty as to how it will dissolve (water vapour or CO2) and uncertainty as to how much it will be absorbed. To me this another example of #greenwash #meat #emissions #climatechange

In the context of climate change, agriculture faces complex and unique problems. Crop production is directly dependent on natural resources, weather, and climatic conditions. As a result of rising temperatures, variable rainfalls, invasive pests, and more, the sector, farmers, and farm communities are facing several challenges. These effects tend to worsen as climate change accelerates, making it critical to implement mitigation strategies as soon as possible to curb its long-term impacts.

This article actually claims that livestock (specifically cows) produce more methane than anything else on the planet. Apparently, "Climate Science" scaremongering got dropped on its head repeatedly as an infant. ========================== "Scientists have managed to measure the belching and flatulence of cattle from space. This is considered important since the International Agency of Energy and the US Department of Agriculture estimate that methane from cows' burps and farts has a great influence on climate change and global warming. Cows themselves have done nothing wrong in simply passing gas, but as human activity remains the leading driver of greenhouse gas emissions, researchers are investigating how the agriculture industry could be contributing to climate change. ... Agriculture is a major influence on climate change, and it is one of the largest source of methane emissions, according to the International Energy Agency. The agriculture industry contributes roughly 10.5% of all greenhouse gasses in the U.S. points out the US Department of Agriculture. The US cattle herd numbers 91.9 million cows and calves. But despite the industry's immense size and greenhouse gas emissions, this is the first measurement of its kind made from space with satellites. ● ... There are a number of methane producers, including coal, gas, and oil, but livestock is the biggest, of all methane emissions. Methane traps more heat than CO2 but has a shorter atmospheric lifespan. Still, its ability to trap heat makes it a target in the fight against climate change." https://lnkd.in/gnbZTKK8

Green or no green, this somehow doesn’t sound right! Clearly there are better ways to address the global warming and methane emission issue! What do the ESG experts have to say? https://lnkd.in/gj6XfyuA