Lots of media articles out there talking about the harmful effects of methane (CH4) on our environment- specifically produced by cows and other cattle that releases their gases into the environment. These gases are categorized as “enteric fermentation”. It’s easy to be carried away by such publicized articles because they sound so sensational. Often there is an agenda attached to such news because some element or idea needs to be promoted.
Let’s look at some simple statistics that show you the overall picture. Image 1 – Global green house emissions – percentage of methane is 16%. Fossil fuels and industrial processes contribute 65%. (How many governments are encouraging production and sales of hybrid/energy friendly cars at subsidized rates to the common people? How many big industries have been penalized for pollution on this planet in this growth driven era? )
Image 2 – Within the 16% methane emissions enteric fermentation contributes to 17%. Interestingly a lot of other factors contribute more to it beyond the agricultural realm.
Image 3 – Take this one with a pinch of salt, but numbers speak here. Some sources say enteric fermentation contributes up to 30% – maybe that’s the latest number or it varies by country. Which still equates to only about 4.8% of the total global greenhouse gas emissions!
To look at the more common sense picture, animal and fossil gasses are more easily absorbed into nature than most carbon emissions created by man made fossil fuel and industrial processes. So why focus on the poor animal farts and what to do about it when it contributes to only 3-5% in the overall picture! It’s time media, politicians, and government focus on more important topics for our well being. And as a human, we shall do what’s best for the environment in our realm and take such news with a pinch of salt so that we don’t indirectly support agendas that don’t work for us on the long run. Planet Earth is our responsibility. Love your animals, grow them responsibly, and be peaceful!
