More to Meatless Mondays?

One of the biggest arguments for “Meatless Mondays” is the incredible amount of methane that cows release through belching and flatulence. Humans produce it too when we get gassy and let one rip, but cows are estimated to contribute up to nearly ¾ of all methane emissions, with a single cow belching up to 220 pounds of methane gas per year. Stanford University reports that when it comes to climate warming, methane is 80 times as potent as carbon dioxide in the first two decades of its release.  

But Methane isn’t the only problem. The entire animal agriculture industry has an enormous carbon footprint with the energy, space, and water that it takes to support feeding, housing, and transporting meat. This has created problems for farmers, with activists supporting higher taxation of meat products and many organizations encouraging the public to limit their consumption of meat (i.e. “Meatless Mondays”). Recent research, however, has made the claim that reducing meat consumption by one day a week is significant to the cause. A few agricultural scientists came together and discovered that if everyone in the U.S completely gave up all forms of animal protein, the nation’s emissions would only decrease by 2.6 percent.

Fortunately, scientists have come up with some solutions, including the addition of natural supplements to limit flatulence in our bovine resources. The AgriTech company Mootral has developed a supplement made of garlic and citrus that can be added to cow feed to reduce fermentation and production of methane. The supplement is successful at reducing up to 38% of enteric methane in REAL FARMS. This is a great example of research that’s attempting to bridge the gaps between industry and climate science.  

The good: developers have come up with a supplement to make meat more environmentally friendly.

The bad: The agriculture industry has a lot more to figure out than dietary supplements.

The ugly: cow farts are even grosser than you imagined.

While it can be daunting to think about the scale of the problem, it's heartening to know that there are solutions in the works, like the natural supplement developed by Mootral. Whether you're a vegan, vegetarian, or just a meat-reducer, we're all part of the same herd when it comes to fighting climate change. Thanks for being a part of the solution and not just a part of the beef!