There you go. The nice Mr Dimbleby has set out how you need to stop your cows destroying the planet. Bring them indoors and fit methane capturing masks.
Well done to the NFU. Top job you have done there in explaining why cows are part of the solution not part of the problem.
Methane suppressants One area of innovation that urgently needs Government support is reducing emissions of greenhouse gases from cattle and sheep. Farmed ruminants (mainly cattle and sheep) emit methane equivalent to 22 MtCO2e/year, which is almost half of all UK agricultural emissions.15 Methane emissions can be reduced by: • Rearing fewer ruminants, therefore eating less meat. • Capturing the methane they emit, either by moving them inside or by attaching devices to them (both of which could harm their welfare).16 • Reducing the amount of methane each animal emits (methane inhibition). There are a number of technologies for methane inhibition in development, but only one is so far commercially available: a feed additive called 3NOP. This has been found to have no impact on milk production or quality in dairy cattle, but its effects are short-lived so it needs to be given regularly in animal feed.17 This makes it less practical for use in the kind of extensive grazing systems that are common in the UK. Other additives are currently in development, including a seaweed called Asparagopsis. Lab trials in Australia have found that adding 2% Asparagopsis cattle feed could reduce methane emissions by 99%.18 In the longer term, selective breeding and “methane vaccines” may also provide a solution, particularly for sheep which are fed almost entirely on grass. Investing in these technologies offers our best hope of decarbonising livestock farming without massively reducing the number of farms in the sector and the amount of meat we can eat.
Well done to the NFU. Top job you have done there in explaining why cows are part of the solution not part of the problem.
Methane suppressants One area of innovation that urgently needs Government support is reducing emissions of greenhouse gases from cattle and sheep. Farmed ruminants (mainly cattle and sheep) emit methane equivalent to 22 MtCO2e/year, which is almost half of all UK agricultural emissions.15 Methane emissions can be reduced by: • Rearing fewer ruminants, therefore eating less meat. • Capturing the methane they emit, either by moving them inside or by attaching devices to them (both of which could harm their welfare).16 • Reducing the amount of methane each animal emits (methane inhibition). There are a number of technologies for methane inhibition in development, but only one is so far commercially available: a feed additive called 3NOP. This has been found to have no impact on milk production or quality in dairy cattle, but its effects are short-lived so it needs to be given regularly in animal feed.17 This makes it less practical for use in the kind of extensive grazing systems that are common in the UK. Other additives are currently in development, including a seaweed called Asparagopsis. Lab trials in Australia have found that adding 2% Asparagopsis cattle feed could reduce methane emissions by 99%.18 In the longer term, selective breeding and “methane vaccines” may also provide a solution, particularly for sheep which are fed almost entirely on grass. Investing in these technologies offers our best hope of decarbonising livestock farming without massively reducing the number of farms in the sector and the amount of meat we can eat.