Do cows emit greenhouse gases?

Yes!Each cow emits methene by digestion. According to US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a typical dairy cow can produce between 100 and 200 liters of methane per day, equivalent to 220 to 440 pounds per year[1].

Livestock production is responsible for 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions[2], while transport accounts for approximately 21% of greenhouse gas [16].However, methane is 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide[3] in warming the atmosphere. The only difference is that methane has a shorter atmospheric lifetime of about 12 years[3], while carbon dioxide can persist in the atmosphere for hundreds or even thousands of years.New Zealand would be the first country to have considered implementing a tax on cow burps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture[11]. Still, this proposal did not ultimately move forward.In 2019, the New Zealand government proposed a plan to introduce a methane reduction target for the country's agriculture sector, which is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. One of the options discussed as part of this plan was the introduction of a "livestock emissions levy" that would effectively tax farmers based on the amount of methane emitted by their cows and sheep.Did you know that there are more cows than humans in New Zealand? As of Thursday, February 16, 2023, the population of New Zealand is estimated to be 4,924,785 people.[8]There are about 5.91 million dairy cattle in New Zealand as of 2021.[6] The number of beef cattle in New Zealand was approximately 4 million as of June 2022 [7]. The overall dairy and beef cattle were approximately 10.1 million, and it only has a small population of about 5 million people.According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), as of January 1, 2022, there were approximately 94 million cattle and calves[8] in the United States. Of this total, approximately 31.5 million were beef cows, 9.4 million were milk cows, and the remaining 52.6 million were calves or steers and heifers that had not yet given birth.And the US has approximately a population of 330 million people. Can you imagine that cows outnumber humans in New Zealand? Wow. I cannot help wondering how we can reduce the methane emissions that could contribute to global warming. Hmm.Would it help if we invested more in plant-based meat and milk?The research found that plant-based meat and milk products emit 30%-90% less greenhouse gas than conventional animal products, use much less agricultural land water, and cause less pollution[12].

Dairy production is also a major contributor to climate change, causing large emissions of greenhouse gases[13]. Meat and dairy production uses 83% of farmland and causes 60% of agriculture's greenhouse gas emissions but provides only 18% of calories[14]. In contrast, plant-based meat has been found to have 34 percent lower emissions than farmed animal meat[15].

The Climate Goal of 2100

As you may know, we have a climate goal of 2100 to limit warming to well below 2 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius between 2030 and 2050.

As of 2021, global warming reached 1.1 Celsius above pre-industrial levels.Our current policies, presently in place around the world, are projected to result in about 2.7°C warming above the pre-industrial level.

I can see why New Zealand is working on a plan for cow tax burp to combat global warming. After all, they have more cows than humans, which may not help them to meet their goal by 2030.

However, New Zealand will have a few challenges with the cow burp tax, and nothing is set in stone. Stay tuned…We have so much work to do! It is in our hands for the future.

Sources:1. https://www.epa.gov/gmi/importance-methane2. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/cow-burps-are-a-major-contributor-to-climate-change-can-scientists-change-that3. https://clear.ucdavis.edu/explainers/why-methane-cattle-warms-climate-differently-co2-fossil-fuels4. https://www.verifythis.com/article/news/verify/environment-verify/cattle-cows-the-top-source-of-methane-emissions-in-united-states/536-8d5bf326-6955-4a9c-8ea5-761d73ba464c5. https://www.science.org/content/article/grass-fed-cows-won-t-save-climate-report-finds6. https://www.statista.com/statistics/974482/new-zealand-dairy-cattle-numbers/7. https://www.statista.com/statistics/974432/new-zealand-beef-cattle-numbers/8. https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/new-zealand-population/9. https://petkeen.com/how-many-cows-in-us/10. https://www.ucdavis.edu/food/news/making-cattle-more-sustainable11. https://www.npr.org/2022/10/11/1127955580/new-zealand-angers-its-farmers-by-proposing-taxing-cow-burps12. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220729173204.htm#:~:text=Another%20found%20that%20compared%20to,less%20pollution%20than%20animal%20products.13. https://knowablemagazine.org/article/food-environment/2022/how-sustainable-are-fake-meats14. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/07/plant-based-meat-by-far-the-best-climate-investment-report-finds15. https://www.rd.com/article/plant-based-meats/16. https://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions-from-transport