Last month, Nature published an analysis on ruminant animals' production of flatulence, which amounts to an alarming 100 million tons of methane released into the atmosphere annually. It is the largest man-made methane source after rice agriculture, and scientists say it is not getting enough attention as needed to combat climate change.
They are now looking into more ways to reduce methane emissions, mainly through decreasing the demand for meat, increasing livestock feeding efficiency, etc.
For more information, check out the Wired article.
I read recently that cows are responsible for a staggering 3% of Britain's Greenhouse Gas Emissions! But apparently scientists have hypothesised that feeding cows garlic reduces flatulence by naturally reducing the bacteria in the cows stomach that cause the methane gas. Initial results from a 3 year study show that methane emissions could be reduced by half! And considering the amount of methane cows produce, this is really significant. However there are some concerns that the garlic will taint the flavour of the milk the cows produce. I don't know about you but garlic on my weetabix doesn't sound very appetising!!
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