Cow burps

Bill Gates said that if cattle were a country they would be only behind China and the US in greenhouse gas emissions.

A certain Australian seaweed, when added in small amounts to cattle feed, can cut the cows’ methane emissions — in one experiment 58%, another up to 86%. A different kind of seaweed was found to increase calf births and milk production too.

There are companies working on this. But it will take time and effort to build enough farms to make enough seaweed.

“If 10% of the livestock producers added seaweed, it is like removing 100 million cars off the road.”

There is a petition (only 855 supporters) asking Tyson Foods to adopt this.

Some suggest becoming vegetarians – but Ermias Kebreab, scientist and director of the World Food Center explains: “Only a tiny fraction of the earth is fit for crop production. Much more land is suitable only for grazing, so livestock plays a vital role in feeding the 10 billion people who will soon inhabit the planet.”

More info at Wikipedia.