Cows: The Carbon Hoofprint on Your Dinner Plate
Environmental Article from All-Creatures.org

From Center for Biological Diversity
November 2013

Adding up the acres of land razed for pastures and growing feed, plus the massive amounts of methane bovines emit from both ends, cows leave enormous carbon hoofprints.

In the fight against climate change, one culprit keeps sneaking under the radar: cows. They may look innocent with those big, doleful eyes and lazy grazing, but they're responsible for huge amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. Adding up the acres of land razed for pastures and growing feed, plus the massive amounts of methane bovines emit from both ends, cows leave enormous carbon hoofprints.

But Robert Goodland, author of a new peer-reviewed article called "A fresh look at livestock greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation potential in Europe," has good news. According to his analysis, if we replace just 25 percent of livestock production with alternatives, we can meet the goals of recent international climate treaty negotiations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

And we don't have to wait for industry leaders or new technology to make this happen. While industry incentives would help move things along, a major infrastructure change can happen right on your dinner plate. Reducing meat consumption not only lowers that carbon hoofprint, but also frees up land that can be reverted to grasslands and forests to give wild species back their homes. Stay tuned to hear more from us soon on this important issue.

Read the Guardian article, Greenhouse gas emissions from livestock can be cut by 30%, says FAO.


Return to: Environmental Articles