Dairy companies ‘turning blind eye’ to global methane emissions, report suggests. Animal agriculture accounts for 32% of global emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas about 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period.

2 comments

1. This is something individuals have tremendous control over, like all consumer products.

   Unlike some other sectors that create GHGs, where our individual choices may not have a huge impact, such as large-scale transportation or electric power generation, which are decided at the higher levels of government, meat and dairy are directly linked to what people buy on a weekly basis.

   Decreasing or eliminating your consumption of these products directly decreases or eliminates your footprint in that sector.

   Seems obvious, but people keep buying meat and dairy in very high numbers despite their high cost, and governments keep heavily subsidizing these industries. People are de facto paying twice for some of the most resource-demanding and heavy-emitting food we could possibly produce.

2. For reference, dairy cows emit approximately 80-95 million tonnes of methane annually.

   The Aliso Canyon leak was approx. 109 million tonnes (definitely an undercount because they didn’t know it was leaking for several months).

   US landfills release 110 million tonnes of methane.

   Abandoned wells release approx. 280 million tonnes (likely an undercount).

   The Nordstream pipeline explosion released approx. 450-480 million tonnes (likely an undercount).

   Then there’s the US military releasing an unknown amount but using over 100 million tonnes annually.

Comments are closed.