A cow produces about 220 pounds of methane each year.
I was alarmed recently when I read that world leaders were gathering to discuss global warming. I don’t have the credentials to discuss the merits of the global warming argument … but I can certainly question what’s going on.
Cows produce methane gas as part of their natural digestive process. According to a UC Davis study, a cow produces about 220 pounds of methane each year. If the cows are grazed on open pasture, as Joel Salatin promotes, the grass grows more quickly after being grazed upon. The chemicals in the cow’s saliva stimulate grass growth after grazing. This growth is exponential, once grazed. During the new growth, the grass takes in more carbon dioxide, sequesters it into the soil and grows faster.
Researchers from Ohio State have found that an average homeowner’s yard sequesters between 46-127.1g of carbon per square meter per year. Considering that there are around 4,046 square meters in an acre, it follows that 1 acre of pasture would sequester between 181-542 kg of carbon per year. If you consider that my two cows and small flock of sheep are grazed on a few acres, it seems that my homestead sequesters more carbon than our four-legged friends produce. The manure and urine contribute additional fertilizer for the soil and increase overall fertility.
Armed with this information, one might think that leaders at the World Economic Forum were discussing pasture management strategies while dining on fine lamb and beef. Instead, it seems all this information is being dismissed. Instead of supporting perennial pastures and using regenerative agriculture to sequester carbon and provide sustenance for a wide variety of animals, they are trying to cull livestock around the world and promote insect proteins.
How did my cows become a threat to our environment?
More than half of all carbon emissions are created by less than 1% of the population that travels via private aircraft. Jeff Bezos recently spent 500 million dollars on a boat that produces over 7,000 tons of greenhouse gases annually. That’s more than 500 average American families produce in a year. That doesn’t include the support ship that travels around with his main yacht or the carbon emissions of his private fleet of aircraft.
Instead, the world leaders celebrate his new boat as “green” because it can use sails. My cow recycles grass into milk and beef. I bet that fancy boat can’t do that. I bet that he isn’t eating insects on his new boat.
I can’t argue the merits of global warming. Taking care of the environment is why I try to implement regenerative agricultural practices. Somewhere, someone who flew on a private jet determined that my livestock is a threat to the environment.
Couldn’t they at least see the value in my cows’ hides for a private aircraft interior design company? Maybe then, I could get an exemption for my cows. How does a yacht get certified “green” while the animals that graze my property are deemed a threat to humanity?
Something doesn’t seem right. If the WEF is trying to reduce carbon emissions, couldn’t they have their meetings remotely? Or fly commercially? I bet we, the people, could manage just fine if the entire group of self-anointed leaders disbanded.
I’m not sure how we came under the authority of people that we didn’t elect or why they’re influencing policy on farms around the world. I don’t question authority … but I sure question where they got their authority!