Slashing methane emissions for a net zero food system

Key Takeaways

1. Emissions from cows and other ruminants pose a major, ongoing threat to meeting climate targets
2. Food companies who use ruminant products must be participants in the search for solutions, as methane emissions from livestock are included in their Scope 3 accounting
3. Progress is already being made towards finding solutions, from adding seaweed to cow feed to implementing holistic grazing strategies. Looking to nature may prove to be extremely fruitful in keeping emissions down and enriching our environment

Where does methane come from, and why do we care?

Believe it or not, the fate of our planet is deeply tied to the digestive systems of cows and other ruminants like sheep and goats. As they chew their feed, ruminants belch out methane, a volatile greenhouse gas with 86x the warming potential of carbon dioxide in its first 20 years in the atmosphere (1). If we take a 100-year view, emitting one tonne of methane is equivalent to emitting 25 tonnes of carbon dioxide (2). Methane is so potent that its accumulation alone has been responsible for a whopping 50% of the net rise in global temperatures since the industrial era (3).

In recent years, the pressing issue of curbing methane emissions has gathered global attention, with more than 110 developing and developed countries signing the Global Methane Pledge in 2021 to slash emissions by 30% by 2030. This collective action, if successful, could immediately reduce global climate warming by more than 0.2°C by 2050.

“Cutting methane is the strongest lever we have to slow climate change over the next 25 years and complements necessary efforts to reduce carbon dioxide… we need to urgently reduce methane emissions as much as possible this decade”

- UN Environment Programme (4)

Compared with its elusive cousin CO?, the sources of anthropogenic methane emissions are much easier to track down. By some estimates, the stomach fermentation processes of ruminants are responsible for 37% of worldwide methane emissions (5), and ~10% of all global greenhouse gas emissions (6). These figures are staggering, and point to the pressing need to find solutions that will limit the impact that gassy ruminant stomachs are having on our planet.?

Source: UNECE , Design: Klim

So, what does this have to do with the food industry?

Food companies at the end of the value chain often rely on raw materials from ruminants– think of the dairy or meat going into the chocolate or sausages we find at the grocery store. These companies bear significant pressure to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, given their proximity to the consumer and the ambitious carbon targets they’ve often set. Unfortunately for them, their Scope 3 emissions report cards include all the enteric emissions from the livestock upstream. These greenhouse gas emissions, if not mitigated, risk destroying companies’ chances of achieving their carbon targets. Ultimately, these end-of-the-line food companies have a key stake in the issue of enteric emissions and must be a part of finding solutions.?

How can our actions indirectly affect enteric emissions??

Humans have been trying to make animal production more efficient (for example, more milk in fewer days) since domestication began (7). Modern techniques to optimize ruminant efficiency range from growth hormones to selective breeding to diet supplements. Interestingly, it turns out that reduced methane emissions are an indirect effect of this quest for maximum output in minimum time— increased efficiency both reduces the cost of raising each animal and allows the farm to use fewer animals while maintaining production levels. While these practices do indirectly reduce methane emissions, it’s clear that a more powerful, holistic approach is needed if we are to truly address a problem of this scale and move beyond business-as-usual operations.?

How can we directly curb methane emissions??

There are those that argue that ending animal agriculture entirely is the only solution. While this would indeed be the most direct way to decrease emissions, people worldwide currently rely on ruminant food products like milk and meat, as well as non-food outputs like wool and leather. Given the scale of this consumption, it’s unlikely to come to a complete stop anytime soon. While a major shift in eating habits is perhaps on the way, worldwide veganism does not seem to be just on the horizon. So, what can we do here and now to mitigate the planetary threat that ruminants pose?

There is incredible innovation taking place in the field of direct enteric emission management strategies, with many different potential solutions being proposed and tested. Nothing seems to be off the table, with researchers and companies exploring potential emissions management solutions that range from adding a particular kind of seaweed to cow feed (8) to putting methane-neutralizing masks on cows (9). These solutions are extremely promising, with initial effectiveness at emissions reduction being measured at up to 82%, but significant challenges remain to implementing each of these on a large scale (10).

Seeking natural solutions

There is also attention gathering around solutions that reduce emissions by utilizing the wisdom of native ecosystems. Looking to nature, we see models of coexistence and mutual support between large grazing animals and their native environments. Agricultural innovators are adopting techniques from these systems that enable the raising of cattle in a way that both addresses emissions and benefits the ecosystems in which the animals live. While these solutions don’t directly block methane emissions, they pull carbon from the atmosphere, partially balancing out the net greenhouse gas effect of raising ruminants.?

In nature, before domestication, ruminant animals such as bison coexisted with and complemented their environments as they roamed. Grass species thrived under short-duration, high-intensity grazing, and grew healthier as the animals worked nutrients into the ground with their hooves. Lengthy rest periods between grazing episodes allowed the plants to recover and maintain carbon storage in their deep roots, making for healthy soil and a consistent supply of food when the livestock returned.?

Livestock farmers around the world are mimicking these natural grazing patterns using regenerative techniques (sometimes called regenerative grazing or silvopastoral systems). These livestock management strategies improve topsoil carbon storage, allowing the same animals who cause GHG emissions to contribute to their mitigation (11). These techniques also carry a host of other benefits, including promoting biodiversity, improving feed yields, and increasing soil fertility (12) (13).

“As soil fertility improves, so does the quality of the grass [the] herd eats. That gives higher-quality milk and, naturally, nutritionally richer cheese and yoghurt.”

-EIT Food (12)

Much like more direct enteric emissions management strategies, regenerative grazing techniques are challenging to implement on national or global scales. However, initial studies suggest that silvopastoral systems may hold immense potential, with studies? suggesting the possibility of carbon-neutral dairy operations (14) and increased efficiency in rearing dairy cows (15).?

Scaling up solutions to ruminant emissions will be a great challenge in upcoming years, with technological and natural solutions both in the race. But one thing is certain: natural systems hold great promise in their capacity to inspire land management techniques. Experts in regenerative tactics, like Klim, can help to meet the immense, urgent, and complex challenge of emissions reduction in ruminant supply chains.

References: [1 ], [2 ], [3 ], [4 ], [5 ], [6 ], [7 ], [8 ], [9 ], [10 ], [11 ], [12 ], [13 ], [14 ], [15 ]

Further Reading

• The Noble Institute
• A Different Kind of Land Management: Let the Cows Stomp (NY Times)
• Silvopastoral Systems: An Overview
• Global Methane Pledge