The beef and dairy industries are under increasing pressure to decrease their planet-overheating methane emissions — and a new $2 million facility at Cornell University could help them do so, WSKG reported.
The facility, which contains a machine called a respiration chamber, measures exactly how much methane is released into the atmosphere from cows burping. This is an especially important statistic since scientists are now experimenting with additives that could be put into the cows' food to reduce the amount of methane they produce.
"There's a real sense of urgency that we have to reduce methane emissions, and there's going to be a lot of pressure on livestock agriculture to step up and do so," said Joseph McFadden, associate professor of dairy cattle biology at Cornell, per WSKG. "Now to actually have this equipment, it gives us a tool to be able to ensure that we have accurate measurements."
Methane is an extremely potent planet-overheating gas, with heat-trapping capabilities up to 80 times stronger than carbon dioxide. According to statistics reported by WSKG, New York state's agricultural industry is responsible for approximately 6% of the state's total planet-overheating gas pollution.
If the food additive works, it could bring that number way down — and Cornell's specialized facility is providing the feedback that scientists need to ensure that it does.
Though some in the dairy industry seem skeptical about the changes, they are at least not outright hostile to the idea.
"This is something that farmers will for sure consider. But is it going to make us more efficient as an industry and improve our carbon footprint? I'm not positive that it is," said Keith Kimball, a New York cattle farmer who chairs the Northeast Dairy Producers Association, per WSKG. He added: "I am excited to see where it goes."
The most effective way to cut down on pollution produced by animal agriculture, of course, is to reduce our need for it overall. Switching to a plant-based diet or even just reducing the amount of meat you consume — say, going meatless one day per week — can have a big positive impact on our environment.
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