[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/it\/article\/modal\/6252\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n        \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n  \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ECan we make cow burps climate-friendly?\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u0027s a major issue because cattle farming is on the rise due to an increasing global population and the emergence of middle class societies in Asia and Africa.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018People think of carbon dioxide as the main greenhouse gas, but methane is pretty important too,\u2019 said Professor John Wallace from the University of Aberdeen, UK. \u2018From all the greenhouse gas emissions produced by man, 16\u0026nbsp;% of this is methane while around a third of that comes from ruminant livestock.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERuminants are animals, such as cows, which have multi-chamber stomachs that rely on bacteria to break down plant-based food. In this digestive process, a fully grown cow can release up to 500 litres of methane into the atmosphere each day.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlthough not all cows produce methane at the same rate, the 1.4 billion cows on the planet means the gassy emissions soon add up.\u0026nbsp;In fact when the entire supply chain is taken into consideration, livestock accounts for 14.5\u0026nbsp;% of total greenhouse gas emissions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022 class=\u0022@aligncenter@\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022A fully grown cow can release up to 500 litres of methane per day, and with 1.4 billion cows on the planet, this accounts for approximately 3.7 % of all greenhouse gas emissions. Data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations\u0022 height=\u0022536\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/CowBurps_final_0.png\u0022 title=\u0022A fully grown cow can release up to 500 litres of methane per day, and with 1.4 billion cows on the planet, this accounts for approximately 3.7 % of all greenhouse gas emissions. Data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations\u0022 width=\u0022673\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022italic mb-4\u0022\u003EA fully grown cow can release up to 500 litres of methane per day, and with 1.4 billion cows on the planet, this accounts for approximately 3.7 % of all greenhouse gas emissions. Data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Wallace coordinates RuminOmics, an EU-funded project which is aiming to decrease the environmental footprint of ruminant animal production by understanding why different cows produce the amount of methane they do.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers are looking at how the cows\u2019 gastrointestinal microbial ecosystems \u2013 known as gut microbiomes \u2013 are controlled by the host animal and its diet, and how this impacts on greenhouse gas emissions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018When certain bacteria are present in the rumen, the cattle produce less methane,\u2019 said Prof. Wallace. \u2018We want to enrich this bacteria so we are looking for the precise genetic profile of animals that have it in high numbers.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGenetic trait\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIf lower methane production is a genetic trait, then it would be possible to selectively breed climate-friendly cows.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018One of the aims of RuminOmics is to identify animals and compare their genetics to figure out what are the traits that lead to this lower production. Animal breeders will then be able to select those traits and provide animals that have a lower environmental impact,\u2019 said Prof. Wallace.\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022text-center text-blue font-bold text-2xl w-full lg:w-1\/2 border-2 border-blue p-12 my-8 lg:m-12 lg:-ml-16 float-left\u0022\u003E\n  \u003Cspan class=\u0022text-5xl rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n  \u003Cp class=\u0022font-serif italic\u0022\u003E\u2018From all the greenhouse gas emissions produced by man, 16 % of this is methane while around a third of that comes from ruminant livestock.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n  \u003Cfooter\u003E\n    \u003Ccite class=\u0022not-italic font-normal text-sm text-black\u0022\u003EProf. John Wallace, University of Aberdeen, UK\u003C\/cite\u003E\n  \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChanging what they eat can also lead to climate-friendly cattle. A diet rich in maize, barley or even garlic can reduce methane levels in cows, while dietary supplements have been shown to have a substantial impact too.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We are investigating calcium nitrate in the diet,\u2019 said Prof Wallace. \u2018The mechanism for methane formation involves hydrogen; the first stage is that bacteria produce hydrogen which is turned into methane. The (calcium) nitrate can intercept some of that hydrogen, meaning less methane is formed.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnother way of reducing emissions from livestock is to offset them by chosing pasture crops that absorb greenhouse gases and lock them into the soil.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne way to do this is to plant more legumes, such as clovers, in the soil, according to the EU-funded\u0026nbsp;ANIMALCHANGE project, which has been analysing farm activities to find out how to reduce emissions from livestock\u0026nbsp;including cattle, pigs and poultry, and how to adapt the sector to climate change.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018When you have soils that have been degraded, you can build up the organic matter contained through growing diverse species of legumes which enhances the soil carbon content,\u2019 said the project cordinator,\u0026nbsp;Dr Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Soussana from the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) in Paris, France.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018In this way, you will significantly offset methane emissions from cattle.\u0027\u003Cdiv class=\u0022moreinfoblock\u0022\u003E\n  \u003Ch3\u003EReducing emissions through \u0026#039;demitarianism\u0026#039;\u003C\/h3\u003E\n  \u003Cp\u003EIf everybody in the EU became a \u0027demitarian\u0027 by halving the amount of meat and dairy they eat, it would reduce nitrogen and greenhouse gases from agriculture by between 25 % and 40 %. These are among the findings of the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.ceh.ac.uk\/news-and-media\/news\/nitrogen-table-pollution-climate-and-land-use\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ENitrogen on the Table\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;report prepared for the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, which published its key messages last year. The full report is now complete, and will be launched in Brussels in November 2015.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt says that on average, people in the EU eat around 70 % more protein than is required under World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, and that halving meat and dairy consumption would not only reduce emissions but also make us healthier by limiting our intake of saturated fats.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECo-author Professor Mark Sutton, who coordinates the EU-funded ECLAIRE project looking at the effect of climate change on air pollution, said there is huge power for pollution control in simply reducing our meat and dairy consumption. \u0027Adopting a demitarian diet across Europe would reduce nitrogen pollution levels by about 40 %, and complement the low-emission farming practices currently being discussed in revising the National Emissions Ceilings Directive,\u0027 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor more information visit: \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.eclaire-fp7.eu\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 style=\u0022font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;\u0022\u003Ewww.eclaire-fp7.eu\/\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n            \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n      Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n    \u003C\/div\u003E\n  \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-gdsolqy-cfbsi2cyxkfqnrbn0gojpj5lqfa2arlrgdw\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-GdsolqY_CfBsI2CyXkfqnRBn0gOjpJ5lqFA2ARlRGdw\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]