<p>That cow may look peaceful and harmless, munching on some grass in a verdant pasture.</p>.<p>But don't be fooled — it is emitting methane, a particularly potent greenhouse gas contributing to runaway global climate change.</p>.<p>Agriculture is responsible for 12 per cent of global man-made greenhouse gas emissions, much of it due to methane, the second most warming gas after carbon dioxide.</p>.<p>Methane is around 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas over a 100-year period, but it stays in the atmosphere for only 12 years compared to centuries.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/science-and-environment/to-save-the-planet-focus-on-cutting-methane-un-climate-report-1017840.html" target="_blank">To save the planet, focus on cutting methane: UN climate report</a></strong></p>.<p>So drastically reducing methane emissions could have a major impact in mitigating the damage expected from global warming in the coming decades.</p>.<p>Agriculture and livestock farming generate around 40 per cent of the methane related to human activities, the rest produced by the fossil fuel industry.</p>.<p>Much of that methane is produced by the digestive process in cows, which then burp the emissions out into the world.</p>.<p>Around 95 per cent of the methane produced by cows come from their mouths or nostrils.</p>.<p>So how can we reduce the danger being belched out by cows across the world every day?</p>.<p>US agricultural giant Cargill, partnering with British start-up ZELP (Zero Emissions Livestock Project), has developed a form of mask that covers cows' nostrils.</p>.<p>The device filters the methane, transforming it into carbon dioxide, which per molecule has a much less potent effect on global warming.</p>.<p>Ghislain Boucher, head of the ruminant team at Cargill's animal nutrition subsidiary Provimi, said the first results were "interesting".</p>.<p>"Methane emissions have been reduced by half," he told <em>AFP</em>.</p>.<p>However the device still needs to be tested in real-world conditions before it can be marketed late next year — or even in 2023.</p>.<p>In the short term, Cargill is starting to market in northern Europe a calcium nitrate food additive, saying that 200 grammes daily would reduce cow methane emissions by 10 per cent.</p>.<p>The additional cost is estimated to be "between 10 and 15 cents per cow per day," Boucher said at a breeding gathering in central France.</p>.<p>Adding red seaweed to cow feed has far more potential, according to a US study published earlier this year, which indicated it could reduce methane emissions by more than 80 percent.</p>.<p>If the results can be repeated, red seaweed would need to grown in vast quantities, preferably near farming areas, the researchers at University of California Davis said.</p>.<p>However a question looms over the issue: how will farmers react to paying more for such measures which do not add to their bottom line, unless they are reimbursed via some kind of carbon credit?</p>.<p>It is also uncertain how consumers will respond. For example, will Americans who prefer corn-fed beef be as partial to the seaweed-fed variety?</p>.<p>And perhaps the easiest way to reduce cow methane emissions is for the world to eat less beef and diary.</p>.<p>A report by the United Nations Environment Programme in May pointed out that technological measures have a "limited potential to address" methane emissions from the agriculture sector.</p>.<p>"Three behavioural changes, reducing food waste and loss, improving livestock management, and the adoption of healthy diets (vegetarian or with a lower meat and dairy content) could reduce methane emissions by 65-80 million tonnes a year over the next few decades," it said.</p>.<p><strong>Check out latest DH videos here</strong></p>
<p>That cow may look peaceful and harmless, munching on some grass in a verdant pasture.</p>.<p>But don't be fooled — it is emitting methane, a particularly potent greenhouse gas contributing to runaway global climate change.</p>.<p>Agriculture is responsible for 12 per cent of global man-made greenhouse gas emissions, much of it due to methane, the second most warming gas after carbon dioxide.</p>.<p>Methane is around 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas over a 100-year period, but it stays in the atmosphere for only 12 years compared to centuries.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/science-and-environment/to-save-the-planet-focus-on-cutting-methane-un-climate-report-1017840.html" target="_blank">To save the planet, focus on cutting methane: UN climate report</a></strong></p>.<p>So drastically reducing methane emissions could have a major impact in mitigating the damage expected from global warming in the coming decades.</p>.<p>Agriculture and livestock farming generate around 40 per cent of the methane related to human activities, the rest produced by the fossil fuel industry.</p>.<p>Much of that methane is produced by the digestive process in cows, which then burp the emissions out into the world.</p>.<p>Around 95 per cent of the methane produced by cows come from their mouths or nostrils.</p>.<p>So how can we reduce the danger being belched out by cows across the world every day?</p>.<p>US agricultural giant Cargill, partnering with British start-up ZELP (Zero Emissions Livestock Project), has developed a form of mask that covers cows' nostrils.</p>.<p>The device filters the methane, transforming it into carbon dioxide, which per molecule has a much less potent effect on global warming.</p>.<p>Ghislain Boucher, head of the ruminant team at Cargill's animal nutrition subsidiary Provimi, said the first results were "interesting".</p>.<p>"Methane emissions have been reduced by half," he told <em>AFP</em>.</p>.<p>However the device still needs to be tested in real-world conditions before it can be marketed late next year — or even in 2023.</p>.<p>In the short term, Cargill is starting to market in northern Europe a calcium nitrate food additive, saying that 200 grammes daily would reduce cow methane emissions by 10 per cent.</p>.<p>The additional cost is estimated to be "between 10 and 15 cents per cow per day," Boucher said at a breeding gathering in central France.</p>.<p>Adding red seaweed to cow feed has far more potential, according to a US study published earlier this year, which indicated it could reduce methane emissions by more than 80 percent.</p>.<p>If the results can be repeated, red seaweed would need to grown in vast quantities, preferably near farming areas, the researchers at University of California Davis said.</p>.<p>However a question looms over the issue: how will farmers react to paying more for such measures which do not add to their bottom line, unless they are reimbursed via some kind of carbon credit?</p>.<p>It is also uncertain how consumers will respond. For example, will Americans who prefer corn-fed beef be as partial to the seaweed-fed variety?</p>.<p>And perhaps the easiest way to reduce cow methane emissions is for the world to eat less beef and diary.</p>.<p>A report by the United Nations Environment Programme in May pointed out that technological measures have a "limited potential to address" methane emissions from the agriculture sector.</p>.<p>"Three behavioural changes, reducing food waste and loss, improving livestock management, and the adoption of healthy diets (vegetarian or with a lower meat and dairy content) could reduce methane emissions by 65-80 million tonnes a year over the next few decades," it said.</p>.<p><strong>Check out latest DH videos here</strong></p>