Do cows pollute?

There are many natural processes produced in the environment that emit Greenhouse gasesfor example, volcanic eruptions are a geological process that emits greenhouse gases towards the atmosphere. The same goes for Flatulence of cowsthese emit methane as a consequence of the enteric fermentation that bacteria on food ingested by the animal in the digestion process. Although these animals emit methane, it would not be fair to relate Methane of cows and climate changesince the cows really do not represent a great source of pollution as for that. It is the Intensive meat industry the person responsible for these polluting emissions and all related to their processes. A cow emits between 70 and 120 kilos of methane per year, if the demand and production of meat increases, the number of existing cows continues to increase and as a consequence the methane emissions. In addition, the cows feeding system causes them to have a slow digestion and, therefore, end up emitting more methane.

Gas emissions of cows are not the only ones culprits of the Livestock pollutionbut all those that come from the different phases that surround the meat industry: from the raising of cows until red meat reaches a consumer. The phases of the meat industry cause other types of pollution and threats to the environment, such as the contamination and deterioration of the soil, water pollution or the loss of biodiversity.

More than asking how much cows pollute, we should ask ourselves How much contaminates the livestock sector. Currently, it is known that this is responsible for 14.5% of greenhouse emissionsbeing more polluting than the transport sector. The livestock sector, in addition, has needs to Millions of liters of water For its processes and, according to FAO, livestock uses the 30% of the land surface and occupies 33% of the entire cultivable area to produce fodder.

The contamination of the livestock sector is increasing, just as the population increases: more and more meat is produced to meet demand.

Next, it will be shown as an example How much contaminates 1 kg of meatin order to be aware of the problem of the environmental industry for the environment. It is estimated that, for the production of a kilogram of beef, intensive livestock needs an average of some 20,000 liters of water and generates some 27 kg of CO2.

In nature you can find both abiotic and biotic factors, among them there is a synergy that allows all the fundamental processes to be given for life on earth. As we have already mentioned the emission of methane through the flatulence of cows, it is only one more process that occurs naturally after the animal digestion process. The methane if it is found in optimal amounts in the atmosphere is not harmful for this, the problem is when the emissions of this gas increase and are excessive. If methane emissions have increased is due to the intervention of man who, with their activities, including Intensive livestock and extensive livestockhas caused the Increased greenhouse gasesas well as soil pollution, water and threat to biodiversity.

In short, it is The human being the animal that most contaminates the environment since he is the only one who has made an intense intervention about nature to improve his quality of life. Although all these anthropic activities in the short term are generating a comfortable life for the world’s population, in the long term they are making natural resources deteriorated and contaminated. Not all anthropic activities have the same impact or are equally pollutants, but some examples of activities of humans that pollute are: intensive agriculture, agriculture and livestock, building in natural areas, abusive water consumption and mining exploitation, among others.

Here you can learn more about the causes of the greenhouse effect, its consequences and solutions.

The most extreme solution would be to say stop eating meatsince eating meat contaminates. It does not contaminate in itself the mere fact of eating, but the whole process of its production, but in the end this pollution is also the responsibility of the consumer. This extreme measure could be applied to any product that we consummate in excess and that occurs on a large scale, put all this entails high pollution. However, we can choose to eliminate meat consumption and reduce or regulate our consumption of other products, adjusting to what we really need, without exceeding, or there are other options that can be part of the Solutions for pollution of the meat industry And without totally giving up the consumption of meat:

• Reduce our meat consumption, because we do not need to consume it daily, much less.
• Reject macrogranjas and support small producers.
• Promote the consumption of local and ecological meat.
• Promote good agricultural and livestock practices without exploiting the land.
• Use of efficient technologies in all phases through which the production of meat and dairy products passes. That is, from livestock until the meat and other products that are obtained from cattle are packaged.

In this video you can learn more on the issue of cows pollution. We also recommend reading this other article on how to reduce greenhouse gases.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nqdoa-kte

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