Cows and Their Impact on Our Environment
Did you know that cows can cause Climate change?
According to Frank Mitloehner from the University of California Davis Department of Animal Science, “Cattle are the number one agricultural source of greenhouse gases worldwide. Each year, one cow will produce about 220 pounds of methane”. When a cow burps or passes gas,a little bit of methane spreads into the atmosphere. Cows and other animals such as sheep are notorious for their high methane production. Cows produce methane during their digestion process, which means it’s a daily part of a cow’s life to create these gases. Also, Cows can also contribute to growing greenhouse gas problems thanks to their high methane content release. This tremendously affects the field of sustainable agriculture. Overall, the cow-methane problem is contributing to the harmful environmental problems surrounding our planet.
Cows can harm the environment due to their toxic gases as mentioned above. This leads to the biggest environmental problem with cows: climate change. One of the main reasons why cows contribute to Climate change is because of their stomach issues. Their digestive stomach issues release harmful gases in the atmosphere that trap heat. This leads to global warming and climate change. Also, other animals that live near the cows can be infected by toxic gases as well. People are also in danger of becoming sick due to these gases too. In conclusion, cows harm both our atmosphere and the health of other livestock and humans. Lastly, cows also contribute to the deterioration of our environment by overgrazing. When cows overgraze, the plants are not able to recover. This can lead to soil degradation- the process of the condition of soil worsening. Soil degradation can lead to drought and bad quality soil (the soil will practically have no nutrients in it).
Sources:
- https://www.ucdavis.edu/food/news/making-cattle-more-sustainable/
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2019/11/18/are-my-hamburgers-hurting-planet/
- https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/methane/
- https://climatenexus.org/climate-issues/food/grazing-cattle-climate-change/
Daniel Cho (xxdanielcho@gmail.com) is a 7th-grade student at William H. Farquhar Middle School. He is one of the co-founders and the current Vice President of Earth Minions. He is passionate about animal cruelty, climate change, and habitat loss. Outside of being a student and working with the Earth Minions, Daniel enjoys dancing, soccer, and singing. (Silver Spring, MD)
