Herby Belch Squelching
Thank you
A bovo-boffin in Pennsylvania says he has saved life on planet Earth from being gradually stifled into extinction by burgeoning clouds of cattle-belch methane. The solution is apparently to feed cows oregano. "Cattle are actually a major producer of methane gas and methane is a significant greenhouse gas," says Alexander …
The figures for meat production and greenhouse gasses are being challenged, resulting in this interesting (and ballsy) climbdown from no less than George Monbiot this week.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/06/meat-production-veganism-deforestation
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It's *H*erbs! I don't care some Americans might confuse a herb with a bloke called Herb. If they can't work from the context if I'm talking about a plant and not a person then they deserve to be confused.
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Will this work on my wife? I think she comes in just behind cows in the contribution of Methane to the environment.
Presumably, if the cows produce more milk we can have less of them and therefore reduce deforestation somewhat as well?
"Presumably, if the cows produce more milk we can have less of them and therefore reduce deforestation somewhat as well?"
Negative. SInce there is less "Natural Emissions" or "Dairy Air" from each bovine, this would mean we can have more tasty beef for a given amount of methane, as well as more milk to enjoy. As for deforestation, that doesn't necessarily pan out because there is plenty of prairie and pasture land to support cattle, so why bother moving cattle to the forest in the first place?
The clue is in the text "cattle feed". Cows are supposed to eat grass, not expensive and wasteful to grow grain which is what US farmers give their cattle. They'd do better eating their natural food instead (and yes, that includes growing better). Stupid. I take it this guy's patenting the idea to sell even more expensive cattle feed paid for by govt subsidies?