A❤️415-word🧡under💛2.5-minute💚read
All right.
Even Donald Trump isn’t likely to start loading cattle on planes destined for El Salvador. I just thought the headline might get people’s attention and I need to broaden my social media footprint to monetize my efforts. I’m almost there, only another 99,999 readers to go.
In any event, cows - and more specifically the dairy industry – are bucking the “screw the environment” mindset that has befallen Washington. Cattle, as I’ve written numerous times before, are a major source of methane. And methane – the other GHG – is highly disruptive. Thus, eliminating methane emissions would be an excellent step forward for the environment.
However, I like milk. I also like the occasional good steak, and I have no plans to give up either. In that regard I don’t think I’m alone. The next best thing is to find ways to minimize the amount of methane cows emit. That is precisely what some in the dairy industry are attempting to do. But please, don’t tell the president.
Danone has set a target of a reducing methane emissions 30% by 2030. It recently announced that it had reduced methane emissions from its fresh milk supply by 25%, well on pace to achieve its 2030 goal.
Three additional companies – Agropur, Idaho Milk Products, and Savencia Fromage & Dairy - have joined the Dairy Methane Alliance. The Alliance, which is part of the Environmental Defense Fund, was formed in late 2023, and it boasts such members as General Mills, Kraft Heinz, Nestle, and Starbucks. Members commit to publicly measure and disclose methane emissions from their diary supply chains. They also commit to publish action plans to reduce those emissions.
Agriculture is responsible for 40% of human-caused methane emissions. Of that, the vast majority comes from livestock, with cattle being the worst offenders. Although some estimates claim feed additives can cut methane emissions by as much as 90%, to date, dietary strategies have only yielded modest results. That means other options need to be explored.
Danone has made progress in lower-income countries by improving the efficiency of dairy farms. This includes showing farmers how to source better feed and raise breeds that produce more milk. The company is also working with Sistema to develop a modular digestor that would allow small farms to process manure into fertilizer and biogas.
Let’s hope the industry continues its commitment to reducing methane emissions. I’d hate to have to pay a tariff to buy a steak because our beef supply gets deported.
#methane #methanemissions #Danone #Netsle #Starbucks #GeneraMills