What are the stats for dairy cows producing methane Noam?
In 2005, the average US dairy cow emitted 168 kg of methane, while the average US beef cow emitted 45 kg. Of course, there are many more beef cows that dairy cows, so totals for the US are 3.9 Tg from beef cattle and 2.2 Tg from dairy cows. What are the advantages of vegetarianism over CO2 Reduction? First, cuts in animal products are a form of CO2 reduction, since animal agriculture is responsible for about a tenth of global CO2 emissions. Second, cuts in methane give big results that come much more quickly. Even if we were to invent zero-emission cars and power plants tomorrow, it would be extremely expensive to build them all and take decades for them to replace all the old ones. By contrast, the turnover rate for farm animals is usually less than two years, and we don’t have to wait for any new inventions to achieve even 100% reductions with little negative economic impact. Plus, carbon dioxide can stay in the atmosphere for a century, while methane cycles out in just a decade, so
