By Dawn Attride for Sentient.
Broadcast version by Suzanne Potter for California News Service reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service Collaboration

Last Friday, Congress heard from several speakers on the urgency of clamping down on methane, an extremely potent greenhouse gas that primarily comes from agriculture. Atmospheric methane levels have jumped 30 percent since the Industrial Revolution, largely due to human activities. The main solution proposed at the Congressional briefing was anaerobic digesters, otherwise known as dairy digesters, which convert organic or animal waste into natural gas and are increasingly gaining interest from both the agricultural and energy industry.

California Congressman, Jim Costa, among others, hailed the technology as economically sound and a “win” for reducing methane. While these digesters somewhat address the problem of emissions from animal manure specifically, they don’t address the largest issue of enteric methane –– a natural byproduct of cow digestion which is responsible for over 70 percent of agricultural methane emissions.

Researchers at World Resources Institute say the average American can cut their environmental footprint in half by reducing their dairy and meat consumption, thus reducing their diet-related land use and greenhouse gas emissions.

What Is a Dairy Digester and How Does It Combat Methane Emissions?

Dairy digesters work by breaking down animal waste and manure into biogas to be used for energy. In a sealed environment free of oxygen, bacteria degrade organic matter in the manure, producing various compounds and gasses that can be converted to natural gas. Livestock manure is responsible for roughly 14 percent of agriculture’s total greenhouse emissions in the U.S.

“Reducing methane is the single fastest way to slow down [global] warming,” Ilissa Ocko, Senior Advisor for the United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, told the audience at the briefing. Ocko called the methane problem “largely solvable” with the use of various emission-cutting technologies such as dairy digesters, but added that agriculture is a “large” and “very complicated piece of the puzzle.”

The Global Methane Pledge launched in 2021 by the U.S. and European Union — which now has 158 participating countries — plans to cut methane 30 percent by 2030 globally, relative to 2020. To do this, Ocko and other speakers urged for timely investment and implementation of policy and technology into methane abatement solutions.

Energy Vision, a New York-based environmental research group, hosted the briefing and spoke about the large-scale financial investment needed to curb methane emissions. Based on data from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Agriculture, the group found “opportunity to deploy close to 5000 new digester systems across the country” which would “get us about 14 percent of the way to the 30 percent of the 2030 goal,” said Matt Tomich, President of Energy Vision. That would require close to $75 billion in capital, which Tomich says the private sector is “lining up to deploy.”

A Focus on California

California is the leading dairy producer in the United States with approximately 1.7 million cows and over 1,300 dairy farms that contribute up to $10.4 billion to the state’s economy. This production is responsible for over half of California’s methane emissions.

At the hearing, Jim Costa, Congressman for California’s 21st district, hailed dairy digesters as a solution, with 238 digester facilities planned, and 129 facilities currently in operation in California. “[Many] dairies now in California have some form of digesters and sometimes dairies that are adjacent to one another partner in digester facilities because it makes sense. And it’s good economics and it helps reduce your waste stream, besides controlling the methane. So it’s a win, win, win,” Costa said.

He also mentioned a bipartisan bill introduced in 2023 called the Converting our Waste Sustainability Act (COWS), which will grant funding to alternative manure management systems for dairy and livestock producers to “reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air and water quality.” By investing federal tax credits, Costa said “methane digesters” can be adopted around the country to convert animal waste into natural gas and support the conversion of biogas into energy, adding that digesters can be linked up to gas fuel cells for further “efficiency.”

However, in California, CalBio, a biodigester company, has linked up with Bloom Energy, a fuel cell company that has had significant financial trouble in the past, such as blowing through billions for technology that has been challenged over the efficacy of their “clean” fuel cells.

The energy harnessed from cow manure is already used in a very real way, Kevin Abernathy, general manager of the Milk Producers Council, said. He spoke about his involvement in California’s first hydrogen fueling station from “cow power,” or manure, and his plans for developing a “cow powered hydrogen highway.” Abernathy added that so far, 2.4 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent had been collected from California dairy farms, powering 15,000 vehicles a day.

Why Dairy Digesters Ignore the Industry’s Biggest Methane Problem

While dairy digesters and manure management appear to be an effective methane reduction pathway, they contribute nothing to dairy’s biggest methane problem: cow belches, otherwise known as enteric methane.

When asked by Sentient, Ocko agreed these technologies do little to prevent the bulk of livestock methane emissions coming from enteric fermentation. She noted that more research is needed, citing “exciting” solutions such as selective breeding and adding supplements to cows’ diet to reduce their methane output.

Other concerns with dairy digesters that were briefly mentioned at the hearing were pipeline transport and accessibility. Ocko noted that this natural gas is still methane which can escape into the atmosphere if pipeline transport and scaling isn’t carefully planned. “[With pipelines] it’s always better to use it close to where you’ve made it because that limits the opportunity for it to escape into the atmosphere,” she said.

Production and transport of this natural gas can be expensive and dangerous, as dairy digesters can explode or leak. A recent case study in Wisconsin found all five Kewaunee County Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) with digesters had at least one spill since digester installation, including one farm that had 23 spills since installation in 2009. Further, Kewaunee County does not have a pipeline injection site, so these dairies truck the methane gas instead, which can create air pollution.

Dairy digesters are not the only solution to combat agriculture’s methane problem. Research says that decreasing herd sizes, and creating financial incentives for farmers to do so, can significantly reduce methane emissions in comparison with dairy digesters. This move could be supplemented with a larger conversation about transitioning our diets to eat less meat and dairy and opting for plant-based foods to reduce dependency on the high-emitting animal industry. And while there are beneficial uses to utilizing organic waste to power our cars or our homes, it’s clear that the larger chunk of agricultural methane –– specifically enteric methane from cow burps –– needs to be addressed if we’re serious about meeting the 2030 goal.


Dawn Attride wrote this article for Sentient.


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By Dawn Attride for Sentient.
Broadcast version by Mark Richardson for Arkansas News Service reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service Collaboration

It's no secret that industrial animal agriculture is draining our planet's resources and is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions - responsible for somewhere between 12 and nearly 20 percent of climate pollution. On a personal level, reducing meat consumption and adapting to a plant-forward diet are one of the most effective forms of climate action. When it comes to more systemic solutions however, lawmakers and development banks have favored interventions that tend to be tech-based, or human manufactured. These solutions, like dairy digesters that convert manure into biogas, or synthetic feed additives that reduce methane emissions from livestock, also tend to be hotly contested by a certain swath of environmentalists.

While such technologies promise to curb emissions, the reality is not so simple - and they also may do little to combat agriculture's stress on water, soils and biodiversity. These strategies often don't address issues like soil health or the deforestation of land - at least not directly.

A new report makes the case that the best way forward may lie in investing in nature-based solutions, rather than technological ones. The findings were published by The Farm Animal Investment Risk and Return Initiative (FAIRR), an investor network covering risks and opportunities in the global food system.

Investing in Nature Take Time, but Benefits Ecosystems

A nature-based solution uses natural techniques and ecosystems to address environmental challenges, such as planting trees or restoring wetlands to capture carbon.

The new FAIRR report is the "first of its kind" in developing a framework to attract investment for long-term climate solutions in a way that considers the whole planet holistically, Sajeev Mohankumar, senior technical specialist of climate and biodiversity at FAIRR, tells Sentient.

"Industrial farming produces more calories and produces more product per unit area because they are so efficient and their only goal is to maximize profit. But what we wanted to emphasize in this report is that that is not the only system of agriculture -- it also has to deliver for the animals in terms of welfare, human health and planetary health. That's where nature-based solutions come into play," he says.

FAIRR evaluated 22 on-farm interventions (12 nature-based, 10 tech-based) often cited to address agriculture's climate and nature risks. They found that nature-based solutions such as hedgerows (rows of shrubs that act as a carbon sink and reduce soil erosion) and silvopasture (integrating trees into grazing pastures) had a greater positive impact collectively on emissions reductions, biodiversity, freshwater use and the flow of nutrients across ecosystems. "Nature-based interventions can deliver 37 percent of the mitigation required to meet 2030 climate targets, along with significant nature co-benefits," the report states.

Nature-based solutions are touted as offering more holistic rewards, but can take time to show impact, which can be difficult to sell to investors. "I think there is a lack of knowledge in terms of connecting some of the financial returns to environmental outcomes," Mohankumar says. "This involves changing the behavior of farmers and tying them into a long-term contract...it takes a long time to yield benefits."

For example, technology like synthetic animal feed additives reduce methane emissions from livestock by roughly 10-30 percent, but offer few co-benefits for nature. Hedgerows, by comparison, reduce emissions but also have positive environmental benefits, such as reducing soil erosion and curbing nutrient runoff into water. On the other hand, hedgerows need to be planted in large quantities, and require a long timescale of up to 10 years to sequester significant amounts of carbon.

A Ticking Climate Clock Requires Thoughtful Solutions

Nature-based solutions have another added benefit: they tend to boost climate resilience, often in a more cost-effective way, according to a recent review of over 100 peer-reviewed articles. Sixty-five percent of studies found that nature-based solutions were better at reducing disaster risk, and 71 percent of studies found that they were more cost-effective than tech-based ones.

Currently, the majority of on-farm intervention investment flows toward technological advances, which, FAIRR says is "concerning." This is because tech-based climate interventions "are more likely to be aligned with intensive livestock production practices, and lead only to incremental emissions reductions relative to the long-term systemic changes from implementing nature-based interventions." In other words, these solutions cut down on emissions a little, without addressing the problems caused by industrial food systems, like poor animal welfare or water pollution.

Not every climate researcher sees a clear preference for technology or nature-based solutions. Sentient asked Richard Waite, director for Agriculture Initiatives, Food, Land and Water Program at the World Resources Institute (WRI), to take a look at FAIRR's research, with which he was not involved. Waite was a co-author of a 2019 report from WRI that recommended a suite of solutions to meet the challenge of feeding even more people on the planet - 9.7 billion by 2050 - without draining natural resources and driving up global temperatures to an unhealthy degree.

"This report looks at many interventions that are commonly cited when talking about reducing agriculture's impacts on climate and nature. It recommends more investment in nature-based solutions, while also noting that such interventions may lower food production," Waite tells Sentient.

"In our world of increasing food demand linked to agricultural expansion and deforestation," says Waite, "we must be very careful to assess any tradeoffs related to shifting to agricultural systems or practices that produce less food and require more land."

When it comes to food systems, tradeoffs can have significant consequences. For instance, shifting a factory farm to a regenerative beef operation could mean more space for farm animals to roam. That sounds like a better scenario for farm animals. But research has also shown that regenerative cattle ranches use twice as much land to produce the same amount of food. If Americans and other Global North populations were to continue to eat meat at even close to the same levels they do now, there is simply not enough farmland to shift all industrial farms to regenerative operations. And trying to make that shift would undoubtedly result in more emissions and more deforestation.

For Waite and WRI, a mix of solutions is key. "Our own research suggests that both tech-based and nature-based solutions will be essential to feeding 10 billion people by 2050, while protecting nature and the climate."

The Bottom Line

Fierce debates over climate solutions seem to be going strong, yet global temperatures - and food system emissions - continue to be heading in the wrong direction. If countries are serious about meeting their climate goals, they will likely need to consider comprehensive solutions that account for impacts to both climate and nature.


Dawn Attride wrote this article for Sentient.


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A recent poll by the National Wildlife Federation showed Texas farmers and ranchers benefit from voluntary conservation programs from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and many would like to see the programs expand.

Respondents said the funding helps improve their bottom line and protect soil and water.

Aviva Glaser, senior director of agriculture policy for the federation, said Texas producers use the programs in various ways.

"Prescribed grazing and brush management and range planting were very popular practices," Glaser pointed out. "There's been the Working Lands for Wildlife program that has helped with the Monarch butterfly decline through voluntary measures the farmers (and) ranchers are doing with the help of this funding."

She noted only 5% of the more than 500 farmers and ranchers polled disagree with increasing long-term funding from the USDA.

Almost 70% of producers said designating funds specifically to help farmers adopt climate smart agriculture practices is a good use of federal money.

Glaser pointed out the wildlife federation has created a mapping tool which shows how much federal funding each state has received and outlines how farmers and ranchers are using it.

"That could be a range of different practices," Glaser observed. "Practices like cover crops or grazing management or it could be a conservation easement. It could be putting in a buffer strip."

More than eight in 10 producers support passage of a new Farm Bill. The legislation is supposed to be renewed every five years but the last version was passed in 2018.

By Seth Millstein for Sentient.
Broadcast version by Kathleen Shannon for Wyoming News Service reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service Collaboration

From slogans like “Where’s the beef?” to cheeseburgers on the Fourth of July, beef has long played an outsized role in American culture. Yet a growing body of evidence has found that beef is driving climate pollution and environmental destruction, and America eats more of it than anyone. Leading research institutions have advised Americans to decrease their beef consumption — but is beef consumption in the U.S. actually headed in the right direction?

“It’s pretty much universal across the peer reviewed scientific literature that we urgently need to curb agricultural greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the most catastrophic climate change scenarios,” Brent Kim, faculty scientist at the Center for a Livable Future at Johns Hopkins University, tells Sentient. “One of the biggest and fastest ways we can achieve that is by cutting back on the amount of beef and milk that is produced.”

A Brief History of Beef Consumption in the U.S.

Cows aren’t native to the Americas, so beef wasn’t consumed in North America prior to colonization. This changed with the arrival of Europeans, who imported cows to the New World. American farmers and soldiers cleared land to make way for large beef ranches, displacing and killing Indigenous people and native bison in the process.

Over time, European immigrants came to the newly formed United States in increasing numbers, bringing with them a preference for meat when they could afford it. American farming and supply chains developed over time to meet that demand, and now, large swaths of land in the U.S. are dedicated to cattle ranching and industrial feedlots.

Why We Need to Eat Less Beef

Researchers at the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization have urged people in high-income countries to eat less beef, and there’s a good reason for that: it’s a major contributor to climate change.

Cows emit massive amounts of methane, one of the “big three” greenhouse gasses, through their burps and manure. In fact, nearly a third of all greenhouse gas emissions come from food production — and most of that is from cows.

Beef consumption in the U.S. also helps drive beef production, both here in and in countries that are clearing forests and other wild landscapes to meet this demand. Beef is the leading driver of deforestation worldwide, which releases enormous amounts of carbon dioxide, and is thus a major source of global warming. The mass removal of forested land also destroys the natural habitats that countless creatures rely on; it’s estimated that 135 species of plant, animal and insect go extinct every day due to deforestation around the world.

What Will Happen If We Don’t Eat Less Meat

Continuing to eat beef at this scale will have long term consequences. Kim points to a comprehensive 2023 study that found that food consumption alone could increase global temperatures by 1 degree Celsius by 2100, and that 75 percent of this increase would be attributable to foods that are significant sources of methane, like beef. Life will continue with that degree of warming, but it will be far less comfortable in some places and downright miserable in others.

How Much Beef Do Americans Eat?

When it comes to beef consumption in the U.S., there’s good news and bad news.

The good news is that Americans eat a lot less beef now than 50 years ago. That’s largely because Americans shifted to chicken in that time period, which became incredibly cheap at the expense of welfare for farmed birds. But back to beef.

In 1974, per-capita beef consumption in the U.S. was around 117 pounds; this began to decrease in the mid-1980s, however, and since 2008, Americans have been eating less than 90 pounds of beef every year on a per-capita basis. That’s a significant reduction.

The bad news is that America still eats more beef than any other country in the world — around 13.82 million tons every year, according to UN data. Even China, which has more than four times as many people as the U.S., consumes less total beef every year.

America also produces more beef than any other country in the world, with Brazil in a close second.

As we’ll see in a moment, a small subset of countries consume a disproportionate amount of the world’s beef, and this dynamic holds true in America itself as well: A 2023 study found that just 12 percent of Americans consume over half of all beef in the country.

How Does Beef Consumption in the U.S. Compare to the Rest of the World?

Behind the U.S., the country that eats the most beef is China, which consumed around 12.35 million tons in 2022. 

Just two nations, the U.S. and China, eat a little less than half of all beef that’s produced globally — but China has over 1.4 billion people, while the U.S. has 340 million, and still eats more beef.

The Problem of Rising Beef Consumption in China

China’s beef consumption is still concerning, especially when looking at long-term trends. Whereas per-capita beef consumption in the U.S. has fallen over the decades, it has skyrocketed in China, leaping from just under half a pound in 1972 to over 17 pounds in 2022. Importantly, this growth hasn’t been due to some one-off event that caused a sudden spike in beef consumption; rather, it’s been continuous and steady over time, and analysts expect it to keep rising.

And that’s a big problem. Sure, the average person in China still eats much less beef per year than the average American — but because China’s population is so much bigger, even a modest increase in beef consumption will have a huge effect on overall beef production.

For instance, suppose China’s beef consumption rose from 17 pounds to 30 pounds per-capita. The country would still be eating only around half as much beef as America on a per-person basis, but because its population is so large, this modest rise in personal consumption would cause total beef consumption in the country to reach 21 million tons — almost twice that of the U.S.

Meat Consumption in Argentina

Something worth noting is that although the United States consumes more beef in total than any other country, Argentina eats the most beef on a per-capita basis. The fact that Argentina has around one-seventh the population of the U.S. makes this less of a problem in global terms, though, and highlights the fact that if we truly want to bring beef consumption down to sustainable levels, the onus is really on the countries that consume the most beef on a total basis — that is, the U.S., China and Brazil.

To illustrate this, let’s look a bit closer at Argentina and the United States. In 2022, Argentina consumed a little over 2 million tons of beef in total and 101 pounds per capita, while Americans ate 12.9 million tons of total beef and 83 pounds per capita. This means that the average Argentinian was eating more beef every year than the average American.

But because Argentina’s population is so much smaller, the country has much less of an opportunity to make a global impact by changing its consumption habits. If the average Argentinian cut their beef consumption in half, this would reduce global beef consumption by around one million tons per year. But if the average American reduced their beef consumption by just 20 percent, this would bring down global beef consumption by over 2.5 million every year — a much larger impact requiring a much smaller change.

The Bottom Line

It’s clear that the United States needs to reduce its beef consumption. But the burdens aren’t exactly equal. “When we’re talking about reductions in animal product intake, it’s not a universal prescription for all countries,” Kim says. “There are low- and middle-income countries that have high rates of malnourishment and stunting, and something as small as increasing their animal product intake by one egg a day could play a dramatic role in preventing many of the lifelong impacts of stunting.”

At the end of the day, almost half of all beef is consumed in America or China. If we want to bring down beef consumption in a meaningful way, these are the first places that need to start finding alternative sources of protein.


Seth Millstein wrote this article for Sentient.


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