Dr. Riya Upadhyay
“25 Years ago people could be excused for not knowing much, or doing much about Climate change. TODAY, WE HAVE NO EXCUSE!”
-Desmond Tutu
While we often associate carbon emissions with specific sectors like energy, transport, and construction, the reality is that every sector contributes to the global carbon footprint. The key distinction lies in the scale of impact. According to Climate Watch, the agriculture sector ranks as the second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, right behind energy, accounting for over 10% of the global emissions!
So, Where Does This Methane Come From?
Every year, a staggering 600 million tonnes of methane are released into our atmosphere, with about 60% coming from human activities – agriculture being the biggest contributor. In fact, livestock emissions (from manure and gastro-enteric release : the infamous burps & farts) account for around 32% of human-caused methane. But it’s not just cows; paddy rice cultivation, where flooded fields create ideal conditions for methane-emitting bacteria, adds another 8% to human-caused emissions.
Why Should We Care About Methane? What’s The Big Deal?
While methane might not get as much attention as carbon dioxide (CO2), this colorless, odorless gas is a serious player in the climate crisis! With a global warming potential 80 times greater than CO2 over a 20-year period, it’s a powerhouse of destruction! Methane is a primary contributor to groundlevel ozone, a hazardous air pollutant linked to around 1 million premature deaths each year. At the recent UN Climate Change Conference (COP28), methane was front and center! Responsible for about 30% of current planetary warming, its contribution to climate change is now receiving serious attention. So seriously, in fact, that signatories to the Global Methane Pledge – 155 countries, including the U.S. and the EU—unveiled USD 1 billion in new grant funding. Their goal? To cut methane emissions by at least 30% from 2020 levels by 2030.
Farting Their Ways to Headlines : Cows Farts Declared a Global Threat (Yes, you read that right!)
It’s not every day that farting cows steal the show at global climate summits! But they’ve done it three times in a row – most recently at COP28 in Dubai in December 2023! Did you know that a single cow can produce between 70-120 kg of methane per year? With our global population nearing 10 billion by 2050, demand for animal protein is set to soar by up to 70%, making methane emissions by livestock even more concerning.
Let’s Understand The Science Behind It!
Ruminants possess a unique capability to digest feeds high in cellulose, thanks to the diverse microorganisms present in their rumen. These microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, and protozoa, break down complex compounds through hydrolysis, resulting in the production of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) such as acetate, propionate, and butyrate, which then act as a source of energy for maintenance & production. Concurrently, this fermentation process also generates hydrogen (H2), and carbon dioxide (CO2) as byproducts. Predominantly, methanogenic archaea in the rumen utilize H2 to convert CO2 into methane (CH4). Additionally, acetate (VFA) can be used by methanogens to produce methane. The methane produced is not used by the animal itself, but instead represents an energy loss (2–12% of gross energy) to the atmosphere, mainly by burping and little by the gaseous release from intestine, that has a negative impact on the climate.
Can Reducing Methane Really Help Combat Climate Change?
Absolutely! While CO2 lingers in the atmosphere for hundreds to thousands of years, methane has a much shorter lifespan—about 12 years. This means that unlike CO2, where any efforts in reduction will not yield an effect until later in the century, reducing methane emissions can have a near-immediate impact. For instance, if we achieve the goals set by the Global Methane Pledge, we could potentially avoid over 0.2˚C of warming by 2050 and prevent annually 26 million tons of crop losses, 255,000 premature deaths, 775 thousand asthma-related hospitalizations and 73 billion hours of lost labour due to extreme heat.
Tackling Methane Emissions From Livestock is a Team Effort!
Addressing the animal industry’s carbon footprint requires collaboration among policymakers, industry stakeholders, and consumers. By adopting best practices and promoting sustainable choices, we can bend the emissions curve while meeting global protein demand. Strategies for mitigating methane emission involve diet formulation, precision feeding with an aim to increase nutrient density & feed digestibility, manipulating rumen microbial composition, and selectively breeding animals with negative residual feed intake.
How Can You, being an Animal Industry Expert, Contribute?
By recognizing the incredible potential of the right choices in phytogenics to reduce methane emissions from livestock! RUCHAMAX, a scientifically developed formulation by Ayurvet (A wholly owned subsidiary of Zenex Animal Health India Limited) with a unique blend of a total of 24 herbs of proven therapeutic efficacy and rationale, is a digestive health tonic for efficient digestion and complete assimilation of feed components and nutrients and for maintaining optimum rumen health, resulting in good and optimum productivity with reduced methane emissions.
Mechanisms of action behind the methane-reducing effect of bioactives present in RUCHAMAX are:
1. Bioactives in it have the ability to cause defaunation through their binding with sterols present on the protozoal surface.
2.Direct inhibition of methanogenic microorganisms.
3. Indirect effect by reducing availability of substrates (mainly H2) to produce methane (CH4) through the formation of fiber and/or protein-tannin complexes and by reduction of H2 producing protozoal species.
4. It can shift the rumen fermentation pattern towards increased propionate production and reduce acetate production, which is a key precursor for methane production.
The partial inhibition of enteric methanogenesis led by RUCHAMAX will have the dual advantage of stabilizing the global warming process and enhancing feed efficiency by re-channelization of saved biological energy for increased animal productivity. Moreover, RUCHAMAX backed with scientific validations over the period of more than 20+ years, has a proven record of increasing animal’s productivity with its therapeutic effect on indications like Inappetence, Dyspepsia, Irregular appetite, Impaired ruminal function, Poor digestion, Debility, Convalescence and as a regular health tonic.
Let’s be part of the solution! Together, we can RETHINK METHANE and create a healthier planet for generations to come!