This article has been translated from Attaqa news.
Contrary to popular belief that they are a source of methane emissions, cows contribute to reducing the consequences of climate change and rebuilding fertile natural soils, which sequester more carbon dioxide than forests.
On December 9, 2023, during the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, a panel of soil experts raised the issue of cows as climate allies, not sources of methane emissions, according to a report seen by the specialized energy platform.
The session, entitled “Conscious Livestock Breeding and Soil Health,” discussed the impact of animal husbandry on soil health and its place as part of the climate solution.
In contrast to those who oppose climate change, these experts explain the vital role that ruminants, such as cows, play in nourishing and rebuilding the soil, and it turns out that herds sequester huge amounts of carbon through their grazing.
Save the planet from destruction
The panel of experts included co-founder of SOIL4Climate, a non-profit organization working to “promote soil restoration as a solution to the climate crisis,” Seth J. Itzkan.
I will respectfully oppose the issue of reducing animal numbers.
Itzkan said, referring to calls to reduce the number of cows on the planet.
He added, “I think we will need more ruminants on the ground, perhaps twice as many as we have now, and they will need to be managed in this beneficial way,” according to The American Spectator.
American businessman Bill Gates, World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab, and globalization advocates like them claim that humans must eat less meat to save the planet from destruction.
The entire argument is based on claims of enteric methane emissions from cattle, even though cows, as they graze, sequester more carbon dioxide in the soil than they emit when they burp, according to The American Spectator.
On the other hand, cow dung rebuilds soil destroyed by synthetic fertilizers and other chemicals, feeding microbial organisms that feed on methane gas, according to information seen by the specialized energy platform.
In contrast, strong natural soils trap more carbon dioxide than forests.
Seth J., co-founder of SOIL4Climate, a non-profit organization that works to “promote soil restoration as a solution to the climate crisis,” explained. Etzkan, says soil health is an essential component of effective environmental management, and ruminants are an integral part of that ancient cycle.
Grasslands, the second largest ecosystem on the planet“ after the oceans, developed thanks to large herds of .ruminants grazing them,” he said
These migratory mammals are essential for giving” grasslands their fertile soil, which stores a huge amount of carbon,” he noted.
The role of herds of bulls
Herds of bison in North America, which roamed the Great Plains, contributed to nourishing the soil and the entire ecosystem.
Efforts to eradicate bison – to weaken Native Americans – starved valuable soil microbes.
On the other hand, subsequent compaction and plowing using tractors and implements gradually weakened and eroded the topsoil.
Synthetic fertilizers (made from natural gas, also known as methane ) replaced bull manure, while various chemical mixtures began killing soil microbes, poisoning wells, and .eliminating honey bee colonies
It should be noted that alternative meats produced from soybeans or corn, harvested with tractors and chemicals, do not rebuild the soil, but instead accelerate soil erosion and release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Cows returned to roam the fields and hills turning grass into meat and milk, while naturally replenishing the health of the soil.
Analysts believe that cows are not the reason, because they represent a solution to the climate change crisis, and that humans need to raise cows more, not less.