Hi guys! Welcome back to our blog. Today we will be sharing with you about a topic called enteric fermentation. So… what is enteric fermentation? Well, enteric fermentation is a digestive process by animals where carbohydrates are broken down by microorganisms into simple molecules for absorption into the bloodstream. And of course, it is a normal and common process in most mammals. But this process is aggravated with the many animals being reared on the green-lands of our Earth for consumption.
A study showed that in Switzerland in 1998, that an estimated 63% of anthropogenic methane emission came from agriculture. And 2 forms were particularly identified, one of which is enteric fermentation of animals which was the larger source (87% of the 63%) and methane formation from manure storage (13% of 63%).
So how does enteric fermentation result in the production of methane? Simply put, the microorganisms used to break down the food molecules in the digestive tract by decomposition and fermentation produce methane as a by-product. Methane is the second largest greenhouse gas that is helping to aid in the terrible growing global warming. In fact, although methane falls short of its main competitor, carbon dioxide, researchers have shown that methane has a stronger ability to trap heat in out atmosphere of up to 28 to 34 greater than its competitor.
I have attached a reference of a paper of the global anthropogenic methane emissions by the Global Methane Initiative. In the paper, it is found out that enteric fermentation produces a 27% out of the global productions of methane, while manure storage from agriculture produces a 3% out of the global productions. The paper also mentioned that in an increase of 5% of methane production from agriculture is predicted in the next 10 years (by 2030).
In a paper by the World Resources Institute in 2019, it was mentioned that almost 70 billion of animals are raised annually for consumption purposes by humans. The biggest single source of enteric fermentation pointed towards our cow burps and manure. Manure left on the ground emits nitrous oxide which is also a stronger greenhouse gas to carbon dioxide. It also mentioned that agriculture would most likely continue to be the major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions in both developed and developing countries for the coming years. If no climate change actions are carried out towards this low awareness sector of agriculture, greenhouse gas emissions could increase 58% by 2050.
With all these being said, we can see that our agricultural pollution from the rearing of animals is a major aid in the process of global warming and climate change. This is definitely not something we should just watch and we should definitely find ways to help reduce the impacts from our agricultural industry to our globe.
References:
The Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), Berne Switzerland, 2006. Report To The BAFU Regarding Methane Emission From Swiss Agriculture According To The Guidelines Of The IPCC. [online] Switerland: Institute of Animal Science Animal Nutrition ETH Zurich Switzerland. Available at: <https://www.bafu.admin.ch/dam/bafu/en/dokumente/klima/klima-climatereporting-referenzen-cp1/soliva_c_r_2006.pdf.download.pdf/soliva_c_r_2006.pdf> [Accessed 12 July 2020].
World Resources Institute, 2020. 5 Questions About Agricultural Emissions, Answered. Available at: <https://www.wri.org/blog/2019/07/5-questions-about-agricultural-emissions-answered#:~:text=The%20biggest%20single%20source%20is,in%20the%20past%2020%20years.> [Accessed 12 July 2020].
Climate & Clean Air Coalition. 2014. Enteric Fermentation. [online] Available at: <https://www.ccacoalition.org/en/activity/enteric-fermentation#:~:text=Enteric%20fermentation%20is%20a%20natural,methane%20as%20a%20by%2Dproduct.> [Accessed 12 July 2020].
2020. Global Methane Emissions And Mitigation Opportunities. [ebook] Global Methane Initiative. Available at: <https://www.globalmethane.org/documents/gmi-mitigation-factsheet.pdf> [Accessed 12 July 2020].
Picture Reference:
W. Lyon, T., 2016. 5 Good Reasons You Should Care About Cow Farts & Cow Burps. [image] Available at: <https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/5-reasons-cow-farts-matter-and-could-destroy-the-w/> [Accessed 7 July 2020].
