# cow gas **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [July 31, 2017, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-gas/792486 "2017-07-31T07:24:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![abandaman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@abandaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abandaman)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2017, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-gas/792486/1 "2017-07-31T07:24:50Z")
so many people worry about gas from cows ;do they not realize that cows in north America simply [or painfully] replaced millions of buffalo that once happily roamed the plains,or don’t buffalo fart? ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2017, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-gas/792486/2 "2017-07-31T07:37:23Z")
1. Climate change is the current problem. If buffalo were partly causing the problem, we’d worry about them too. 2. Apparently one reason cows produce methane is that we’ve changed the grass they eat. Initially, grazing areas were filled with a variety of grasses and flowers that grew naturally, offering a diverse diet for cows and other ruminants. However, in order to improve the efficiency of feeding livestock, many of these pastures became reseeded with perennial ryegrass. With the aid of artificial fertilizers, perennial ryegrass grows quickly and in huge quantities. The downside is that it lacks the nutritious content of other grasses and prevents more nutritious plants from growing. … This is where the methane comes in. The difficult-to-digest grass ferments in the cows’ stomachs, where it interacts with microbes and produces gas. ---
**Author:** ![abandaman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@abandaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abandaman)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2017, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-gas/792486/3 "2017-07-31T07:38:08Z")
so many people worry about gas from cows ;do they not realize that cows in north America simply [or painfully] replaced millions of buffalo that once happily roamed the plains,or don’t buffalo fart? ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2017, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-gas/792486/4 "2017-07-31T10:40:11Z")
Based on a quick googling there are more cattle in the US and Canada, than there ever were American bison. It’s possible a case could be made for the replacement of natural prairie and bison with managed grazing lands and cattle being a contributor to the increased greenhouse effect, but even if it isn’t, reducing the number of cattle is still one possible intervention to counter the issues caused mainly by the release of so much fossil carbon since the start of the industrial age. ---
**Author:** ![SuperAbe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@SuperAbe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperAbe)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2017, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-gas/792486/5 "2017-07-31T12:30:42Z")
> [@abandaman](#): > > so many people worry about gas from cows ;do they not realize that cows in north America simply [or painfully] replaced millions of buffalo that once happily roamed the plains,or don’t buffalo fart? Regardless of other factors, [there are roughly 300% as many modern cows in the modern USA as there were historical bison.](http://livablefutureblog.com/2010/07/cattle-burps-and-climate-change-what-about-bison-a-response-to-joel-salatin) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2017, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-gas/792486/6 "2017-07-31T15:05:40Z")
Merged duplicate threads. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2017, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-gas/792486/7 "2017-07-31T16:18:26Z")
> [@SuperAbe](#): > > Regardless of other factors, [there are roughly 300% as many modern cows in the modern USA as there were historical bison.](http://livablefutureblog.com/2010/07/cattle-burps-and-climate-change-what-about-bison-a-response-to-joel-salatin) Plus add in all the pigs, chickens, sheep and goats … As a component of AGW, methane from livestock is well demonstrated as part of human’s contribution to global warming … ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e47774/32.png) [@quiltguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2017, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-gas/792486/8 "2017-08-01T16:46:21Z")
I was surprised at the part of the report that stated: adding as little as 2% of a red algae to the cows’ diet would lower methane output by up to 99%. I’m buying seaweed futures as I type. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-gas/792486/9 "2017-08-02T00:29:48Z")
> [@glee](#): > > 1. Apparently one reason cows produce methane is that we’ve changed the grass they eat. > > The difficult-to-digest grass ferments in the cows’ stomachs. Difficult-to-digest grass ferements in cows’ shomaches? Who knew… ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-gas/792486/10 "2017-08-03T05:05:24Z")
I’m trying to reduce the cow problem via barbeque as we speak. Am I doing this wrong? :smack: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-gas/792486/11 "2017-08-03T05:28:25Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > I’m trying to reduce the cow problem via barbeque as we speak. Am I doing this wrong? :smack: 😃 Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-gas/792486/12 "2017-08-03T12:44:43Z")
Interestingly, some of my vegetarian relatives include a bit of seaweed in their bean recipes, too, on the grounds that it reduces flatulence. ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-gas/792486/13 "2017-08-03T14:18:29Z")
> [@abandaman](#): > > so many people worry about gas from cows ;do they not realize that cows in north America simply [or painfully] replaced millions of buffalo that once happily roamed the plains,or don’t buffalo **fart?** Fair question with one error: the problem isn’t cattle flatulation - instead it is with their eructation. Burps. Lots of them. ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-gas/792486/14 "2017-08-03T14:44:39Z")
> [@quiltguy](#): > > I was surprised at the part of the report that stated: adding as little as 2% of a red algae to the cows’ diet would lower methane output by up to 99%. > > I’m buying seaweed futures as I type. 😉 It is true that bovine methane burps are a real issue. Methane is a serious greenhouse gas and needs to be reduced where ever possible. The gas produced by cattle has an alarmingly disproportionate effect on the carbon production of agricultural nations. For example consider New Zealand. Small south pacific nation, 4 1/2 million people, where a third of the country is mountains and bush (forest). On the face of it NZ should be a nett carbon reducer. And it would be except for the cows…10 million of them. The algae looks promising but I understand the reality is its impossible to produce enough to make a difference. A geneticist friend of mine has been working on the gut fauna of cows for the past 15 years. The researchers are looking to find new bacteria which won’t produce methane. Its not easy and nothing yet but they are learning a lot. The other approach is to find new grasses/grains which don’t generate methane. Or we give up on milk, butter, and steak. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-gas/792486/15 "2017-08-03T23:50:32Z")
> [@Ken001](#): > > Or we give up on milk, butter, and steak. :eek: Good luck with that.