Beef 7

Question 1

Cows and greenhouse gases

Answer 1

Contributes to 3 greenhouse gases:

-CO2
-Methane
-Nitrous oxide

Question 2

Contribution of CO2

Answer 2

-5% emissions mostly from burning fossil fuels
-crop production (fertilizer and fuel)

**But grasslands contribute to carbon sequestration

Question 3

MEthane production

Answer 3

-From animal and manure
-Beef manure spread on land= impairs anaerobic conditions needed for methan production
-Cattle belch: methane is more potent than CO2 but it is broken down much faster and reabsorbed= sink effect

Question 4

Nitrous oxide production

Answer 4

25% total GHG emissions from Canadian beef production
-increases if protein requirements are exceeded in diet
-nitrogen applied to crops at levels higher than needed

Question 5

Methane- ruminants vs grass

Answer 5

Belching methane is equal to natural grass decomposition

Question 6

Global methane production

Answer 6

14.5%
-based on life cycle estimate (rumen digestion, manure, emissions from producing feed, processing and transporting)
**there is no life cycle estimates for transportation

Question 7

Methane production contribution depending on country

Answer 7

1kg beef in Latin America, India, China generates 2x as much as North America, Europe and Australia
**more efficient production

Question 8

Cattle and Car contribution to Greenhouse gases

Question 9

Total beef cattle contribution to GHGs in Canada

Answer 9

2.4%
**also actually preserve 1.5 billion tonnes of carbon in Canada by maintaining the grasslands

Question 10

World wildlife fund

Answer 10

-Argue that beef production has major conservational benefits
-important to keep grasslands intact