The US is responsible for 40% of human-caused methane, which is a "critical component" of climate change because it's produced by cows and released when they burp, researchers write at the Breakthrough Institute.
But there's currently not enough " scientifically proven and commercially available solutions" to reduce the gas, so researchers are calling for "a suite of products and strategies that have four key qualities: They effectively reduce enteric methane emissions without causing negative environmental tradeoffs, are safe for humans and animals, can be widely adopted by the industry and are accepted by consumers," the researchers write.
That means products that "can work for different production systems, such as grazing animals where daily feed additives are not practical," such as ones that prevent methane from escaping when a cow's diet is changed, the researchers say.
The Breakthrough Institute notes that while agricultural emissions represent 10% of US annual greenhouse gas emissions, federal research and development investments in agricultural climate solutions remain 35 times smaller than clean energy research and development investments.
The researchers call for partnerships between different sectors, including public and private entities, and for the federal government to fund research on enteric methane-inhibiting products.
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