Williamsburg

Sean Thinks.

How can we make cows better animals?

Cows are animals that can live by eating only grass. However, this marvel of nature comes at a cost. Cows produce methane while digesting.

Methane is a greenhouse gas 30 times more influential to global warming than CO2. The methane is released by farting. A single cow can produce about 200 pounds every year. This makes cows also responsible for global warming.

Some farms feed cows food that reduces methane production, but this is not effective because cows are free to roam. As an alternative, a vaccine can be used. The Pirbright Institute, located in the UK, is leading a three-year study to develop a vaccine. The effort is supported by Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder. The vaccine should not affect the cows' health or milk. Possible solutions are selective breeding, enzymes, and genetic editing.

The study will take a long time and effort, but if it succeeds, there will be possibly an 80-90% reduction in cows producing methane.