S16E3: Cows | A Climate Stomach Ache

Sustainable Asia

Our focus in this episode is livestock…specifically dairy products made from cows. It turns out enteric fermentation, the cow's digestive process of turning grass into food, contributes to over 40% of global emissions from the livestock supply chain. And the US is a major producer and consumer of beef and dairy products…with China slowly catching up. How are the two global food superpowers innovating ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from dairy cows?

Guests (in order of appearance):

Roberta Franco, California Department of Food and Agriculture

Ermias Kebreab, University of California at Davis

Meian Chen, Innovative Green Development Program in China

Liu Ying, Former Director of the Biogas Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture

Li Ying, The Nature Conservancy in China

Matthew Harrison, California Air Resources Board

Production credits:

Executive Producer: Marcy Trent Long

Co-Host and Producer: Chermaine Lee

Sound Engineer: Estima

Associate Producers: Sam LiXiaoYu, Zack Chiang, Lara-Nour Walton

Music Composition: Cole Chiu

Contributing Editor: Jill Baxter

Intro/outro music: Alex Mauboussin

Sign up to find out when new Sustainable Asia seasons are launched

Resources:

This podcast series is part of a Wilson Center China Environment Forum and Ohio State University initiative called Cultivating U.S. and Chinese Climate Leadership on Food and Agriculture. The initiative explores the actions both these “food superpowers” are taking to rein in agri-food greenhouse gas emissions and identifies potential areas of mutual learning and collaboration.

Blogs from the China Environment Forum:

• Soil’s Key Role in Fighting Climate Change in U.S. and Chinese Agriculture: The Wisdom of Dr. Rattan Lal
• Milking the Dairy Industry for Lower Greenhouse Gas Emissions in China
• Rice: A Recipe for Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the U. S. and China?
• The Forgotten Greenhouse Gas: Nitrous Oxide as an Issue for U.S. and Chinese Agriculture
• Farming Our Future Carbon Neutral Agriculture in the US and China

China Environment Forum Webinars:

• Reining in the Methane Hoofprint of Cows in California
• The Blue Planet Turns Green: Algae Fouls Waters as the World Struggles to Grow More Food in a Changing Climate
• Opportunities for Enhanced Near-term U.S.-China Climate Action: The Food System
• Digging into Soil for Food Security and Climate: A Green Tea Chat With Rattan Lal, 2020 World Food Prize Winner
• Mapping China’s Pathway to a Carbon-neutral Food System
• Climate Action Down on the Farm: Food and Climate Nexus Opportunities in China and the US

LOGO images Created by Jennifer Nguyen and Ann Williams

Cartoon tractor is from NatBasil/Shutterstock, farmer from Canva

Video Clip of cow sounds: Cargill Backs Cow Masks to Trap Methane Burps by Bloomberg Quicktake