An Utterly Urgent Matter

The drive up the Interstate 5 freeway from our homes in Southern California back to Berkeley after break is often punctuated by farmland and a strong odor. We instinctively roll up the windows and turn off the air conditioning to avoid this unpleasant smell. When you're in a car going 70 miles an hour, the inconvenience is quickly left behind and forgotten, but the environmental impact of these factory farms doesn’t go away, and if not addressed, will continue to contribute to the catastrophic effects of climate change accelerated by methane emissions.

Yes, we are aware of these feeding lots which house hundreds upon thousands of livestock. We also know that these operations make it possible for us to consume delicious meat and dairy products daily. What we do not take into account when traversing these long, smelly roads is how much this smell is affecting not just our noses, but the collective health of the planet.

The thing is, cattle, among other things, are known for releasing a dangerous gas known as methane. Methane is a potent short lived climate pollutant (SLCP). Although much climate change action has historically been focused on carbon dioxide emissions, SLCPs are an increasingly important consideration in climate action and need to be reduced at the same time we tackle carbon emissions. Methane has a much shorter lifetime in the atmosphere than carbon, only about 12 years, but it is over 80 times as potent in global warming potential over 20 years, and about 28 times as potent over 100 years. In order to avoid exceeding 1.5 degrees celsius of warming, methane needs to be drastically reduced. Additionally, methane is a precursor to tropospheric ozone, which is an air pollutant.

Methane is important in the agricultural sector because emissions associated with ruminant livestock accounts for about 42% of methane emissions (the rest comes from non-dairy livestock as well as rice). This, as mentioned before, is due to both emissions from cow manure as well as enteric fermentation, a digestive process that causes cows to release methane in burps. California is the largest dairy producer in the country, and the map below shows the sheer scale of dairies present in this state as well as the name of each dairy, if it is known. Given the size of this industry in California and that the production and demand for these products will increase over time, these figures call for urgent action.

The map below shows dairy-related methane plume sources for the year 2016-2017, showing higher rates of methane release in the Central Valley, where a higher concentration of dairies are located, as was established in the previous maps. This illustrates the existence of a methane problem related to manure management and digesters, but it is difficult to quantify as this satellite data is captured during a particular flight and does not measure emissions over time, and the point sources cannot be necessarily traced to a particular farm.

Senate Bill 1383 targets methane emissions, and aims to reach 40% reduction in respect to 2013 statewide emissions by 2030. A recent analysis by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) concludes that although progress has been made, the 2030 goal will not be met unless the agricultural sector almost doubles its current reduction actions and projects. Current projects, primarily in anaerobic digestion integration, which is technology that converts manure into a usable biogas, and alternative manure management, project 3.5 MMT CO2 equivalent methane reduction through the end of this year, with the 2030 goal being 9 MMT CO2 equivalent reduction. Anaerobic digestion captures the methane emissions from decomposing ruminant livestock manure and, at a large scale, can serve as a viable pathway to see major methane emission reduction.

January 1, 2024 is the earliest regulations can be introduced to meet the target, given CARB deems these regulations to be economically feasible. The California Scoping Plan is being revised this year in 2022 and is an opportunity to lay concrete plans for further reducing methane emissions.

As shown above, we must take a more aggressive approach towards methane emission reduction. Our current path to our 2030 methane emissions reduction falls significantly short. Minimizing methane emissions is essential to minimizing environmental degredation and the irreversible effects of climate change.

We envision a food system that has a greater emphasis on human health and equity rather than the current one of profit based industrial agriculture.

Due to California's beautiful Mediterranean climate, it has some of the most fertile agrarian lands in the country, making our state economy the 5th largest in the world, if it was ranked as a sovereign nation.

Unfortunatly with all the natural resources and beauty the Central Valley has to offer, it is exploited by industrial agriculture enabled by the capitalist system.

We can see on this figure CARB has created that over half of all methane emissions are from the agriculture industry, specifically the meat and dairy producers.

Anaerobic Digestion as a pathway

A digester is a lagoon exposed to air where manure is stored. The surface of the lagoon is covered and the gasses released from the manure are trapped inside. After that they can be harvested and processed into a usable biogas form.  However there are environmental justice issues with this option, as critics of the digesters claim "monetizing the waste stream does not get rid of the waste", which is why we would want to encourage digesters for livestock operations in AB 617 communities and those with over 500 animals.

We mass feed additive research and implementation

More funding from California budgets, such as the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and the California State General Budget should be leveraged in order to help fund researchers in this work. Considering the environmental justice concerns regarding mass implementation of anaerobic digesters and that most of methane emissions are actually released due to cow burps and exhales, not via manure, feed additives are a more desirable option.

Our two main focuses for our implementation plan:

• Work on a local and state level to install a sustainable food and agriculture education initiative that can be integrated into schools and other public institutions.
• Push for more sustainable agriculture practices through rebates, tax benefits, and stipends. Anaerobic digestion and feed additives can significantly reduce ruminant methane emissions.

In terms of social change, local governments can lead initiatives to motivate a more local food system. Implementing affordable grow kits for residents to grow their own food at home would motivate a more plant-based diet and can be part of the greater sustainable food and agriculture education initiative. This is just one idea that could be a part of the educational initiative that should be implemented swiftly. The initiative should heavily encourage urban agriculture growth and localize the food systems. While it may seem repetitive, making local food a central component of local food systems further encourages sustainable food systems and allows the community to be more engaged and less reliant on big agriculture practices.

Furthermore, we must place much more urgency on the acceleration of integrating techlogical innovation into agricultural practices. Conducting research on potential strategies to curb methane emissions from ruminant livestock must be done concurrently with increasing incentives and initiatives to bolster anaerobic digestion growth. The upcoming California Scoping Plan must stress an agressive scheme to integrate a nationwide infrastructure surrouding methane emissions. Establishing a comprehensive anaerobic digestion infrastructure can be done by coordinating with conglomerates

Around 2027 is when CARB can assess the efficacy of the regulations put in place in 2024 and begin to implement more aggressive strategies to heavy emitters if necessary. These more aggressive strategies could include a methane tax as well as potential laws to make livestock diets more strictly regulated.

The map above, among other maps, can be utilized to target specific areas of California that should be prioritized for anaerobic digestor incentives and integration. For example, targeting areas with a high milk cow concetration. Other maps, such as ones showing areas that face more climate vulnerabilities or air quality issues, should be utilized to establish an action plan that alleviates the

We would like to thank Jennifer Hoody, who was our graduate student advisor for this project, as well as Daniel Taillant and Caitlan Frederick from the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development for assisting our research into this sector.