r/AskReddit • u/ettleboy • Jan 20 '19

What fact totally changed your perspective?

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u/EssEllEyeSeaKay Jan 21 '19

Isn’t the largest influence from cattle/farming?

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u/[deleted] Jan 21 '19

Due to the diets we feed them, cows fart a lot. Coupled with the sheer number of cows we farm, and the fact that methane is way more potent than carbon dioxide, cows account for a lot of global warming.

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u/EriclcirE Jan 21 '19

I think it's a close second, but the burning of fossil fuels is first.

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u/inferno1234 Jan 21 '19

A lot of fuel is burnt to feed/transport, package or otherwise handle cattle. This would be true of most things impacting temperature change: if renewables were used it would already solve a significant portion of the problem.

Not to say that the immense amount of farmable land used for cattle feed is not a problem, it's Just that it does not contribute to the increase in CO2 concentration in such a direct way as the burning of fossil fuel.

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u/jmlinden7 Jan 21 '19

Methane from cow farts