Energy from pig slurry helps fight climate change

May 31, 2009

excerpt: U.N. studies say agriculture is the main source of income for one of

every three working people. It also is a growing source of pollution, as the

global population increases and living standards rise in developing countries

where more people are eating meat.

The latest research by the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization says animal

husbandry accounts for 18 percent of all greenhouse gases, when taking into

account the grassland and forests that are cleared for raising livestock.

When the FAO report came out in 2006, " people in the livestock sector were

shocked because they thought they did a good job, " says Akke van der Zijpp, a

professor of animal husbandry at Wageningen University, a premier Dutch

technical facility. Now they " are becoming slowly aware that this problem has to

be solved. " One way to deal with it is to reduce the methane animals produce by

changing their diet or through breeding. Another is to make use of it and burn

it.

Recommended Posts