Do cows produce the most methane?

To understand why cows produce methane, it's important to know a bit more about how they work. Cows, goats, sheep and several other animals belong to a class of animals called ruminants. Ruminants have four stomachs and digest their food in their stomachs instead of in their intestines, as humans do. read more

All animals produce some methane during the digestion of food. But in case of cows and other ruminants, the amount is much more - 250–400 litres a day. This is because cows uses the bacteria in their stomach for digestion of food. And these bacterias produce methane as a by product. read more

Cows contribute 3 percent of Britain's overall greenhouse gas emissions and 25 to 30 percent of its methane. In New Zealand, where cattle and sheep farming are major industries, 34 percent of greenhouse gases come from livestock. read more

Researchers say cows are producing twice as much methane gas as scientists previously believed. The states producing the most methane gas were Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas – which also happen to have a lot of cows, oil and gas. Carbon dioxide is still the primary greenhouse gas, which research has shown contributes significantly to global warming. read more