Oregano may help save the planet by reducing methane emissions from cow farts... Yeah, really

Saturday, June 04, 2016 by: Daniel Barker
Tags: methane gas, cow farts, oregano

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(NaturalNews) Those who dare to raise questions regarding the current climate change narrative are often labeled as "anti-science" lunatics, but anyone who pays attention to the contradictions and absurdities being published on the subject by the mainstream scientific community has plenty of reason to become a bit "skeptical" themselves.

Take for instance the recent announcement in the mainstream media that oregano might be useful in curbing cow belches and farts that are responsible for a large percentage of methane emissions which theoretically contribute to global warming.

The theory is that oregano fed to cows may decrease the production of methane in their digestive systems.

From the UK's Daily Mail:

"Most attempts to tackle climate change focus on cutting greenhouse gases from cars and factories, but a small group of scientists think the key may lie in cutting emissions of a different kind.

"Methane produced by livestock farming accounts for around 18 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions in the form of flatulence and belching, according to official estimates.

"But researchers at Aarhus University in Denmark believe they may be able to reduce this by feeding co[w]s oregano to alter the balance of bacteria in their digestive systems."

Senior researcher, Dr. Kai Grevsen, said: "Oregano has essential oils with a mild antimicrobial called carvacrol, which can kill some of the bacteria in the cow's rumen that produce methane."

As crazy as all of this sounds, maybe it's actually true; personally, I have little experience with cows and oregano.

Fuzzy math?

However, I did notice a few inconsistencies in the reporting – and it's the type of thing that makes me wonder how truly scientific these studies really are, or at least how diligent the media outlets are in reporting them.

For example, the sub-headline of the Daily Mail article reads: "Methane produced from cows is 21 times more harmful than CO2," but in the text of the article we find out that methane "is 23 times more potent at warming the planet than carbon dioxide."

Okay, maybe one of those figures was a typo. But when I refer to the NPR article that the Daily Mail listed as the source of the story, I see that "methane is 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at trapping heat."

It reminds me of the joke: "79.48% of all statistics are made up on the spot."

These contradictory figures may be accidental, but it's hard not to notice them and wonder. ...

Down the rabbit hole

And, as if the whole cow fart oregano story isn't bizarre enough, it turns out that scientists have been working on developing an anti-methane vaccine.

Judging from what we already know about vaccine safety, I'd have to say I prefer the oregano method of eliminating cow farts.

But wait, it gets even weirder. ...

My research on the cow fart subject led me to yet another Daily Mail piece – published recently – that claims cow farts may not be the only problem, but also that cow dung produces more methane than normal because of the antibiotics being given to the cows:

"Researchers have discovered an unexpected side-effect of the use of antibiotics in agriculture – the drugs cause cows to produce dung that is almost twice as gassy as normal.

"Methane emissions from livestock are estimated at about 2.2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.

"'In the United States, methane from cattle makes up about a quarter of total emissions,' Tobin Hammer, lead author of the study told MailOnline."

Cow farts, cow patties, 21 percent, 25 percent – it doesn't seem to matter as long as climate change takes center stage in the news, right?

Maybe instead of studying cow farts and making up climate change statistics, mainstream science might serve us better by developing sustainable agricultural methods that don't require antibiotics, vaccines or oregano.

Just a thought. ...

Sources:

DailyMail.co.uk

NPR.org

DailyMail.co.uk

Science.NaturalNews.com