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Emissions, Ecology And Cures For The Common Cow Fart
In their own silent but deadly way, cattle are contributing to climate change. Adapting their diets may be one way to ease the problem. Changing our eating habits is another.
LAUSANNE
— Fighting climate change means limiting our greenhouse gas emissions, which for most of us means carbon dioxide (CO2). But methane is also a major problem. Though less persistent in the atmosphere, this gas has a warming power 25 times higher than
CO2
. And the bulk of it is emitted by bloated bovines:
cattle
.
The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that methane gas from the burps and flatulence associated with ruminant digestion accounts for nearly 40% of
greenhouse gas emissions
in agriculture, making it the leading source of emissions in this sector. To reduce these emissions, various possibilities are being explored, including adjustments to livestock feeding.
The Swiss company Zaluvida is developing the Mootral, a natural supplement made with garlic and orange peel that it intends to market later this year. This product promises to
limit methane emissions
by 30% by modifying the bacteriological composition of rumen. A European study led by the French company Valorex focused on the addition of cooked linseed to the daily
diet
of cattle. The announced result is a reduction in emissions of up to 37%. And a Swiss company called DSM Nutritional Products is banking on a synthetic food compound that would inhibit the enzyme responsible for the production of methane in the stomach. The product also boasts a 30% reduction in emissions and is expected to be released next year.
The real effect would rather be closer to 10% or 13%.
Keep in mind that these figures come from lab tests. In barns and pastures, the effects of Mootral and its ilk may not be quite so marvelous. "The real effect would rather be closer to 10% or 13%," says Andreas Münger, a researcher in agronomics.
Other feeding techniques have also been shown to reduce emissions. "It's the digestion of fibers from fodder and grass that causes the most methane emissions. Cereals can be added to the ration to limit fiber intake," Münger explains. And by adding cereals to the ration, the milk yield of the animal is increased at the same time. "It is also possible to genetically select cattle to emit less methane," he adds.
There's also, of course, the option of
reducing the overall number of cattle
. Fewer animals means fewer burps and back-side blasts. But that would mean changing our beef and dairy-product
habits
— a prospect that's at least worth chewing on.
Emissions, Ecology And Cures For The Common Cow Fart
In their own silent but deadly way, cattle are contributing to climate change. Adapting their diets may be one way to ease the problem. Changing our eating habits is another.
LAUSANNE
— Fighting climate change means limiting our greenhouse gas emissions, which for most of us means carbon dioxide (CO2). But methane is also a major problem. Though less persistent in the atmosphere, this gas has a warming power 25 times higher than
CO2
. And the bulk of it is emitted by bloated bovines:
cattle
.
The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that methane gas from the burps and flatulence associated with ruminant digestion accounts for nearly 40% of
greenhouse gas emissions
in agriculture, making it the leading source of emissions in this sector. To reduce these emissions, various possibilities are being explored, including adjustments to livestock feeding.
The Swiss company Zaluvida is developing the Mootral, a natural supplement made with garlic and orange peel that it intends to market later this year. This product promises to
limit methane emissions
by 30% by modifying the bacteriological composition of rumen. A European study led by the French company Valorex focused on the addition of cooked linseed to the daily
diet
of cattle. The announced result is a reduction in emissions of up to 37%. And a Swiss company called DSM Nutritional Products is banking on a synthetic food compound that would inhibit the enzyme responsible for the production of methane in the stomach. The product also boasts a 30% reduction in emissions and is expected to be released next year.
The real effect would rather be closer to 10% or 13%.
Keep in mind that these figures come from lab tests. In barns and pastures, the effects of Mootral and its ilk may not be quite so marvelous. "The real effect would rather be closer to 10% or 13%," says Andreas Münger, a researcher in agronomics.
Other feeding techniques have also been shown to reduce emissions. "It's the digestion of fibers from fodder and grass that causes the most methane emissions. Cereals can be added to the ration to limit fiber intake," Münger explains. And by adding cereals to the ration, the milk yield of the animal is increased at the same time. "It is also possible to genetically select cattle to emit less methane," he adds.
There's also, of course, the option of
reducing the overall number of cattle
. Fewer animals means fewer burps and back-side blasts. But that would mean changing our beef and dairy-product
habits
— a prospect that's at least worth chewing on.
Censorship in Russia has increased rapidly over the last couple of decades, especially since their invasion of Ukraine. Russian rap, which has often challenged the politics and society of Russia, has become even more censored than before, even causing some rappers to emigrate.
Russian rapper Egor Krid performs during a concert in St Petersburg.
In retrospect, rap in 1990s
Russia was truly free
. How so? Look around: the bright post-Soviet future of which Russians caught a glimpse during the 1990s has collapsed, replaced with something much darker, with one of its victims being rap.
In my
PhD research on 1990s rap in Russia
, I find the era allowed Soviet nostalgia, sexual promiscuity, and self-reflection to live alongside political cooptation, much like in the 1999/2000 song “Beat Battle”, a covert political message in support of centrist electoral candidate
Grigory Yavlinsky
. The 1996 track
“Vote or Lose”
by Bachelor Party (in Russian: Malchinik, Мальчишник) is yet another case:
Stay up-to-date with
the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war
, with our exclusive international coverage.
Hip-hop was introduced to
Russia
in the 1970s through skateboarding, graffiti, breakdancing, and the disco predecessor to rap, MCing. Rap entered the picture in the 1980s with disco-funk groups such as Rush Hour (Tchas Pik/
Час Пик
) and Brothers In Mind (Bratya Po Razmu/
Братья По Разуму
), influenced by the funk sound of the Barbadian DJ Grandmaster Flash, among others.
By the 1990s the rap scene was taking off, with everything from festivals, rap battles, and publications – it was a dream come true. Defined by exploration and precarity, the 1990s empowered the rap community to cultivate an identity, although political exploitation shouldn’t be
ignored
. For example, Bad Balance’s participation in
“Vote or Lose”
as part of Boris Yeltsin’s 1996 political campaign stands out as one of the decade’s more brazen examples.
With Putin’s arrival in 2000, everything changed. By the late 2000s, life was politicised but rap culture kept innovating – 2H Company’s rap ballet
“The Ring”
is a striking example. But so did life, with radical skinheads posing a growing threat toward rap’s domestic progress. Despite some groups’ omission of politics, by 2010 rap was socially synonymous with Western overreach – it had to be controlled. So in July, rapper Noize MC was detained at a festival for “foul language”, charged with “petty hooliganism” and jailed for 10 days.
Thus began the saga of rap censorship in Russia, marked by two peaks: 2018, a rise in teen-led violence that led society to deem rap a negative influence and 2021, the year of the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, terrorist attacks and conflations of
rap and violence
. Mizulina, following the September 22 shooting at Perm University, accused the gunman of being a fan of the rapper Morgenshtern. The second peak was marked by the rapper’s move to
Dubai
, which came on the heels of his being accused of promoting drug use in his hit, “Pablo”. As of 2023, more than 10 high-profile rappers have left
Russia
, decimating the domestic scene.
Rapper Samariddin Radzhabov was charged with threat of violence towards law enforcement officers during a rally in July 2019.
How rap is
censored in Russia
is as diverse as the country itself. It ranges from fire checks during concerts, lack of security, protest by local officials, or circulated “blacklists”. These range from official sources, such as Tsargrad’s “Russophobes” list, to unofficial like the “Fontaka blacklist”. “Soft” techniques include denigrations from political officials and club owners calling their local officials. Where there is a will, there is a way, and nothing is off-limits, not even calls for physical violence by politicians against rappers it seems.
He seeks to reframe rap as a scourge on Russia’s Orthodox soil.
In recent months, Mizulina in particular has accused rap of everything from child endangerment, spread of “destructive content”, Ukrainian support and “anti-Russian” statements. In so doing, he seeks to reframe rap as a scourge on Russia’s Orthodox soil. When there is tragedy, rap is the first to be connected, regardless of its having any genuine role in the matter.
For some, rap
censorship
is justified in order to direct cultural development. Yet to rappers, censorship represents the destruction of free expression. These conflicting beliefs on rap censorship’s morality accentuates the point that in Russia, much like 1990s America,
contemporary France
, and 2020s England, rap is intentionally associated with violence, cultural decline, frivolousness, criminality, and extremism.
Conform or flee
But in the rare case where
rap is taken seriously by the public
– such as Russian-British artist Oxxymoron (Оксимиро́н) and Noize MC – it’s not very long and on strict conditions. Peer beneath the surface and you’ll find support is guaranteed only when rappers toe the party line.
The Western career of Timati (Тимати) is effectively finished, and thanks to his
2015 track
, “My Best Friend”, participation in the
2022 “celebration” of Crimea’s annexation
, and avoidance of the draft, his domestic authenticity is over as well.
Such attacks have borne fruit, one example being trap rapper Scally Milano’s recently released track
“I Don’t Want to Live in Dubai”
, a sycophant tribute of life in Russia. While other rappers have ridiculed him, I fear we may be bearing witness to the death of Russian rap, one song at a time.
Why it matters
Censorship in Russia
has defined how rap is interpreted and curtailed by the public. By studying the “how” and “why”, much can be learned about where Russian culture is headed and what to expect in the future.
We must be careful, however. It’s not correct to say that rap in Russia is political because
it’s censored
, nor is it truthful to say all rap in Russia is political based on its stated relationship with the government. Moreover, just because rap has been used at pro-war rallies doesn’t mean the genre is any more “political” and controversial than American rap.
Much like America’s
celebration of rap
, in Russia it has been included in tributes for great poets such as Osip Mandelstam, helped popularize others like Vladimir Mayakovsky, and holds clearly educational potential as Russian pedagogues have demonstrated.
It could be said that everything surrounding rap has been politicised.
So what’s the problem? Why does rap keep falling under the prosecutorial thumb, leading to a desecration of a once thriving culture, replete with Slavophiles, Westerners, and everything in between? It could be said that everything surrounding rap has been politicized, including
language choice
which, 33 years ago, meant something completely different than it does now. During the final months of 2018 into 2019, the Duma stepped in and created a competition, “Limitless Rap”, ironically won by musicians assisted by
artificial intelligence
, to give rap a better public image. The attempt failed and in the years following, many rappers would emigrate.
Russian culture's long night
Following
the invasion of Ukraine
, Soviet-era tactics such as shutting down bars because of supposed Ukrainian solidarity, criminalising “unapproved beliefs”, and allocating state funding for “patriotic projects” are regular parts of everyday Russian life. The threat of “dimensionless extremism” has created a Russian culture devoid of culture. The 2010s dead and truly gone.
The
“death of Russian music”
doesn’t look the same for every genre. For rap, it’s rappers' halting public performances, the end of satirical critique, a normalization of investigations, and
broadcasting censorship
. What does this all really mean? While rap culture continues to innovate as it always has, it also continues to eat itself alive mass-media commentators make spurious allegations and urge that rap simply be banned.