When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Already a subscriber? Log in .

You've reached your limit of one free article.

Get unlimited access to Worldcrunch

You can cancel anytime .

SUBSCRIBERS BENEFITS

Exclusive International news coverage

Ad-free experience NEW

Weekly digital Magazine NEW

9 daily & weekly Newsletters

Access to Worldcrunch archives

Free trial

30-days free access, then $2.90
per month.

Annual Access BEST VALUE

$19.90 per year, save $14.90 compared to monthly billing. save $14.90.

Subscribe to Worldcrunch
Switzerland

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.

Swiss cows, methane machines
Swiss cows, methane machines
Virginie Montmartin

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.

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

Society

How War And Censorship Are Killing Russian Rap Culture, One Beat At A Time

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.

John Vandevert

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.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter .

What you can’t find is censorship. Whatever one thinks of Boris Yeltsin’s embrace of the West, thanks to rap, a strong community was created. Come 2023, and censorship has changed that community’s fabric forever.

Keep reading... Show less

The latest