You have probably heard about a carbon footprint. Now a carbon hoofprint has also been developed. New Zealand has announced a plan to tax livestock burps and flatulence in order to limit gas emissions in the country. Methane emissions from animals are a well-known issue. Cows alone are responsible for approximately 40% of these planet-warming gases globally – primarily through the gas they release.

Ermias Kebreab, a researcher at the University of California, Davis, has spent two decades studying greenhouse gas emissions from livestock.

“If you tell me how much and what kind of feed your animal consumes, I can determine the actual emissions quite accurately using mathematical models,” explains E. Kebreab. (...)
Using William West/AFP via Getty Images photograph from the original article