Editing User:Raven/ignore me (section)

=== On the environment ===

{{Main|Environmental impact of cattle production}}
[[File:World_Emissions_Intensity_Of_Agricultural_Commodities_(2021).svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Beef has the highest greenhouse gas impact of any agricultural commodity, followed by [[mutton]].]]

The [[gut flora]] of cattle [[methanogenesis|produce methane]], a powerful<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015 |title=Methane vs Carbon Dioxide: A Greenhouse Gas Showdown |url=https://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/methane-vs-carbon-dioxide-a-greenhouse-gas-showdown/ |access-date=29 January 2022 |work=One Green Planet}}</ref> greenhouse gas, as a byproduct of [[enteric fermentation]], with each cow belching out 100kg a year.<ref>{{Cite web |last=tdus |date=2019-06-27 |title=Cows and Climate Change |url=https://www.ucdavis.edu/food/news/making-cattle-more-sustainable |access-date=2024-03-25 |website=UC Davis}}</ref> Additional methane is produced by anaerobic fermentation of [[manure lagoon|stored manure]].<ref>US EPA. 2012. Inventory of U.S. greenhouse gases emissions and sinks: 1990–2010. US Environmental Protection Agency. EPA 430-R-12-001. Section 6.2.</ref> The FAO estimates that in 2015 around 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions were due to cattle, but this is uncertain.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Livestock Don't Contribute 14.5% of Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions |url=https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-agriculture-environment/livestock-dont-contribute-14-5-of-global-greenhouse-gas-emissions |access-date=2024-03-25 |website=The Breakthrough Institute}}</ref> Reducing [[Methane emissions from livestock|methane emissions]] quickly helps [[Climate change mitigation|limit climate change]].<ref name=":3"/>

[[Concentrated animal feeding operations]] in particular produce substantial amounts of wastewater and manure,<ref name="Bradford Segal Zheng Wang 2008">{{cite journal |last1=Bradford |first1=Scott A. |last2=Segal |first2=Eran |last3=Zheng |first3=Wei |last4=Wang |first4=Qiquan |last5=Hutchins |first5=Stephen R. |date=2008 |title=Reuse of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation Wastewater on Agricultural Lands |journal=Journal of Environmental Quality |volume=37 |issue=S5 |pages=S97–S115 |doi=10.2134/jeq2007.0393 |pmid=18765783|bibcode=((2008JEnvQ..37..-97B))}}</ref><ref name=Koelsch>{{cite web |url=http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/waste_mgt/natlcenter/sanantonio/balvanz.pdf |title=Applying Alternative Technologies to CAFOs: A Case Study |first1=Richard |last1=Koelsch |first2=Carol |last2=Balvanz |first3=John |last3=George |first4=Dan |last4=Meyer |first5=John |last5=Nienaber |first6=Gene |last6=Tinker |access-date=16 January 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017230339/http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/waste_mgt/natlcenter/sanantonio/balvanz.pdf |archive-date=17 October 2013 }}</ref> which can cause environmental harms such as soil erosion, human and animal exposure to toxic chemicals, development of [[antibiotic resistant bacteria]] and an increase in ''[[E. coli]]'' contamination.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ikerd |first=John |title=The Economics of CAFOs & Sustainable Alternatives |url=http://web.missouri.edu/~ikerdj/papers/Fairfield%20IA%20-%20Economics%20of%20CAFOs.htm |publisher=Web.missouri.edu |access-date=15 October 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810081852/http://web.missouri.edu/~ikerdj/papers/Fairfield%20IA%20-%20Economics%20of%20CAFOs.htm |archive-date=10 August 2014 }}</ref><ref name="UCS">{{cite web |last=Gurian-Sherman |first=Doug |title=CAFOs Uncovered: The Untold Costs of Confined Animal Feeding Operations |url=http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/food_and_agriculture/cafos-uncovered.pdf |access-date=15 October 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130126213408/http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/food_and_agriculture/cafos-uncovered.pdf |archive-date=26 January 2013 }}</ref>

In many world regions, [[overgrazing]] by cattle has reduced [[biodiversity]] of the grazed plants and of animals at different [[trophic level]]s in the [[ecosystem]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Filazzola |first=Alessandro |display-authors=etal |title=The effects of livestock grazing on biodiversity are multi-trophic: a meta-analysis |journal=[[Ecology Letters]] |volume=23 |issue=8 |year=2020 |pages=1298–1309 |doi=10.1111/ele.13527|pmid=32369874 |bibcode=2020EcolL..23.1298F }}</ref> A well documented consequence of overgrazing is [[woody plant encroachment]] in rangelands, which significantly reduces the [[carrying capacity]] of the land over time.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Archer |first1=Steven R. |chapter=Woody Plant Encroachment: Causes and Consequences |date=2017 |title=Rangeland Systems |pages=25–84 |editor-last=Briske |editor-first=David D. |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-46709-2_2 |isbn=978-3-319-46707-8 |last2=Andersen |first2=Erik M. |last3=Predick |first3=Katharine I. |last4=Schwinning |first4=Susanne |last5=Steidl |first5=Robert J. |last6=Woods |first6=Steven R.|doi-access=free }}</ref>