Findley 1

Andrew Findley

Professor Slanker

Eng 1201 Online

10/27/2019

Annotated Bibliography

In my Essay I will discuss whether or not cattle farming is sustainable or if its effects on

the environment too severe. I want to find out if the greenhouse gases given off by cows are

truly harmful. If cattle is affecting the environment I will research what is being done to

protect the environment.

DeMartini, alayna. “Reducing the Environmental Impact of Cows' Waste.” ​Reducing the

Environmental Impact of Cows' Waste​, 25 Oct. 2017,

https://cfaes.osu.edu/news/articles/reducing-the-environmental-impact-cows-waste​.

Alayna DeMartini writes this article not only to stress the environmental impact of cattle,

but also to offer some insight into what is being done to combat it. Cows are responsible for 14.5

percent of greenhouse gases that are released into the air due to the amount of methane they

produce. Manure from cattle contains phosphorus and nitrogen which can run off into waterways

and create algal blooms. Scientists are studying how to reduce the amount of methane and
 Findley 2

nitrogen that cows produce. Research is being done on the protozoa found in cows that aids the

microorganisms called methanogens.

The author of this article, Alayna Demartini, is credible because she employed by The

Ohio State University. She is a professor of animal sciences so the study of cattle is right in her

wheelhouse. This source is reliable because not only does the author have personal experience in

this field she also sites two researchers at OSU that are performing research on cattle effects on

the environment and how it can be reduced. It is a bit dated because it is an article from two

years ago.

DeMartini wrote this article to inform people on how cattle hurt the environment

specifically with the production of greenhouse gases. The audience of this article is educated

people who are trying to better understand the consequences of the huge amount of cattle on the

planet. I plan to utilize this in my research paper to show what research is being done in a major

college in America to try and combat the production of greenhouse gases by cows.

Beil, Laura. “GREENER COWS. (Cover Story).” ​Science News​, vol. 188, no. 11, Nov. 2015, pp.

22–25. ​EBSCOhost,​

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=110912045&site=ehost-live.

Laura Beil writes about the natural gases that cows produce explaining what causes it and

what can be done to reduce it. Methane has impacted climate change 25 times as much as CO2

over the last decade. Ruminant livestock are responsible for 26 percent of methane production
 Findley 3

according to EPA data. Cows make up more than 90 percent of ruminant animals found in

America. The Rumen of a cow is used to digest cellulose from grass using a variety of

microorganisms including methanogens which produce methane. Research is being done to try

and reduce the effects of methanogens mainly in changing the feed of cattle. Scientists are also

looking to find the best genetics to extend the lifespan of cattle which will help to reduce total

methane production.

This source is credible because I found it directly from the sinclair database and the

author is a credible researcher of health policy and science. It was published by the Society for

Science and the Public which proves that this source well researched. Even though it was written

in 2015 the data that is used in the piece is still up to date. Laura Beil is an Independent journalist

who has received awards for her works and specializes in scientific articles. This is relevant to

my essay because it provides me with information on what causes methane emission from cows

and how it could possibly be combated.

Capper, Jude. “Are Cows Bad for the Environment?” ​Best Food Facts,​ 28 Feb. 2019,

https://www.bestfoodfacts.org/are-cows-bad-for-the-environment/

Jude Capper discusses the amount of emissions created from agriculture and livestock

and how individuals can combat methane emission. Agriculture as a whole is responsible for 9

percent of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Although burning fossil fuels produces the most

greenhouse gases cattle also produce a significant amount. A recent study from March of 2019

says that cattle raised specifically for beef account for 3.5 percent of all U.S. greenhouse gases.
 Findley 4

Penn State University has found that cows create nearly 20 percent of methane gas generated

each year. Every person has the ability to reduce the amount of methane gas in the air by being

conscious about what you eat and where it came from. If people buy beef that was raised in an

efficient sustainable way then the environmental impact of cattle will be lessened.

The Author of this article, Jude Capper, is an expert in livestock sustainability at

Washington State University. This article is Reliable because it contains very recent data that

helps support my claim. The sources it provides are legit and helps to back the claims of the

author. I will be able to use this article for my research paper to provide information on how an

individual could help to reduce methane emissions by choosing to buy from sustainable farmers.

Carroll, Aaron E. “The Real Problem With Beef.” ​The New York Times​, 6 Oct. 2019.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/01/upshot/beef-health-climate-impact.html

Aaron Carroll explores how large corporations are attempting to reduce their reliance on

cattle and how individuals should reduce their own beef consumption. Fast food chains such as

Burger King are looking to find vegan alternatives to their beef products. Livestock use nearly 30

percent of all ice free land most of which is reserved for cows. Soy is already being used to

replace ground beef but an alternative to other cuts of beef has not been found. Scientists are

attempting to replace other cuts of beef by growing beef in laboratories using stem cells.

Reducing reliance on dairy is also vital luckily alternative can already be found in milk from nuts

or soy. Grass feeding cows in pastures opposed to feed lots provides for less emissions yet doing

this would require huge changes in the cattle industry. Feeding cows seaweed makes them
 Findley 5

produce significantly less methane, but we would have to farm a huge amount of it to feed all the

cattle. Individuals need to eat other meats that are less taxing on the environment such as pork or

chicken.

The author of this article is a professor of pediatrics at Indiana University School of

Medicine and was provided research from Tiffany S. Doherty from the same University. This

article is reliable because it provides sources throughout the article whenever using a statistic or

making a wild claim. This article is very recent being written earlier this month ensuring that the

information is still relevant. The author is targeting those who are guilty of their meat

consumption and are trying to find out how to effect the environment a little less. This article

provides me with a lot of information on what is being done to find alternatives to traditional

cattle farming that have less of an effect on the environment.

Firth, Niall. “The Meat without the Cow.” ​MIT Technology Review​, vol. 122, no. 2, Mar. 2019,

pp. 40–45. ​EBSCOhost​,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cph&AN=134659396&site=eds-live.

In this article Niall Firth lays out how cells taken from animals can be used to create meat in a

laboratory. Recently startup companies have been racing to create lab grown meat that is

economically feasible. None of these startups have an official release date for their products but

some speculate lab grown meat could be available as early as next year. Plant based meat on the

other hand has already been created and can be found in more than 5,000 restaurants throughout

the world. The leading companies in plant based meat are Impossible Foods which uses
 Findley 6

genetically modified yeast and Beyond Meat which uses pea protein. Regulations are being

enacted that serve to hinder the alternative meat industry because politicians fear this new

product. Lab grown meat has found another problem when creating this meat it only produces

pure meat tissue which is devoid of any fat which provides meat with much of its flavor.

Scientists need to find a way to combine the creation of fat cells and muscle cells to create a

palatable product. Netherland scientists are looking into using stem cells from the umbilical cord

of calves because they have the ability to morph into any type of cell. Currently lab grown meat

only produces 7 percent less greenhouse gases than traditional meat so researchers will have to

find a way to further reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted.

This is a reliable source because it came from the Sinclair library database and was

published by MIT Technology. All the research used in this piece is very recent and comes from

very reliable sources. The article is very comprehensive and provides information from both

sides of the issue. The Author Niall Firth is a writer and editor for MIT Technology he has an

extensive background in scientific journalism. This source will provide me with lots of

information on what is being done in both the plant based meat industry and the lab grown meat

industry. This article also provides me with some insight into some of the drawbacks of lab

grown meat and what researchers are doing to remedy these shortcomings.

Hayes, Denis, and Gail Boyer. Hayes. ​Cowed: the Hidden Impact of 93 Million Cows on

Americas Health, Economy, Politics, Culture, and Environment.​ W.W. Norton & Company,

2015.
 Findley 7

In this book Denis hayes and Gail Boyer. Hayes delve into the issues of over farming

cattle in the U.S. and how cows are treated horribly. In America alone there are 93 million cows

and the factory farming of these cows has led to a drier climate with soil less suitable for

farming. As the climate continues to dry out from greenhouse gases, we will be able to produce

less crops so are reliance on meat with rise causing a vicious self destructive cycle. Factory

farms mix in antibiotics with the cows feed that promote unnatural weight gain. The cows then

excrete these antibiotics and they then seep into the soil and groundwater, this can then lead to

antibiotic resistant microbes which is very dangerous. The authors stress the idea of reducing the

amount of cows in America and pushing for grass fed beef and bison alternatives. They also push

for the use of antibiotics only when an animal is sick rather then using them indiscriminately to

promote weight gain. Farmers should also look to more sustainable ways to grow crops such as

fallow fields, vermi-composters, or no-till farming.

This is a reliable source because the authors Denis and Gail hayes are both respected

environmental figures that have pushed to protect the environment. This book draws from many

studies that are still relevant even 4 years after it was published. The audience of this book is

people looking to educate themselves on the true impact of the sheer number of cows in The U.S.

This source provides a massive amount of research that I can utilize for my essay mainly about

how factory farming needs to be fundamentally changed to save the environment.

Watts, Geodd. “The Cows That Could Help Fight Climate Change - BBC Future.” ​BBC News​,

BBC, 6 Aug. 2019,

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190806-how-vaccines-could-fix-our-problem-with-cow

-emissions

This article written by Geoff Watts describes the effect of cattle on the environment and

how a new experiments that could change everything. First The cows at New Zealand’s farming

science research institute AgResearch have been given a vaccine against certain microbes

responsible for producing methane as they digest their food. Livestock are responsible for

fourteen percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. As well as the new vaccine Elizabeth Latham,

a former researcher at Texas A&M and co-founder of Bezoar Laboratories has been developing a

probiotic and claims it can reduce emissions by Fifty percent. The aim of these researchers is to

keep these animals healthy and limit their impact on the environment.

The purpose of this piece is to inform readers of new experiments being done to help

better are environment. This source is unquestionably reliable, it's published by bbc a well

known company and was written just over a month ago on august 6th, 2019. The information in

this article focus mainly on the effects of cattle on the environment, gives me lots of statistics

and facts that will be useful for my paper.