Wildlife Wednesdays: Burger King's Help in Reducing Methane

Methane produced from cows is part in the overall increase of greenhouse gases on Earth. The more greenhouse gases increase, the warmer the Earth will become as heat is trapped in with nowhere to go. A couple weeks ago, Burger King is helping in fighting the overall increase in greenhouses gases, starting with cows. 

Greenhouse gas emissions, just in agriculture alone, makes up 9.9% of the total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Of that amount, methane produced from livestock is more than a quarter of the emissions from the agricultural sector! Burger King is now wanting to add lemongrass in a bid to limit methane produced in cows. "By tweaking their diet, Burger King said it believes it can reduce a cow's daily methane emissions by about 33%," the article mentions. They are using social media to bring heightened awareness to this issue. In efforts to lower greenhouse gases even more, many customers are also cutting down on the amount of meat they consume. Both Burger King and McDonald's have added meatless items to their menus. 

Burger King worked with scientists at the Autonomous University at the State of Mexico and University of California to test and develop a formula. They added 100 grams of lemongrass leaves to the cows' daily diet. Tests indicated that the lemongrass helps the cows release less methane as they digest their food. 

Burger King also released its "Reduced Methane Emissions Beef Whopper" in select restaurants in Miami, New York, Austin, Portland, and Los Angeles.