Brazil’s beef industry starts to tackle methane emissions

Brazil’s beef industry starts to tackle methane emissions

On his ranch in the state of Mato Grosso, deep in Brazil’s agricultural belt, Raul Almeida Moraes Neto has spent the past six years breaking new ground in cattle farming.

In the name of sustainable husbandry, the trained agronomist has been undertaking a series of measures to lessen his environmental impact.

A small portion of his property near the municipality of Torixoréu has been dedicated to “intensification”, with 15 animals per hectare, instead of fewer than one. Slaughter takes place at 18 months, rather than at 30. Breeding happens at a younger age, too.

“It takes less time to produce the same amount of meat, but it emits less methane,” explains the 52-year-old, who has been in the business since 2000.

As the world’s biggest exporter of beef, Brazil’s multibillion dollar meat industry is often criticised by campaigners for its links to deforestation in the Amazon, which contributes significantly to climate change. But another element of its ecological footprint is the methane produced by cattle, which is more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas.

The issue was given extra impetus after Latin America’s most populous nation — the fifth-largest methane emitter in the world according to 2018 World Bank data — signed a