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[Kali]

However, the fourth measurement ­ eutrophying emissions ­ has been the source of considerable controversy in recent years. It refers to the amount of methane produced by the digestive system of livestock (and released by belching and farting) during its time on the ranch, farm, or feedlot ­ and in the public's mind the connotation is negative. That's because research indicates that the amount of methane produced by ruminants can be considerable. For example, a United Nations report released in 2006 titled " Livestock's Long Shadow" determined "that livestock are responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, a bigger share than that of transport." <16>

This total is due to chemical fertilizer production, deforestation for pasture, cultivation of feed crops (corn), feed transport, animal production (fermentation and methane and nitrous oxide emissions) and the transportation of animal products. In other words: the report rolled together a natural biological process ­ eutrophying emissions ­ with fossil fuel-intensive industrial livestock production activities, especially those employed in feedlots, and branded the entire system with a negative stigma. As a result, the report created an impression among the public at large, promoted vigorously by some advocacy organizations, that the answer to the climate crisis is to 'eat less red meat.'