Greenhouse Gas Emissions within Canada

Greenhouse gases (GHG’s) are a major influence on climate change, and have a variety of sources, both manmade and natural. GHGs are a collection of gases contained in Earth’s atmosphere, and act as the meaning suggests, a greenhouse for the planet. These gases are beneficial as they heat the planet, but when there are an abundance of them, it can cause the average temperature of Earth to fluctuate, resulting in potentially catastrophic events. If Earth’s average temperature changes by as little as half a degree, ecosystems and weather are drastically changed, meaning an increase of natural disasters and species extinction (Climate Atlas of Canada 2019, para. 1-6). According to the government of Canada, the data from 2014 shows that Canada as a country contributes 1.6% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, which places Canada in the top 10 highest GHG emitting countries (Government of Canada 2019, Key Results). As of 2017, oil and gas remains as the top producer within Canada, with 195 megatonnes of GHGs having been produced. Comparatively, agriculture produced 72 megatonnes of GHGs which is considerably less, but is still an incredibly high number (Government of Canada 2019, Economic Sectors). Cattle farming is a large industry in Canada as it “produces ~2% of the world’s beef and contributes an estimated $33 billion CDN to the Canadian economy”, therefore it is important to business owners involved and the economy (Canadian Cattle Association 2019, Fast Facts). The Canadian industry of agriculture is contributing to greenhouse gas emissions through cattle farming, feed for the cattle, and machinery used to achieve it.

Different components of cattle agriculture contribute different levels of GHG emissions. For example, emissions from cattle farming change whether it is being recorded from a beef producing farm or dairy (Vergé et al. 2008, 126). Beef cattle in Canada have a lifespan of 18 months, or a year and a half, before they are sent to be butchered for consumption (BC SPCA 2019, para 3). Therefore, the cattle are releasing greenhouse gases for 18 months, and once they are slaughtered, the cycle continues with new cattle. When comparing beef cattle raised in feedlots and pastures, the type of feed changes, thus emissions do as well. The cattle within pastures emit greater amounts of GHGs as they are able to digest grain easier than cattle in feedlots fed roughages (Vergé et al. 2008, 127). In order to sustain the demand for beef, feedlot sizes have doubled between 1991 and 2003, and are able some feedlots are able to contain 25,000 cattle in one facility (Vergé et al. 2008, 127). One study that focused on long term carbon footprint calculations determined that “the carbon footprint of Canadian cattle was 12.9 kg CO2e per kg of product in 2006”, but this number is not stable each year (Desjardins et al. 2012, 1392). The dietary needs of cattle across Canadian farms is relatively similar, but even the slightest of feed variations also causes fluctuation of GHG emissions.

The types of GHG emissions from cattle include ammonia, nitrous oxide, and the most commonly associated with cattle, methane gas. The feed that the cattle consume can play a large role in the amount of each type of gas emitted. A study was conducted in Alberta between two feedlots. The cattle at Feedlot A was given a barley feed, and the cattle at Feedlot B was given a mixture of wheat and barley grain (McGinn et al. 2018, 44). The study found that the cattle at Feedlot A had a larger emission of methane and ammonia than the cattle at Feedlot B, which could be correlated back to the diet variations (McGinn et al. 2018, 49). The dietary needs and variations across cattle feedlots play a role in GHG emissions within the beef, and especially in the dairy industry.

As with beef cattle, dairy cattle also have short life spans, only surviving about five to six years, which is half of a cows normal expected life span (BC SPCA 2019, para. 3-4). A study was done analyzing the GHG output from dairy farms. Dairy farms are used for both dairy and meat production, so one angle of the study was to compare the lactating cattle and nonlactating cattle over a period of six years. The study found 64% of the total GHG emissions were created by the lactating cattle (Mc Geough et al. 2012, 5173). These results are due to different chemicals that are created during a cattle lactation period as the animal is preparing to feed an offspring. As such, the cattle require a larger intake of feed as well as new dietary needs, thus resulting in a larger output of manure and more resources to remove the excrement (Mc Geough et al. 2012, 5171).

Not only is the GHG emissions an issue within this industry, but water usage is also a major problem of cattle farming. As much as 459 litres of water must be used in order to raise 1 kilogram of beef (Legesse et al. 2018, 1030). These numbers include drinking water and water used in growing feed for the cattle. Drinking water specifically accounted for 21 percent of all water use from a study that observed the water use for cattle farming from 2011 and compared it to results gathered in 1981 (Legesse et al. 2018, 1030). The amount of water needed to grow the feed varied based on the diet of the specific feedlot, but overall in 2011, feed production accounted for approximately 76 percent of all water used in the process of cattle farming (Legesse et al. 2018, 1035).

Canada is the second largest country in the world based on land, and much of the arable land is used for agriculture of grains, livestock, forestry and many other types. In Canada, a total of 18.2 percent of all farmland is dedicated to beef farms as of a 2011 census, as well as about 6 percent more for dairy farms (Symbol Statistics of Canada 2018, A Shift in Production). Therefore, about a quarter of all farmland is allocated to a form of cattle farming. For comparison, 60 percent of land used for agriculture worldwide is allocated to beef farming (Global Agriculture 2019, para. 11). This large amount of cattle need to be supplied with an adequate amount of nutrients through feed, which also takes up valuable farmland space. This land could be allocated to crops for human use if dependency of beef and dairy was not so high across the world.

Not only are there GHG emissions by way of livestock and feed, but also from the gasoline needed to manage the facilities and machinery used for farming. In order to feed and maintain the livestock, feedlots must haul the feed into the compounds, manage the movement of livestock in and out, and keep an automatic watering system running (Vergé et al. 2008, 128). It was discovered that “[a]bout one third of CO2 emissions from the agriculture sector in Canada is attributed to on-farm use of fossil fuel”, with the majority of these emissions being released from the machinery used to farm (Dyer et al. 2003, 60). This does not isolate livestock and the grain that is needed to maintain them, but focuses on all types of farming across Canada and throughout all seasons. The specific regions are important when addressing farming equipment emissions as larger fields in the Prairies take more time and energy to maintain than small farms in Ontario (Dyer et al. 2003, 63-64). There are other factors when considering agriculture practices across canada, such as clearing land in order to make space for more crops for cattle or the grains to feed them. Overall, machinery is an important aspect of cattle farming, although contributes to the emissions, as maintaining the quantity of beef and dairy cattle cannot be achieved without it.

Cattle farming, feed and machinery all contribute to the Canadian GHG emissions each year. The cattle farming sector of agriculture in Canada plays a large role within the economy. With a large demand for this resource comes a large output of GHG emissions. Broken down into smaller productions, beef and dairy both contribute distinct quantities to the overall emissions. Cattle farming automatically incorporates water, feed, and machinery in the calculation of GRG emissions as they are all components of this agriculture system. Hundreds of litres of water must be used in order to yield one kilogram of beef alone, and around one quarter of all farmland in Canada is used for beef and dairy production. Machinery and equipment add to emissions as they need gasoline to operate on wide areas of land. Unfortunately the machinery equipment is necessary as it is impossible to sustain such large areas of land and quantity of livestock without this technology. If fewer cattle were being raised for human consumption, GHG emissions from the agricultural sector of Canada would decrease. As of 2019, cattle farm operations are still a significant contributor and unless changes are made, it will continue to add to the deterioration of the ozone layer.

Bibliography

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