Morning:
8°c
With a single dessert and just two glasses of wine our bill was kept in check - but the effort of doing so was not much fun
Latest: Gordon Brown apologises for his poor handwriting and for misspelling the name of a dead soldier in a letter to the young man’s mother
More...
Cows 'do more harm than cars', says UN
Last updated at 00:07am on 11.12.06Cows generate more greenhouse gases than all forms of transport combined, a United Nations report has revealed.
The methane and carbon dioxide they produce is killing off vast tracts of forest and coral reefs, contributing to acid rain and destroying fragile ecosystems.
The study, called Livestock's Long Shadow, warns that drastic action is needed.
Its author, Henning Steinfeld, said: "Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today's most serious environmental problems.
"Urgent action is needed to remedy the situation. The environmental costs per unit of livestock production must be cut by half just to avoid the level of damage worsening beyond its present level."
Reader views (8)
Wait until someone works out the environmental impact of real ale - all that methane produced is bound to get it banned one day!
- Phil, Crediton, UK
That's their vengance for being constantly milked.
- Mcnasty, Richmond, US
I've almost given up eating Cod because it's becoming an endangered species. My car is seldom used these days because I suffer from 4x4 hatred. And now I find that cows are destroying the planet. Perhaps the vegans were right all along!
The whole report (Livestock's Long Shadow) runs to 407 pages so don't print it out if you feel guilty about destroying trees!
- Tim, London
Cows? Just a bunch of old farts...
- Pete, York
Tax them, that'll sort them out!
- Andy, London
So now we can have cows following the Euro IV emission norms, the Euro I and Euro II can be eaten since they pollute. Fit converters on cows, Hybrid cows are the next step... UN rocks...
- Roshan Gomez, Goa, India
Another good reason to become vegetarian!
- Edward, Bristol, UK
Wow! This is totally insane...
- Cow-Ard, California
