Six major food corporations have formed an agreement to assist dairy farmers in reducing methane emissions and improving agricultural sustainability.
The Bel Group, Danone, General Mills, Kraft Heinz, Lactalis USA, and Nestlé formed the Dairy Methane Action Alliance (DMAA) with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) to assist decrease and account for methane emissions in their dairy supply chains.
“These companies will account for and publicly disclose the total methane emissions associated with their dairy supply chains in a transparent manner.” They also vow to develop a public methane action plan by the end of 2024 to reduce methane emissions in their dairy supply chains, according to the EDF’s website.
The DMAA is a first step in establishing a new paradigm for food sector transparency, engagement, and emissions reduction.
“With Environmental Defense Fund leading the effort and providing support for farmers and companies — as well as cutting-edge research on innovative solutions such as changing cows’ diets and improving how manure is managed — the Dairy Methane Action Alliance is poised to make a global impact,” EDF said in a statement.
The six corporations together generate more than $200 billion in worldwide sales.
“We’re extending an open invitation to everyone in the dairy sector to join us, and deliver even larger action at scale,” the European Dairy Federation (EDF) stated.
Additional measures to limit methane emissions
The Global Methane Hub and Danone formed a new cooperation in November to minimize methane emissions and promote scalable solutions in agriculture. Danone will be the first corporate supporter of the Enteric Fermentation R&D Accelerator, the biggest ever internationally coordinated research effort on enteric methane, led by GMH and backed by a coalition of charitable organizations and governments.
In August, the Greener Cattle Initiative, a new research consortium, awarded its first grant of more than $750,000 to Penn State’s Distinguished Professor of Dairy Nutrition Dr. Alexander N. Hristov to support Hristov’s work to develop new methane inhibitors for cattle producers by focusing on innovative compounds that have demonstrated an ability to reduce enteric methane emissions by at least 30% in early laboratory tests.
The Global Methane Pledge, signed by more than 150 nations, aims to reduce anthropogenic methane emissions by at least 30% from 2020 levels by 2030. Feeding techniques that reduce enteric methane emissions in dairy cattle are critical to attaining this aim, and a broad range of products have the ability to reduce methane emissions in dairy cattle.
