CLEAR Center

It’s been two decades since British Petroleum and the marketing agency then named Ogilvy & Mather deceived lots and lots of unwitting Americans into believing the hands of fossil fuel companies are clean of contributing to climate change through imaginative messaging. To this day, their marketing campaign continues to be highly effective in getting the public to take on the weighty responsibility of halting climate change. We’ve cut back on meat, upped our recycling game and made the creative campaign’s key phrase – “carbon footprint” – part of our vernacular.

The terms “carbon neutral” and “climate neutral” are part of the lexicon of global climate change terms. Though they are sometimes used interchangeably, they have different definitions. Understanding the nuances is important.

DAVIS, Calif., Sept. 2, 2020 – Researchers from the University of California, Davis are rethinking methane and showing that climate neutrality is within reach for the California dairy sector.

In the age of information, it’s often difficult to filter facts from noise. In this episode of Elanco’s Rediscovering the Power of Healthy Animals podcast with Michelle Calvo-Lorenzo and Sarah Place, CLEAR Center Director, Frank Mitloehner, debunks common misconceptions around livestock and greenhouse gas emissions.

Does eating beef in the U.S. lead to deforestation in places such as the Amazon? That’s an increasingly common question, to which the short answer is no.

But let’s dive into the long answer.

When animals are criticized for the part they play in climate change, most often it’s the cattle that take it on the chin. While beef and other products that come from cattle are popular in the United States and abroad, what cattle are often singled out for is the result of a digestive system that differs from those of poultry and swine, two other favorite sources of protein. 

By Frank Mitloehner

Over the past three weeks, there’s been an abundance of news reports and opinion pieces related to the fires in the Amazon rainforest. It’s not undeserved. At more than 2 million square miles, the tropical rainforest is the world’s largest, not to mention a treasure trove of flora, fauna and landforms. Nowhere on Earth is there more biodiversity. Its beauty alone commands awe and respect.

By Amy Quinton

Inside the University of California, Davis, dairy barn, a Holstein cow has its head and neck sealed airtight inside a large, clear-plastic chamber that resembles an incubator for newborns. While giant tubes above the chamber pump air in and push air out, the cow calmly stands and eats her feed. Equipment inside a nearby trailer spits out data.