Rice feeds nearly half the world’s population, but the way we grow it has left a surprisingly high methane footprint. Of the 42 per cent of global methane emissions that agriculture accounts for, eight per cent comes from rice cultivation, according to a report by the Global Climate and Health Alliance. Farmers produce rice by flooding their paddy fields, which creates anaerobic conditions where microorganisms emit methane \- a powerful greenhouse gas with 80 times the heating capacity of CO2 for the first 20 years after it is emitted. Methane’s potency in the short term makes it a significant…
