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Easy Sustainability Answers

How can coriander help reduce green house gas emissions?

Adriene Hill Jul 20, 2010

Easy Answer: Feed it to sheep.

According to a new study from Newcastle University, feeding spices like coriander and turmeric to a sheep can reduce the amount of methane they burp into the air. Methane is a green house gas produced by bacteria in a sheep’s stomach.

The study considered five spices common in curries: cumin, coriander, cloves, turmeric and cinnamon. It found coriander to be the most useful, reducing methane production by 40 percent. Turmeric reduced methane by 30%, cumin by 22%.

The scientists are hopeful the spices could do similar good things for cows, which burp out huge amounts of methane. According to The Guardian, an average cow can release as much green house gas in a year as a family car.

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