Food Prices, Farming and Net Zero Ideology Debunks "Cows are the New Coal" on Methane Emissions says Friends of Science Society

CALGARY, AB, Oct. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- On Sept. 25, 2025, Dr. Joseph Fournier gave a presentation on "Food Prices, Farming and Net Zero Ideology" for Friends of Science Society in Calgary, Alberta.  Fournier is a Senior Scientist and rancher, and he addressed four main themes.

Fournier discussed how hydrocarbons and the internal combustion engine are largely responsible for the modern era, resulting in rapid population growth, health and longevity, and the technology boom.  The audience was surprised to learn that only a small fraction of the calories in the food-supply-chain are derived from photosynthesis - the remainder is from hydrocarbons.

While the European Union and the Canadian government have introduced legislation to cut methane emissions from oil and gas and agriculture, Fournier showed that Canada's Boreal Forest's natural methane emissions are largely ignored, but dwarf those from our agricultural sector and oil & gas industry.  He explained how methane emissions from Mother Nature in Canada may easily be ten times that of human industry and agriculture.  Consequently, stringent methane restrictions on the oil and gas industry are meaningless.

"Cows are the new coal" is a mantra of the "climate cartel" according to the US Republican House Judiciary report; Fournier says that's not true.

Fournier explained how the Haber-Bosch process of creating synthetic fertilizer led to abundant crop production. Thus, attempts by climate activists and governments to limit the use of synthetic fertilizers on farms will only result in reduced crops – leading to higher prices, potential famine or starvation for swaths of the developing world, food poverty at home and farm or family bankruptcy.

Fournier then discussed the 20th Century Green Revolution which led to a productivity boom and massively reduced land-use requirements.  Modern farming practices like no-till seeding were shown to increase soil moisture and drought resistance.  What once took armies of men to plant and harvest can now be done by one person with hi-tech agricultural equipment, taking off crops that can feed hundreds of people.

Fournier's early scientific interest was in fuel cell technology.  In his presentation he debunked the notion that farm equipment could be decarbonized with battery technology, explaining that just the weight of a typical lithium-ion battery required for the massive farm equipment used today, would compact and destroy the health of the soil.

According to Fournier's calculations, Canada's agricultural industry produces five to six times the amount of food required for domestic consumption, making it a vast economic driver for Canada and a benevolent supplier of food for a hungry world.

Fournier's presentation debunks the premise of WWF and its pre-COP30 program wherein it claims that "Food systems sit at the heart of the climate change crisis. They are a primary source of greenhouse gas emissions but also hold powerful pathways to adaptation, resilience, restoration and justice..."

According to CLINTEL, the climate intelligence network based in The Netherlands, and the recent US Department of Energy Climate Science Report, Steve Koonin's book "Unsettled," and Judith Curry's book "Climate Uncertainty and Risk: Rethinking our Response," there is no climate crisis or climate emergency. Thus, Friends of Science Society says measures like carbon taxes, a price on carbon, methane restrictions and climate legislation to curb fertilizer use or to cull beef cattle, sheep, dairy cows and other animals on farms is unnecessary.

Fournier's presentation shows that Mother Nature is the largest emitter of methane in Canada.  Like Friends of Science Society, Fournier explores the research on his Substack which shows that the Sun is the main driver of climate change, not carbon dioxide.  In the climate activist community, the benefits of carbon dioxide go unaccounted for, says Friends of Science Society. 

If Canada is to reach its stated goal of being an energy Superpower, Friends of Science Society says that Canada must disengage from the Canada-EU Green Alliance Agreement and accept that there is no climate crisis.  As shown in "Insights from a Sankey Diagram" on Friends of Science Society's blog, Canada is light years away from decarbonization.  Dr. Fournier's presentation shows the perils of fiddling with farming methods and technology – very risky in a hungry world.

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Friends of Science Society is an independent group of earth, atmospheric and solar scientists, engineers, and citizens that is celebrating its 22nd year of offering climate science insights. After a thorough review of a broad spectrum of literature on climate change, Friends of Science Society has concluded that the sun is the main driver of climate change, not carbon dioxide (CO2).
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