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The image of a farmer in harmony with nature has long prevented a hard look at the sector's contribution to climate change, notably when farming is compared with much more visibly polluting activities such as the chemical and steel industries and their iconic smokestacks.

Farmers are also often considered victims of global warming and the appearance of voracious parasites or chemical-resistant crop diseases.

And many in the sector still resist tough scrutiny.

"We are still the most inoffensive sector, and still the only ones to produce oxygen," said Gerd Sonnleitner, president of the German farmers' federation.

But in light of methane produced by flatulent cattle, nitrates used in fertilisers and other substances containing ammonium and carbon dioxide, the sector is far from pure.

In the European Union, agriculture is responsible for 10 per cent of greenhouse emissions, half of which comes from cattle-raising, according to the statistics service Eurostat.

Each milk cow emits 100 kilograms of methane per year through its digestive process.

European Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel is considering the inclusion of climate-change targets as part of qualifications for subsidies under a new Common Agricultural Policy.

Among farmers, opinions diverge widely.

For conservatives represented by Sonnleitner, "the more intensive agriculture is the better it is for the climate".

He presented the following calculation.

A cow used to produce 4,000 litres of milk per year, now it comes up with 10,000. The result is fewer emissions because fewer animals are needed to produce the same quantity of milk.

On the other hand, Hubert Weiger of the Agricultural Alliance, a German group of pro-environment associations, insists: "We must reduce the intensity; that is the right strategy, not further intensification."

He argued for reduced production through biological methods that use less fertiliser and emit less CO2.

A radical movement within the alliance has called for simply giving up cattle production and meat consumption altogether.

"A significant measure from the point of view of climate protection would be a complete renouncing of meat, or a vegetarian lifestyle," said Henriette Mackensen, an animal-protection veterinarian quoted in the alliance's "alternative agricultural report".

For those unwilling to give up their steaks, biological breeding - cattle raised on organic feed - offers an option, since it produces four times fewer carbon-dioxide emissions than conventional methods, Mackensen said.

But the world is a long way from an all-bio future. The world of agriculture contains plenty of sceptics.

Austrian grape grower Michael Gruber said: "We talk a lot about climate change, but has it been proven?

"It is all a question of big money, they want to tax us and take our money, that's all."

Vocabulary

hard look, n: thorough investigation; careful analysis

visibly, adj: can be seen; observable

victim, n: person who has something bad happen to him that is not his own fault

parasite, n: organism that lives off other living things

resistant, adj: not harmed or affected by something

scrutiny, n: careful and thorough investigation of something in order to gain information

inoffensive, adj: not upsetting anybody

flatulent, adj: breaking wind frequently; having a lot of gas

subsidies, n: money that is paid by the government to support a business or industry

to renounce, v: to refuse to have anything to do with something any longer

Questions

1. What effect does climate change have on farmers?

a. Cattle need health food.

b. People want healthier food.

c. The farmland produces oxygen.

d. New diseases and pests appear.

2. How does intensive agriculture help protect the environment?

a. More people eat healthier food and don't get sick.

b. Fewer cows produce more milk and less methane.

c. Farmers use insecticides that kill all kinds of pests.

d. More land is used for farming and less for industry.

3. Who is responsible for half of the greenhouse-gas production in agriculture in the EU?

a. fruit growers

b. cattle industry

c. cereal production

d. biodiesel manufacturers

4. How can eating steak help protect the environment?

a. It eradicates cattle.

b. Cows produce organic gasses.

c. if cattle are raised on organic feed

d. because people will die young of heart disease

5. What do some people think who don't believe in global warming?

a. The farming sector is clean because it produces oxygen.

b. It is a government claim for the purpose of increasing taxes.

c. In light of substances used in fertilisers, the sector is pure.

d. It affects only chemical and steel industries and their smokestacks.

Synonyms

Which of the following words or phrases replace the ones from the passage best?

1. dub

a. call

b. reject

c. glorify

d. oppose

2. notably

a. although

b. ironically

c. especially

d. controversially

3. iconic

a. hated

b. required

c. symbolic

d. menacing

4. voracious

a. greedy

b. mutated

c. innovative

d. indestructible

5. emit

a. eat

b. utilise

c. absorb

d. release

KEY

Questions                     1. d, 2. b, 3. b, 4. c, 5. b

Synonyms                     1. a, 2. c, 3. c, 4. a, 5. d

By Ajarn Horst Baelz