Belching bovines are responsible for a surprisingly large portion of the world’s global warming gasses. Now scientists say they have stumbled upon the answer.
A specific type of seaweed called Asparagopsis has been found to significantly reduce the methane emissions produced by cattle and sheep when used as a livestock feed supplement.
Contrary to popular belief, 90 per cent of methane actually comes from cow burps, not farts, and the animals that produce it are said to contribute the equivalent of five per cent of human-generated greenhouse gases.
If only 10 per cent of the world’s livestock industry used the seaweed supplement, this would have the same positive climate effect as removing 100 million cars from the road, says FutureFeed, the business entity driving commercialisation efforts.
As an added bonus, because around 12 per cent of feed is lost as methane emissions, Asparagopsis can also boost production.
So what’s the catch? Scaling up production of the seaweed to commercial quantities is the main obstacle.