Bossie can now chew her cud without worrying about those embarrassing escapes of methane gas from either end. Researchers at the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) in Australia have discovered that a small and simple change in their diet will render cows methane-free.
A pinkish seaweed, Asparagopsis, is the magic element that will turn Bossie from being a contributor to global warming into an environmentally conscientious bovine. Substituting just 2% of a cow’s feed with Asparagopsis is enough to eliminate the microbes in her digestive system that produce methane, a potent villain in the climate change battle.
Best of all, it’s not something new and different that will be hard for ranchers to get their cows to eat: the ruminants already seek it and happily munch it, if they’re lucky enough to live near coastal areas. If it can be grown and/or harvested commercially, Bossie and her friends are likely to chow down on it with gusto.
USC scientists are working now to cultivate strains of the seaweed with greater concentration of the chemicals that knock out the methane-producing microbes. If they can do that, less seaweed could be added to bovine diets and still have the same beneficial effect.
With about 1.5 billion cows on the planet and each bovine producing about 100 kg (220 lbs) of methane per year, that’s a huge amount of greenhouse gas that can be prevented if the cows can be fed the seaweed diet supplement. It won’t solve everything but every bit helps, right?
Let’s hope that soon, if you spot Bossie in an elevator and notice an unpleasant odor, she can look you in the eye and honestly say “Hey, it wasn’t me!”
Sources
Burp-free cow feed drives seaweed science at USC at the University of the Sunshine Coast
Adding pink seaweed to cow feed eliminates their methane emissions at Boing Boing
Do Cows Contribute More to Global Warming Than Cars? at ScienceABC
University of the Sunshine Coast at Wikipedia