Feeding seaweed to cattle could reduce the amount of methane they produce by up to 80 percent without affecting the taste or quality of their meat, a study has found.
Methane is one of the most powerful greenhouse gases, capturing 25 times more heat than carbon dioxide and every time a cow burns or passes wind some of the gas is released. out into the atmosphere – across the globe this is a big problem.
Collectively, cattle are responsible for about half of the stock-generated greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, a University of California, Davis team explained.
Now, a type of algae, called Asparagopsis taxiformis, could be used to tackle this problem after cattle-fed products showed that it was able to reduce the amount of methane cattle by neutralizes enzymes in their digestive system.
Researchers only tested the seaweed on bulls, not cattle, so the quality or taste of milk was not determined, but a panel found that meat was as tasty as those on a classic diet.
Feeding seaweed to cattle could reduce the amount of methane they produce by up to 80 percent without affecting the taste or quality of their meat, a study has found
Although this high methane production from cattle has led to calls to stop eating meat, very little of the soil surface is suitable for crops.
Professor of the study’s author, Ermias Kebreab, said: ‘We now have strong evidence that seaweed in a cattle diet is effective in reducing greenhouse gases and will not diminish over time.
‘This could help farmers sustainably produce the beef and dairy products we need to feed the world.’
The researchers added ‘very little seaweed’ to the diet of 21 cows over five months.
The Angus-Hereford bulls were fed their normal diet of hay, cereals and corn, supported by zero, low or high concentrations of red seaweed.
The authors of the study measured the amount of methane, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide released by individual bulls from time to time for 21 weeks and found that reducing seaweed reduced methane emissions by 45 and 68 percent.
The proportion of supply in the basic diet also affected emissions, they found.
The greatest reductions were found with a high seaweed diet, with a low supply, which reduced methane production by as much as 80 percent.
To determine the rate of emissions, cattle were fed from external exposure, which measured their methane in breath, four times a day.
Cattle that ate doses of about three ounces of seaweed gained as much weight as their herd companions but produced 82 per cent less methane.
Dr Kebreab said: ‘Very little of the land is suitable for crop production.
Collectively, cattle are responsible for about half of the stock-generated greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, a University of California, Davis team explained
Researchers only tested the seaweed on bulls, not cattle, so the quality or taste of milk was not determined, but a panel found that meat was as tasty as those on a classic diet.
Much more land is only suitable for grazing, so livestock play a vital role in feeding the 10 billion people who will soon inhabit the planet.
‘Because a lot of livestock methane emissions come from the animal itself, nutrition plays a big role in finding solutions.’
In 2018, the researchers were able to reduce methane emissions from dairy cows by more than 50 percent by adding seaweed to their diet for just two weeks.
The seaweed inhibits an enzyme in the cow’s digestive system that normally helps in the release of methane, the team said.
Scientists are already exploring ways to farm the type of seaweed the researchers use, as there is not enough of it in the wild.
Co-author Dr Breanna Roque said: ‘There is more work to be done, but these results are very encouraging.
We now have a clear answer to the question of whether seaweeds can sustainably reduce livestock methane emissions and how effective it is in the long term. ‘
The findings were published in the journal PLOS ONE.