Methane is a potent greenhouse gas. While it is shorter-lived in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, it has 84 times more global warming potential over a 20-year period. Nearly one-third of global methane emissions come from livestock and most of that from beef and dairy cows.
Microbes in cows’ stomachs produce methane as the animals digest food but when seaweed is added to their feed it has been shown to significantly cut down the amount of planet-warming gas released. A 2021 study found that giving cows small amounts of seaweed over several months saw their methane emissions fall by more than 80%.
Rather than farming the seaweed, the company is reproducing the ingredient in a lab, which it says means costs can be kept relatively low. The additive goes into cow food and the company is also aiming to produce it in capsule form.
A spokesperson for Gates’ fund, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, which led the $12 million investment round, told CNN:
“Although cows are a significant [greenhouse gas] source, livestock agriculture remains one of the cheapest protein sources globally, which means technologies that can reduce emissions from the existing cattle supply chain today and in the future are critical.”
Full Link ( CNN ) Here
© CopyRights RawNews1st
