Bill Gates Backs Start-Up Tackling Cow Burps and Farts
It turns out burps can be big business. Billionaire Bill Gates has announced an investment in Australian start-up Rumin8, which is developing a seaweed-based feed to reduce the methane emissions cows produce through their burps and, to a lesser extent, farts.
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%.
Source: CNN
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