Sick Cows and a Lot of Questions: Bovaer’s 3-NOP
Published by RawNews1st
In January 2025, Denmark became the first country in the world to require that dairy farmers give their herds an additive called Bovaer or, alternatively, feed them a high-fat diet. The additive is meant to cut the animals’ production of methane — a potent greenhouse gas. Davidsen began adding Bovaer to his herd’s feed in October, but not long after the cows fell ill. “It’s not normal for a full herd of a thousand cows to have diarrhea, all of them,” he said in an interview. Within three days, he added, “they dropped in milk production with almost three kilos per cow.”
After 10 or 12 days, he said, some of the cows couldn’t stand up. Within a month, 10 were dead.
Hundreds of other Danish dairy farmers have now reported similar effects. Yet Bovaer, which its manufacturer says has been administered to an estimated 500,000 dairy cows in more than 25 countries, has never before been associated with bovine health problems. As the effects of the case ripple through Denmark’s barns and milk processing plants, the questions behind that conundrum are multiplying. Can more than a hundred peer-reviewed studies on Bovaer’s safety and efficacy be wrong? And if not, are there other ways of understanding what is happening on Danish farms?
“This is an important societal discussion, where climate considerations, animal welfare, and food production must be balanced and integrated,” Charlotte Lauridsen, head of the Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences at Aarhus University, said in a press release. “The question is not whether the climate should take precedence over animal welfare or vice versa, but how we can find solutions that accommodate both.”
Note:
Bovaer® (3-nitrooxypropanol or 3-NOP) is a scientifically developed feed additive from dsm-firmenich and Elanco that reduces methane emissions from cows by approximately 30% or more. It works by inhibiting the enzyme responsible for methane production in the rumen, breaking down safely into compounds already present in the digestive system.
