Seaweed Is Capable of Reducing Cattle Methane Emissions

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the University of California on Thursday published a study revealing that Asparagopsis taxiformis -a seaweed found off Australia's coast- has the potential to significantly reduce emissions from farming.

RELATED:

Humans Have Destroyed 34 Percent of World's Tropical Forests

Researchers found that supplementing 0.25 percent of a cow's daily feed with the red seaweed resulted in an average drop in methane production of over 50 percent over a 147-day period.

Increasing it to 0.5 percent of daily feed resulted in a 74-percent drop in methane emissions without affecting the quality or taste of the meat produced by the cattle.

"It stands alone. There are none others even close to it. There are no other compounds of any type, whether they're seaweed or (synthetic) chemicals, that can take the methane down that far without hurting the animal," said Rob Kinley, the chief scientist of Future Feed. 

Methane isn't necessary to the animal, it's just there as a by-product of evolution. Asparagopsis taxiformis contains high levels of bromoform, a chemical that can stop methane from being produced.

Currently, livestock methane emissions account for 14.5 percent of all greenhouse gases produced by human activity. The mass use of seaweed in cattle feed would be hugely significant in reducing emissions globally.

"If 10 percent of the livestock producers added one percent of Asparagopsis seaweed meal to the daily feed intake of ruminant livestock, it is like removing 100 million cars off the road," Future Feed stated.