In a new chapter of things we didn’t know, cows produce methane emissions with their belches and gases. That’s a problem for Earth and Bill Gates has invested millions of dollars to fix it.
According to a report from CNNthe Microsoft co-founder announced an investment in an Australian startup called Rumin8, which is developing a feed (dry feed given to cattle) based on seaweed, that would reduce gases in these animals.
Although the lifetime of methane in the atmosphere is shorter than that of carbon dioxide, its global warming potential in 20 years is 84 times greater, the report says, adding that a third of global emissions come from livestock, mostly dairy and beef cows.
Why does cow gases produce methane?
Microbes in cows’ stomachs produce methane when animals digest feedbut when algae are added to their diet, it has been shown that significantly reduce the amount of gas that warms the planet.
In a 2021 study, feeding small amounts of kelp to cows for several months was found to reduced its methane emissions by more than 80 percentwhich encouraged Rumin8.
The Australian company produces a feed additive from the bioactive ingredient of red algae, which they claim can reduce up to 95% of methane emissions.
Plus, instead of growing the algae, the company reproduces the ingredient in a lab, keeping costs relatively low. The additive is added to cow feed and the company intends to produce it in capsule form.
Breakthrough Energy Ventures, spokesperson for Gates’ fund who invested 12 million dollars in this initiative, spoke to CNN about it: “Although cows are a major source of greenhouse gases, cattle farming remains one of the cheapest sources of protein globally, which means that technologies that can reduce emissions from the existing cattle supply chain today and in the future they are essentials”.
Rumin8 stated that it has more investments from two climate funds and that its goal is to commercially dispose of small quantities of the food by the end of 2023.
