Submitted via IRC for Bytram
Seaweed feed additive cuts livestock methane but poses questions
"Asparagopsis taxiformis -- a red seaweed that grows in the tropics -- in short-term studies in lactating dairy cows decreased methane emission by 80 percent and had no effect on feed intake or milk yield, when fed at up to 0.5 percent of feed dry-matter intake," said Alexander Hristov, distinguished professor of dairy nutrition. "It looks promising, and we are continuing research."
If seaweed feed supplement is a viable option to make a difference globally, the scale of production would have to be immense, Hristov noted. With nearly 1.5 billion head of cattle in the world, harvesting enough wild seaweed to add to their feed would be impossible. Even to provide it as a supplement to most of the United States' 94 million cattle is unrealistic.
[...] "To be used as a feed additive on a large scale, the seaweed would have to be cultivated in aquaculture operations," he said. "Harvesting wild seaweed is not an option because soon we would deplete the oceans and cause an ecological problem."
There are also questions about the stability over time of the active ingredients -- bromoforms -- in the seaweed. These compounds are sensitive to heat and sunlight and may lose their methane-mitigating activity with processing and storage, Hristov warned.
Palatability is another question. It appears cows do not like the taste of seaweed -- when Asparagopsis was included at 0.75 percent of the diet, researchers observed a drop in the feed intake by the animals.
Also, the long-term effects of seaweed on animal health and reproduction and its effects on milk and meat quality need to be determined. A panel judging milk taste is part of ongoing research, Hristov said.
[...] "It is pretty much a given that if enteric methane emissions are decreased, there likely will be an increase in the efficiency of animal production," said Hristov. Seaweed used in the Penn State research was harvested from the Atlantic Ocean in the Azores and shipped frozen from Portugal. It was freeze-dried and ground by the researchers. Freeze drying and grinding 4 tons of seaweed for the research was "a huge undertaking," Hristov said.
Related Stories
Researchers control cattle microbiomes to reduce methane and greenhouse gases:
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers have learned to control the microbiome of cattle for the first time which could inhibit their methane production, and therefore reduce a major source of greenhouse gasses.
[...] The animal microbiome is a scientifically unexplored area. It protects against germs, breaks down food to release energy, and produces vitamins and exerts great control over many aspects of animal and human physical systems. Microbes are introduced at birth and produce a unique microbiome that evolves over time.
Mizrahi and his group have been conducting a three-year experiment with 50 cows divided into two groups. One group gave birth naturally, and the other through cesarean section. That difference was enough to change microbiome development and composition microbiome of the cows from each group.
Changing the birthing method changed the microbiome of the calves.
Journal Reference:
Ori Furman, Liat Shenhav, Goor Sasson, et al. Stochasticity constrained by deterministic effects of diet and age drive rumen microbiome assembly dynamics [open], Nature Communications (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15652-8)
Previously:
(2019-06-19) Seaweed Feed Additive Cuts Livestock Methane but Poses Questions
(2018-09-01) Researchers Feed Seaweed To Dairy Cows To Reduce Emissions
Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
Global emissions of methane have reached the highest levels on record. Increases are being driven primarily by growth of emissions from coal mining, oil and natural gas production, cattle and sheep ranching, and landfills.
Between 2000 and 2017, levels of the potent greenhouse gas barreled up toward pathways that climate models suggest will lead to 3-4 degrees Celsius of warming before the end of this century. This is a dangerous temperature threshold at which scientists warn that natural disasters, including wildfires, droughts and floods, and social disruptions such as famines and mass migrations become almost commonplace. The findings are outlined in two papers published July 14 in Earth System Science Data and Environmental Research Letters by researchers with the Global Carbon Project, an initiative led by Stanford University scientist Rob Jackson.
In 2017, the last year when complete global methane data are available, Earth's atmosphere absorbed nearly 600 million tons of the colorless, odorless gas that is 28 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at trapping heat over a 100-year span. More than half of all methane emissions now come from human activities. Annual methane emissions are up 9 percent, or 50 million tons per year, from the early 2000s, when methane concentrations in the atmosphere were relatively stable.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 19 2019, @01:40PM (4 children)
Why not focus on producing healthy happy cows instead of optimizing for "methane emission", "feed intake", and "milk yield"? I want these people to stay away from the food supply.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 19 2019, @02:04PM (1 child)
Externalities
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 19 2019, @02:22PM
The meat I buy now costs 2-3x as much as whatever new species they are creating here. I can't say I notice much difference in the form of taste when it comes to beef yet, but I am sure they will catch up to the franken-chicken level eventually. If you are worried about externalities, worry about the societal health effects of eating that stuff.
(Score: 2) by corey on Wednesday June 19 2019, @10:37PM (1 child)
Because healthy happy cows contribute a lot to global greenhouse emissions, and those fed with seaweed don't (as much). These are still healthy happy cows.
If you watch the YouTube movie, Dominion, you'll see that animal farming causes lots of unhappiness in animals when it's time to die.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 20 2019, @04:11AM
I care about healthy happy cows because because that's what humans consumed for ages, before the current hubris set in. I could care less about CO2 emissions if it means the food supply is tainted.
(Score: 2) by Hartree on Wednesday June 19 2019, @02:00PM (3 children)
Sea cows?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 19 2019, @02:08PM
I tried seaweed with my cows but they kept drowning themselves in the pond. Ever give a cow CPR?
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Wednesday June 19 2019, @04:59PM (1 child)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manatee [wikipedia.org]
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by Hartree on Wednesday June 19 2019, @07:46PM
"It is illegal under federal and Florida law to injure or harm a manatee."
Then, I guess it's a moot point how they taste grilled medium rare and with a touch of Heinz 57...
(Score: 3, Funny) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Wednesday June 19 2019, @02:14PM (3 children)
When seaweed feed additives can start asking us questions, you know that we've reached the future!
This sig for rent.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Hartree on Wednesday June 19 2019, @07:49PM (2 children)
Kind of like John Scalzi's story When The Yogurt Took Over.
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Wednesday June 19 2019, @09:35PM
Thanks for referencing it; I hadn't read that before but thanks to you I found it on Whatever and a good read it is. ( https://whatever.scalzi.com/2010/10/02/when-the-yogurt-took-over-a-short-story/ [scalzi.com] ) It is similar, although the story I read was just friends at a party speculating.
I pledge Allegiance
to Yoplait
of the United States of America
and to the Bactatorship for which it stands.
One Lactobacillus
Over Man
With strawberries and granola for all!
This sig for rent.
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Wednesday June 19 2019, @09:36PM
Sorry... brain on another continent and thinking about a different recent comment I made about a short story where friends were speculating about how beer was yeast's way of manipulating humanking into making more yeast. Anyhoo....
This sig for rent.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 19 2019, @02:36PM (6 children)
If this seaweed extract decreases methane production, let's see if it works for humans. I haven't had much luck with other anti-gas meds (over the counter) to deal with both the embarrassing farts problem and also the abdominal pain problem. Beano is somewhat effective, but something better over-the-counter would be very welcome.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 19 2019, @02:47PM
If the amount needed is small, maybe both can be combined into one pill.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Wednesday June 19 2019, @03:07PM
Then eat your Kombu [wikipedia.org].
This sig for rent.
(Score: 2) by PinkyGigglebrain on Wednesday June 19 2019, @05:52PM (2 children)
The causes of the methane generation are different in humans and cows.
For cows it is the result of fermentation of the grass and corn they eat. In humans its usually caused by bacteria in the gut that digest Lactose and other complex sugars. If Beano helps than its likely your problem is a Lactose intolerance since all that product does is add an enzyme that breaks down Lactose. You might try switching to a Lactose free milk and limit/avoid dairy products for a time to see if it helps.
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday June 19 2019, @09:01PM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beano_(dietary_supplement) [wikipedia.org]
Ain't no lactose in beans, broccoli, etc.
Maybe the advice should be: try a lactase supplement first, and if it doesn't work, use the Beano. If that doesn't work, adjust diet or see a doctor.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Wednesday June 19 2019, @09:49PM
However, seaweed may help there as well [wikipedia.org] by enzymatically altering other gas-producing saccharides. (Dunno, though, the abstract the statement links to doesn't positively make the connection the paragraph aimed at - maybe it is in the article content... it states so in the Kombu article I linked to above also and the reference there does indeed refer to glucosidase activity).
This sig for rent.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday June 19 2019, @11:59PM
Activated charcoal tablets work wonderfully for me. I never fly without a a bottle of them [chemistwarehouse.com.au]
, the extra seasoning they need to add to the in-flight meals [bbc.com] promote gas production. Smells aside, the pressure differential acting on my gut walls is not something I particularly enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 19 2019, @02:50PM (3 children)
That's your problem. Right there.
(Score: 2) by edIII on Wednesday June 19 2019, @07:27PM
How the heck is this troll? This is definitely abuse of mod points.
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Hartree on Wednesday June 19 2019, @07:52PM (1 child)
We have 1.5 billion cattle heads because we ate the other parts?
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 20 2019, @12:01AM
Common knowledge that the cattle head is the body part that produces methane and continues to do so long after the cattle has been slaughtered.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 19 2019, @02:55PM (1 child)
Tap a balloon in the cow ass, then sell the methane as ecofuel. No need to endanger seaweed.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday June 19 2019, @03:50PM
Pretty sure cows won't respond well to a methane capturing mask, so that idea is dead.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Wednesday June 19 2019, @03:01PM
And then we can have our combination incubator/microwave ovens.
Grows slow, but cooks fast!
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by Snow on Wednesday June 19 2019, @03:01PM (7 children)
So Methane is 100X more potent than C02, right, so why not burn the methane to make the cows more green.
Retrofit a small pilot light near the anus and/or mouth area so the methane can be safely flared off.
Perhaps the device could be designed so that the pilot fuel is collected directly from the rectum and stored in a small vessel to provide constant flow to the pilot so the whole contraption is self-fuelled.
Patent Pending.
(Score: 3, Funny) by inertnet on Wednesday June 19 2019, @03:34PM (6 children)
Combining various solutions posted here:
Collect the methane in a large balloon.
When the balloon is full, roast the cow with its own methane.
Patent Pending.
(Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Wednesday June 19 2019, @03:52PM (5 children)
From the article, cows don't fart, they belch.
Actually, they do fart, but not as much:
https://www.apnews.com/9791f1f85808409e93a1abc8b98531d5 [apnews.com]
(fun police)
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 4, Funny) by Snow on Wednesday June 19 2019, @04:32PM (3 children)
Plz see diagram: https://imgur.com/a/vo8Vv4a [imgur.com]
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday June 19 2019, @04:43PM (2 children)
Is this your original artwork?
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2, Disagree) by Snow on Wednesday June 19 2019, @04:45PM (1 child)
I've got a talent.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 20 2019, @12:07AM
I don't get how drawing like a pre-schooler helps you collect extra partners. Explain please!
(Score: 2) by Entropy on Thursday June 20 2019, @02:11AM
So....fire breathing cows then? Nothing could go wrong.
(Score: 1, Flamebait) by Entropy on Wednesday June 19 2019, @03:42PM (3 children)
We must encase all cows within semi-transparent domes to collect their methane farts. This will avoid ending the year in 10 years like AOC thinks, and provide enough sustainable power that we can get off fossil fuel forever! Scientists say it may impact grass growth rates under the massive domes, and the domes may be a bit expensive but this is really important to do anyway.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday June 19 2019, @03:54PM (2 children)
We should just transition to lab-grown meat, which necessarily must be grown indoors, and if any methane is produced it can be captured.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Entropy on Wednesday June 19 2019, @06:34PM
When we have the technology to do this at the required scales I'm all for it. I am a carnivore, and I know what this means--but I don't really like killing animals to live. It is of course indirect killing, but I'm quite aware that's how it goes.
A post-scarcity of resources world has a lot of really amazing things that could be embraced. I do oppose embracing those same ideas in a pre-scarcity world, but I do hope we get to post-scarcity at some point.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 20 2019, @12:05AM
You are free to do it, don't need my permission to make the transition.
Otherwise, mind your own business.