Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday June 19 2019, @01:35PM   Printer-friendly
from the does-it-affect-tipping? dept.

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.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday June 19 2019, @03:50PM

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Wednesday June 19 2019, @03:50PM (#857482) Journal

    Cows burping — often incorrectly characterized as cows farting — methane and contributing to climate change has been the subject of considerable derision within the U.S., conceded Hristov, who is recognized as an international leader in conducting research assessing greenhouse gas emissions from animal agriculture. It is taken seriously in other countries, he explained, because the average dairy cow belches 380 pounds of the potent greenhouse gas a year.

    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]
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2