We hear that eating meat is bad for climate crisis because of the methane that comes from cows. This likely is worse in huge feedlots with a large accumulation of cows.
What if cows could consume something that is healthy for them AND would reduce the methane that cows release?
Joe Dorgan, a Prince Edward Island farmer, starting taking local seaweed and adding that to the feed for his cows.
This led to researcher Rob Kinley, an agricultural scientist then at Dalhousie University in nearby Halifax, Nova Scotia, testing Dorgan's seaweed mix, and discovered a 20% methane reduction from the cows. Kinley said the red seaweed Asparagopsis taxiformis reduces methane in cows to almost nothing.
Not all seaweeds reduce methane; seaweeds high in bromoform would be more likely to reduce methane.
There are a number of issues that still need to be studied. The idea of natural seaweed or a farmed version reducing the climate impact of cows is amazing.
How feeding cows seaweed could help PEI meet emission targets and boost this business (CBC News)
How red seaweed might help curb methane emissions from burping cows (The Current from CBC Radio One)
PEI farmer assists in near-eradication of methane from cow farts (CBC News)
In eating animals, we need to be critical thinkers about what those animals eat. The push for truly wild animals is knowing their diet is a lot more pure than what we see, especially at the U.S. feedlots, where the quality of feed hasn't been important.
Seaweed would be good for cows, even if that didn't help methane levels for purpose of the climate crisis, provided cows can digest well. Cows eat grass for a reason. The idea of cows eating grains was a false dichotomy to fatten them up, reducing taste and nutrition in the grain-fed version.
Balanceoffood.com Canada food policy coverage
BalanceofFood.com science coverage
The climate crisis needs to be addressed, even by those who eat meat. The seaweed solution shows there are possibilities to improve our diets and deal with the climate crisis. Some of us could be eating the seaweed directly.
Hopefully, this news story will get more recognition for solutions such as this one to improving our diet and the climate crisis.
photo credit: CBC News
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