Scientists aim to stop cow burps with seaweed and genetically modified microbes
Researchers in California are developing a pill to alter cows’ gut bacteria so they emit less methane, a dangerous greenhouse gas.
Scientists are exploring the use of seaweed to reduce methane emissions from cow burps and tackle climate change. Photo: Shutterstock A scientist guides a long tube into the mouth and down into the stomach of Thing One. Thing One is a two-month-old calf that is part of a research project. The project aims to prevent cows from burping methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
Paulo de Meo Filho is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis). He is part of an ambitious experiment to develop a pill to transform cow gut bacteria. They hope to make cows emit less methane – or even none at all.
Cows are big contributors to global warming
While the fossil fuel industry and some natural sources release methane, cattle farming has become a major climate concern. This is due to the large volume of the cows’ emissions. Emissions are the amount of a substance that is produced and sent out into the air. They are harmful to the environment.
“Almost half of the increase in [global] temperature we’ve had so far has been because of methane,” said Ermias Kebreab, an animal science professor at UC Davis.
Methane is the second largest contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide (CO2). It breaks down faster than CO2 but is more potent.
“Methane lives in the atmosphere for about 12 years, unlike carbon dioxide, which persists for centuries,” Kebreab said. “If you start reducing methane now, we can actually see the effect on the temperature very quickly.”
What are scientists doing to cows?
Filho uses the tube to remove liquid from Thing One’s rumen. Rumen is the first stomach compartment containing food that is not fully digested (see graphic).
Scientists use the rumen liquid samples to study the microbes that convert hydrogen into methane. This is not digested by the cow but instead, burped out. A single cow will burp roughly 220 pounds (100kg) of the gas each year.
Thing One and other calves receive a seaweed-supplemented diet to reduce methane production.
Scientists hope to achieve similar results by introducing genetically modified microbes that soak up hydrogen.
However, the team is proceeding with caution. The project is being carried out at UC Davis as well as UC Berkeley’s Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI).
IGI scientists are trying to identify the right microbe – the one they hope to genetically change to replace methane-producing microbes.
Are cows the only animals that burp methane?
Cows belong to a group of animals called ruminants. Ruminants are mammals that have a complex digestive system with multiple stomachs. They undergo a digestive process called enteric fermentation, which produces methane.
Ruminants are known for digesting rigid plant material like grass and hay. They do this by regurgitating partially digested food called “cud” and chewing it again.
Other examples of popular ruminant livestock include sheep and goats. Of these three, cows produce the most methane.