(NewsReady.com) – The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) has reported methane emissions as one of the key drivers of climate change. Agriculture is one of the predominant sources of those emissions, and about 32% comes from gastroenteric releases (livestock burps). The UK has come up with a creative way to try to reduce those emissions.
The UK government released its 2023 “Powering Up Britian: the Net Zero Growth Plan” at the end of March. The report stated “high-efficacy methane-suppressing products,” or Beano for farm animals, are expected to hit the market in 2025. The government is going to explore whether the products could be used on cattle farms. There’s also a possibility that the methane suppressants could be mandated in food and other products if proven to be safe.
The idea is that if they stop the animals from releasing gas, then they will be able to reduce the amount of methane entering the environment.
Ministers are set to force farmers to give dairy cows 'methane suppressants' to reduce their carbon footprint by making them burp less under government plans to reach Net Zero.#CostOfNetZero
👉 https://t.co/iPHUWU5p8R pic.twitter.com/Yze2b5XiGo
— Net Zero Watch (@NetZeroWatch) April 3, 2023
National Farmers’ Union Deputy President Tom Bradshaw told The Guardian most of the methane released is coming from cow burps, not from them passing gas through their rears. He went on to say there is proof the products could be effective in reducing some emissions, but he said there isn’t enough information to determine what “impact they will have on the efficiency of the diet.”
Not everyone was sure the plan was going to work. Vicki Hird, a farming expert, said the government loves “techno fixes” like the gas blockers, and while they might work a little bit, the larger issue isn’t going to be fixed: the country’s “huge livestock fixation.” She claimed the real solution was producing and eating less meat.
The Daily Mail reported that the methane suppressants contained additives like organic acids, essential oils, seaweed, probiotics, and other ingredients that reduce the gas that is produced during the digestion process.
Copyright 2023, NewsReady.com
