- Cattle farming has been contributing to methane emission
- A single cow will burp roughly 220 pounds (100 kilograms) of the gas annually
- The three research teams have been given $70 million and seven years to achieve a breakthrough
Cattle farming has been contributing to methane emission
A scientist guides a long tube into the mouth and down to the stomach of Thing 1, a two-month-old calf in a research project to prevent cows from burping methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
Paulo de Meo Filho, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Davis, is part of an ambitious experiment to develop a pill that transforms cow gut bacteria so that they emit less or no methane.
While the fossil fuel industry and some natural sources emit methane, cattle farming has become a major climate concern due to the sheer volume of the cows' emissions.
"Almost half of the increase in (global) temperature that we've had so far, it's been because of methane," said Ermias Kebreab, an animal science professor at UC Davis.
Methane, the second-largest contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide, breaks down faster than CO2 but is more potent.
Kebreab said, "Methane lives in the atmosphere for about 12 years," unlike carbon dioxide, which persists for centuries.
"If you start reducing methane now, we can see the effect on the temperature very quickly."
Filho uses the tube to extract liquid from Thing 1's rumen -- the first stomach compartment containing partially digested food.
A single cow will burp roughly 220 pounds (100 kilograms) of the gas annually
Using the rumen liquid samples, the scientists are studying the microbes that convert hydrogen into methane, which the cow does not digest but instead burps out.
Thing 1 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, starving methane-producing bacteria at the source.
However, the team proceeds cautiously.
Matthias Hess, who runs the UC Davis lab, warned that "we can't just cut down methane production by removing" methane-making bacteria, as hydrogen could accumulate to the point of harming the animal.
"Microbes are social critters. They like to live together," he said. "The way they interact and affect each other impacts the overall function of the ecosystem."
The three research teams have been given $70 million and seven years to achieve a breakthrough
Hess's students test different formulas in bioreactors, vessels that reproduce microorganisms' living conditions in a stomach from movements to temperature.
The project is being carried out at UC Davis and UC Berkeley's Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI).
IGI scientists are trying to identify the right microbe—the one they hope to genetically alter to replace methane-producing microbes.
The modified microorganisms will then be tested at UC Davis in the lab and in the animals.
"Not only are we trying to reduce methane emissions, but you also increase the feed efficiency," said Kebreab.
"Hydrogen and methane are both energy, so if you reduce that energy and redirect it to something else, we will have better productivity and lower emissions at the same time."
The ultimate goal is a single-dose treatment administered early in life, since most cattle graze freely and can't receive daily supplements.
Kebreab has long studied sustainable livestock practices and has opposed calls to reduce meat consumption to save the planet.
While acknowledging this might work for healthy adults in developed nations, he pointed to countries like Indonesia, where the government seeks to increase meat and dairy production because 20 percent of children under five suffer from stunted growth.
"We can't tell them not to eat meat," he said.
Based on AFP reports