Australia: A feed additive helps combat climate change

The Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization recently issued a communiqué stating that a feed additive made from seaweed can greatly reduce the amount of methane emitted by livestock and help combat climate change.

The organization announced on the same day that it had cooperated with a number of institutions to establish a company to promote this feed additive made from seaweed of the sea asparagus in the market. According to reports, related seaweeds can produce the biologically active compound bromoform, which can reduce the production of methane by inhibiting a specific intestinal enzyme during the digestion of feed by livestock.

Methane is also an important greenhouse gas. Although its concentration in the atmosphere is much lower than that of carbon dioxide, the same amount of methane has a much higher greenhouse effect than carbon dioxide. Animal husbandry is one of the most important sources of methane in the world. Animals such as cattle and sheep will produce a large amount of methane and excrete it during the digestion of food.

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization of Australia says experiments have shown that this feed additive can reduce 80% of methane emissions from beef and dairy cows. Researchers predict that if 10% of the global beef cattle farms and dairy industry use this feed additive, it will reduce the emission of about 120 million tons of greenhouse gases each year, which is equivalent to stopping 50 million cars a year.