On 26th November 2024, the Danish-Swedish dairy giant Arla Foods announced a trial for Bovaer, a controversial feed additive aimed at reducing methane emissions from cows by 27% on average, by suppressing an enzyme in the cow’s stomach that produces the greenhouse gas. However, many are calling for the boycott of products derived from cows fed this feed because they argue that the long-term effects of the additive on animal health and the environment are unknown.
The company owns the UK’s largest dairy cooperative, and it is partnering with major British retailers such as Morrisons, Aldi, and Tesco to trial Bovaer, made of silicon dioxide, propylene glycol, and 3-nitrooxypropanol. The UK Food Standards Agency issued a report in 2023 highlighting the potential dangers of the latter compound, describing it as “corrosive to the eyes, a skin irritant, and potentially harmful by inhalation.”
In a joint comment, Morrisons, Aldi and Tesco said: “Through collaboration as part of Arla’s FarmAhead Customer Partnership, we have the ability to address some of the climate challenges facing our food system. It is this collective approach that is really going to make a difference. Being involved in using a feed additive is a great way of testing out where we can drive change at scale to bring down emissions.”
Although it’s positive that people and politicians recognise how methane from the animal agriculture industry is one of the main contributors to the current climate crisis, the solution is to transition away from animal agriculture to plant-based agriculture instead of manipulating cows to reduce their methane emissions, which is something they produce naturally to digest the food they eat, and not a “disease” or condition that needs to be treated with drugs or highly processed artificial feeds.
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