Meanwhile, startups such as Blue Ocean Barns, Rumin8, and Symbrosia are seeking to develop, test, and approve products derived from a type of red seaweed that could further reduce methane levels. Still other organizations are trying to tackle the problem in more long-term ways, by developing vaccines or modifying the microbes in cows’ guts.
It remains to be seen how many livestock farmers will pay for such products. But in the case of Bobal, farmers who use it can earn greenhouse gas credits, according to Elanco, which sells the additive in the United States, and some companies are using it as a way to reduce their companies’ climate footprint. It will be purchased on a voluntary carbon market. Rumin8, on the other hand, says cows that take its supplements may be able to provide more meat and milk.
Additives certainly don’t solve the whole problem. The livestock industry needs to take other big steps to reduce its climate-changing emissions, such as stopping encroachment on carbon-sucking forests. And to actually reduce demand, food companies will need to develop better, cheaper, cleaner alternatives, such as plant-based burgers and dairy alternatives.
However, methane reduction supplements are beginning to look like a promising way to solve a large portion of a very large problem.