
"Our
aim is to increase the wellbeing of the cow, to reduce the greenhouse
gases produced and to increase agricultural production all at once."
According
to scientific estimates, the methane gas produced by cows is responsible
for 4% of greenhouse gas emissions. And now, German scientists have invented
a pill to cut bovine burping.
The fist-sized plant-based pill, known as a bolus, combined with a special
diet and strict feeding times, is meant to reduce the methane produced
by cows.
"Our aim is to
increase the wellbeing of the cow, to reduce the greenhouse gases produced
and to increase agricultural production all at once," said Winfried
Drochner, professor of animal nutrition, who has led the ground-breaking
project at the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart. "It is an effective
way of fighting global warming."