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Climate Change | Self
Carbon Neutral Cows With the Help of Red Seaweed
Scientists are fighting methane production through innovations in cow feed.
Nearly 1 billion cows roam fields around the globe, many of them living on factory farms. They are a key contributor to global warming and the problem is only getting worse.
Specifically, it is a cow’s burp that drives their contribution. Each cow releases 220 pounds of methane per year, which is far worse than 220 pounds of carbon. For context, one kilogram of methane is 25 times more potent at trapping heat than one kilogram of carbon dioxide. Eating a pound of beef is the rough equivalent of burning 4.6 gallons of gasoline.
This is partly why my partner and many others don’t eat meat. But it is clearly a hard sell convincing everyone to stop. I admittedly love a good steak here and there. Scientists are pushing for another alternative that may provide a workaround: red seaweed.
The seaweed solutions
Cows have a specialized and complex digestive track. The largest section is called the rumen, where food sits and microbes break down food via enteric fermentation. The bacteria targets food that the stomach is unable to digest on its own, and in the process…
