Will cow-burp supplement spark new backlash?

Scientists are currently experimenting with a new type of burp-supressing cattle feed. The move comes just five months after Arla’s Bovaer use sparked major consumer backlash.

So how does this new iteration work and, more importantly, will consumers accept it?

Cutting methane emissionsScientists from the University of Florida are testing a new type of cattle feed, which could help dairy cows release less methane gas from burps and flatulence, and use nutrients more efficiently.

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that’s naturally emitted by cows during digestion. And not only is that methane damaging to the environment, it also uses up energy to create. This energy, the research team say, could otherwise be used to produce milk and support growth.

By feeding them in a way that reduces methane output, the team believes cows could produce more milk and grow stronger, while also reducing greenhouse emissions.

“It’s a win-win situation,” says Professor Faciola, associate professor at the University of Florida’s Department of Animal Sciences. “Every time we reduce methane, we keep that energy in the cow’s body.”

The researchers added a flaxseed and pea protein supplement to the dairy cattle’s rumen in a lab and measured how fermentation changed. The supplement, rich in omega-3 fatty acids and proteins, was found to reduce methane production and improved overall digestion.

The researchers are now planning future studies that will include feeding the supplement to dairy cows to see if the lab results match with what happens in the field.

Professor Faciola and his team believe that feeding cows more efficiently could help to support future food security.

“We will need to have cows producing more milk with the same amount of food,” he said. “We have to be more efficient to feed more people.”

Previous methane interventions have caused consumer backlash. In particular, the use of Bovaer in the United Kingdom. (Image: Getty/SimonSkafar)How will consumers react?It wasn’t so long ago that people were taking to social media to post videos of themselves pouring Arla dairy products down the drain in a backlash against the use of methane-cutting additive Bovaer.

“No thanks, I will be boycotting Arla products going forward,” said one user on X.

“#Arla is off our shopping list forever,” said another.

Such was the strength of feeling against Bovaer that supplement-producer DSM-Firmenich had to publicly declare it safe.

If that powerful reaction is anything to go by then consumers might not be amenable to further use of supplements in cutting methane emissions.

However, Bovaer is a synthetic supplement, made from 3-nitrooxypropanol (3-NOP), a synthetic organic compound, along with silicon dioxide and propylene glycol.

Professor Faciola’s team are proposing the use of flaxseed and pea protein as a means of cutting methane, both of which are naturally-occurring substances. This could potentially result in wider consumer acceptance.

Why is it important to cut methane emissions?According to the United Nations, methane is the primary contributor to the formation of ground-level ozone, a hazardous air pollutant and greenhouse gas, exposure to which causes one million premature deaths every year. Methane is also a powerful greenhouse gas. Over a 20-year period, it is 80 times more potent at warming than carbon dioxide.

Livestock emissions – from manure and gastroenteric releases – account for approximately 32% of human-caused methane emissions. Population growth, economic development and urban migration have stimulated unprecedented demand for animal protein and with the global population approaching 10bn, this hunger is expected to increase by up to 70% by 2050. 

A recent assessment from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition found that cutting farming-related methane emissions is essential to the battle against climate change.

Source: Effects of a flaxseed and pea matrix on in vitro ruminal fermentation, nutrient degradability, and methane emissions

Published online: 10 April 2025

DOI: 10.3168/jds.2024-25770

Authors: J R Vinyard, ∙ M L Johnson,∙ G Salas-Solis