Seaweed cure in sight for bovines' methane burps

Indian cows and buffalos may be put on a diet of seaweed to tackle the problem of bovine burps, the methane-emitting scourge, in the fight against climate change.

- Puja Das

Red seaweeds are a well-known diet supplement to control flatulence among ruminants—animals such as cows, buffaloes, sheep, and deer—that feed on grass. When the grass breaks down in their stomach, the fermentation process produces methane.

Methane is a major greenhouse gas (GHG) that contributes to climate change. About 30% of the planet's methane production comes from cattle. A single cow can burp out 99 kg of methane every year.

India is home to 303 million cattle (19.5% of the global cattle population, the world's largest), 112 million buffaloes (54.6% of the global buffalo population), 150 million goats, and 75 million sheep, according to the Ministry of Animal Husbandry and Dairying.

The government plans to tackle this problem by adding red seaweed, which is rich in protein and found in abundance along the country's 7,600km coastline, to cattle feed.

The development assumes significance given that livestock emissions from burps and manure account for around a third of methane emissions.

This also comes against the backdrop of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change's (UNFCCC's) 198 countries agreeing to submit their next round of national climate action plans—valid until 2030—by February or before the next big climate summit in Brazil next year.