Flatulent Cows

Millions of dollars are being given to scientists to solve the problem of farting cows. The US alone has given nearly $20 million (yes your tax dollars) in Conservation Innovation Grants to 51 research projects across the country.

Here are some of the solutions to the problem of farting cows that scientists are working on:

In Australia scientists are spending millions of dollars on a project to reduce flatulence in cows, by breeding more efficient cows that convert their food into more milk and less methane. To quote Dieter Adam, a manager at New Zealand's Livestock Improvement Corporation, "We want fuel-efficient cows."

Also in Australia scientists are trying to neutralize the methane produced by cows by transferring bacteria found in kangaroo stomachs to cattle. It seems kangaroo farts are methane free thanks to a particular bacteria in their stomachs.

The Australian company CSIRO has developed a vaccine that tricks the animals' immune systems into producing antibodies to methane causing bacteria in their stomachs. They claim that it also somehow boosted animal growth.

Scientists in Wales are conducting a three-year study to show that feed containing garlic could cut the amount of gas produced by cows by up to 50%.

In Japan Professor Takahashi discovered a blend of nitrates and the amino acid cysteine that act as a powerful suppressant of methane production inside the cow's stomach but has no effect on milk quality.

German scientists have invented a anti-burping/anti-gas pill. The fist-sized plant-based pill, called a bolus, combined with a special diet and strict feeding times, is suppose to reduce the methane produced by cows. The pill works by trapping some of the energy from the methane. The cows would then use the methane to produce glucose instead of passing it as wind. They say the pill would slowly dissolve in the cow's stomach over several months.

Scientists at the Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen say they have developed a diet based on fumaric acid that has helped to reduce the amount of methane produced by cows by as much as 70%. The diet consists of a food additive, a mixture of organic sugars and a bacterium developed at the institute.

Argentine researchers collected gas produced by cows in an effort to figure out their impact on global warming. They collected gas from their stomachs in plastic tanks attached to their backs.
They discovered methane from cows accounts for more than 30 per cent of the country's total greenhouse emissions.
Scientists are now carrying out trials of new diets designed to reduce their emissions.
Cow farts collected in plastic tank for global warming study

In 2003, the New Zealand government attempted to impose a methane tax on farmers. But the "fart tax" was dropped after protests from farmers.