Greenhouse gas methane Jeff Bezos invests 9 million dollars in "cow fart vaccine"
Burping and farting cows play a role in climate change. To reduce emissions from cattle, researchers are working on a vaccine that prevents bacteria in the rumen from producing methane.
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- Livestock farming accounts for around a third of methane emissions caused by humans.
- Researchers are working on a "cow fart vaccine" whose antibody binds to the methane-producing bacteria in the rumen of cows and prevents them from doing just that.
- A vaccine would be interesting because a single dose would reduce a cow's methane emissions in the long term.
- The aim is to reduce methane emissions by at least 30 percent.
Cows fart and belch methane into their environment - and not in short supply, namely an average of around 90 kilograms per year. The animals use this to relieve themselves of the flatulence produced when digesting grass. This is less good for the environment, as methane is a greenhouse gas that is 28 times more potent thanCO2.
Livestock farming accounts for around a third of man-made methane emissions, which together are responsible for around 30 percent of global warming.
Some farms already use feed additives that help to reduce methane production in a cow's stomach. However, they have disadvantages: the effectiveness varies and the cows have to be constantly supplied with the feed additive, which is difficult when the animals are free to roam.
The goal of a vaccine: 30 percent less methane emissions
A vaccine could be an alternative. The Pirbright Institute in the United Kingdom, a virology laboratory specializing in livestock, is among those working on the development of such a vaccine, reports the US television station "CNN". The Royal Veterinary College and AgResearch, an agricultural innovation laboratory in New Zealand, are also involved.
The efforts are being supported with 9.4 million US dollars from the Bezos Earth Fund, an organization set up by the Amazon founder to combat climate change. The aim is to reduce methane emissions by at least 30 percent.
According to John Hammond, Director of Research at the Pirbright Institute, scientists have been working on a "cow fart vaccine" for over a decade, but so far without tangible results. "To work, the vaccine would have to produce antibodies that bind to the methane-producing bacteria in the rumen and prevent them from doing just that."
However, the development is a very complex challenge, he adds, as antibodies - proteins produced by the immune system after vaccination - are not known to work well in the rumen.
One dose reduces a cow's methane emissions in the long term
Another potential problem is animal welfare. Although it is expected that such a vaccine would have "no impact" on their health, Hammond says this has yet to be proven. There could also be a reduction in the amount of feed that the rumen can absorb. This would mean that cattle would end up needing more feed, which would increase costs for farmers.
The main advantage of a vaccine against methane emissions would be that it could be administered to calves after birth, similar to the vaccines already in use against certain diseases, says Dirk Werling, Professor of Molecular Immunology at the Royal Veterinary College, who is also working on the project.
A "cow fart vaccine" would be "sort of the holy grail," according to Joseph McFadden, an associate professor of dairy cattle biology at Cornell University who is not involved in the project, as a single dose would reduce a cow's methane emissions in the long term.
However, a vaccine would only be one of many possible solutions to the cow fart problem, which currently include selective breeding, enzymes, genetic editing of the microbes that emit methane and feed additives.
