Cow Feed That Cleans Potent Methane Burps Nears Europe Rollout
- EU watchdog says DSM’s feed additive is safe for dairy cows
- Bovaer can cut dairy cows’ methane emissions by about 30%
A cow on a farm near Utrecht, Netherlands.
Photographer: Romy Arroyo Fernandez/NurPhoto/Getty Images
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A feed additive that cuts methane burped out by cows -- a major contributor to agricultural emissions -- moved a step closer to being sold in Europe.
The European Union’s food watchdog said Dutch nutrition company Royal DSM NV’s Bovaer product is safe and effective for dairy cattle. It wasn’t asked to decide on safe levels for other categories such as beef. Europe is the world’s second-largest milk producer, and Bovaer has already been approved for beef and dairy cows as well as sheep and goats in Chile and beef giant Brazil.