Could Skippy hold the cure for cows' least endearing habit?
Newsflash! An answer may have been found down under, to the seemingly intractable problem of flatulent cattle. Yes, it's those farting cows again, but a breakthrough may be imminent...
Here's the science bit. Although kangaroos eat a similar diet to Daisy et. al, unlike cows, they do not produce large quantities of the greenhouse gas methane. This has got researchers quite excited about kangaroos' digestive systems, in the hope that a similar action could be replicated in cattle. And an experiment is about to take place introducing microbes found in kangaroos' stomachs into those of cows kept for meat and dairy products.
Dr Athol Klieve is a senior research scientist involved in the project. He explains: "When you ferment grass in the stomach like kangaroos do, they produce hydrogen, and you have to get rid of that hydrogen, or it slows down and stops the fermentation of the material."
“We’ve been able to isolate a number of species of bacteria that do take hydrogen through to acetate and it’s those bacteria that we hope to be able to move across to sheep and cattle, to bring down the methane emissions in sheep and cattle”.
Let's hope this theory will prove to be a sound one, so those of us who can't quite face going vegan can enjoy a good cheeseboard again without guilt.
