Conspiracy theory on methane-cutting cow feed a ‘wake-up call', say scientists
Scientists say a recent methane-related conspiracy theory was 'a wake-up call' for the industry, reminding them they need to communicate better and more directly with the public.
Over the last few months, Bovaer, a cattle feed additive that is proven to reduce emissions of the greenhouse gas, has been at the centre of a swirl of misinformation, drawing in Reform UK, the dairy industry and even the billionaire Bill Gates.
The conspiracy kicked off when Arla, the multinational food group best known for Lurpak butter, announced in November it would be running a pilot of Bovaer to reduce the carbon footprint of its products.
Bovaer is the name given to 3-nitrooxypropanol, or '3-NOP', one of a range of additives that are given to cattle to aid digestion and reduce their flatulence, which is a significant cause of methane emissions. Cutting methane, a gas many times more powerful than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere, would give the world breathing space in the fight to control temperature rises, many scientists have said.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has been assessing the use of 3-NOP and says the additive has undergone rigorous testing over 10 years. According to Bovaer's manufacturer, DSM-Firmenich, the additive is now approved in 68 countries and given to more than 200,000 cows.
But what should have been an exciting announcement of a pioneering scheme to help reduce our greenhouse gas emissions quickly became a social media storm about the health effects of the additive, with people videoing themselves throwing away products by the brand and pouring milk down their sinks in protest.
On 2 December, the Reform MP Rupert Lowe stated on X that he 'won't be consuming anything containing Bovaer', and had requested that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs undertook 'an urgent review of its use in our food system'.
Some posters had been linking to a report by the FSA published in 2023 that found 3-NOP 'should be considered corrosive to the eyes, a skin irritant, and potentially harmful by inhalation' to humans handling it.
The agency eventually had to release further guidance on the safety of using Bovaer, stating that the additive breaks down in the digestive tract and is therefore not present in milk produced by the cows ingesting it, so would not pose any risk for human consumption. The guidance above would only apply to handling 3-NOP in its pure form at the manufacturing stage.
Other concerned social media users pointed to claims that 3-NOP could cause cancer. However, the results of a UK government assessment had concluded: 'The additive is not carcinogenic at the recommended inclusion rate.'
Somehow Bill Gates got dragged in too, with one variant of the conspiracy arguing that he was using his wealth to invest in population control – referring again to the concerns that if handled in its pure form, 3-NOP could cause male infertility.
While the Microsoft co-founder has no connection to Bovaer, or its manufacturer, he has invested in a rival startup called Rumin8, which develops a similar methane-reducing product using seaweed to break down the gas.
Arla released a statement dismissing any involvement from Gates in the trials, and DSM-Firmenich, a Swiss-Dutch company that develops products for the health, beauty, and nutrition industries, said it had 'fully developed' Bovaer and that the company had 'no other investors'.
The FSA website said: 'The FSA safety assessment concluded there are no safety concerns when Bovaer is used at the approved dose.
'More than 58 studies on potential risks were evaluated and it was concluded that the additive is safe at twice the recommended dose. The additive is metabolised by the cows so does not pass into the milk. It was not found in milk in any of the trials presented to the FSA.'
Answering questions at a press briefing on Monday about the scale of the misinformation, Dr Sinéad Waters, a senior researcher in host microbiome interactions at the University of Galway, said, 'It's a good wake-up call to scientists because really communication is with the farmers.
'We want to bring everyone along with us on the journey. Communication is key, we need to do more of that, not just with the farmers but with the general public.'
Also speaking at the briefing at the Science Media Centre was Prof Robin May, the chief scientific adviser at the FSA. He said: 'The overwhelming response we saw from the public was confusion rather than jumping on board. The more communication and transparency the better.'
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