SEP 16

By now we all know that cows' burps and backside emissions contain methane.  And it's actually a big problem.  Worldwide, these emissions are responsible for 37 percent of human-produced methane.  Amazingly, oregano, an herb found in almost every spice rack in America, is able to greatly reduce the amount of methane produced by cows.

A cow's belches are responsible for the large majority of methane they emit, so scientists concentrated on finding a supplement that could reduce the methane produced in the rumen, causing less to be released.  After trying numerous plants, essential oils and other natural supplements, oregano was found to consistently reduce the methane produced without having any negative effects on the cow.

The tests were carried out at Penn State University's dairy barns.  In lactating cows at the barn, the oregano supplement decreased methane emissions by 40 percent.  The cows also produced almost three more pounds of milk a day while being fed the oregano.  Scientists believe that because the cows' bodies weren't expending as much energy producing methane, they used that energy to produce more milk.

Scientists are conducting further trials to identify the active ingredient in oregano that causes the methane reduction in order to produce a purer supplement.

via Live Science

Comments (11)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Side benefit
written by Queeg, September 16, 2010

And as a side benefit, they're pre-flavored for spaghetti sauce.

• 
• +9
• 
• 

whats wrong with the natural way?
written by Christopher Reeve, September 16, 2010

Letting cows graze in meadows full of clover and wild herbs also works at drastically reducing methane. We also produce more gas when we eat an unhealthy diet. What I find disturbing about this article is that it ends by effectively indicating "factory farmed" animals can still lead healthier lives if they are given the right chemical supplement. If we didn't work so much against nature we wouldn't need to work so hard to fix it. There should be no space on ecogeek to talk about intensive animal farming.

• 
• +9
• 
• 

Reducing Emissions By 100%
written by beforewisdom, September 16, 2010

Not raising cows to eat their meat or their milk reduces methane emissions by 100%.

Interested in reducing your meat intake for the environment?

Try this site
http://www.tryveg.com

• 
• -1
• 
• 

...
written by beforewisdom, September 16, 2010

whats wrong with the natural way?
written by Christopher Reeve, September 16, 2010
Letting cows graze in meadows full of clover and wild herbs also works at drastically reducing methane.

Excellent point.

Factory farms exist because they hold prices down and boost profits.

There would not be as much meat or milk available or available as affordabley if factory farms were not used.

• 
• +2
• 
• 

Humans?
written by Christiaan, September 17, 2010

More importantly, will eating oregano help me reduce my flatulence?

• 
• +6
• 
• 

Not just tasty...
written by Asaf Shalgi, September 19, 2010

Good to know that besides being a great spice added to your pizza, oregano can also help cows reduce the amount of methane emitted by them.

• 
• +0
• 
• 

Advanced meat technology
written by Gelf, September 20, 2010

It should be possible to grow cow meat in factory conditions without using live cows.

It only necessary to tweak the DNA to promote the ability of muscle tissue to grow on inert substrates which can easily be removed at harvest time. It would be fed by synthetic blood enriched with nutrients.

In order to grow muscle tissue in prime condition it will be necessary to exercise them by applying electrical stimuli in regular periodic pulses. A useful by-product is power generation, since the muscle contractions can be used to power generator sets in the meat factory. When it is time for meat harvest, the muscles are in perfect tone for eating.

In theory, once one species of animal meat production is debugged, other species can be added according to market tastes and demand. Humanity in the future will be able to enjoy a much wider range of meats than is available to us today.

This technology would remove all religious and ethical issues regarding consumption pork flesh since the synthetic pork flesh would be evidentially clean.

• 
• +2
• 
• 

Thank goodness I'm vegan
written by Brandon, September 23, 2010

I've been Vegan for almost 6 months now and I love it. www.vegweb.com has thousands of recipes that are easy, and just as tastey (if not more so) than the non-vegan traditional foods.

And the "synthetic meat" idea is appalling. To think that we can replicate the intricacies of nature with technology is absurd. We've shown time and time again that by trying to manipulate and recreate nature with technology we screw it up. Maybe we should try working with nature for once.

• 
• +1
• 
• 

Retired
written by Chuck, September 23, 2010

Milk may be tainted by the Oregano to the point where people may not drink it. Wild onions eaten by dairy cows taint milk so bad that the milk has to be discarded. Can't even make cheese, etc with it.

Chuck

• 
• +1
• 
• 

Bacterial protien just like mother used to make
written by Ronald Brak, September 25, 2010

Growing animal muscle in a dish is extremely expensive and difficult. Getting bacteria in a vat to produce animal protiens and fats is much easier. I think it's much more likely people will have bacteria produced protiens used to bulk up their hamburgers and fishsticks before anyone starts chomping down on a lab grown steak.

• 
• +2
• 
• 

Advanced meat technology
written by Usul, October 27, 2010

It should be possible to grow cow meat in factory conditions without using live cows.

mmm, slig meat.

next step: axlotl tanks.

• 
• +1
• 
• 

Name

Email

Website

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (registered users only)

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment