Scientists and regulators have warned about the danger of misinformation and poor communication of the science behind methane reductions in livestock.
The feed additive Bovaer was the subject of an online backlash in late 2024, which one of Ireland’s leading methane researchers has described as a “wake-up call” for scientists and policymakers.
Misleading and false statements made online about Bovaer and its main ingredient 3-nitrooxypropanol (3-NOP) prompted some consumers to dump milk produced from cows fed the methane-reducing supplement.
Senior researcher in host-microbiome interactions at the University of Galway, Dr Sinéad Waters, told the Irish Farmers Journal that scientists working on methane reduction were shocked by the online furore.
The message here – the wake-up call – is for scientists and for policymakers. Communication is key
“But I think it’s a really good wake-up call to scientists, because really our communication is often with the farmers, and we really want to have uptake of these technologies,” she said, saying that the communication efforts with farmers was very good but less so with consumers.
Bovaer's main ingredient is 3-NOP, a methane inhibitor which works on microbes in the cow's rumen. \ Donal O'Leary
“Considering there been like 10, 20 years of research in this area, and [Bovaer] had gone through EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) approval and to see the themes on X, that was really startling,” she added.
“The message here – the wake-up call – is for scientists and for policymakers. Communication is key, and I think we need to do more of that, not just to the farmers, but to the general public on the use of these technologies and that they are safe… that these trials have been ongoing for years and have gone through the EFSA or FSA (UK Food Standards Agency) approval process to ensure that there is food safety and no residues associated with these feed additives.”
Dr Waters was speaking on a webinar run by the Science Media Centre, alongside other leading scientists and regulators.
Chief scientific adviser with the UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA), Professor Robin May, concurred with Dr Waters, warning about the dangers of misinformation spreading online.
“If a small number of people with very powerful voices say things that are not true, lots of people pick up on them, and people get very confused. And that is very bad for the food system,” he warned.
“Generally, people have an absolute right to trust their food and if people start telling things that are very confusing, I understand completely that people you know, kind of shy away from [the food].”
I guess my plea would be for people to pause and take a careful look at the robust scientific evidence before they come on any topic
The FSA scientist added that all of the experts on the webinar “believe very strongly that evidence should lie at the heart of good policy making”.
He said: “So it’s always very disappointing if people either ignore or kind of go against the available scientific evidence. And I guess my plea would be for people to pause and take a careful look at the robust scientific evidence before they come on any topic.”
While the December backlash against Bovaer was prompted by an Arla trial on 30 farms in partnership with supermarkets Morrisons, Aldi and Tesco, Bovaer has been approved for use in 68 countries and has been fed to more than 200,000 worldwide according to its Dutch manufacturer DSM. It is licensed for use in the EU, UK, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan and the US.
Slow-release blouses
Director of research, at the Pirbright Institute, Prof John Hammond, told the webinar attendees: “The benefits [of methane-reducing feed additives] haven’t been communicated, and the fact that this needs to happen one way or another.
“And the benefits on the climate generally, I think, have not been communicated accurately with some of the detail and how it may affect your food, or your day-to-day life, and that that will be different in different regions around the world.”
Cows wearing equipment to measure their methane emissions while grazing at Teagasc, Moorepark, Co Cork. \ Donal O'Leary
Research is ongoing into the use of a slow-release bolus method of delivering methane-reducing additives to cattle in grazing systems.
Dr Waters said that New Zealand in particular is pushing research on slow-release boluses for cattle that would only require animals to be dosed with a bolus gun every six months.
“Ruminant Biotech in New Zealand has generated a bolus that they’re testing, and doing long term trials on those,” she said, which could be on the market there by 2026.
“If that product was to be applied in Ireland or the UK, we would have to go through EFSA or FSA process, because it’s actually a chemical that’s in that bolus. So I would imagine we’re a few years off [having that bolus available in Europe],” she said.
Its half-life in the atmosphere is short, so strategies like the use of feed additives that give you a quick win
Professor of ruminant nutrition at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) Richard Dewhurst said that he believes there is a “growing realisation” that methane reduction is a service that the ruminant livestock industry, can give to wider society.
“One of the features of methane is the fact that it’s a short-lived greenhouse gas in the atmosphere,” he said.
“Its half-life in the atmosphere is short, so strategies like the use of feed additives that give you a quick win and a quick reduction [in methane emissions] could actually make a significant overall contribution [to reducing greenhouse gases] in the short term,” he explained.
Longer term, cattle breeding strategies to produce lower-emitting and more feed-efficient cattle can deliver emissions reductions by 2025, he said, “but we need these things that are going to give 20-30% reduction”.
“We don’t need to stop [cattle] emitting completely – if we stopped it [methane emissions] increasing, then that is actually going to lead to a reduction in the warming effect,” Prof Dewhurst said.
Scientists and regulators have warned about the danger of misinformation and poor communication of the science behind methane reductions in livestock.
The feed additive Bovaer was the subject of an online backlash in late 2024, which one of Ireland’s leading methane researchers has described as a “wake-up call” for scientists and policymakers.
Misleading and false statements made online about Bovaer and its main ingredient 3-nitrooxypropanol (3-NOP) prompted some consumers to dump milk produced from cows fed the methane-reducing supplement.
Senior researcher in host-microbiome interactions at the University of Galway, Dr Sinéad Waters, told the Irish Farmers Journal that scientists working on methane reduction were shocked by the online furore.
The message here – the wake-up call – is for scientists and for policymakers. Communication is key
“But I think it’s a really good wake-up call to scientists, because really our communication is often with the farmers, and we really want to have uptake of these technologies,” she said, saying that the communication efforts with farmers was very good but less so with consumers.
Bovaer's main ingredient is 3-NOP, a methane inhibitor which works on microbes in the cow's rumen. \ Donal O'Leary
“Considering there been like 10, 20 years of research in this area, and [Bovaer] had gone through EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) approval and to see the themes on X, that was really startling,” she added.
“The message here – the wake-up call – is for scientists and for policymakers. Communication is key, and I think we need to do more of that, not just to the farmers, but to the general public on the use of these technologies and that they are safe… that these trials have been ongoing for years and have gone through the EFSA or FSA (UK Food Standards Agency) approval process to ensure that there is food safety and no residues associated with these feed additives.”
Dr Waters was speaking on a webinar run by the Science Media Centre, alongside other leading scientists and regulators.
Chief scientific adviser with the UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA), Professor Robin May, concurred with Dr Waters, warning about the dangers of misinformation spreading online.
“If a small number of people with very powerful voices say things that are not true, lots of people pick up on them, and people get very confused. And that is very bad for the food system,” he warned.
“Generally, people have an absolute right to trust their food and if people start telling things that are very confusing, I understand completely that people you know, kind of shy away from [the food].”
I guess my plea would be for people to pause and take a careful look at the robust scientific evidence before they come on any topic
The FSA scientist added that all of the experts on the webinar “believe very strongly that evidence should lie at the heart of good policy making”.
He said: “So it’s always very disappointing if people either ignore or kind of go against the available scientific evidence. And I guess my plea would be for people to pause and take a careful look at the robust scientific evidence before they come on any topic.”
While the December backlash against Bovaer was prompted by an Arla trial on 30 farms in partnership with supermarkets Morrisons, Aldi and Tesco, Bovaer has been approved for use in 68 countries and has been fed to more than 200,000 worldwide according to its Dutch manufacturer DSM. It is licensed for use in the EU, UK, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan and the US.
Slow-release blouses
Director of research, at the Pirbright Institute, Prof John Hammond, told the webinar attendees: “The benefits [of methane-reducing feed additives] haven’t been communicated, and the fact that this needs to happen one way or another.
“And the benefits on the climate generally, I think, have not been communicated accurately with some of the detail and how it may affect your food, or your day-to-day life, and that that will be different in different regions around the world.”
Cows wearing equipment to measure their methane emissions while grazing at Teagasc, Moorepark, Co Cork. \ Donal O'Leary
Research is ongoing into the use of a slow-release bolus method of delivering methane-reducing additives to cattle in grazing systems.
Dr Waters said that New Zealand in particular is pushing research on slow-release boluses for cattle that would only require animals to be dosed with a bolus gun every six months.
“Ruminant Biotech in New Zealand has generated a bolus that they’re testing, and doing long term trials on those,” she said, which could be on the market there by 2026.
“If that product was to be applied in Ireland or the UK, we would have to go through EFSA or FSA process, because it’s actually a chemical that’s in that bolus. So I would imagine we’re a few years off [having that bolus available in Europe],” she said.
Its half-life in the atmosphere is short, so strategies like the use of feed additives that give you a quick win
Professor of ruminant nutrition at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) Richard Dewhurst said that he believes there is a “growing realisation” that methane reduction is a service that the ruminant livestock industry, can give to wider society.
“One of the features of methane is the fact that it’s a short-lived greenhouse gas in the atmosphere,” he said.
“Its half-life in the atmosphere is short, so strategies like the use of feed additives that give you a quick win and a quick reduction [in methane emissions] could actually make a significant overall contribution [to reducing greenhouse gases] in the short term,” he explained.
Longer term, cattle breeding strategies to produce lower-emitting and more feed-efficient cattle can deliver emissions reductions by 2025, he said, “but we need these things that are going to give 20-30% reduction”.
“We don’t need to stop [cattle] emitting completely – if we stopped it [methane emissions] increasing, then that is actually going to lead to a reduction in the warming effect,” Prof Dewhurst said.
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