Ornua has said rejecting Bovaer as a potential methane abatement solution is not an option currently given the need to address methane emissions.The co-op’s director of corporate affairs, Anne Randles, was speaking at a ‘Shaping the Future of Dairy’ conference in Lyons, Co Kildare, on Wednesday last.
Ornua has said rejecting Bovaer as a potential methane abatement solution is not an option currently given the need to address methane emissions.
The co-op’s director of corporate affairs, Anne Randles, was speaking at a ‘Shaping the Future of Dairy’ conference in Lyons, Co Kildare, on Wednesday last.
Bovaer contains the active ingredient 3-Nitrooxypropanol (3NOP), which reduces the production of methane in ruminant animals such as cattle. However, the feed additive has received criticism on social media with people questioning the safety of food producing animals eating the additive. Responding to a question from Terra NutriTECH CEO, Padraig Hennessy, Randles said that much of the negative attention is focused in the United Kingdom and she hopes it will not spread to Ireland.
“We all got caught on the hop with this one, nobody saw it coming. I’d like to think it’s not the end of the methane abatement tool; it has huge opportunities,” she said.
“We just need to take a step back and take a look at how we’re going to message this more.
“Throwing Bovaer out now, at this stage, I don’t think is an option for us; it’s fundamentally important in terms of how we’re going to address methane on farms.”
Allegations
Earlier this month, UK milk processor Arla received criticism on social media following its decision to trial the feed additive as part of a new emissions reduction initiative with retailers Morrisons, Aldi and Tesco.
Arla has refuted the allegations and claimed that information spreading online surrounding the “safety of the Bovaer feed additive is completely false”. Since this, Ireland’s Department of Agriculture and Teagasc have both said that the feed additive poses no concern for consumer safety.
Dairy Industry Ireland director Conor Mulvihill said that we need to “weed out” any false news around farm technology and food safety.
“Yes, it has given us a kick in the backside regarding the use of technology and also the advantage that we have in Ireland that people want a natural product. We’re only just out the other end of it but we’re really going to have to take it as a case study example.”
Read more
Claims around the safety of feed additive Bovaer 'completely false' - Arla
Teagasc confident that Bovaer is safe for use
Bovaer of no concern for consumer safety – Department
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