The relationship between seaweed and the reduction of Methane emissions

Ruminant animals are mammals that are able to acquire nutrients from plant-based foods by fermenting it in a specialized stomach. Since most vertebrates do not contain the correct enzymes to break down cellulose, ruminant animals have evolved a complex system that allows them to, well, eat grass. The fermentation of plant food occurs prior to digestion in the front part of the digestive system and is attributed to a unique consortia of microbial communities that live in the rumen that are specialized to decompose plant material. This process is called rumination.

There are roughly 200 species of ruminants alive today; wild ruminants (giraffes, antelope, bovines, deer, gazelles) numbering at 75 million, and domestic ruminants numbering at a whopping 3.5 billion, with cattle, sheep and goats accounting for 95% of the total population. That’s almost 1 domestic ruminant for every 2 humans. As each individual animal goes about its day to day life, eating enormous amounts of plants, mostly in the form of grasses (an average sized adult cow will consume 2.0% of body weight or 24 pounds of grass per day) a specific class of Archea present in the rumen called methanogens produce methane as a metabolic byproduct, which is then excreted out of the animal through mostly burps (95%), but also some farts.

Methane is a strong greenhouse gas and a huge contributor to the greenhouse gas effect that’s plaguing our planet and contributing to global climate change. In 2010, rumen fermentation accounted for 43% of the total greenhouse gas emissions from all agricultural activity in the world and 36% of the total US methane emissions. Methane production by meat animals, principally ruminants, is estimated at 20% of the global production of methane.

If the reductions achieved in the UC Davis study could be applied across the worldwide livestock industry, it would eliminate nearly 2 gigatons of those emissions annually — about a quarter of United States’ total climate pollution each year.”

Ultimately, livestock is feeding climate alteration in a big way, and no one is really talking about it.

However, in the past decade there has been some incredible discoveries showing that adding certain types of seaweed to ruminant livestock feed can drastically reduce the amount of methane they produce. A completely natural solution which also improves the health of the animal and improves immune function, reducing the need for antibiotics, hormones, and other synthetic medications. When it comes to seaweed, a little goes a long way. A study from University of California Davis states that a small amount of seaweed added to the animals feed cut the cows methane production by nearly 60%! Also, its been found that blocking methane production (‘spared methane energy’) leads to more of the consumed carbohydrates from grasses get directed to the task of building tissue, leading to higher body weights and more meat and milk from livestock.

Without a doubt, from many resources I have read on the issue, it seems to be that seaweed is a fool proof way to reduce methane emissions from domestic ruminant animals. I hold curiosity about the biochemical mechanisms happening in the digestion process of these animals that seaweed so drastically effects. I wonder if it’s the salt, minerals, or microbial communities living on/in seaweed that are interfering or competing with the methanogens in the rumen. Whatever it may be, seaweed seems like a promising solution for this systemic issue.

Why aren’t we doing it then? Well, from my research the largest limiting variable is that there just isn’t enough seaweed. Given the enormous population of domestic livestock , the whole 3.5 billion of them, there isn’t even close to enough seaweed to meet the needs of including even 1% of seaweed into their regular feed, which hypothetically would be all they need. This is where seaweed farming on a large scale comes into play. If more ranchers step into this movement, there will be an enormous demand for seaweed; a huge economic incentive for scaling up seaweed farming around the globe. And there’s hope that this knowledge is catching on (well, being enforced) in the ranching communities. In 2016 California lawmakers passed a law that aims to reduce the states methane emissions by 40% below 2013 levels by 2030. The California Air Resources Board subsequently ordered a majority of the reductions in the new law to come from the dairy industry.

So, it looks like there is a very promising industry that is going to catalyze the need for large scale seaweed farming operations in the near future. Time to go back to where it all started, the oceans.

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