Can Feeding Seaweed to Cows Slow Down Climate Change? | WYL Ep. 181 | Ermias Kebreab

Speaker: Ermias Kebreab, PhD; Associate Dean, College of Agriculture and Environmental Science, UC Davis

The world is experiencing unprecedented extreme weather events due to climate change, caused by the accumulation of greenhouse gases. Methane is a greenhouse gas that can trap heat in the atmosphere 28 times more effectively than carbon dioxide. Globally, livestock are responsible for about 14.5% of greenhouse gas emissions and methane emissions from livestock rose more than 50% in the last 60 years and are expected to continue rising. So, what can we do to reduce those methane emissions? An idea we’ve been working on is seaweed! Yes, a red seaweed Aspragopsis taxiformis, has the potential to reduce methane emissions from cows by over 80% according to a California study and 98% in an Australian study.