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View Full Version : Pill stops cow burps and helps save the planet



stephanie
03-22-2007, 05:12 PM
:cow: :lmao:
Kate Connolly in Berlin
Thursday March 22, 2007
Guardian Unlimited


The fist-sized pill is meant to help reduce the methane produced by cows. Photograph: David Cheskin/PA

Cut down on flying, sell the car and recycle your bottles. But if you really want to tackle global warming, you should stop your cow from burping.

According to scientific estimates, the methane gas produced by cows is responsible for 4% of greenhouse gas emissions. And now, German scientists have invented a pill to cut bovine burping.


The fist-sized plant-based pill, known as a bolus, combined with a special diet and strict feeding times, is meant to reduce the methane produced by cows.

"Our aim is to increase the wellbeing of the cow, to reduce the greenhouse gases produced and to increase agricultural production all at once," said Winfried Drochner, professor of animal nutrition, who has led the ground-breaking project at the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart. "It is an effective way of fighting global warming."


Prof Drochner wants to use the pill to trap some of the energy from the methane, which is naturally produced in the fermentation process when a cow digests grass and is later mostly burped out through their mouths. Until now it has been wasted.


"We could use the energy to boost the cow's metabolism," he said. The idea is that the cows would use the methane to produce glucose instead of passing it as wind. In turn this should help them to produce more milk.


"The fist-sized tablets mean that microbiotic substances can slowly dissolve in the cow's stomach over several months," said Prof Drochner.

Over the past 50 years the concentration of methane in the atmosphere has increased six-fold. With meat consumption growing, it is set to rise further.
http://environment.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,2040615,00.html

MtnBiker
03-22-2007, 05:34 PM
Those aren't just burps! :cow: :cow:

5stringJeff
03-22-2007, 05:36 PM
Actually, I've read that cow gas is the single largest contributor to greenhouse gases. So if you're going to look to "fix" global warming, this would be the place to start.

stephanie
03-22-2007, 05:39 PM
I wonder if they'll also make a pill for cow farts..

A big Beano pill..



:cow: :cow:

Mr. P
03-22-2007, 05:44 PM
Actually, I've read that cow gas is the single largest contributor to greenhouse gases. So if you're going to look to "fix" global warming, this would be the place to start.

I heard the same years ago. Butt if we fix it, does that mean no more steak? Or will it just taste like a fart?

Nienna
03-22-2007, 05:47 PM
...and if the cattle are drugged, will those drugs pass into OUR systems once we eat the beef? I certainly don't need MY body storing more glucose! :eek:

Mr. P
03-22-2007, 05:56 PM
Hey, this could really be an alternative energy source!

Six stomachs, right. Yer not gonna end methane production. So, why not plug em at night and collect the stuff, just like milking ya know?

We get beef and gas! It’s a Win, Win!

stephanie
03-22-2007, 06:01 PM
Hey, this could really be an alternative energy source!

Six stomachs, right. Yer not gonna end methane production. So, why not plug em at night and collect the stuff, just like milking ya know?

We get beef and gas! It’s a Win, Win!

It can be like the milking machines..

Shove a hose up the cows butt while their sleeping and collect the farts in a big storage container...

:coffee:

Mr. P
03-22-2007, 06:04 PM
It can be like the milking machines..

Shove a hose up the cows butt while their sleeping and collect the farts in a big storage container...

:coffee:

Yup! Hey my idea, I'm working on the patent now!!!

stephanie
03-22-2007, 06:06 PM
Yup! Hey my idea, I'm working on the patent now!!!

Yeah But....How are you going to capture the cow farts while their awake during the day..???

Mr. P
03-22-2007, 06:16 PM
Yeah But....How are you going to capture the cow farts while their awake during the day..???

There will be loss of course. Maybe a portable tank strapped to their back with a tube at their tail fixed with a methane sniffing sensor durning the day for collection.

stephanie
03-22-2007, 06:23 PM
There will be loss of course. Maybe a portable tank strapped to their back with a tube at their tail fixed with a methane sniffing sensor durning the day for collection.

Aaa..That sounds like a fine idea...
And then at the end of the day before they get ready for bed, you take the portable tanks and empty them into the big storage containers...

If you need any investors.....Let me know...:cheers2:

Gaffer
03-22-2007, 10:13 PM
Sounds like a good investment for gores carbon bucks. Cow fart collection.

5stringJeff
03-23-2007, 06:49 PM
Sounds like a future episode of "Dirty Jobs" to me! :D

stephanie
03-23-2007, 06:56 PM
Sounds like a future episode of "Dirty Jobs" to me! :D

:laugh2:

Gaffer
03-23-2007, 08:39 PM
So what do you do for a living?

Im a cow farts collector.

stephanie
03-23-2007, 08:54 PM
So what do you do for a living?

Im a cow farts collector.

:laugh2:

Mr. P
03-23-2007, 09:06 PM
So what do you do for a living?

Im a cow farts collector.

No, Gaffer. That would be a “Professional Bovine Methane collector”.

That title sets you apart from the lower class masses.

The upper class will still see you as a “fart sucker” though.:laugh2: