A steak in the future: seaweed farmer bids to slash cattle industry emissions
Australian beef producers are first to try Methane Tamer
A company that farms seaweed to reduce the amount of methane burped by cattle has launched its first branded product.
Methane Tamer Beef Feedlot is a targeted digestive aid formulation that contains Asparagopsis seaweed and is made by United States-based CH4 Global, Inc. CH₄ is the molecular formula for methane, one of the most destructive greenhouse gases.
CH4 Global, which is establishing seaweed farms in Australia and New Zealand, said that when processed correctly, Asparagopsis has been scientifically proven to reduce methane emissions in cattle by up to 90% without negative effects on animal welfare or beef quality taste or texture.
Easy inclusion
“Our proprietary formulation contains superior-quality Asparagopsis and other natural ingredients to support intake by feedlot cattle and easy inclusion in the feeding regimen,” the company said in a press release.
It added that Methane Tamer Beef Feedlot also supports feed efficiency and weight gain, and aids in digestion.
The product is the first in a line of products for a full suite of ruminant animals and farming approaches being developed under the Methane Tamer brand and will initially be commercially available to partners in Australia with global expansion coming in future years.
First customers
Methane Tamer Beef Feedlot will first be made available to existing commercial partners CirPro and Ravensworth.
CirPro is an Australian advanced protein manufacturer and meat processor that last year became CH4 Global’s first customer. It is supplying the Asparagopsis-based product to its feedlot partners.
In January 2023, CH4 Global signed a letter of intent with large-scale cattle grower Ravensworth. An operational and learning build-up period will take place in 2023, with production targeting up to 40,000 head of feedlot cattle at Ravensworth over the next year and a half.
Like scrapping 50m cars
CH4 Global’s methane-reduction roadmap includes reaching 150 million cattle -10% of the world total - on all six habitable continents, by 2030. The company says this would deliver more climate benefit than decommissioning 50 million fossil-fuelled cars.
“What we have developed over the last four years is a platform that can quickly scale and be highly profitable,” said CH4 Global chief executive Steve Meller.
“In fact, this new approach, plus our filed intellectual properties on novel ways to dramatically drive down costs of growing and processing Asparagopsis, while preserving bioactivity of the final product, has ensured that we now have, without question, the lowest cost product on the market while maintaining the highest quality, natural/non-synthetic, product.”
