September 21, 2020

 

More food companies battle cattle methane emissions

 

Companies such as Nestle SA, Fonterra Co-operative Group, and Burger King US have integrated feed additives into their food production, developed to reduce greenhouse gas inducing methane from cattle, Reuters reported.

 

Nestle SA and Barry Callebaut, a chocolate producer, are working with Agolin, a startup feed additive producer, while Burger King United States have begun selling "environmentally friendly" burgers made from cattle that release less methane.

 

The shift towards these feed additives come from increased competition by meat alternatives that have been marketed as healthier and produced with less impact to the environment.

 

Kurt Schaller, Agolin's managing director, said Agolin is being fed to 1 million head of cattle in Europe and 250,000 head of cattle in the US. This is double its total sales volume compared to five years prior.

 

Robert Erhard, head of dairy sourcing for the maker of KitKat chocolate bars and Coffee-mate, said the Agolin feed additive fed to cattle in Nestle's supply chain is part of the company's net zero carbon commitment, adding that more milk generated per dairy cattle lowers the livestock emissions per-litre.

 

Frank Keidel, spokesman for Barry Callebaut, said Agolin is fed to a low percentage of its supply chain cattle.

 

Mark van Nieuwland, director of DSM's "Clean Cow" programme, said the methane-inhibitor feeds global market could hit EUR 1 billion to 2 billion (~US$1.18 billion to US$2.37 billion; EUR 1 = US$1.19) by 2030.

 

DSM's Bovaer product is being used in New Zealand's dairy cooperative Fonterra Co-operative Group and Arla Foods Amba.

 

Another feed additive startup, Mootral in Switzerland is planning commercial sales from next year targeting 300,000 head of cattle and another 1 million head by 2022, according to the company's chief executive Thomas Hafner.

 

Hafner said this won't amount to much compared to the global 1.3 billion head cattle herd, but a new concept needs time to adopt, adding that sales next year is expected to be US$30 million and several billion dollars within five years.

 

Hafner said all feed suppliers combined should feed methane reducing feed additives to their cattle food supply chain by 50 million head by 2025 or the industry has done something wrong.

 

Low methane Whoppers from Burger King made headlines recently, part of the company's bet that reduced cattle emissions will matter to consumers, said Matt Banton, Restaurant Brands' head of global innovation and sustainability. Restaurant Brands' International owns Burger King in the United States.

 

Frank Mitloehner, professor of animal science at the University of California, Davis, said through better use of feed and veterinary care because of improved animal genetics, the livestock industry in the United States is more efficient and less emissions-intensive.

 

Mitloehner criticised Burger King's methane reducing claims as premature, noting that marketing materials for the product wrongly stated flatulence is a major greenhouse gas emissions source, when its actually burps.

 

More global investors have seen the potential of feed additives that reduce cattle methane emissions.

 

Jeneiv Shah, global equity analyst at Sarasin, said a Sarasin & Partners fund invests in DSM because of its efforts to produce more sustainable food.

 

Faazi Adam, research manager at FAIRR, a global investor network focused on risks with intensive animal farming, said strategies from companies like Burger King aren't ambitious enough, but hopes that the media awareness will bring attention to cattle's methane greenhouse gas emissions.

 

-      Reuters