Ben & Jerry's, Straus Family Creamery, and Clover Sonoma have signed deals to begin using a natural seaweed supplement for their cows as they move to dramatically cut the greenhouse gas footprint of their farm operations.
The Blue Ocean Barns supplement, Brominata, is a dehydrated form of a red seaweed that is proven to safely cut cows' methane emissions by more than 80%, without changing the taste of milk or meat, according to peer-reviewed publications. The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) authorized commercial use of Brominata as a digestive aid for cattle earlier this Spring.
A major reduction in livestock-generated methane gases could significantly slow the progress of climate change, according to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). In fact, studies at the University of California, Davis, and the University of Oxford have concluded that methane reductions can actually have a cooling effect on the climate. Global methane emissions are generated predominantly by the agriculture industry and are more than 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over the first two decades of release. About a quarter of all methane emissions worldwide come from cattle enteric fermentation (cow gas).
Ben & Jerry's announced that it plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on 15 dairy farms to half the industry average by the end of 2024, including through the use of Brominata. Ben & Jerry's plans to then expand successful pilot project initiatives to farms across its global dairy supply chain.
In California last summer, Straus Family Creamery conducted the first commercial trial using the red seaweed (Asparogopsis taxiformis) on the Straus Organic Dairy Farm. For the next phase of the Petaluma, Calif.-based company's rollout of Brominata, Albert Straus' farm will be the first organic dairy in the United States to feed Brominata to cows as part of its goal of being carbon neutral by 2023. All of the dairy farms that supply Straus Family Creamery will be carbon neutral by 2030.
Meanwhile, Clover Sonoma has signed a contract to buy Brominata for a Sonoma County project. The company plans to run a 90-day program with the seaweed to demonstrate for its farmers how Brominata can help meet climate goals and increase feed efficiency in cattle.
