A new cow feed additive that promises to reduce methane emissions is being ridiculed by consumers.
If your TikTok feed has been interrupted in recent weeks by clips of people pouring supermarket-bought milk down the drain, here’s the reason why they’re discarding their dairy.
On 26 November, the UK’s largest dairy cooperative Arla Foods announced a planned trial of a new milk product which will include the methane-reducing additive, named Bovear.
The company behind Bovear claims the additive can reduce harmful cow methane emissions by 30-45% which, if true, would be a big boost to the environmental battle against climate change.
Tesco, Aldi and Morrisons all agreed to stock milk provided by the 30 UK farms trialling the additive.
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, much more destructive than carbon dioxide, and is one of the main factors in the acceleration of climate change in recent decades.
Cows produce it when their stomachs are breaking down hard fibres like grass for digestion. This fermentation process creates methane gas which is then mostly belched out again.
Bovaer, which was manufactured by a company by the name of Dsm-Firmenich, works to suppress the enzymes in a cow’s stomach that create the gas.
The National Farmers Union (NFU) says when the additive is used as recommended it breaks down in the cow’s digestive system and as such is not found in milk or meat.
Despite it being approved for use by UK regulators, some online users have raised concerns around the use of the additive, citing issues around the safety of certain compounds used in it.
Many consumers have been threatening to boycott the products when they hit supermarket shelves, and the controversy has led to multiple farmers taking to social media to inform consumers to distance their produce from Bovaer.
Some of the most popular clips have seen users disposing of packets of Arla’s Lurpak butter and pouring cartons of milk into the toilet, with one captioned: “Not in my house.”
The manufacturer, DSM-Firmenich, says “mistruths and misinformation, external” have been spread about its product. It says it is “totally safe” for use, and has been tested over many years in many countries.
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In a statement posted to their website, they declared: “It has been successfully and safely in commercial use for over two years on farms across the globe.”
Among those raising concerns has been Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe, who said on X that he had asked the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs to carry out an urgent review of the additive.
Other opponents have pointed to claims that a component of the additive could cause cancer, but UK regulators dismissed the concerns after carrying out an assessment, which concluded “that the additive is not carcinogenic at the recommended inclusion rate”.
Several experts have emphasised that no traces of Bovaer or the compounds contained within it would be found in the milk going on sale in UK supermarkets or other produce, as it is broken down in a cow’s stomach.
