Sir, – There has been only the slightest mention in your pages of reducing methane emissions by changes in livestock diet, despite very promising early studies in Australia to mix seaweed with normal feed and reduce methane by as much as 90 per cent.
An article in the Journal of Cleaner Production (Vol 259), “Mitigating the carbon footprint and improving productivity of ruminant livestock agriculture using a red seaweed,” shows methane reduction up to 98 per cent. A trial in Sligo by DulaBio showed methane reduction by 80 per cent.
While this only appears to be a start, this sort of research should be better supported and publicised. Feeding seaweed to livestock has been a part of Irish tradition, as seaweed also provides important minerals, vitamins and fibre, and it appears very promising in the effort to help reduce methane emissions from livestock around the globe. What are we waiting for?
– Yours, etc,
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PAUL SCHWARTZMAN,
Dublin 18.