Wednesday 15 July 2020

Burger King introduces new diet for cows to slash emissions by a third

Fast-food giant Burger King has introduced a new diet for its cows to reduce its meat production-related emissions.

The company has collaborated with scientists from the Autonomous University in Mexico and the University of California to test a new diet formula for cows which according to preliminary results, is capable of reducing cows' daily methane emissions by an average of up to 33% per day during the last three to four months of their lives.

The new formula suggests adding 100 grams of lemongrass leaves to the cows’ daily diet helps them release less methane as they digest their food.

Fernando Machado, Global Chief Marketing Officer, Restaurant Brands International, said: "We are making all our findings public. This an open-source approach to a real problem.

"If the whole industry, from farmers, meat suppliers and other brands join us, we can increase scale and collectively help reduce methane emissions that affect climate change."