Bill Gates is investing millions of dollars in technology that will improve cow table manners.
According to Fox Business, a company controlled by the Microsoft co-founder is investing $12 million in an Australian company developing food supplements to prevent cattle from burping.
Rumin8, the company, stated in a press release that the investment will be used for product trials in four countries. Cattle feed designed to reduce methane emissions from burping will be tested in the trials.
“We have been very pleased with the reception we have received from climate impact funds around the world,” Rumin8 Managing Director David Messina said of the investment.
“There is a genuine desire to fund solutions to enteric methane emissions from livestock and fortunately for Rumin8, they can see the benefits of our technology.”
An executive for Breakthrough Energy Ventures — a firm founded by Gates — praised Rumin8’s mission in the company’s news release touting the investment.
“The demand for sustainable protein has never been more apparent, which is why BEV is keenly interested in reducing methane emissions from beef and dairy,” Carmichael Roberts said of BEV’s motives.
“Rumin8 offers a low-cost, scalable toolbox that has already proven to be effective in reducing emissions,” he said. “Our team will support Rumin8 in working closely with farmers to expand the reach of this solution globally.”
According to Fox Business, Rumin8 is planning tests with cattle feed developed with a red seaweed ingredient that would reduce methane production in cows.
Cow emissions have previously been identified as a source of pollution.
According to Phys.org, one study concluded that cows emit 5,000 tons of methane into the atmosphere each year.
In a 2019 interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, Gates singled out emissions from cow burps (and flatulence).
Gates is particularly interested in cattle ranching.
According to The Land Report 100, the mega-billionaire is the largest private owner of farmland in the United States.
Gates has gone so far as to call the use of animal products in the human diet into question, implying that he would prefer developed nations switch to synthetic and plant-based alternatives.
The Microsoft co-founder owns four private jets, which means his carbon footprint far exceeds that of the average person.
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