Key considerations for the use of seaweed to reduce enteric methane emissions from cattle

Authors: VIJN, SANDRA - World Wildlife Fund; PAULUS COMPART, DEVAN - Land O'Lakes, Inc; DUTTA, NIKKI - Foundation For Food And Agriculture Research; FOUKIS, ATHANASIOS - Bigelow Laboratory For Ocean Sciences; HESS, MATTHIAS - University Of California, Davis; HRISTOV, ALEX - Pennsylvania State University; Kalscheur, Kenneth; KEBREAB, ERMIAS - University Of California, Davis; NUZHDIN, SERGEY - University Of Southern California; PRICE, NICHOLE - Bigelow Laboratory For Ocean Sciences; SUN, YAN - Cargill, Incorporated; TRICARICO, JUAN - Innovation Center For Us Dairy; TURZILLO, ADELE - World Wildlife Fund; WEISBJERG, MARTIN - Aarhuis University; YARISH, CHARLES - University Of Connecticut; KURT, TIMOTHY - Foundation For Food And Agriculture Research

Submitted to: Frontiers in Veterinary Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/3/2020
Publication Date: 12/23/2020
Citation: Vijn, S., Paulus Compart, D., Dutta, N., Foukis, A., Hess, M., Hristov, A., Kalscheur, K., Kebreab, E., Nuzhdin, S.V., Price, N.N., Sun, Y., Tricarico, J.M., Turzillo, A., Weisbjerg, M.R., Yarish, C., Kurt, T. 2020. Key considerations for the use of seaweed to reduce enteric methane emissions from cattle. Frontiers in Veterinary Science. 7. Article 597430. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2020.597430.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2020.597430

Interpretive Summary: Enteric methane emissions from livestock are the single largest source of direct greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) in beef and dairy value chains and a substantial contributor to anthropogenic methane emissions globally. In 2019, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), with the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) and the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), convened approximately 50 stakeholders representing research and production of seaweed, animal feeds, dairy cattle and beef and dairy food companies to discuss challenges and opportunities associated with the use of seaweed-based ingredients to reduce enteric methane emissions. This Perspective article describes the considerations identified by the workshop participants and suggests next steps for the further development and evaluation of seaweed-based feed ingredients as enteric methane mitigants. This research will be of interest to seaweed growers, feed industry personnel, livestock producers, nutritionists, food industry personnel, and researchers interested in utilizing seaweed-based feed ingredients that will reduce enteric methane emissions from animal production systems.

Technical Abstract: Enteric methane emissions from livestock are the single largest source of direct greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) in beef and dairy value chains and a substantial contributor to anthropogenic methane emissions globally. In late 2019, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), with the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) and the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), convened approximately 50 stakeholders representing research and production of seaweed, animal feeds, dairy cattle and beef and dairy food companies to discuss challenges and opportunities associated with the use of seaweed-based ingredients to reduce enteric methane emissions. This Perspective article describes the considerations identified by the workshop participants and suggests next steps for the further development and evaluation of seaweed-based feed ingredients as enteric methane mitigants. Although numerous compounds derived from sources other than seaweed have been identified as having enteric methane mitigation potential, these mitigants are outside the scope of this article.