The new feed additive for cows

The government has given us yet another reason to take an interest in and research what we’re consuming: Bovaer.  

Bovaer was recently approved by the FDA. According to Elanco Animal Health, the manufacturer, Bovaer is first-in-class, methane-reducing feed ingredient that works by suppressing the enzyme in the cow’s rumen that forms methane.

Jeff Simmons, Elanco President and CEO, claims Bovaer has the ability “to accelerate the opportunity for climate-neutral dairy farming while creating a new revenue stream for dairy farmers across the country.”  

Elanco promotes that feeding one tablespoon of Bovaer per lactating dairy cow per day can reduce methane emissions about 30% or about 1.2 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions annually and give dairy farmers the potential to earn an annual return of $20 per lactating cow.  

How safe is it?

Well, if the FDA approved it, it must be OK, right? The answer somewhat depends on whether you think rBST, (a cow growth hormone which has raised health concerns) should have been approved.

Bovaer is made using silicon dioxide, propylene glycol, and organic compound 3-nitrooxypropanol (known as 3-NOP).

Though Bovaer is approved, the FDA did list the following warning:

Not for human use. Caution should be exercised when handling this product. 3-nitrooxypropanol may damage male fertility and reproductive organs, is potentially harmful when inhaled, and is a skin and eye irritant. Personal protective gear, including eye wear, a dust mask, and impervious gloves, should be worn when handling this product. Operators should wash hands after handling. If accidental eye exposure occurs, rinse eyes thoroughly with water.

On Elanco’s data safety sheet, it states three times that Bovaer is “Suspected of damaging fertility.” Bovaer has other safety concerns as well.

But according to the National Farmers’ Union, when used as recommended, Bovaer breaks down in the cow’s digestive system and is not found in the milk or meat.  

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The carbon narrative

Are cow burps such a big deal that we need such a remedy and should take such a risk?  

According to people like Bill Gates, who is backing a similar cow-targeting product, cow burps are a huge deal, huge enough to incentivize farmers to get on board.

Remember when Elanco said farmers using Bovaer will get $20 annually per cow? Where is that money coming from?

Carbon credits.  

The Climate Promise website defines the carbon market as “trading systems in which carbon credits are sold and bought. Companies or individuals can use carbon markets to compensate for their greenhouse gas emissions by purchasing carbon credits from entities that remove or reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

In 1997, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change rolled out the Kyoto Protocol in an effort to reduce worldwide carbon emissions by the year 2100. In 2015, the protocol was replaced by the Paris Agreement which set emissions standards and allowed for emissions trading.  

Under President Trump, the U.S. pulled out of the Paris Agreement in 2017, in 2021 President Biden had the U.S. rejoin, and in 2025, on his first day back in office, President Trump once again pulled the U.S. out. The agreement commits leaders of more than 180 countries to “reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit the global temperature increase to less than two degrees Celsius or 35.6 degrees Fahrenheit above preindustrial levels (net-zero) by 2050. The United Nations calls the effort to reach net zero as “one of the greatest challenges humankind has faced” that requires “nothing less than a complete transformation of how we produce, consume, and move about.”

Hence the market. Companies now can buy carbon credits to legally emit more greenhouse gases. They also purchase carbon offsets, which allow them to have a "net-zero carbon emission" rate. Whereas others, such as farmers, that are participating in an emissions reduction project can now sell credits.

Elanco’s VP livestock sustainability Katie Cook explained, “If you look at the overall value proposition today, it’s about a $20 return or more annually per lactating dairy cow that the producer would get for feeding Bovaer. About 50% of the return is going to come from a carbon marketplace like Athian, and the other 50% is going to come from government incentives.”

So that begs the question, do fewer cow burps really make up for/cancel out the emissions put out by these corporations?  

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The science of flatulence

Methane from cattle isn’t a problem needing solving, according to Chief Nutrition. “Cattle belch methane, but it's critical to understand this is part of a natural BIOGENIC carbon cycle.

“The methane enters the atmosphere and after 10 years, it's broken down into CO2 & H2O. The water becomes part of the water cycle (like rain), and the CO2 is taken up by plants. During photosynthesis, the O2 is released back into the air and we humans can live because we breathe this.

“Then the C (carbon) is taken up by the roots, and parts of it are dripped down to microorganisms and fungi in the soil, which live on the carbon and in exchange, send the plant's roots the other nutrients it needs to live. Up to about 40% can be SEQUESTERED in the soil, when the cattle are managed well (e.g. using Regenerative Farming methods). Then, the cow eats grass (carbon), and the cycle happens again. Some of this carbon is pooped out; some of it becomes meat, leather, bones, etc."  

Many will tell you that cows are part of a natural carbon cycle, and that cows are carbon negative.

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Who's using Bovaer?

In the United Kingdom, Aldi and other grocery chains are partnering with farmers who are feeding Bovaer. And yes, there has been backlash. Consumers have even thrown the milk down the toilet.

Nestle, General Mills, Starbucks, and others are focused on reducing methane in cows as well.

For this article, attempts were made to contact Aldi US, Meijer, Spartan Nash, and Country Fresh Dairy to ask whether they plan to partner with farmers using Bovaer or similar products and, if they do, will package labels inform consumers, as is done with rBST growth hormone. None responded before publication.

K&K Dairy Farms in Westphalia, one of the farms that partners with Country Fresh Dairy, hadn’t heard of Bovaer, but said they already are using a more digestible feed, Enogen, which is a different type of corn with smaller sugar particles so cows can digest it better.  

Organic certifiers also were contacted, Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) and Midwest Organic Service Association (MOSA). Neither had heard of Bovaer.

Organic dairy farmer Jesse Meerman of Green Pastures in Coopersville does not use Bovaer. His response regarding methane was, “If methane is a useless gas to the cow, why does she produce enzymes to create it?” He added that he’s suspect when peer review studies find it safe for the animal and the farmer, yet there is a warning label not to touch or inhale it. It doesn’t make sense.  

Meerman pondered how much greenhouse gas is released in producing Bovaer. Is it that same as how ethanol is only an energy resource if you don’t count the energy it took to grow it? And, if Bovaer prevents carbon dioxide and hydrogen from combining into methane, doesn’t that add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere? “Who knows,” he said, “maybe it's fine, but no one wants to be the one to try it on their kids.”  

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For those who don't want products made from cows eating Bovaer

Read product labels, or better yet, talk to the farmers supplying your grocery stores and restaurants and know what is going into the products your family is consuming.  

As Bovaer rolls out across the U.S., consumers can help each other be informed by submitting names to this directory of farms that are Bovaer free.

But are emissions from cows really the emissions we need to worry about?

Think about this question I recently heard—Would you rather spend the night in a closed garage with a cow or with a car that’s running?