By ninemsn staff
A pill that cuts flatulence in cows has been developed in Germany as a way of tackling the smelliest contributor to climate change.
Methane gas produced by cows is responsible for 4 percent of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, according to scientific estimates.
With the concentration of methane in the atmosphere expected to rise in accordance with worldwide meat consumption, a group of German scientists have found a way to counteract the problematic gas.
The solution is a fist-sized plant-based pill, known as a bolus, which when combined with a special diet and strict feeding times is supposed to reduce the level of methane gas produced by cows.
"Our aim is to increase the wellbeing of the cow, to reduce the greenhouse gases produced and to increase agricultural production all at once," said Winfried Drochner, Professor of Animal Nutrition at the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart.
"It is an effective way of fighting global warming."
Prof Drochner, who has led the groundbreaking study, believes energy normally lost when the cow expels methane could help boost the cow's metabolism.
"The idea is that the cows would use the methane to produce glucose instead of passing it as wind. In turn this should help them to produce more milk.
"The fist-sized tablets mean that microbiotic substances can slowly dissolve in the cow's stomach over several months," said Prof Drochner.
Over the past 50 years methane levels in the atmosphere have risen 600 percent, and are predicted to continue rising.
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