After the window cows that had hit the headlines in 2019, the American agribusiness and agricultural commodity trading giant, Cargill, is back in surprising innovations.
It should launch in the second half of 2022 anti-methane masks for cattle developed by the British start-up Zelp (Zero Emission Livestock Project, Editor's note).
Read also: Climate: global methane emissions reach a record level
The methane (CH4) emitted by belching cattle is responsible for 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. However, nearly 95% of methane emissions from ruminants are exhaled through the nostrils and mouth. Zelp technology, which is attached to a standard halter, comes in the form of a mask that captures these emissions thanks to small fans powered by solar batteries. They suck up cows' burps and store them in a filter that oxidizes the CH4 and transforms it half for the moment, into CO2, before releasing it into the air.
"We continue to optimize the efficiency of our technology, which has already recorded a reduction potential of 53%"
, acknowledges Francisco Norris, CEO and co-founder of ZELP.
A first step which would make a contribution to the fight against climate change. Methane has a warming power 20 to 30 times greater than CO2.
"Thanks to this partnership with ZELP, we have a unique solution to contribute to a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions associated with animal husbandry,"
comments Delphine Melchior, director of sustainable development and animal nutrition at Cargill.
One way of calling public opinion to witness and forcing the hand of farmers to equip themselves with the new device.
"We are responding to public opinion which is increasingly concerned about methane emissions
," adds the head of Cargill.
Producers are urged to put in place solutions to mitigate their impact ”
.
As for animal welfare, the impact of the mask on animals would be neutral.
"We also evaluated the effect of the device on animal behavior and did not note any impact on production yields, rumination, periods of rest and activity or food intake,"
says Francisco Norris.
According to the head of ZELP, the mask can operate
“four years without interruption and without the need for recharging”
.
The masks must first be marketed to European breeders in the form of an annual fee estimated at 65 euros per year.
A significant cost given the growing size of the herds.
And undoubtedly not the priority of the moment of the farmers.
"Science fiction"
Breeders do indeed seem unconvinced at this stage of this innovation. "Our current priorities concern more the change of our practices than innovations of this kind which would cost us dearly and would bring additional practical difficulties in the exercise of our profession, deplores Nicolas Girod, producer of milk intended to manufacture county in the Swear. He is also the spokesperson for the Confédération paysanne. “
These masks are more science fiction and communication. False solutions like these avoid tackling the root of the problems in agriculture, namely the intensification and industrialization of animal husbandry and its effects on the climate. "
For others like Joël Sillac, breeder of Bazadaise cows in the Landes,
"this innovation contributes to pointing the finger once again to farmers as emitters of greenhouse gases while we capture carbon thanks to our meadows"
.
To be marketed, the cow mask must pass a series of tests. Cargill and ZELP will, in the coming months, carry out additional testing at Cargill's research and development center as well as at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, one of the world's leading fields of research and development. agriculture and the environment.
