Scientists use onions to reduce cow methane emissions
Around 20% of our methane emissions comes from ruminants, like cows. The researchers used chemicals found in onions and garlic which have been shown to decrease methane emissions by changing the chemistry of the rumen, according to a few studies.
The only problem with their method is that some studies have shown that when cows are fed onions, it can transfer the flavor to the milk. In order to test this scientists in Spain set up a blind taste test study. They fed 100 cows normal cow feed and fed another 100 cows feed mixed with methane reducing chemicals.
The milk from the cows eating a regular diet tasted fine, while milk containing a high level of PTSO—10 milligrams per kilogram—definitely tasted like onions to 88 percent of the tasters. The milk from the onion extract-eating cows contained lower levels of PTSO, and also tasted fine to all but 12.5 percent of the tasters.
source: gizmodo.com
