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Sunday, Aug. 23, 2020

Have studies proved oregano can reduce methane emissions from cows?

Allegra Taylor, Gigafact Foundry
no

Adding oregano extracts to cattle feed as a more natural way to cut methane emissions has yet to be proved to work.

A 2018 study found that adding extracts of oregano to the feed of dairy cows inhibited their methane production, but stated that more research is necessary. In a 2019 study, Danish researchers fed dried oregano to dairy cows but did not find any lowering of methane production over the course of four days. Another study from February found that oregano oil had no effect on methane emissions.

The U.N. estimates that 14% of global human-caused greenhouse gas emissions come from livestock, and 44% of those emissions are from methane gas produced by livestock. Some chemical compounds have been found to reduce methane production in cattle by as much as 25%.

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