At the root of the excitement is the red seaweed Asparagopsis. It comes in two varieties, a warm water species, Asparagopsis taxiformis and a cold water species, Asparagopsis armata. Unlike most microbes in the gut, scientists' best guess is that methanogens are not essential to digestion, so if you could reduce their activity, you could reduce methane emissions without affecting the animal's growth and health. In the mid-1990s farms were set up to grow Asparagopsis armata in France and Ireland, for cosmetics. Reisinger says New Zealand must find ways to reduce methane, and should not reject anything because it's not perfect.

Source: Stuff April 26, 2020 16:52 UTC