Who knew cows loved the salty taste of seaweed?

Based in the UK, a team of students have developed a cow feed that uses seaweed to reduce the amount of methane entering the atmosphere, and facilitate an environmentally friendly dairy industry.

Poppy Newly-Bayliss and her fellow Ecologeco team members never imagined they’d be spending so much time focusing on cows when they started their studies at the University of Nottingham. However, today the team are using their STEM skills to transform the environmental impact of dairy farming.

Ecologeco is a team of eleven students who are building a business concept that will reduce the amount of methane entering the Earth’s atmosphere. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is about 28 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in warming the planet. And around 40% of annual methane production comes from the 1.4 billion cows in the world, making cattle farming a key factor in global warming.

The team was formed from Enactus UK, a youth entrepreneurship non-profit, with the ambition to create a cow feed that reduces methane gases from livestock. Through research and product development, the team of students have now developed a seaweed-based eco feed that could reduce cow-based methane by up to 99%.

And who knew cows loved the salty taste of seaweed?!

The group are hopeful their business can facilitate an environmentally friendly range of dairy products - with a major supermarket and dairy producer already keen to stock their produce. The team are using their STEM skills to innovate change that will allow consumers to enjoy good quality dairy with little environmental impact.