Major dairy producer's cow feed experiment creates unexpected customer reaction
European dairy giant Arla starts testing methane-reducing feed additives with UK supermarket chains. Customer reaction shows mixed feelings about food technology in dairy production
Arla‚ Europes biggest dairy producer started working with leading UK stores to test special cow feed that cuts gas emissions‚ The company (which makes Lurpak and Cravendale) partnered with Tesco‚ Morrisons and Aldi to try out Bovaer feed supplement
Around thirty farmers from Arlaʼs 9‚000-strong network will check how to mix the additive into daily feeding plans; tests show it can lower methane by 27pc. The super-markets called it a good test for making big changes in farming‚ but some people dont like it
Social-media users showed their un-happiness with the idea — some said theyd stop shopping at these stores while others want special labels on products from farms using the additive. The UK Food Standard Agency says its ok to use: both safe for people and ok-ish for nature
Shore Capital expert Clive Black points out an interesting fact: shoppers care more about animal-care than green goals. Still‚ stores need to try eco-friendly stuff because anti-meat groups often use green-facts to criticize farming. Different groups are working on this problem - from Jeff Bezos giving $9.4m for a methane-cutting vaccine to weird ideas like shooting fake lightning at cow-poop
