Something strange is happening in Denmark. Farmers are reporting their cows are falling ill—and refusing to eat their feed. But this isn’t just any feed. It contains Bovaer, a new synthetic additive designed to reduce methane emissions by disrupting the digestive system of cattle. That’s right—Bovaer works by muting one of nature’s most miraculous systems: the ruminant gut microbiome. Why? Because cows burp and fart.
The push to eliminate cow burps in the name of climate change has reached bizarre new heights. But here’s the reality—Bovaer doesn’t just affect the cow. It may be messing with everything from the gut microbiome of ruminants to the microbial balance of the soil… and eventually, us. Want to ensure you’re not eating meat from animals fed synthetic junk like Bovaer? Get to know your rancher. Support regenerative farmers who value real food and nature’s design. Because saying cows eating grass are bad for the planet is like saying fish are bad for the ocean.
1. Bovaer Is a Synthetic Feed Additive That Prevents Cows From… Farting?
Yep. That’s the claim. Bovaer is a lab-created chemical additive developed by the Dutch company DSM, designed to suppress methane emissions from ruminants by altering the fermentation process in their digestive tracts. Translation: it reduces cow burps and farts by disrupting microbial activity in the rumen. It sounds like a punchline—but it’s being taken very seriously in the regulatory world.
Problem is, methane is a natural byproduct of digestion in animals with four stomachs for a reason. Mess with that, and you mess with digestion, immune function, nutrient assimilation, and overall animal health. The idea that we can hijack this system without long-term consequences? That’s the real gas.
2. It’s Already Being Used—UK Just Approved It, and It’s Been in the US for 9 Months
Bovaer was approved by the European Commission in early 2022, and it’s now making its way into UK farms, too. In the U.S., Bovaer began appearing in dairy and beef operations under pilot programs. While full FDA approval is still pending, the quiet rollout is already happening in select feedlots. So the cow you ate last night? It might have had a little synthetic microbiome-suppressing powder sprinkled into its feed ration.
This slow introduction, paired with lack of transparency on food labels, should raise red flags. There’s little-to-no public discourse about it. Just like with so many "innovations," it's happening first behind closed doors—then gets marketed as the next savior of the planet.
3. “Safe and Effective”? We’ve Heard That Line Before
When you hear that Bovaer is “safe and effective,” you might want to take a pause. That phrase has become a corporate smokescreen—used to market glyphosate, fluoride, red dye 40, BPA, GMOs, aspartame, sucralose… the list goes on. These additives were once waved through by regulatory agencies despite limited long-term research. Only years later did the real effects emerge—endocrine disruption, neurological issues, cancer risks, reproductive harm.
So when Bovaer gets stamped with that all-too-familiar label, we should be asking questions. Especially since the long-term safety studies—on both animals and humans consuming those animals—are virtually nonexistent.
4. Bovaer Disrupts the Microbiome of Cows—and That Impacts the Entire Ecosystem
Cows aren’t machines. Their gut is a finely tuned fermentation system housing a complex microbial ecosystem that not only digests food but helps regulate immunity and energy transfer. When Bovaer suppresses methane, it’s doing so by targeting methanogens—organisms that play a vital role in the cow’s digestive health.
The ripple effect? It may interfere with nutrient cycling, reduce animal resilience, and lead to unintended health consequences. And because cow dung plays a massive role in replenishing soil microbiota, those effects don’t stop with the cow—they affect the land.
5. Bovaer Interferes With One of Nature’s Most Efficient Systems
Nature already perfected this. Ruminants consume inedible grasses and turn them into highly nourishing protein and fat, all while fertilizing the soil, supporting biodiversity, and sequestering carbon. Cows are not the problem—they're the solution. But Bovaer interrupts this process by weakening microbial function in the gut, which in turn affects manure quality, microbial transfer to the soil, and overall regenerative impact.
You want to fix climate change? Don’t dismantle the one system that already works. Let cows do what they’ve always done: graze, poop, and rebuild the earth.
6. Cows Are Nature’s Magic
Cattle raised regeneratively—on rotating pastures, in sync with natural cycles—don’t destroy the planet. They restore it. Their hooves aerate the soil. Their manure fertilizes and brings life back to dead land. Their grazing stimulates new plant growth, boosts biodiversity, and helps reverse desertification. They rebuild carbon-rich topsoil, reduce water runoff, and increase the land's capacity to absorb rainfall.
This is the essence of the regenerative model. And it doesn’t need biotech. It just needs time, grass, and cows.
7. We Don’t Have a Cow Problem—We Have a Control Problem
All of this—Bovaer, lab-grown meat, carbon credits, “sustainable” ag narratives—it’s not really about the environment. It’s about consolidation. About replacing independent ranchers with multinational control. About taking food production away from real people and putting it in the hands of global conglomerates.
Want real sustainability? Support your local regenerative ranchers. Buy meat that comes from cows raised on grass, not experimental powders. Choose food that honors biology, not synthetic interventions.
Because in the end, this isn’t about saving the planet. It’s about saving profit margins—and the cows (and you) are just collateral damage.
References
- Hristov, Alexander N., et al. “Mitigation of Methane and Nitrous Oxide Emissions from Animal Operations: I. A Review of Enteric Methane Mitigation Options.” Journal of Animal Science, vol. 91, no. 11, 2013, pp. 5045–5069.
- European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). “Safety and Efficacy of 3‐Nitrooxypropanol (Bovaer® 10) as a Feed Additive for Dairy Cows.” EFSA Journal, vol. 19, no. 1, 2021, doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2021.6378.
- Teague, Richard, et al. “The Role of Ruminants in Reducing Agriculture’s Carbon Footprint in North America.” Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, vol. 71, no. 2, 2016, pp. 156–164.
- Knapp, J. R., et al. “Enteric Methane in Dairy Cattle Production: Quantifying the Opportunities and Impact of Reducing Emissions.” Journal of Dairy Science, vol. 97, no. 6, 2014, pp. 3231–3261.
- Savory, Allan. “How to Green the World’s Deserts and Reverse Climate Change.” TED Talks, 2013.