In the ongoing battle against climate change, Sunshiki Co. is at the forefront of an innovative approach utilizing seaweed to combat methane gas emissions from cattle. This initiative stems from the groundbreaking research conducted by a team of researchers primarily based at Kochi University. The team discovered that incorporating particular seaweed into the diets of cattle can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions present in the animals' burps.
The alarming environmental impact of methane, with its greenhouse effect surpassing that of carbon dioxide by 28 times, has prompted the need for sustainable solutions like the one proposed by Sunshiki Co. The research revealed that dairy cows, for instance, release a substantial amount of methane – approximately 500 liters per day through their belches, contributing significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions.
With ruminant animals, including cattle, accounting for an estimated 5 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions globally, the innovative use of a red alga species called Asparagopsis taxiformis is being heralded as an effective solution in mitigating methane emissions. This specific seaweed, found in the Japanese archipelago and the wider Pacific region, has shown promising results in reducing methane emissions by over 90 percent when integrated into the cattle's feed, as indicated by research conducted overseas.
The diligent efforts of Masanori Hiraoka, a professor specializing in oceanic botany at Kochi University's Science Research Center, alongside his team of researchers, have been instrumental in procuring and culturing the red alga species for further study and mass production. The successful cultivation of the seaweed variety, with its volume increasing tenfold in just 10 days during an experimental phase in November, underscores the potential of this approach in revolutionizing agricultural practices aimed at reducing methane emissions. The team's advancements were recently presented at a conference by the Japanese Society of Phycology, garnering interest from various stakeholders in the industry, including entrepreneur Ryo Kubota, the founder of Sunshiki Co.