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Does that require the cows to be entirely fed on the seaweed or does it work as part of a mixture? Edit: found the paper: https://sci-hub.ac/10.1071/AN15576 ht
by the8472 10y ago
Does that require the cows to be entirely fed on the seaweed or does it work as part of a mixture?
Edit: found the paper: https://sci-hub.ac/10.1071/AN15576 https://sci-hub.ac/10.1071/AN15576
According to figure 2 it looks like 2-10% of the feed is sufficient to achieve near-total methane reduction and <5% does not negatively affect digestibility, so 2-5% is the sweet spot.
- belorn 10y agoSince this is aimed at environment efforts, I would ask how much 2-5% reduction in feed is in acres of land dedicated to farming and usage of pesticides. To my knowledge, seaweed farm are considered quite eco firendly, not size constrained, and don't need pesticides.
- toomuchtodo 10y agoYour knowledge is all correct (I researched leaving tech to farm seaweed).
- faraggi 10y agoWhat were the conclusions of your research?
- erichocean 10y agoNot the OP, but the typical conclusion would be "effective altruism indicates I should stay in tech and give money to helping fisherman transition to seaweed farming." It's very hard to pass this analysis, since "high tech" is almost universally more valuable to humanity, per unit, that something low tech like farming. If you're already in tech and you want to "help the world", giving money is almost always the best choice. http://www.givewell.org/ http://www.givewell.org/ is a good resource for where to give effectively.
- toomuchtodo 10y agoOP here. Your assuming I'd stay in tech to arbitrage the wage gap to give altruistically. You discount that maybe working in tech isn't what makes me happy (disclaimer: I like my current gig because of the people I get to work with, but nothing is forever), farming seaweed from my 41 foot catamaran (now depreciable as a business expense if commercially farming seaweed) might make me happier after working in tech for 15 years, and that I'm saving up to eventually leave the tech industry for living on a sailboat with my family. > but the typical conclusion would be "effective altruism indicates I should stay in tech and give money to helping fisherman transition to seaweed farming." Don't make assumptions. Life is meant to be enjoyed, and we work for a third of our lives. Perhaps some of us don't want to do the same work for our entire lives. Lastly, tech isn't how I would give altruistically. I'd trade options and futures and donate the profits. The impact would be orders of magnitude higher than donating my hourly/salary wages.
- justinclift 10y agoVery well put. :)
- toomuchtodo 10y agoAppreciate it. I comment only to bring perspective.
- sc4th1s 10y agocould you tell me more about using a boat for seaweed farming?
- Frenchgeek 10y agoThe hard part is figuring out how to make the plough float.
- toomuchtodo 10y agohttps://medium.com/invironment/an-army-of-ocean-farmers-on-the-frontlines-of-the-blue-green-economic-revolution-d5ae171285a3#.thpy0urbn https://medium.com/invironment/an-army-of-ocean-farmers-on-t...
- ogrisel 10y agoNote that this study is about "in vitro" analysis. High iodine contents and toxic compounds might make this algae not suitable as bovine fodder. Furthermore this is tropical algae and it traditionally hand harvested making it very expensive to produce. I don't know if it could be mass produced in sea farms. Source: http://uses.plantnet-project.org/en/Asparagopsis_taxiformis_(PROSEA) http://uses.plantnet-project.org/en/Asparagopsis_taxiformis_...
- jessaustin 10y agoAt first I was confused... thanks for pointing out that this study is totally impractical. Cattle, like most ruminants, rely on the fermentation of cellulose for most of their energy needs. Any feed additive that shuts down this process will result in malnourished cattle, and is unlikely to see broad adoption in the industry. Luckily for the PEI farmer, the seaweed he used didn't have this effect.
- the8472 10y agoThat's covered in the paper. The in vitro test was on bacterial samples that do that very fermentation and measured the output of nutrients (fatty acids) that can be absorbed by the animals. I.e. shutting down the methanogenesis does not shut down all fermentation, it just takes other pathways. It is not an essential component.
- jessaustin 10y agoWow I guess this is why I'm not a biochemist; I wouldn't have thought that was possible. This might be something to look for at the feed store in another decade or so...
- silicon123 10y agothe abstract also says they didn't test it in vivo