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Fat Cow Disease

Lately I have started to think that the human race has become too clever for its own good; that we are interfering in things which don't concern us, and don't need to be interfered with, just because we can. I realise I am not the first person to have this thought, in fact the history of the human race is peppered with people and organisations who were opposed to varying forms of progress (the Catholic church for one), however it is progress for progress sake that I am specifically opposed to.

I don't for one moment doubt the importance of scientific research; if it wasn't for the work done by those people who get out of bed in the morning determined to advance the human race, many of us would still be watching the sun orbit the earth, drawing stick men fights on cave walls, and eating soil for breakfast. The trouble is that sometimes people take it upon themselves to solve problems that are way beyond our control, and meddle in things which don't concern humans. They forget that the world doesn't revolve around us.

The final straw for me was an article I read recently on animal feed. Apparently scientists at the Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen are experimenting with a feed additive which they hope will stop cows from producing large amounts of methane. This natural additive works as part of the normal digestive process, and is being trialled with an unnamed commercial partner. As well as reducing methane emissions, it is claimed this additive will also help cows grow 10% more efficiently, as the retained methane contains energy which is used by the body for growth. It is hoped that the additive could also be used for sheep and other ruminants if the trial is successful.

The thinking behind the additive is a typical case of man interfering in the work of nature. The average cow can produce 500 litres of Methane each day, mostly through belching, and it is thought that reducing this will be beneficial for the environment. The Kyoto Protocol recognises that Methane contributes 18% to the overall global warming effect, and as such decreed that we need to reduce Methane emissions by 5.2% for the period 2008-2012. Ever the realists when it comes to figures, the UK Government has decided to increase this figure to 12.5% for the same period.

It is claimed that 70% of global methane formation is caused by man's activities, and that 30% of this is due to burping ruminants. From a scientific point of view, it would seem that cows burping is a perfectly natural process, and has gone on since long before the brains behind the Kyoto Protocol were even born, so quite why we need to spend time and money on preventing it is a mystery to me. I don't doubt that global warming exists, however I am of the opinion that the earth is capable of changing its own climate without our help, and that we are a very minor factor in the process.

Dr. John Wallace, the man leading the research at the Rowett Institute is quoted as saying: "This is great for the environment but it's also a win-win situation as the farmer benefits as well because the energy in that methane is retained in the animal's body. For every kilogramme of feed they consume they produce 10% more body weight." This would seem to be a good result for everyone except the poor cow. Surely if cows were meant to retain methane in order to aid growth then their bodies would evolve naturally to cope with this; Mother Nature is not in the habit of relying on scientists from Aberdeen to solve evolutionary issues.

This particular example of man interfering with nature is reminiscent of the mad cow disease outbreak in the 1980s, and whilst the effects of this particular experiment are unlikely to have such devastating consequences, it shares many similar qualities. Mad Cow Disease (BSE) is believed to have been caused by the rendered remains of contaminated scrapie affected sheep brains that were added into cattle feeds. This infectious material formed part of an ingredient which was used to boost the protein content of concentrated feeds for cattle - a lucrative replacement for the more expensive arable crop proteins that can also be used for this purpose. This theory (although never conclusively proven) underlines what can happen when we try to cut corners with nature.

I am not qualified to predict the disastrous side effects of an experiment such as this, although I can foresee one ludicrous scenario. Methane is a gas less-dense than air, and as such if this experiment were to be taken to the extreme, we may begin to witness cows floating across the Grampian Highlands, desperate to burp out some of their retained methane in order to re-join the herd at ground level. In reality the most likely outcome is that a Scottish farmer will make more profit from fatter cows, which he will add to his already fat EU subsidy, and use it to buy a monstrous gas-guzzling American pick-up truck.

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