Milk Brands Face Backlash Over Additives in Cow Feed

Arla Foods has announced some of its farmers will be trialing adding a new ingredient to the feed for their dairy cows which is meant to reduce the amount of methane the livestock produce in their burps. It does this by stopping an enzyme in the cows’ stomach that is responsible for producing methane, it is authorised for use in the UK and has been labelled safe for animals, producers and consumers.

The initiative will work to highlight how feed additives and supplements like Bovaer can be added to the normal feeding routine of dairy cows. The project will involve around 30 of Arla’s farmer owners to hopefully provide a more practical understanding of how to use these additives on scale and how it will impact farming operations.

The famous dairy brand is using this trial as one of the first steps in its FarmAhead Customer Partnership, a program focused on the longevity of the dairy industry by reducing its carbon footprint. Bovaer is said to reduce methane emissions from cows by around 27% on average and the first-of-its-kind trial will see farmers across the food industry using the additive to put their efforts towards methane reduction. Tesco, Morrisons and Aldi have also now heeded the call and joined forces with the dairy cooperative for their Future Dairy Partnership initiative.

Andrew Barraclough, Arla Farmer owner and one of those involved in the trial is excited about its potential, insinuating that the one thing holding him back from using the additives previously is that “they can be expensive”. He added: “Farmers are trying to accelerate the transition to more sustainable dairy farming, but we can’t do it alone. It’s why collective initiatives like this between Arla and its customers are so important for farmers – we need the wider industry to come together and support us if we are going to drive change.”

However, customers have been less than impressed by the news as they flooded the comments with fury when Arla made this announcement on their X account. Many threatened to boycott the brand and the retailers it is partnering with. Soon, the social media platform was littered with rumours of how safe the product is, climate change denial and even claims that Bovaer had a dubious connection to Bill Gates.

An Arla spokesperson assured The Grocer that the health and safety of both their customers and animals are their “number one priority”. They added: “Bovaer has already been extensively and safely used across Europe and at no point during the trial will there be any impact on the milk we produce as it does not pass from the cow into the milk.”

The spokesperson also insisted the claims that it is connected to Bill Gates “is completely false”. Newsweek also unravelled some of the confusion revealing the Microsoft founder has invested in a similar bovine product, but this is not linked to Bovaer.