“Bill Gates' climate preparation” should make Arla's cows fart less

Published 1 December 2024 at 17:08

Foreign. Thousands of customers in the UK are threatening Arla with a boycott after it emerged that the company uses a controversial preparation to reduce methane emissions from animals. Now Arla is hitting back, accusing critics of spreading “misinformation”.

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Arla has sparked outrage after trialling the use of the methane-reducing feed supplement Bovaer on 30 of its UK farms.

It is a food supplement of the kind developed with the support of billionaire Bill Gates for climate purposes.

Purely, the preparation makes the cows fart and burp less, which in the long run is considered to be able to stop so-called climate change and save the world.

The criticism, which has been spread on social media, is based on information that the supplement would be harmful. Several users have also linked the addition to so-called conspiracy theories about Bill Gates and climate issues, writes The Grocer.

Arla's brands Cravendale and Lurpak have trended on the platform X, where thousands of users express concern and vow to boycott the company and its partners.

Even in Sweden, criticism is directed at Arla from users on social media, and there are demands that Arla must answer which farms use the preparation in Sweden.

Hello @arlasverige

It might be good if you explain why you introduced this in Sweden?

Ping @SwedishPM https://t.co/r354Hbe4Ur

— Ewan Gelius☕️ (@TreSMguld) November 30, 2024

In a response, Arla claims that the criticism is based on “misinformation” and is “completely false”. A spokesperson for the company emphasizes that the supplement has been thoroughly tested and approved by regulatory authorities such as EFSA and the British Food Standards Agency, according to The Grocer.

– Bovaer does not affect the milk because it does not pass from the cow to the milk, says the spokesperson for Arla.

It is also noted that it was not specifically Bovaer that Bill Gates invested in, but another similar one.

The supplement, developed by DSM Firmenich, according to Arla, can reduce methane emissions from cows by an average of 27 percent. The initiative is part of Arla's goal to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent per kilogram of milk by 2030.

Despite the criticism, Arla emphasizes that the attempt has “great potential” to reduce agriculture's alleged climate impact.