Bovaer 10 consists of silicon dioxide (basically sand), propylene glycol (a food stabilizer) and the active compound 3-nitrooxypropanol (3-NOP).

Bovaer and 3-NOP were approved for use in Canada in early 2024. Canadian beef and dairy industry leaders generally lauded this as a positive development.

There has been an enormous amount of misinformation about the safety of 3-NOP, with some labelling milk from herds fed the additive as “Frankenmilk”. Others have been concerned it could make its way to humans via beef.

The bottom line is that 3-NOP is safe. Let’s unpack some of the major misunderstandings.

Why do we need to reduce methane production?

In our attempts to reduce global warming, most of the focus has been on CO₂ as a a major human-produced greenhouse gas. But methane is also a greenhouse gas, and although we produce less of it, it is a far more potent greenhouse gas than CO₂.

Agriculture is the largest human-produced source of methane. As cattle herds expand to fuel our increasing desire for meat and milk, reducing methane production by cows is an important way to reduce greenhouse emissions.

There are several ways to do this. Stopping the bacteria in cows’ stomachs that generate methane from making methane is one approach.

The methane cows and sheep produce is not from the animals themselves, but from microbes that live in their digestive systems. 3-NOP stop the enzymes that do the final step of methane synthesis in these microbes.

3-NOP is not the only compound trialled as a feed additive. A seaweed-based Australian product, Rumin8, for example, is also under development. Saponins, soap-like chemical compounds found in plants, and essential oils have also been investigated.

However, 3-NOP is currently one of the most effective treatments.

Is it a poison?

There is concern on social media about Bovaer “poisoning our food”.

But, as we say in toxicology, it’s the dose that makes the poison. Arsenic, for example, is lethal at 2–20 milligram per kilogram of body weight.

In contrast, 3-NOP was not lethal at the doses used in safety studies, up to 600 mg 3-NOP per kg of body weight. At 100 mg per kg of body weight in rats, it had no adverse effects.

Does it cause reproductive issues?

The effect of 3-NOP on reproductive organs has caused a lot of comment.

Research in rats and cows found that doses of 300–500 mg per kg of body weight resulted in ovarian and testicular shrinkage.

To put that in perspective, to achieve the same exposure in humans, a 70 kg human would need to consume 21–35 grams (around 2 tablespoons) of pure 3-NOP a day every day for weeks on end to see this effect.

No human will be exposed to this amount as 3-NOP does not enter milk – it’s fully metabolized in the cow’s gut.

No cow will be exposed to these levels either.

Does it cause cancer?

The ingredient 3-NOP is not genotoxic or mutagenic, meaning it can’t damage DNA. So 3-NOP’s effects are dose-limited, meaning small doses aren’t harmful while very high doses are (unlike radiation, where there is no safe dose).

At a dose of 300 mg per kg of body weight, researchers found benign tumours in the small intestines of female rats, but not male rats, after 2 years of daily consumption. At a 100 mg of 3-NOP per kg of body weight, no tumours were seen.

Cows are consuming less than 2 grams Bovaer 10 a day (of which only 10 per cent or 0.2 grams, is 3-NOP). This is around 1,000 times less than the acceptable daily intake of 1 mg 3-NOP per kg of body weight a day for a 450 kg cow.

This level of intake will not result in tumours, or any of the other adverse effects.

How much will humans be exposed to?

Consumers of milk and meat will not be exposed to 3-NOP. It does not get into milk or meat: it is completely metabolised in the cow’s gut.

Farmers might be exposed to a small amount handling the feed additive and industrial workers producing 3-NOP will be potentially exposed to more. Farmers and industrial workers already wear personal protective equipment to reduce exposure to other agricultural chemicals – and are recommended to do so with Bovaer 10 as well.

How extensively has it been tested?

Over the 15 years 3-NOP was developed, it was subject to multiple reviews by the European Food Safety Authority, the United Kingdom’s Food Safety Authority and others.

It has been extensively tested over months of exposure to cattle with no adverse effects. Some studies actually say it improves milk and meat quality.

Bovaer has been approved for use in dairy cattle by the European Union since 2022 and in Japan in 2024. It is also used in many other countries, including in beef products in Australia.

Very little 3-NOP enters the environment (less than 0.2 per cent of the ingested dose), it does not accumulate and is readily broken down so is not an environmental risk.

Since humans are not exposed to 3-NOP though milk and meat, long-term human exposure is not an issue.

How was Bill Gates involved?

Bill Gates has invested in a different feed treatment for methane, the Australian seaweed based Rumin8. But he has nothing to do with Bovaer 10.

The company that makes 3-NOP has received research grants for malaria control research from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, but not for 3-NOP.

The bottom line is that adding 3-NOP to animal feed poses no risk to consumers, animals or the environment.

— Ian Musgrave is a senior lecturer in pharmacology at the University of Adelaide. Additional files from Glacier FarmMedia.

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Elanco Animal Health is licensed to market Bovaer in North America. Canada cleared the feed additive and its active ingredient, 3NOP, earlier this year.

One tablespoon of Bovaer per lactating dairy cow a day can reduce methane emissions by about 30 per cent, or about 1.2 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions annually, the company said. Bovaer works by suppressing the enzyme in a cow’s rumen, part of its stomach, that forms methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

The feed ingredient would help dairy food companies to buy carbon credits from their own farms and create a value stream of $20 a cow, Elanco CEO Jeffrey Simmons told Reuters.

Feeding one million cows Bovaer would reduce emissions equivalent to removing more than 285,000 cars from the road for a year, Elanco estimated.

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Denmark, a major dairy exporter, could become the first country in the world to price agricultural emissions, including methane emissions from burping cows, a move that has broad political backing.

Methane, a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, is a natural byproduct of digestion in cows and other ruminants that is released into the atmosphere.

The Nordic country has pledged to reduce emissions by 70 per cent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.

More than half of Denmark’s land is farmed, with agriculture accounting for about a third of the country’s carbon emissions, according to Danish climate think tank Concito.

Farming has not yet been subject to any climate regulations, but the industry has expressed concerns that a carbon tax would force them to reduce production and close farms.

Instead, farmers and the dairy industry have advocated the use of additives that stop the fermentation process inside the cows’ stomach, preventing the production of methane.

The government set aside 518 million Danish crowns (C$101.9 million) to finance the feed additive, which is expected to reduce methane emissions from the country’s roughly 550,000 dairy cows by 30 per cent in 2030.

Such additives have been met with skepticism from Danish politicians and animal welfare groups, as it is still unclear whether it would meet Danish animal welfare standards.

Netherlands-based nutrition company Royal DSM had a feed additive approved by the EU in 2022.

This type of feed additive, sometimes called by trade name Bovaer, was approved for use in Canada early this year to general approval from beef and dairy groups.

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Bovaer neutralizes methane in the rumen. When microbes in the rumen break down feed, hydrogen and carbon dioxide are released. These two gases are combine in the presence of an enyzme. Bovaer works by suppressing the enzyme, reducing the amount of methane that is created.

Dsm-firmenich, the Dutch company selling the product says it could be available in Canada within a few weeks.

The feed additive will be a tool for farmers to reduce methane emissions for cattle, but Canadian research has also shown a small increase in feed efficiency and no change in cattle growth rate.

“This will benefit Canadian farmers, efforts of the sector, and support Canada in delivering on its international emissions reduction commitments such as the Global Methane Pledge,” says Mark van Nieuwland, vice-president of Bovaer.

Canadian cattle feeders can reduce methane emissions by an average of 45 per cent by using the ingredient, says the company.

In the case of dairy cows, Bovaer can “reduce methane emissions by 30 per cent on average, potentially lowering the overall greenhouse gas footprint per liter of milk by 10 to 15 per cent.”

A trial run in large trial run in Alberta provided Canadian data to support the approval of Bovaer.

“In 2020, dsm-firmenich successfully completed the longest and largest trial with Bovaer,” said van Nieuwland. “(It was) a two-year trial with 15,000 beef cattle in Alberta and supported by ERA (Emission Reduction Alberta), which demonstrated methane reductions of up to 82 per cent, resulting in savings of 1,473 tons of CO2e during this study alone.”

The company says that once the product is included as a tool in programs such as the Reducing Enteric Methane Emissions (REME) protocol for beef cattle and the Alberta Fed Cattle protocol, cattle feeders will also be able to generate carbon offsets from its use. The authorization comes on the heels of the CFIA approval of 3-Nitrooxypropanol (3NOP) — the active ingredient in Bovaer — earlier this week.

“We are very pleased to see the regulatory pathway open for innovative feed ingredients that reduce methane emissions which will contribute to our sector meeting its 2030 emissions goal,” says Nathan Phinney, Canadian Cattle Association president.

“We applaud the CFIA for their diligence on this file to ensure this new tool is available, which will allow Canadian beef producers to remain competitive globally.”

According to the CCA/National Cattle Feeders’ Association release, 3NOP has shown no negative impacts on the rumen microbial population when fed to cattle.

The Canadian beef industry has set a goal to reduce primary production greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity by 33 per cent by 2030. Dairy Farmers of Canada has a goal of net zero emissions by 2050.

Karen Beauchemin, retired Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) research scientist, was a key player in the Canadian research.

“I think beef producers are interested in doing their part, but just focusing on enteric methane emissions is not going to get Canada where it needs to be by 2030,” said Beauchemin, in a 2022 interview with Canadian Cattlemen. She worked with AAFC’s Lethbridge research station.

Enteric methane emissions from cattle contribute 3.3 per cent of Canada’s total GHG emissions.

“One thing I find with consumers is they have a real misconception about how much enteric methane from animals contributes to our national greenhouse gas budget,” said Beauchemin in the article.

The product has been approved in more than 50 countries in the world, but as of early 2024, not yet in the United States.

—Jeff Melchior writes for the Alberta Farmer Express. 

–updated Feb. 1 to add additional details, context.

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