Scientists Aim To Create A New Breed Of Burpless Cows

[Initech]

Breeding cows that belch less could help save the environment, researchers have claimed.

An international team of scientists is exploring how to produce cattle that emit less methane into the atmosphere.

The University of Aberdeen is leading the £6.5m RuminOmics project to increase the efficiency of ruminant farming while lessening its negative environmental impact.

Methane forms in the gut of ruminants such as cows and is mainly released into the atmosphere when the animals belch.

The greenhouse gas is said to have a global warming potential 25 times that of carbon dioxide.

Initial research supports the idea that the genetics of an animal influence the level of methane it produces, scientists said.

Professor John Wallace, of the university's Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, is leading the study.

http://www.eveningtelegraph.co.uk/life/weird-life/burp-free-cows-could-help-environment-1.97908

[petronius]

1. If they don't burp (or the more-odoriferous alternative), won't they just puff up

until they explode?

(Interesting research, certainly, but the potential benefits seem exaggerated. Wouldn't it be vastly better for the environment to just raise a few fewer cattle? And raise them in ways and places that require fewer inputs to start with?)

[Initech]

2. Wasn't that the spontaneous combustion theory from South Park?