Cargill Taps Startup Producing Smart Cow Masks To Trap Methane Burps 

Cows produce significant amounts of methane as part of their digestive processes. Cow belching, a source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, could be solved by a new methane-absorbing wearable device. 

According to Bloomberg, agriculture behemoth Cargill Inc. tapped UK-based startup Zelp Ltd., which is dedicated to significantly reducing the environmental impact of the livestock industry through smart cow masks that filter methane burps. 

Cargill said Tuesday the devices would be used for its European dairy farmers in 2022. The price of each mask has yet to be publicly discussed, but Zelp said each cow would cost $80 per year as part of an annual subscription fee. 

Detailed on Zelp’s website under the technology tab, the smart cow mask neutralizes methane, records valuable statical data, and is integrated with mobile communication gear. Besides neutralizing methane, the mask also gathers many data points about the cow, including geo-location, early disease functions, heat detection, emission quantity, and oxidized volume of methane. 

Cargill’s vast customer network could make smart masks for the livestock industry standard in the years ahead as the elites of the world attempt to transition the global economy to a much greener future (or at least that is what it appears). 

“Cargill has an impressive reach across dairy farms in Europe,” said Zelp Chief Executive Officer Francisco Norris. “They are uniquely positioned to distribute our technology to a large number of clients, both farmers and dairy companies, maximizing the roll-out from the very first year we hit the market.”

Bloomberg describes the smart mask almost like a “catalytic converter” on a car, filtering out the burps.

A set of fans powered by solar-charged batteries sucks up the burps and traps them in a chamber with a methane-absorbing filter. Once the filter is saturated, a chemical reaction turns the methane into CO₂, which is then released. – Bloomberg

Some 95% of methane released by cows comes out as burps and through the nose.

Enteric fermentation is the digestive process that results in cow belching. 

Global emissions from livestock account for about 14.5% of total greenhouse gas emissions. Cargill has joined the global push to cut carbon emissions across its supply chain by 30% by 2030. As we’ve previously discussed, many of these targets are “pie in the sky” figures. 

Though there’s a big push by corporations and governments to cut carbon emissions in the years ahead, elites and politicians have no visible interest in curbing emissions of their fuel-guzzling private jets, superyachts, and supercars. 

If we’re not careful, one day, we’ll all be wearing masks that monitor our methane output and will be taxed on that.