英研究：牲畜吃蒜減少打嗝可抑制全球變暖

Feeding garlic and oats to belching cows could be the answer to slash global warming.

Welsh farmers will be asked to try out new diets on their livestock to cut the amount of methane their burping releases into the atmosphere.

It comes after scientists found mixing some unusual foods into cattle and sheep feed could cut the stinky emissions from animals by as much as a quarter.

Farm animals currently produce four per cent of the world's total greenhouse gas emissions, and it's thought the new diets could cut that to three per cent.

The research by Aberystwyth, Bangor and Reading universities involved measuring the amount of methane burped out by farm animals in specially designed polytunnels.

The teams tried out different diets while measuring gas coming from the animals' mouths into the air in the tunnels. They discovered the emissions could be reduced by a combination of different feedstuffs, special rations and additives.

Now it's hoped trials being held at Bangor could persuade farmers to change the source of their animals' diet.

Professor Jamie Newbold, of Aberystwyth, said the research looked 'promising'. But he admitted there could be side effects as scientists still work out how much of an effect the garlic extract has on the actual taste of beef and milk.

He hopes the climate change-busting diets could also improve profits for farmers as it's believed the new feeds could also improve beef production and boost milk yield.

Only around 20-25 per cent of the energy in livestock diets ends up in meat or milk, with the rest lost as urine, faeces and emissions.

Prof Newbold and his colleagues spent most of the summer on their research. They will now look into breeding new plants and feed with high sources of fat and sugar, as well as dietary additives such as garlic extract.

The professor said: “We are feeding them with new 'naked' husk-less oats which are high in fat and reduce the emissions. We're keeping Wales' reputation of producing natural products without chemical additives, and trying to improve the green credentials of the country. We are hoping to be partners with farmers.”
給母牛餵食大蒜和燕麥可以減少其打嗝，這或許會成爲抑制全球變暖的一個新途徑。

英國威爾士地區將要求農民嘗試給牲口餵食新“配方”飼料，從而減少它們打嗝時釋放到大氣中的甲烷。

科學家發現，在牛羊飼料中加入一些不尋常的食物，可以將它們排放的廢氣減少四分之一。

目前，牲畜所排放的溫室氣體佔世界溫室氣體總排放量的4%，科學家認爲這一新的飲食配方可將這一比例降至3%。

這項研究由阿伯里斯特威斯大學、班戈大學和瑞丁大學共同開展，研究人員對牲畜在特製的塑料大棚中打嗝時所排出的甲烷量進行了測算。

研究小組在測量過程中嘗試了各種不同的食譜。他們發現在給牲畜餵食由飼料、特別配料和添加物調配而成的食物後，它們排放的溫室氣體會減少。

現在科學家們希望在班戈大學開展的試驗可以說服農民改善牲畜的飲食結構。

阿伯里斯特威斯大學的傑米•紐伯爾德教授說，這一研究“很有前途”。但他坦稱這一方案會有一些副作用，目前科學家們仍在研究大蒜提取物對牛肉和牛奶的味道會產生多大影響。

他希望，這一應對氣候變化的食譜同時能夠給農民帶來更多收益，據稱這種新的飼料配方還能夠增加牛肉和牛奶產量。

牲畜飼料中只有約20%到25%的能量可轉化爲肉或奶，其餘的部分都變成了尿液、糞便和廢氣。

紐伯爾德教授和他的同事今年夏天的大部分時間都在做這項研究。除研製大蒜提取物等飼料添加物外，現在他們正準備培育新品種植物以及高脂、高糖分飼料。

紐伯爾教授說：“我們用新的去殼‘裸’麥餵養牲畜，裸麥脂肪含量高，牲畜食用後排放的廢氣會減少。我們會維護威爾士生產無化學添加劑天然產品的聲譽，並將努力提高本國的綠色信用。我們希望能成爲農民的合作伙伴。”

Vocabulary:

burp: to belch 打嗝

polytunnel: a large tunnel made of polythene and used as a greenhouse 塑料隧道棚

faeces: solid excretory product evacuated from the bowels 糞便