Does the European Commission force cows to wear masks to combat methane emissions?

Many tweets claim that the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen wants to impose this equipment on the noses of cattle in order to reduce their emissions of this polluting gas.

Methane emissions are at the center of the European Union’s thoughts in trying to reduce the production of pollutants from its agriculture. This was enough for users of X (formerly Twitter) to spread information about so-called cow masks. “Ursula wants to hide the cows“, denounce certain tweets, which point out the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

The breeders have just heard the news and are excited! Always in good shape Ursula Von Der Leyen wants to force all cows in the EU to wear an anti-methane mask marketed since 2021 by the American giant Cargill.https://t.co/M7YPpg3Mpc

— Chris Schmer (@SchmerChris) November 28, 2023

This is false, the Commission has not obliged to do anything and does not intend to do so. True or false went back to the source of this bovine rumor.

Initially, this infox came from the Austrian online media Exxpress, which has often been highlighted for spreading fake news. On November 26, the site devoted an article to the European Union’s plan to reduce its emissions of agricultural pollutants; in one paragraph, the article states that some MEPs have raised the possibility of using masks on cattle. We are therefore far from an obligation imposed by the Commission.

Methane, a subject of European and global concern

That said, behind this series of crazy tweets, there is the subject of methane, this greenhouse gas, the second contributor to global warming, just behind CO₂. Methane comes largely from agriculture and livestock, more precisely from the digestive fermentation of animals and particularly cows.

This is currently being discussed strongly at the COP28 in Dubai as well as in the European Union where the authorities wish to tighten regulations on polluting emissions in EU agriculture. Lately, the Union has particularly targeted cows, which worried breeders; but finally, on November 29, after months of negotiations, the European Parliament and the Member States gave up attacking cattle farms. We see, the fake news on compulsory masks for cows did not come out by chance.

Mask projects and other solutions

In any case, there is indeed a cow mask project in the works of the American agri-food giant Cargill. Thanks to a catalytic process, the mask in question would significantly reduce the level of methane coming from the snouts of cows. But only at the muzzle level…

Furthermore, in order to address the problem at the source, another technique exists to lower the methane level, by changing their diet. Thus, the French group Bel, which manufactures Babybel, Kiri and Boursin cheeses, will financially encourage its milk suppliers to add an additive to cows’ feed so that methane emissions decrease, up to 30% less according to the manufacturer of this additive.