Burger King Is Altering Cow Diets In An Effort To Make Them Less Gassy And Also Fight Climate Change

Burger King has just unleashed a truly insane ad campaign where a small child emerges from western-style double doors swinging between a cutout cow’s butt singing the words, “When cows fart and burp and splatter, well it ain’t no laughing matter, they’re releasing methane every time they do. And that methane from their rear goes up to the atmosphere, and pollutes our planet, warming me and you!” It’s a song that is entirely too catchy for an ad about new sustainability measures taken by the burger chain, which include adding lemongrass to the diet of cows used for Burger King’s Whoppers in an effort to get them to fart less. (You don’t have to check your calendar, it’s not April 1st.)

According to AP, Burger King believes it can reduce a cow’s daily methane emissions by nearly 33 percent in an effort to reduce bovine contributions to climate change, the burger chain announced Tuesday.

AP reports that Burger King worked with scientists from both the Autonomous University in Mexico and the University of California, Davis, to develop and test a diet that would help cows release less methane. According to National Geographic, methane gas is 28 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at warming the Earth due to the gas’s chemical structure, which is very effective in trapping heat.

Cows, together with other grazing animals, contribute 40 percent of the world’s annual methane budget, so any reduction of cow flatulence is a good thing, even if it won’t solve our biggest climate issues. Also, we have to admit, it’s quite the bold move to try and sell burgers while bragging about cow farts.

They’ve also announced a Reduced Methane Emissions Beef Whopper at select restaurants in Miami, New York, Austin, Portland, and Los Angeles, which is made from beef sourced from these lemongrass eating cows.

(Via AP News)