Three students from Seattle's Bush School have developed MooBlue, a business idea using red seaweed to reduce methane emissions from cattle without altering beef production. Their pitch in a school entrepreneurship competition impressed judge Mitch Ratcliffe, leading to a podcast discussion on the concept's potential. The initiative targets harvesting invasive seaweed from the Mediterranean and creating an oil-based feed additive for farms.
In a recent episode of the podcast 'Sustainability In Your Ear,' host Mitch Ratcliffe interviewed Zara, Ellie, and Kai Aizawa, high school students at the Bush School in Seattle, about their startup concept MooBlue. The students, two freshmen and a senior, presented their idea during a Shark Tank-style competition capping a month-long entrepreneurship program. Their tagline, 'Cut the burp, keep the beef,' highlights the goal of addressing livestock's environmental impact while preserving meat and dairy products.
Livestock accounts for 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, per the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, with cattle contributing 65% of that sector's output. Around one billion cattle produce 3.7 gigatons of CO₂-equivalent emissions yearly through enteric fermentation in their rumen, primarily released as burps. The students' solution involves Asparagopsis taxiformis, a red seaweed containing bromoform that inhibits methane-producing microbes, reducing emissions by up to 98% according to peer-reviewed studies from UC Davis and James Cook University.
MooBlue plans to harvest the invasive seaweed from the Mediterranean to aid local ecosystems, process it into stable oil-based capsules for better palatability and longevity compared to powder forms, and develop a certification system for 'methane reduced' labeling on beef and dairy. They aim to target large corporate farms first for scale, partnering with distributors like Cargill and marketers like Wendy's for a campaign reimagining 'Where's the Beef?' as 'Where's the Methane?'. As Zara explained, 'We hope that people will feel better when they buy methane-reduced meat or dairy products, because they’re helping the environment.'
The students emphasized aligning incentives: potential feed efficiency gains could lower costs for farmers, while labels appeal to environmentally conscious consumers, similar to cage-free eggs. Ellie noted, 'It’s easier for people to add things to their lives than to take things away,' addressing calls to reduce beef consumption. Ratcliffe praised their research depth, from biochemistry to supply chains, crediting internet access for enabling such innovation among youth. Kai, heading to Haverford College, reflected on learning that 'adoption only happens once it also makes financial sense.' The discussion underscores how business can bridge scientific solutions and implementation, with the students advocating for adult support to scale ideas like theirs.