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OPINION: Microbes fished from the stomachs of cows can gobble up certain kinds of plastic, including the polythylene terephthalate (PET) used in soda bottles, food packaging and synthetic fabrics.
Scientists from University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, in Vienna, uncovered that these microbes in liquid that was drawn from the rumen, the largest compartment of a ruminant's stomach.
Ruminants, such as cows, rely on microorganisms to help break down their diet of coarse vegetation. The rumen acts as an incubator for these microbes, which either digest or ferment foods consumed by a cow or other ruminant.
The researchers suspect that some microbes lurking in a cow's rumen should be capable of digesting polyesters, substances whose component molecules are linked by so-called ester groups. That's because, due to their herbivorous diets, cows consume a natural polyester produced by plants, called cutin.
OPINION: Milking It believes a recent Employment Relations Authority ruling on the exploitation of three migrant workers from Indonesia highlights a trend in New Zealand – migrant workers being mistreated and oppressed by one of their own.
OPINION: Milking It wasn’t too surprised to hear Kiwis’ trust in media has sunk to a new low.
A lethal form of avian influenza has been confirmed in US dairy cattle in Texas and Kansas, the US Department of Agriculture says.
OPINION: Last week's revelation that data relating to New Zealand MPs was stolen amid Chinese state-sponsored cyber espionage targeting two arms of the country’s Parliament could test the long-standing trade relations between the two countries.
OPINION: Seeds of legume plants are being used to make dairy-free milk products by scientists at Massey University’s Palmerston North labs.
State farmer Pamu has appointed Ash-Leigh Campbell as an associate director and observer on its board.
A near miss experienced by a North Island farmer worker when their tractor ‘park’ gear failed, has been shared as the latest Safety Alert from Safer Farms.
The dairy industry has lost its mojo in the last six or seven years, according to a leading dairy farmer, Trevor Hamilton.
Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard has reiterated that 'frontline' biosecurity services within Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) will not be cut under the Government's plan to reduce the public service.
Could smaller foodservice operators take advantage of the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI)?
An appalling case of migrant worker exploitation on a Southland farm isn't acceptable, says Federated Farmers dairy chair Richard McIntyre.
OPINION: Milking It believes a recent Employment Relations Authority ruling on the exploitation of three migrant workers from Indonesia highlights…
OPINION: Milking It wasn’t too surprised to hear Kiwis’ trust in media has sunk to a new low.
