Cancer & Infertility Causing Cattle Feed Drug ‘Bovaer’ Found in Milk Gets Global Production Boost

JON FLEETWOOD

To curb cow flatulence in the name of so-called climate change, a carcinogenic cattle feed drug called ‘Bovaer’—which ends up in the milk humans consume—is now heading into global mass production.

Bovaer is commercially available in more than 65 countries, including across Europe, the U.K., the U.S., Australia, Brazil, Chile, Japan, and South Korea.

The new facility will become fully operational by November 2025.

ABB, a BlackRock-owned 140-year-old global technology behemoth in electrification and automation, has been selected to supply automation and electrical systems for a new production facility for the cancer- and infertility-linked cattle feed additive at Dalry, Scotland, according to a company press release.

“The site will increase global production of Bovaer®, dsm-firmenich’s innovative methane-reducing feed additive for cows and cattle that has been researched and developed for more than 15 years,” the release reads.

But the company failed to explain that this research has confirmed Bovaer causes cancer and infertility in female rats—and makes its way into the cow milk we consume.

According to the New Zealand Environmental Protection Authority, 16.82% of the administered dose of Bovaer is excreted via cows’ milk.

Bovaer’s presence in the dairy we consume raises questions as to whether U.S. regulators are knowingly allowing a carcinogenic, reproductive-toxic compound to enter the food supply without adequate public warning (informed consent) or proper drug safety review.

It also raises animal safety concerns.

The U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce has accused the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of “failing to meet safety requirements” in general, failing to meet “important federal safety requirements to protect its employees and the public while also failing to prioritize scientific data quality.”

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has argued the FDA is perpetrating a corrupt “war on public health.”

In light of this, I filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in December with the FDA, demanding the immediate release of safety data on Bovaer and its cancer-linked residues in cow’s milk—data the agency has so far withheld from the public.

While the agency still has not provided the information, I will report their response here on JonFleetwood.com when they do.

A letter from the FDA to the Director of Global Nutritional Health Regulatory, Dr. G. Allen Bridges, confirms that while Bovaer “is a drug,” the agency chose to “refrain” from putting the dangerous pharmaceutical through the more rigorous animal drug approval process, instead choosing to classify it as a feed supplement.

The FDA animal drug approval process is more comprehensive and rigorous than the process for animal feed supplements, requiring extensive safety and efficacy testing, longer review periods, and stricter regulatory oversight compared to the simpler, often self-determined safety assessments for many feed supplements.

The agency’s decision to classify a substance they admit is a drug as a feed additive raises significant safety concerns and questions about the agency’s motives.

The FDA letter also confirmed that Bovaer is “[n]ot for human use” because it “may damage male fertility and reproductive organs, is potentially harmful when inhaled, and is a skin and eye irritant.”

Contaminating Milk to Cut 0.0000000822% of the Atmosphere?

The ABB press release claims that “a quarter teaspoon of Bovaer® per cow, per day can reduce enteric methane emissions by an average of 30 percent for dairy cows and by an average of 45 percent for feedlot beef cattle—contributing to a significant reduction of the environmental footprint of dairy and beef products.”

However, methane only makes up roughly 0.00017% of Earth’s atmosphere, according to NASA.

And the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that livestock production accounts for only 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

That means cattle emissions only make up approximately 0.0000002465% of the Earth’s atmosphere—a microscopic fraction—calling into question whether contaminating the milk supply with a cancer-linked drug is a proportionate or justifiable response.

Bovaer claims to reduce methane emissions from dairy cows by 30% and from feedlot beef cattle by 45%, which—if applied across all livestock—would at most lower that 0.0000002465% atmospheric share by around a third, resulting in a total change of just 0.0000000822% of Earth’s atmosphere—an imperceptible shift achieved by tainting the global milk supply with a known carcinogen.

Nevertheless, ABB believes this near-invisible reduction “is crucial for efforts to keep global warming below the 1.5°C target outlined in the Paris Agreement.”

“This facility will become the first large-scale production plant for Bovaer and with it we look forward to widening our collaboration with the entire dairy and beef value chain to reduce emissions and make a positive contribution in the fight against climate change,” said Mark van Nieuwland, Senior Vice President Bovaer® at dsm-firmenich. “Utilizing ABB’s automation expertise exemplifies how we can accelerate the expansion and adoption of Bovaer® to significantly decrease methane emissions on a large scale and thereby support global efforts to combat climate change.”

ABB Energy Industries President Per Erik Holsten says he’s “proud to be working on a project that will significantly reduce anthropogenic methane emissions.”

The company will “supply all automation hardware and software including the ABB Ability™ System 800xA® distributed control system,” according to the press release. “The scope of work also includes IT and OT networks, cyber security, process CCTV systems, and electric motor control centers and variable speed drives.”

How to Contact and What to Say

Elanco, which makes Bovaer in the U.S. and can be contacted here, has received significant financial support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

ABB can be contacted here, and dsm-firmenich here.

Here’s an example communication:

Subject: Urgent Concern Regarding Bovaer and Contamination of Dairy Supply

Dear [Company Name / Representative],

I am writing to express deep concern regarding your involvement in the production, promotion, or support of the cattle feed drug known as Bovaer® (3-NOP)—a compound now confirmed by New Zealand’s Environmental Protection Authority to be excreted in cow’s milk at significant levels and linked to cancer and infertility in animal studies.

According to the NZ EPA, 16.82% of the administered dose of Bovaer ends up in milk—the same milk consumed daily by families across the globe. Further, the EPA’s own toxicological review found tumor development in female rats exposed to this compound, in addition to concerns about reproductive harm.

Despite this, your company is continuing to manufacture or support the global rollout of Bovaer under the banner of climate action, citing marginal methane reductions. But methane comprises only 0.00017% of Earth’s atmosphere, and livestock-related emissions represent a tiny fraction of that. The alleged environmental benefit simply does not justify exposing the public to a carcinogenic, fertility-impacting compound through the dairy supply.

Consumers were not informed. We were not asked for consent. And we do not approve.

I urge your company to:

1. Immediately halt production and distribution of Bovaer until comprehensive human safety data is made public.

2. Disclose all internal and third-party safety data regarding Bovaer residues in meat and milk.

3. Reconsider your role in supporting what amounts to the contamination of the global food supply in exchange for unproven environmental gains.

I, along with thousands of informed citizens, will continue to hold companies accountable for putting profits and political agendas above public health.

Sincerely,
[Your Full Name]
[City, State]
[Optional: Occupation, affiliation, or group]

In the end, is Bovaer about protecting the Earth—or pushing yet another carcinogenic, fertility-compromising pharmaceutical into the global food supply under the guise of climate action?

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This article (Cancer & Infertility Causing Cattle Feed Drug ‘Bovaer’ Found in Milk Gets Global Production Boost) was created and published by Jon Fleetwood and is republished here under “Fair Use”