To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on farmers giving the methane-reducing feed additive Bovaer to their cattle. (S6O-04206)

Bovaer is a methane-suppressing feed product that has undergone a safety assessment by the Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland as a feed additive for all ruminants involved in milk production and reproduction. It was authorised for use in Scotland in December 2023. Parallel regulations authorise Bovaer across Great Britain. That approval means that farmers in Scotland can use the additive if they choose to do so.

As the minister is aware, Bovaer is manufactured at DSM-Firmenich’s plant, near my Dalry constituency office. Despite more than 58 studies on the product and its having been evaluated as being completely safe to use, Bovaer has been the focus of significant online misinformation. Studies also show no safety concerns for workers who handle the additive.

Does the minister agree that science, not social media, should govern our approach to food safety and that Bovaer, which is now routinely used across Europe, Australia and North America, has an important role to play in combating climate change?

I agree with that understanding of our climate change. Kenneth Gibson makes an important point. Social media has been great for many things but, occasionally, it throws up misinformation that overtakes the reality of the conversations and reasoned discussions that we need to have about the measures that we will take to tackle the challenges that we face. Research suggests that the appropriate use of methane-suppressing feed products—or MSFPs—such as Bovaer in livestock diets more generally plays an important role in helping us to reduce emissions from livestock production.

I regret that we will not be able to take any further questions in this item. I remind members of the expectations regarding the length of questions and responses, because more concise questions and responses enable more members to participate.

That concludes general questions.