(ABOVE) Carl McKinney and Joann Hoffman of Hawaii Island Goat Dairy with a few of the goats raised on feed that includes an additive made from limu kohu, a native red seaweed that dramatically reduces the level of methane-a greenhouse gas-produced by the goats' digestion. Their Earth-friendly chevre (and other cheeses) is available at local shops, Foodland and served at chef Peter Merriman's various restaurants.
The release is primarily front-end-burps, that is-so it makes sense to examine the fuel supply.
"We were already somewhat aware that seaweed could reduce methane emissions, but hadn't had time to explore it," recalls Carl McKinney, who with Joann Hoffman co-owns Hawaii Island Goat Dairy on the Hamakua coast of Hawaii Island. "One day chef Peter Merriman called to say, 'Hey, there's this place down in Kona that's making it, and we want to do the first production trial.' All of his restaurants use our cheese, and this was a big part of his commitment to making them 100 percent carbon-neutral."
That place down in Kona is Blue Ocean Barns, which developed what it calls Brominata: a food supplement made from tank-grown limu kohu (Asparagopsis taxiformis), the flavorful red seaweed prized in Hawaiian cuisine. At chef Merriman's urging, McKinney and Hoffman began a three-month trial, adding Brominata to the usual feed for their hundred-plus goats and then using a laser gun to gather real-time data on the composition of their eructation. In the end, the study found a more than 70 percent reduction in methane.
McKinney and Hoffman bought their dairy in 2019 and have larger plans to green their acres. But adopting new processes, even those designed to save the planet, can be pricey. Rather than have the couple absorb the cost of de-gassing their goats, Merriman buys the Brominata and provides it to them at no cost. In doing so, the chef's favorite chevre reduces much more than his own carbon footprint: Hawaii Island Goat Dairy sells its cheeses throughout the Islands, at Foodland supermarkets and a number of local shops, as well as at the biweekly farmers market in nearby Waimea. In effect, Merriman's investment benefits everyone who buys and sells the cheese.
"Chevre is about 80 percent of what we make, and we sell it to restaurants throughout the Islands, but we also make hard cheeses: a couple of bloomy-rind style, French mold-ripened cheeses, a parmesan, gouda, manchego, havarti, feta and mozzarella," says McKinney. "There are a lot of people who are doing farm-to-table who buy whatever is affordable from farmers, but Peter Merriman's commitment to making sure the farmers are taken care of — that's extraordinary."
