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A new study shows giving cows a little seaweed in their diet is great for the environment and it helps them produce top quality meat too!

It is well known that livestock such as cows, sheep and pigs produce a lot of methane - a harmful greenhouse gas.... through their stinky farts!

The new research from the University of California, Davis, proves that feeding cattle seaweed could reduce these methane emissions by much as 82 percent!

It also says that the change in diet does not remove any goodness from the meat or milk they produce - so your burgers will be just as juicy and will be better for the planet.

PhD graduate student Breanna Roque, who played a big part in the study alongside Professor Ermias Kebreab, said: "This could help farmers sustainably produce the beef and dairy products we need to feed the world".

When cows munch their regular food, it travels down into the first of four (yes FOUR!) stomachs, which is called the rumen.

When they eat normal grass, the essential bacteria in the rumen break down the food, ferment it, causing a chemical reaction which creates methane as a non-essential by-product.

They don't need all that gas inside them so they burp or farts it out into the atmosphere!

That methane gas is a major cause of global warming.

It acts like a blanket and trapping hot air in the atmosphere and raising the Earth's temperature.

This study has confirmed that if cows eat some of the seaweedy grass,(scientific name, Asparagopsis) that chemical reaction is massively reduced, meaning their gas expulsions are up to 82 percent less harmful for the environment!

This is not a brand new idea - scientists and farmers have been feeding cows seaweed as part of experiments for a few years.

But what they have now discovered, is that the meat these cows produce, is just as good quality as totally grass-fed cows.

It was a concern that the seaweed would make the beef taste different or be less tender, which would put people off buying it for their dinners.

But it is now clear that the new diet does not affect the quality of the meat, and there are so far, no down sides to changing their cows' diet.

It is hoped that this new evidence will convince more farmers to feed their cows seaweed in order to make a bigger impact on eliminating greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere.