Why is Bill Gates being blamed for people pouring milk down the sink?

No, Bill Gates is not behind the trial of a new methane suppressing drug being trialled on a handful of UK farms.

That's one of the reasons "Boycott Arla" has been trending on socials, with videos on TikTok showing people pouring bottles of the dairy giant's milk down the sink and throwing its butter brands away in protest.

Arla recently announced they would be trialling a new methane-busting supplement in its cow feed on 30 of its farms. Supermarkets Aldi, Tesco and Morrisons are part of the trial.

Bovaer is a feed additive that claims to reduce methane emissions to help bring down the environmental footprint of meat, milk, and dairy products.

Arla, who make some of the supermarkets' most popular dairy products, says it is trialling the drug that they claim reduces methane emissions from cows by roughly 27%.

It is added to cow food and has been deemed safe by the UK and other authorities around the world - it's metabolised fully by the cow which means it never actually enters the milk.

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Methane is the second-largest contributor to global warming after carbon dioxide, so experimenting with ways to bring it down is being seen as a game-changer.

But people have made a series of false claims, including accusing Arla of being "woke" over trying to make the dairy industry more environmental.

So what's Bill Gates got to do with it? Nothing. But he has previously made investments in similar methane-busting feeds, but has no direct links to Bovaer.

Some consumers want a complete boycott of Arla's products in protest.

Others have issued other warning about the impact this boycott could have on farmers producing milk if people were to stop buying it unfairly.

Arla has responded to the misinformation circulating on social media, calling it out as "false" and said that claims linking Bill Gates to their products was "inaccurate".

In a statement, Arla said: "The health and safety of both consumers and animals is always our number one priority. Bovaer has already been extensively and safely used across Europe and at no point during the trial will there be any impact on the milk we produce as it does not pass from the cow into the milk.

"Regulatory bodies, such as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and U.K. Food Standards Agency, have approved its use based on evidence that it does not harm the animals or negatively impact their health, productivity, or the quality of milk."

What's got people crying over spilt milk? Just another internet conspiracy. So stop milking it.

Have you heard The Trapped? Listen as Daniel Hewitt exposes the UK's dirty secret