(because sometimes things can have simple solutions)
The Institute of Rural Sciences at the University of Wales in Aberystwyth has begun a three-year study into the effectiveness of various plant compounds in reducing methane gas emissions from livestock.
Initial results from this study shows cows fed on the pungent cloves produce only half as much greenhouse gas as they normally do.
If these claims prove to be true, garlic could have a massive effect on New Zealand's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Livestock on New Zealand farms, especially dairy, accounts for a massive 55 per cent of the total greenhouse gas emissions from New Zealand, which incidentally, is a totally different scenario from most other western countries where more usually, industrial emissions are the biggest contributors to global warming there.
For example in Wales, where this research is being done, agricultural methane emissions account for just 5 per cent of the total in Wales, but any reduction in New Zealand would go a long way towards meeting Kyoto Protocol targets.
So you can see why this is really flash news for Kiwis! 
The manager of New Zealand's Pastoral Greenhouse Gas Research Consortium,Mark Aspin, said the news had grabbed everyone's attention.
"If it," (feeding cows with garlic), "reduces methane by 50 per cent, then that is quite an astounding result," he said.
The research team at Aberystwyth are also testing whether garlic tainted the milk or the meat from dairy cows and cattle.
The amount of methane being emitted was measured by keeping animals in plastic tents. 
Aspin said if garlic proved to be an effective way of reducing methane emissions, the next question would be how to administer it to cows efficiently.
Ben Abernethy, the farm manager for Lyn-Lea Farm near Rangiora, said he would give garlic a go if there was an easy way of feeding it to the cows.
"That is what people are bagging dairy farmers for, so if there was some way of fixing it, then I would give it a go," said Ben.
Each New Zealand dairy cow produces a whopping 82 kg of methane gas each year, and beef cattle 55.7 kg.
I live right next door to cows, (thats some of my cow neighbours in the above pic) and trust me, you can smell the methane.
I may start feeding them garlic surreptitiously over the fence. 
