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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Organically reared cows produce healthier milk
  • Date: Fri, 30 May 2008 09:50:17 -0600


May 28, 2008

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article4016428.ece

Organically reared cows produce healthier milk says Newcastle University
Valerie Elliot, Consumer Editor
Milk from organic cattle that eat a fresh grass diet is likely to be better
for your health, according to a new study by the University of Newcastle

This organic milk contained more good fatty acids such as omega-3 and
conjugated linoleic acid known as CLA9 than milk produced at intensive
commercial dairy farms. The difference was even more marked during the
summer with levels of CLA9 about 60 per cent higher in milk from cattle=
that
graze in fields.

Gillian Butler, livestock project manager for the university's Nafferton
Ecological Farming Group, who led the research, said: &quot;Our work has not
looked at the impact on human health, but I would say organic milk should=
be
better for health from what we know of the benefits of these good fatty
acids. She added: &quot;They are effective in combating cancer, coronary heart
disease and type II diabetes.&quot;

The sampling of milk took place during 2004 and 2005 but the results were
published only yesterday in the Journal of Science of Food and Agriculture.=


Mrs Butler, 53, said that she had switched to drinking organic milk three
years ago after analysing the data. &quot;My interest now is that if we can
improve the quality of milk we can also improve the health qualities of
butter and cheese,&quot; Mrs Butler said.

Organic cattle in the South of England spent most of their lives out of
doors but in the North and Scotland cattle are brought indoors to live in
sheds from the end of September or October, depending on rain and cold
temperatures.

Researchers found that by adding a mix of soya beans, rapeseed and linseed
to the daily food rations for each cow kept indoors, milk quality improved
and was comparable to the milk from an outdoor cow eating a fresh grass
diet.

&quot;We've shown that significant seasonal differences exist. Our future
research is focusing on how to improve the nutritional composition of milk
during the winter, when cows are kept indoors and fed mainly on conserved
forage,&quot; she said.

The study, which was a collaboration between scientists at Newcastle and=
the
Danish Institute for Agricultural Science, is part of a European
Commission-funded project about milk quality and minimising use of
antibiotics in dairy production. The scientists also discovered interesting
results from a group of non-organic farms that used similar production
methods to organic systems.

These cattle lived outdoors from March until November, eating almost a 100
per cent fresh grass diet. This milk had higher levels of the good fatty
acid CLA9, whereas organic milk had higher levels of omega-3.

Further work is under way but Mrs Butler believes that the difference is
linked to the amount of clover in fields. Organic farms have more because
they do not use fertilisers.

The findings delighted the Soil Association, which champions organic food
and farming in Britain.

Peter Melchett, policy director at the the association, said: &quot;This=
research
confirms what organic farmers and consumers have long believed to be true.

&quot;Some sceptics have thrown doubts on the benefit of organic milk because
scientists had not shown precisely how organic farming makes a positive
difference. This latest research demonstrates that it is the cows' organic
diet that makes their milk healthier. Other research has shown the same is
true for beef and lamb reared on grass.&quot;





  • [Livingontheland] Organically reared cows produce healthier milk, Tradingpost, 05/30/2008

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