You don’t see a lot of stories about cows in The New York Times.
But recently, there it was in their Well section, talking about how organic meat and milk actually does differ – and not just slightly – from conventionally raised stock, particularly in their levels of all-important omega-3 fatty acids.
The Times was reporting on information published in The British Journal of Nutrition that detailed the results of the statistical meta-analysis of a large pool of studies on the differences in organic stock.
“The higher levels of omega-3, a type of polyunsaturated fat, arise not from the attributes usually associated with organic food – that the animals are not given antibiotics, hormones or genetically modified feed. Organic milk and beef come from cattle that graze on grass, while most conventional milk and beef come from cattle that also eat grain the Times reported.
It’s not something magical about organic,” the Times wrote, quoting Charles M. Benbrook, one of the authors of the studies and an organic industry consultant. “It’s about what the animals are being fed.”
But as stories do, it sparked a lot of back-and-forth within the scientific community on the derived health benefits of increased levels of omega-3 fatty acids for people who consume organic milk and beef.
The Times reached out to Dr. Richard P. Bazinet, nutritional sciences professor at the University of Toronto, who was not involved in the project, for an objective viewpoint. Bazinet was clear.
“We don’t have that answer right now,” he told the Times. He went on to explain that a number of observational studies show that health benefits can be derived from adding 200 milligrams of omega-3 fatty acids to a diet, but that supplementing a diet with one grass-fed beef serving daily would add just 50 milligrams.
An interesting debate, but we don’t think this is rocket science. If you invest in quality, the end product is a higher quality. That’s cow science.
It’s also science we understand well. For nearly 70 years, we’ve used genetic and breeding sciences to help produce the most desirable bulls and cows for clients all across the nation at Flying H Genetics. To learn more, take a look through our website or call us today at 308-962-6500.
