If you aren’t buying grass-fed milk, what do the dairy cows producing your milk eat? Want to take a guess? How about Skittles and Kool-Aid? Find out what they feed the dairy cows that produce your milk.
What do dairies feed cows producing grass-fed and organic milk?
In nature, cows eat grass and other plants. Grass-fed cows eat exactly that while on pastures until the winter months. Then, they eat dried cut grass or high-moisture hay in barns. Cattle producing organic milk consume a diet of 30 percent grass combined with feed “free of antibiotics, hormones, synthetic pesticides and herbicides and genetically modified ingredients” (1). This organic feed often consists of corn, soybean and other grains. Cows do not eat these ingredients in nature.
How about at conventional dairies?
Conventional milk “from large industrial providers comes from cows that predominantly live inside barns, either indoor pens or tethered to individual stalls, and eat a non-organic feed that includes grain, corn, soy and alfalfa” (1). When cows eat grain and corn-and yes, in some cases, Kool-Aid drink mix or red Skittles (2)-their stomachs’ pH becomes more acidic. Then, they become vulnerable to infection and inflammation. To be proactive, these dairies sometimes give cows preventative antibiotics, which eventually get passed into the milk they produce.
Some conventional dairies give their cows Recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) to increase milk production. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states that there isn’t any evidence that an active form of the hormone is absorbed, but considering how much passes through mother’s breast milk in humans, that seems debatable. Some say that rBGH increases the amount of naturally occurring Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) in milk. And, studies link IGF-1 to cases of breast and ovarian cancer.
The benefits of grass-fed milk
Grass-fed milk contains five times as much conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). This unsaturated fat prevents heart disease, obesity and certain cancers. Also, it provides about three times the amount of beta-carotene than conventional milk. Beta-carotene is a form of vitamin A that is critical for good eye health.
In addition, grass-fed milk contains more omega-3 fatty acids than conventional milk. These fatty acids contribute to brain and eye health. They also lower the risk of heart disease, stroke and type-2 diabetes. While the difference is only 0.05 grams vs. 0.02 grams, consider the cumulative amount consumed by young toddlers and children and the potential impact on their long-term development.
If you want to get the full benefits of grass-fed, buy full-fat milk. The nutritional benefits of milk are found in the fat. Skimming the fat also removes the heart-healthy fats and vitamins. If cost is a concern, conventional full-fat milk contains more heart-healthy fats than reduced-fat milks.
Another downside to reduced-fat milk is Vitamin A palmitate
The law requires dairies to add vitamin A to all reduced-fat milk. They typically add it in the form of vitamin A palmitate. However, this form of vitamin A can accumulate in the body’s fat stores and cause toxicity. This toxic buildup can lead to liver damage and congenital disabilities. When eating foods that naturally contain vitamin A, we don’t need to fear an overdose. But, drinking too much milk supplemented with vitamin A palmitate can be unhealthy. Vitamin A is said to reduce the risk of cancer, but not vitamin A palmitate. This form increases the risk of lung cancer in smokers.
Things to look for on the milk carton
Look out for labels reading “100 percent grass-fed organic” because “grass-fed” alone as a consumer label can be tricky and, at best, just unreliable. The government doesn’t currently regulate or define the term ‘grass-fed.’ Dairy cows that get any amount of pasture time can be labeled grass-fed. This includes cows that get one hour of pasture time a day or less. As a result, it’s important to find labels that say “100% grass-fed organic.” We even saw milk marketed as “grass-based,” which can be misleading.
The milk from one large scale farm claiming to produce grass-fed milk tested inconsistently with grass-fed milk. Their milk test closer to the make-up of conventional milk. Satellite imagery showed less than 10% of this farm’s 15,000 cows in their fields. A news outlet took this footage across eight different days over a couple of months (4). So, are these cows really grass-fed? Who can say for sure? Organic Valley and Horizon produce milk that tests consistent with grass-fed milk (4). Smaller organic dairies have tested with even better results. Maple Hill carries the 100% grass-fed organic label and even launched a third-party certification program.
What about the USDA organic seal?
While the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) seal should help consumers differentiate organic from conventional milk, they don’t inspect farms themselves. Farmers select their own inspectors from a list provided by the USDA. This “honor system” doesn’t necessarily instill complete trust and reliability.
While it’s challenging to wade through all the information out there (especially on a busy grocery run with kids in tow!), a bit of careful label comparison can help you find the healthiest option for you and your family.
Read more posts about Nutrition
Publications:
(1) Beck, Leslie. “Is It Healthier to Drink Grass-Fed or Organic Milk?” The Globe and Mail, 12 May 2018, www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/is-it-healthier-to-drink-grass-fed-or-organic-milk/article20726402/.
(2) Fassler, Joe. “Yes, Farmers Feed Cows Skittles. But It Gets a Lot Weirder than That.” The Counter, 25 Jan. 2017, thecounter.org/alternative-feed-not-alternative-facts/.
(3) Peeples, Lynne. “Is Milk from Grass-Fed Cows More Heart-Healthy?” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 28 May 2010, www.reuters.com/article/us-milk-grass-fed-cows-idUSTRE64R5GY20100528.
(4) Whoriskey, Peter. “Why Your ‘Organic’ Milk May Not Be Organic.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 1 May 2017, www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/why-your-organic-milk-may-not-be-organic/2017/05/01/708ce5bc-ed76-11e6-9662-6eedf1627882_story.html.
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