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Departments Environment Study: organic dairy and meat improves quality of mothers’ breast milk Specifically, a diet in which 90% or more of dairy and meat products are organic is correlated with measurably higher levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). CLA is a type of fat that is believed to have anti-carcinogenic, anti-atherosclerotic, anti-diabetic and immune-enhancing effects, as well as a favorable influence on body fat composition. For newborns specifically, CLA is believed to especially aid immune system development. “These findings provide scientific support for common sense, by showing that organic foods are healthier,” says Dr. Lukas Rist, who is the lead author of the study and the head of research at the Paracelsus Hospital in Switzerland. The study involved 312 breastfeeding women with 1-month old infants from the Netherlands. “The study shows that breastfeeding mothers can influence the supply and quality of fatty acids for their infants, by eating a diet with organic dairy,” adds Rist. Other recent studies add support to the growing body of evidence that organic foods offer measurable nutritional benefits. Cows that acquire most of their nutrition from grazing pasture have been shown to produce milk with decreased levels of saturated fat—the “bad” type of fat—and increased concentrations of unsaturated fatty acids and CLA—the “good” types of fat. In the European Union, where the study took place, organic standards require that dairy farms make maximum use of pasture. U.S. organic regulations also require that organic dairy cattle not be confined with pasture being a major feed source. Research has proven that meat and milk from pastured animals contain elevated levels of antioxidants and other nutritionally beneficial compounds, including CLA. “Many consumers know, based on increasing media coverage of scientific and medical research, that organic foods reduce their exposure to pesticides, hormones, and antibiotics, but this study shows that organic foods also offer superior nutritional quality,” says Charlotte Vallaeys, Farm and Food Policy Analyst at The Cornucopia Institute. “The benefits of consuming organic food are of paramount importance when thinking about their impact on the development of very young children and fetuses,” Vallaeys added. The relationship between a mother’s organic diet and the quality of her breast milk is an important topic that has caught scientists’ attention. Additional studies that look at the health status of newborns fed by breastfeeding mothers with an organic diet are under way and will be published in the near future. “There is a synergy and logic to the approach that organic farmers take in their production model,” said Dave Minar of Cedar Summit Dairy, an organic farmstead producer in New Prague, Minnesota. “Concentrating on the health and fertility of soil results in pastures and feed of superior nutritional quality—and that results in incredibly vibrant, long living, and healthy livestock. It should be of no surprise that there is an increasing body of scientific evidence now substantiating the benefits of an organic diet, especially for infants and children.” A copy of the full report is available on The Cornucopia Institute website at: www.cornucopia.org/Rist_2007_study.pdf |
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Nation’s largest retailers accused of organic fraud Stop the Nuke Loan Bailout!: Harvey Wasserman with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now! 3 reasons to stop the nuclear power bailout Eight European governments. say nuclear power is incompatible with sustainable development Bad week for Bush on climate, but what now? Aurora Dairy threatens to sue public interest groups, attempt to intimidate organic watchdogs Secret USDA enforcement action revealed Aurora Farm’s certifier found to have willfully violated NOP rules USDA finds largest organic dairy perpetrating fraud fails to levy fines or yank certification Enforcement hammer falls on nation’s largest organic factory dairy Aurora Organic Dairy signs consent agreement with USDA's agricultural marketing service C.L.E.A.N.- Community, Labor, Environmental Action Network Nuclear power: follow the money USDA cracking down on “organic” factory farms country's largest dairy likely to lose certification USDA plan to "Pasteurize" almonds has consumers going nuts Study: organic dairy and meat improves quality of mothers’ breast milk Speaking truth to power Ohio Environmental Council’s Comments on U.S. Department of Energy’s Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership A live Earth - the alternative online concert against climate change Making history in Atlanta Organic animal agriculture threatened by genetically engineered alfalfa Regulators slap Wal-Mart for misleading organic consumers Federal court orders first-ever halt to planting of a commercialized genetically-altered crop Green beacon The future of Earth Climate: time is short “Rachel Carson turns in her grave," an open letter to Patricia M. DeMarco, Director, Rachel Carson Homestead Association Target global warming, target Exxon Solartopia! An achievable vision of a sustainable future Ten simple things that you can do to save the Earth USDA and agribusiness conspire to mislead consumers Good, clean, green way to generate electricity is approved by city in San Diego County Federal judge orders first-ever moratorium on sale of genetically-altered seed Piketown, Ohio Nuclear reprocessing: dangerous, dirty, and expensive U.S. nuclear fuel reprocessing initiative Organic watchdog, USDA headed to court Listen Gore: Some inconvenient truths about the politics of environmental crisis UN climate change report on global warming Organic fraud: Wal-Mart Stores Inc. accused of widespread distortion nonorganic food products misidentified as "organic" Read Environment Articles by Year: |
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