Is organic meat and dairy really the best option?
Organic meat and milk could offer more health benefits than conventional products, according to a new wide-ranging study by British researchers from Newcastle University.
Published in the British Journal of Nutrition, the largest study of its kind of date looked to see if there was any nutritional differences between organic and its conventional counterpart. In other words, is organic products worth the extra few dollars, nutritionally-wise at least?
Analysing the data from 196 studies of milk and 67 papers on meat around the world, the researchers found obvious nutritional differences between conventional and organic meat and dairy.
Both organic meat and milk provide 50 per cent more of omega-3 fatty acids, which are important in human nutrition. Organic meat also has slightly lower concentrations of two saturated fats that have been linked to greater risk of cardiovascular disease.
Organic milk contains 40 per cent more linoleic acid, as well as carries slightly higher concentrations of iron, vitamin E and some carotenoids. However, conventional milk has 74 per cent more iodine and slightly more selenium, two minerals essential for healthy development.
“People choose organic milk and meat for three main reasons: improved animal welfare, the positive impacts of organic farming and the perceived health benefits. But much less is known about the impacts on nutritional quality, hence the need for this study,” said lead author Professor Carlo Leifert of the Nafferton Ecological Farming Group at the University of Newcastle.
“Several of these differences stem from organic livestock production and are brought about by differences in production intensity, with outdoor-reared, grass-fed animals producing milk and meat that is consistently higher in desirable fatty acids such as the omega-3s, and lower in fatty acids that can promote heart disease and other chronic diseases.”
Chris Seal, co-author and professor of food and human nutrition at Newcastle said “Omega-3s are linked to reductions in cardiovascular disease, improved neurological development and function, and better immune function. Western European diets are recognised as being too low in these fatty acids and the European Food Safety Authority recommends we should double our intake. But getting enough in our diet is difficult. Our study suggests that switching to organic could go some way towards improving intakes of these important nutrients.”
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