A Colorado-based grocery chain says it will carry only dairy products from farms where cows graze in pastures, the Associated Press reports.
“Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage claims grazing improves the health of cows, consumers and the environment, and it hopes to expand an ongoing national debate over how to best care for livestock,” reads thearticle by M.L. Johnson and Colleen Slevin.It is the first retail chain to make such a move, according to the American Grassfed Association, which helped the store develop its rules. While the chain says the move aims to help consumers take a closer look at how diary products are made, others see it as a marketing strategy. And with “no clear guidelines on what qualifies as ‘pasture-raised,’ consumers paying a premium for grass-fed milk might be confused about what they are buying.”
Tom Overton, a Cornell University professor who specializes in dairy cow nutrition, told the AP that grazing doesn’t significantly change the nutritional value of milk, “but a nutritionist at the Medical College of Wisconsin said there’s some science that suggests milk from pasture-fed cows has higher levels of linoleic acid, which has anti- inflammatory properties.” PD
—Summarized by PD staff from cited source
