Chinese scientists may have solved the sustainability issue for Omega-3 fatty acids.
Recently their first “genetically modified cow” turned 9 months old and was deemed to be in perfect health.
Two more such cows are being bred now.
Through the miracle of genetic insertion a fish oil gene from telost fish (salmon, etc which produce high levels of Omega-3 fish oils) was inserted into the cow’s genome and lo and behold the cow’s milk is expected to produce 10 times the normal amount of Omega 3 fats normally found in cows milk but without the fish taste.
Given the concern over the sustainability of Omega-3 feeder fish to keep the Omega-3 levels in oily fish (over 50% of which are now farmed) at a high enough level to keep humans healthy when they eat fish, this comes as great news.
In a somewhat similar note fish oil has been given to cows and other grazing animals because it cuts down on methane producing flatulence. Funny as it may sound, this is a major source of greenhouse gases and would be a great way to reduce the greenhouse effect.
Dr Dave comments:
I have the perfect solution for keeping the Omega-3 levels in fish at high levels. Instead of asking people to consume krill or krill oil, which is not natural to any human population anywhere, mix the krill in with the fish chow and viola, plenty of Omega-3 for the fish to eat and integrate into their livers. And when they are harvested it will take fewer of them to produce fish oil.
Along the sustainability lines, there is already good evidence that harvest caps are beginning to show gains in fish populations and the World Fish Council state the global fish harvest has not increased at all in the past 20 years.
Given the climate gate issues, we have to look at some of the “fish panic” a little more objectively as well.
Clearly proper husbandry is needed and clearly everyone is aware of that.
The “solution”, while novel, is a great one since cows are not in danger of being over harvested and if the Omega-3 is of the EPA and DHA variety it could contribute greatly to human health!
We will still probably need to purify the oil that comes from cow’s milk as cows graze on pesticide laden areas and are exposed to environmental toxins as well but it will be a different set of toxins than in fish.
Finally, the most important point in this may be that gene insertion is here now. Gene repair for human beings, as we discussed at length in the Manhattan Beach Project, must truly be just around the corner.
You can see Dr Dave’s participation in the MBP on Youtube. This is the first of about 7 segments.
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The problem is that it is much healthier to get fish oil from fish than from Cow's milk. I don't think it is healthy for adults or even older children to drink cow milk. The milk proteins are hard to break down and some people are lactose intolerant. Leave milk to babies and cow's milk to baby cow's. In my opinion the effort to put Omega-3 oils in milk is totally misguided and probably sponsored my the dairy industry.
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