Can what we feed farm animals directly benefit our own health? Our research suggests it can
Chronic lifestyle diseases place growing pressure on healthcare. Prevention strategies should go beyond consumer behaviour and address how food is produced.
Obesity, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer are among the leading global health challenges, often linked to diets high in calories, processed foods and lacking diversity. In New Zealand, this health crisis places a significant burden on healthcare systems. To combat these issues, researchers are exploring innovative approaches to farming that could benefit human health.
New Zealand's traditional pasture-based farming methods typically involve monoculture grasslands, which may compromise animal welfare, health, and nutrition. The researchers' team proposes a new approach called "integral health farming," integrating farming practices with human health objectives. Central to this approach is "functional diversity," which involves incorporating multiple forage species, such as grasses, herbs, legumes, and bio-stimulants, into grazing systems.
By integrating multiple plant species, grazing systems can provide animals with a more balanced and nutritious diet, while also enhancing soil health. The researchers have compared conventional, multispecies, and functional-diversity grazing systems in sheep, cattle, and deer, finding improvements in growth, feed efficiency, milk production, and overall animal wellbeing.
Furthermore, the researchers analyzed the biochemical composition of animal products from different grazing systems, discovering that milk, beef, lamb, and venison from functional-diversity pastures contain higher levels of beneficial compounds. These compounds may help the body regulate fat metabolism, improve cardiovascular health, support mental wellbeing, and reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases.
For instance, milk from cows grazing on functional-diversity pastures contained higher levels of compounds that aid in proper fat burning, while venison from deer grazing these systems exhibited even larger shifts in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
To further investigate the impact of these animal products on human health, the researchers conducted the first-ever "cause-effect" randomised feeding trials. Participants consumed beef or lamb from different grazing systems and experienced measurable changes in their health markers. Those who consumed beef or lamb from functional-diversity pastures exhibited improved cholesterol metabolism, vascular function, energy regulation, kidney-associated stress reduction, and anti-carcinogenic properties.
Similarly, those who consumed lamb from these systems experienced enhanced neuroprotection, cardiovascular health, antioxidant defence, reduced inflammation, lipid regulation, and improved nutrient absorption.
In conclusion, the research suggests that the way we feed farm animals can directly benefit human health. By adopting grazing systems that incorporate functional diversity, we can produce animal products with higher biological value, improve environmental sustainability, and enhance animal welfare. Ultimately, this innovative approach can transform agriculture into a public health strategy, generating benefits from landscape to policy, and from healthy land to healthy people.
Written by urgent.news from The Conversation AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
