Skim milk straight from the cow

[Spin Echo]

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Skim milk straight from green-top cows
By MATTHEW TORBIT - The Dominion Post | Monday, 28 May 2007

Kiwi scientists have bred a herd of "green-top" cows that produce skim milk from the teat.

Scientists at Fonterra-owned research company ViaLactia have made the breakthrough after discovering a cow with a natural gene mutation that caused its milk to be significantly lower in saturated fat.

The milk is also high in omega-3 oils - which help to improve brain power - and butter made from its milk is spreadable straight from the fridge, like margarine.

The cow, appropriately named Marge, has produced a herd of extra-lite descendants, each with the skim milk gene.

ViaLactia chief scientist Russell Snell said Marge was like any other Friesian cow at first glance , but she was the key to a $150 million research project.

The first job was to get her pregnant.

"When we found that her daughters had the gene, that was the eureka moment, but the true holy grail will be to produce a sire with the gene."

Marge was discovered in 2001.

ViaLactia's researchers bought her from her owner for $300, the market rate for a cow, and moved her to a secret location for further testing.

"Every now and then nature throws up these sorts of things and it was simply a case of us being in the right place at the right time."

Dr Snell said New Zealand farmers had bred a genetically strong national dairy herd over many generations, and it was they who deserved "full credit" for Marge.

Whereas bottled green-top milk contains about 0.5 per cent fat, Marge and her daughters produced milk with about 1 per cent fat.

Saturated milkfat has been linked to heart disease.

About half of Marge's offspring have the green-top gene - indicating it is a dominant trait - but ViaLactia scientists have yet to pinpoint the exact chemical pathway that occurs to produce the super-milk.

Dr Snell said a lot of research was being conducted into the genetic side, and an article on Marge's milk was to appear in an upcoming edition of the British journal Chemistry & Industry.

There is already commercial interest from overseas, especially from Britain.

The Auckland-based company said the first commercial herds for spreadable butter could be expected by 2011.

Ah, good ol' natural genetic engineering.

[Molyneux]

That is...awesome!

The luddites can't even decry it as being genetically engineered milk - it's a naturally occurring mutation, no more unnatural than breeding different types of dog!

[CaptainChewbacca]

This is fascinating to me. A single fluke of nature, properly exploited, and now Marge will be the "mother" to a whole new subtype of cows.

Nature kicks ass.