Grass fed butter has become a popular product among high performing professionals, and the Australian market has a huge range of products & brands to supply this demand. In this article we have compiled all the things you need consider before you commit to a product or brand.
Get a personalised eco-friendly list of products & brands that will help to hit your goals here
Questions most Australians have about Grass Fed Butter
1. Is Woolworths butter grass fed?
Yes, According to Woolie’s Official Facebook Page their home brand butter is NZ dairy farmed and 100% grass fed
2. Is Kerrygold butter 100% grass fed?
Yes, According to Kerrygold website their cows enjoy a grass-based diet all year round & Beta Carotene ( a pigment in the grass) is the secret to their butter’s rich golden colour.
3. Is Mainland butter grass fed?
Yes, According Mainland’s website to their butter is “100% pure and certified organic New Zealand butter”
4. Is organic butter same as grass fed?
No, “Organic” normally refers to the potential contaminants in the dairy that is used and “Grass fed” refers to cows who have grazed only on pasture and dried forage
Butter is a staple food product that is found in virtually every home around the world. It is included in many recipes and to augment the taste of many different foods. One misconception about this product is the belief that all butter is alike. While it is true that butter is made from milk fat, the source of the milk plays a large role when it comes to the nutrients and overall properties of the butter itself.
Basically, what the cow eats is going to determine the content of the milk fat that makes the butter. So, it is not surprising that grass fed butter has proven to be quite nutritious without many of the problematic qualities that come from cows fed a grain diet. For most milk cows, a grain diet is common because they are in dairies producing milk all day long while having little chance to get out and about.
Grass fed dairy cows are rarer, but there are a growing number thanks to the benefits that they offer. It’s little wonder that grass fed butter Australia residents enjoy is becoming a part of their dinner table.
Did you know? Grass Fed Butter is normally use on Keto recipes like Keto Coffee?
Essentially, this is butter created from the milk fat of cows who have been primarily feeding on grass, the cow’s natural diet. In fact, grain has been a relatively recent addition to the diet of cows as they have been grass fed for most of their existence on Earth. It was only when cows where brought inside large dairies where they could not feed on grass did grain enter their diets in a real way.
While cows did consume some grain before the invention of the modern dairy, the mixture was mostly grass as that is what was available to them. With some dairies going back to grass fed mixtures to feed their cows, the healthy benefits are now really starting to show.
It is true that both grass fed and grain fed butter sources contains high amounts of saturated fat. However, the myth that they contribute to heart disease has been debunked for years. Studies have shown that saturated fat does not contribute to heart disease. The real threat is the unsaturated and particularly trans fats that have shown to increase the risk for cardiovascular issues. Of course, saturated fat should be consumed in moderation as eating too much will add more extra weight to the body. With grass fed butter sources the risk is even lower that your body will turn the excess into unwanted body fat. However, it is good advice in general to consume all foods in moderation.
Which Australian grass fed butter?
We have compiled a list of Australia’s most popular grass fed butter brands
- Lewis Road Creamery: Artisan butter from New Zealand (available at woolworths)
- Organic Times: Unsalted and Salted grass fed butter from Victoria
- Westgold butter: Salted & Unsalted butter from New Zealand (available at woolworths and coles)
- Pepe Saya: Salted & Unsalted butter from Geelong, Victoria (available at woolworths and coles)
- Ashgrove butter: Tasmanian butter ( available at woolworths, IGA and coles)
- Myrtleford Cultured Butter
- Woolworths Essentials Unsalted & Salted Butter
- True Organic
Benefits of Grass Fed Butter
Everything that makes grass fed butter beneficial starts with the acknowledgement that butter itself is essentially fats. In fact, butter contains around 400 different types of fatty acids along with vitamins that are fat-soluble. While the prevailing wisdom is that the consumption of butter contributes to unwanted weight gain, the truth is that many of the ingredients of the grass fed variety are quite healthy.
- Natural Source of Energy: Fat is a natural source of energy and needs to be part of your diet if you want to get going during the day. While you need to regulate the amount you consume, adding a little butter from grass fed cows is a great way to get the energy needed. Plus, the fat itself takes time for the body to absorb so you will have a constant source of energy for hours.
- Greater Weight Loss Potential: While you may believe that butter should not be a part of a weight-loss diet, you might want to think again with the grass fed version. This is because grass fed butter Australia residents consume contains Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) which is a fatty acid commonly used as a supplement for loosing fat. Grass fed versions contain upwards of five times the amount of CLA compared to their grain fed counterparts. So, when consumed in recommended amounts, the CLA will actually help you to lose the unwanted fat.
- Higher Amounts of Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Compared to grain fed butter sources, grass fed contains a far higher amount of Omega-3 fatty acids which are good for the cardiovascular system. In fact, Omega-3 fatty acid is a highly recommended part of the daily diet thanks to its heart-healthy qualities. When consumed in moderation, the fatty acids will help protect the circulatory system which means a smaller risk for strokes, heart attacks, and other cardiovascular issues.
- Taste: Because there are more nutrients, the taste of the butter is better and smoother than its grass fed counterparts. As with any edible product that is new, you may be a bit surprised at the different taste, but it is still based in milk fat and not too different than grain fed butter if that is what you are used to eating. In addition, the grass fed variety will help other foods taste better as well while mixing in to your favorite recipes.
- Feeling Better: One of the more interesting discoveries about grass fed butter is that it has a positive psychological impact. The old saying of you are what you eat certainly seems to apply with butter from grass fed sources as people generally feel better thanks to the positive boost it provides.
How to Make Grass Fed Butter a Part of Your Life
You will need to look for butter products that are labeled as being from grass fed cows. You may find them at your local grocery store, but more likely you will find such products at online and retail specialty stores that carry health foods. While this type of butter tends to be slightly more expensive, the benefits that it provides are more than worth the extra cost.
Remember that just because butter from grass fed cows is much better for you than from milk fat produced from grain fed cows, that doesn’t mean you can overindulge. Instead, consume it in moderation and you will start to feel the difference.
Positive Reviews
According to Makayla Meixner from healthline.com ” Grass-fed butter is a good source of vitamin A and the antioxidant beta carotene. It also has a higher proportion of healthy, unsaturated fats and CLA than regular butter.”
Negative Reviews
According ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ” LDL-C concentrations were significantly increased on butter compared with coconut oil”
Butter’s Environmental Impacts
In short any dairy product has to answer for the huge carbon footprint. According to the Environmental Working Group dairy products like butter or cheese are among the worst animal products due the the amount of resources needed to produce them.
Vegetable Butters: Eco-Friendly Alternatives To Butter
- Cocoa Butter
- Shea Butter
- Mango Butter
Scientific Citations
- The Linear Relationship Between the Proportion of Fresh Grass in the Cow Diet, Milk Fatty Acid Composition, and Butter Properties
- Exploring the Impact of n-6 PUFA-rich Oilseed Production on Commercial Butter Compositions Worldwide
- Grazing increases the unsaturated fatty acid concentration of milk from grass‐fed cows: A review of the contributing factors, challenges and future perspectives
- A field experiment to design healthier foods: Consumer valuation of butter production processes
- The environmental impact of dairy production: 1944 compared with 2007
- The environmental impact of recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST) use in dairy production
- Evaluation of indicators to assess the environmental impact of dairy production systems
- The environmental impact of fertility in dairy cows: a modelling approach to predict methane and ammonia emissions