Nutrition as a Tool to Alter Milk Composition

Milk from ruminant animals is an excellent source of nutrients and has been an important component of the human diet for thousands of years. There are many situations in which it might be advantageous to change the composition of milk. For instance, dairy farmers might be interested in changing the concentration of a particular milk component for economic reasons. Consumer demand for milk fat and milk protein changes over time and producers may wish to maximize their income by using nutritional strategies to alter the protein to fat ratio in milk. Dairy processors may be interested in strategies that increase casein for maximization of cheese yield, or in methods that increase unsaturated fatty acids, resulting in softer butter. Another example might be the desire of nutritionists to change milk composition in ways that promote better health. Possibilities include reducing the saturated fatty acid concentration or enhancing components with particular functional properties such as omega-3 fatty acids, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), or bioactive peptides. Finally, some of the most profound possibilities for altering milk composition arise from genetic technologies. These include the use of transgenic cows designed to