Why should we bother to learn about how milk is biosynthesised? Well, the dairy farmer, nutritionist or advisor needs some knowledge of this marvellous process in order to supply the nutrients that make it possible.
The biosynthesis of milk has been around since the creation, or evolution, depending on your point of view, of mammals, from the tiny field mouse to the mighty blue whale. It is nothing short of a miracle to consider how the endocrine system secretes macro and micro minerals and vitamins in proportion to the amount of milk produced.
Domesticated ruminants are not the product of Darwin’s natural selection process, since man has bred them to produce milk far in excess of their offspring’s needs. Excluding the minerals and vitamins in milk, the levels of which are almost constant, the amount of butterfat, protein and lactose (sugars) varies with the unnatural selection used within species to create breeds.
Irrespective of the cow’s genetic traits, the milk composition will remain constant across members of the breed on consistent diets.
E-mail Malcolm Stewart-Burger at [email protected].
Read more in the 29 July 2011 issue.
