PUFAs in Goat Milk? The Hidden Impact of Modern Feed
posted on
May 19, 2025
They’re unsaturating goat milk now?!
It sounds crazy—but it’s happening. In the name of “health,” researchers and some industrial dairies are intentionally feeding goats things like canola oil and soybean oil to strip the saturated fat out of their milk and replace it with unsaturated fats.
Why?
Because of a deeply flawed (and outdated) belief that started in the mid-1900s: that saturated fat is bad and unsaturated fat is “heart-healthy.”
As someone who reads far too many journal articles on fatty acids, metabolism, farming practices, and livestock diets, I can tell you: this flawed belief on fatty acids runs deep.
Here are just a few examples of research studies in the field of goat dairy, with the goal of unsaturating it:
Many livestock nutrition papers literally start with, “Since it is well established that saturated fats are harmful to human health…” and then go on to explain how to reduce saturated fat in pork, beef, chicken, eggs, and dairy.
Millions are being spent to “improve” meat and dairy by changing how livestock are fed—all to reduce so-called “bad” saturated fat. But in doing so, modern agriculture has reshaped animal nutrition and quietly unsaturated the food system—even in goat milk.
“The results corroborated our hypothesis that the healthy FAs concentrations increase and the concentration of harmful FAs will reduce with increasing oils doses in goats’ diet” (ref)
That quote says it all. The goal is baked in: reduce the “harmful” saturated fats, regardless of what nature intended.
Why does this belief persist? Because it’s profitable.
Big Pharma relies on the fear of saturated fat to sell cholesterol-lowering statins - drugs that manage symptoms rather than fix root causes like poor metabolic health. Instead of encouraging real dietary change, the system pushes pills as a long-term solution.
At the same time, Big Ag benefits from the demand for unsaturated fats, which fuels chemically intensive monocropping of corn, soy, and canola. These subsidized crops are cheap to grow at scale but rely heavily on pesticides and synthetic fertilizers - and now dominate livestock feed and the human food supply.
It’s a perfect storm: industrial ag profits from the inputs (PUFA-rich feed oils), and Big Pharma profits from the consequences (chronic disease).
And yes, they are getting it done.
Goat milk’s PUFA content can be significantly increased through dietary manipulation. By changing what goats are fed, they’re changing the milk itself—rewriting its fatty acid profile. (r,r,r,r,r,r)
Meaning, milk with less saturated fat… and more unsaturated fat. This is not the milk our great-great grandparents consumed.
“The use of the supplemented concentrate resulted in fat with a higher PUFA concentration and a lower stearic acid concentration.” (r)
Soybean oil, rich in Linoleic Acid (LA, an Omega 6 PUFA), raises unsaturated fat levels in milk through partial rumen bypass and direct uptake by the mammary gland.
Soybean oil is high in linoleic acid (an omega-6 PUFA), and it increases unsaturated fat in milk in two ways: some of the fat escapes digestion in the rumen and goes straight into the bloodstream, (‘rumen bypass’), and some is taken up directly by the mammary gland. Additionally, the high LA content can activate desaturase enzymes (such as delta-6-desaturase), which convert some of the saturated fats into unsaturated forms, contributing to the shift in the milk’s fatty acid profile.
In addition to soy and canola, flax is another common feed ingredient nowadays, even in ‘corn and soy free’ rations, which was not traditionally used in goat diets. Flax can also significantly unsaturate goat milk! (r) And it is marketed to increase Omega 3, but it increases alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), a plant-based Omega 3 – something we don’t want more of! (r)
None of these ingredients would be possible without industrial agriculture. And none were ever traditionally used to feed dairy goats.
The reality?
Dairy goats are being fed more PUFAs than ever before—and it’s changing the milk in a way that doesn’t support long-term health or metabolism.
Modern science is beginning to confirm what traditional cultures knew all along: Diets rich in saturated fats support better metabolic health and energy production. But that truth is inconvenient for industrial systems built on cheap inputs and lifelong customers.
Do we really think we’re smarter than Mother Nature?
No. So let’s work with her—not try to manipulate the natural fats that have been present in dairy for thousands of years.
At Nourish, we’re not buying this fatty acid manipulation.
We raise our goats the way nature intended—on pasture, without PUFA rich feed, and in alignment with ancestral wisdom.
And we just got our fatty acid test results back to prove it:
Nourish Goat Milk Fatty Acid Test Results:
- Stearic Acid (Saturated Fat): 13%
- Linoleic Acid (Omega 6 PUFA): Just 1.627%
That’s 20% more saturated fat and 72.5% less PUFA compared to milk from goats fed soybean oil at a 1.5% inclusion rate [r], which is a common ingredient in many dairy goat feeds today.
So… how do we do it?
It’s simple. We go back to traditional farming practices, where goats live on pasture and eat what they were designed to digest.
🐐 Rotational grazing on diverse pasture: Our goats thrive on fresh grass, sunshine, and space to express their natural instincts. As they rotate through lush forage, they consume a diverse, nutrient-rich diet that enhances the quality of their milk. This regenerative approach supports soil health, biodiversity, and animal welfare.
🌾 A custom LowPs™ feed designed to mimic ancestral diets - no soy, corn, flax, or canola.
Let’s clear up a common myth: dairy goats have never been 100% grass-fed. Unlike cows, goats are natural browsers with smaller rumens and higher energy needs. Traditionally, farmers supplemented their diet with local grains like oats, barley, millet, or wheat bran—not high-PUFA ingredients.
But today’s commercial goat feed is loaded with soy, corn oil, canola, flax and sunflower—fats goats never consumed traditionally. These ingredients reduce the saturated fat content in milk and increase the unsaturated fats.
When we first started with dairy goats, I was frustrated by the feed options available. So I formulated a one-of-a-kind LowPs™ feed—based on ancestral wisdom, free from industrial oils, and now used by our dairy partner farm.
The result?
Goat milk naturally higher in saturated fats, lower in PUFAs—just as Mother Nature intended.
This is real goat milk. Unmanipulated. Ancestral. Nutrient-dense. Just the way it’s been for thousands of years, before Big Ag tried to rewrite the rules.
🥛 Raw, never pasteurized
🌱 Rotationally grazed on diverse pasture
🌾 Custom LowPs™ feed: no soy, corn, or canola
💪 Naturally A2A2
The bottom line? Nature knows best.
For thousands of years, ruminants like goats have been converting plant material into saturated fat-rich milk and dairy products. But industrial agriculture is working hard to override that natural process—and the health consequences are becoming hard to ignore.
Our modern food system is flooded with unsaturated fats—from vegetable oils to PUFA-rich dairy alternatives like nut milks, and even in the altered fats of conventionally raised chicken and pork. Now, even dairy is being manipulated to boost unsaturated fats and reduce the saturated fats our bodies actually need.
With so many metabolic stressors already working against us, the last thing we need is more unsaturated fats sneaking in through our dairy.
If you want goat milk that truly supports your metabolism—not works against it—
👉 Know your farmer. Know what the animals are eating. Know your source.
Want to see it for yourself?
Come hang out with the dairy goats and get a behind-the-scenes look at how they live, graze, and thrive.
🎥 Watch the YouTube video here.
