EVIDENCE is mounting that animal fat is not the health bogeyman it once was, says XAVIER DUFF
There is an ad now showing on television that has a man in a white coat proclaiming that feeding butter to your children will probably kill them.
The ad for Meadow Lea margarine, which is endorsed by the National Heart Foundation, suggests none too subtly that just a slice of buttered toast every day will clog your children's arteries with deadly cholesterol.
It is a provocative message that led to complaints last year to the Advertising Standards Bureau that it was misleading, sensationalist and simplistic.
The ASB dismissed the complaint saying all the claims in the ad were backed by conventional scientific evidence.
Attacks on dairy products and red meat, because of their saturated-fat content, are something the livestock industries are used to after decades of bad press.
It all began back in the 1950s, when American doctor Ancel Keys speculated, after a study of diets and heart disease, that dairy, beef and lamb were to blame for the higher levels of heart disease and stroke in Western countries.
Keys' hypothesis, adopted as fact by nutritional authorities everywhere, led to recommendations for people to stop eating red meat and dairy products.
The idea that saturated fat is bad for you is now so entrenched it seems inconceivable it could not be true.
The theory was that eating saturated animal fats increased cholesterol levels, which clogged arteries and resulted in strokes and heart attacks.
But, recently, the theory appears to be crumbling, questioned by a growing number of scientists and nutritionists.
In January, a landmark scientific report in the influential American Journal of Clinical Nutrition came up with the astounding conclusion that there is no link between eating saturated fat and heart disease or strokes.
Full stop. No qualifications.
The implications of this latest finding for livestock industry are profound.
If true, all the old arguments that have turned us all into fat-obsessed fusspots no longer hold water.
One group who will welcome the news is the foodies who have long believed that meat with a decent level of fat is needed for meat to cook well and taste good.
Jennifer McLagan, a chef and author of the wonderfully named book Fat: An appreciation of a misunderstood ingredient, says the bad rap animal fat gets is totally undeserved.
In fact, cutting animal fat out of our diets not only deprives us of extra taste, we also lose out on health benefits.
Ms McLagan argues there is growing evidence that the fatty acids in animal fats are beneficial and better than many synthesised fats that have replaced them, which have been linked with diabetes and cholesterol.
So far dairy and red meat groups are cautious about making too much of the findings.
Meat and Livestock Australia would not comment, referring The Weekly Times to the National Heart Foundation.
A foundation spokeswoman said that despite the new report, they were sticking with the status quo that people should avoid eating saturated fats.
Dairy Australia dietitian Glenys Zucco said it was probably too early to make a full judgment on the new American report.
But it certainly was too simplistic to say saturated fat would cause heart disease or that any particular food was unhealthy.
"You must look at it in the context of the whole diet," Ms Zucco said.
"This is why dietitians recommend a balanced approach to diet with all food groups represented."
In fact the national dietary guidelines specify that three serves of dairy product are consistent with a good diet and not a threat to heart health, Ms Zucco said.
Could all this mean that the years of work the livestock industries put into breeding the fat out of animals and developing low-fat products have been a waste of time and money?
It's a moot point.
Fat is what gives food its flavour. It improves the shelf life of meat and its cooking by keeping it moist.
Some breeders argue lean livestock are not as hardy.
They have no fat reserves to draw on during feed shortages, which requires extra management and leads to fertility problems in females.
On the plus side, leaner animals grow faster and are more efficient at converting feed to protein and they are potentially more profitable.
And you could argue the huge range of low-fat or no-fat products has actually widened the market for animal foods, leading to higher consumption overall.
Whether the new findings will mean a swing back to fatter sheep and cattle is hard to predict.
Consumers are now used to low-fat foods and the almost paranoid fear of animal fat will take some time to overcome.
But if the American scientists are right, those who do enjoy their butter, cream, full-fat yoghurt and juicy roast lamb - in moderation of course - will be able to do so in future without the fear they might be killing themselves.
- Xavier Duff is a senior Weekly Times reporter.
