Cows fed hemp produced milk with THC, researchers say

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Cows fed hemp produced milk with THC, researchers say

One of the first major investigations of hemp in animal feed also showed behavioral changes in some cows

By Joel Achenbach
November 14, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. EST

Dairy cows fed industrial hemp produced milk with detectable levels of the buzz-inducing molecular compound THC, according to a new study from Germany that could influence the potential uses of hemp as an ingredient in animal feed.

The dairy cows also showed behavioral changes — yawning and salivating a lot, moving a little unsteadily on their hoofs, standing in one place for a protracted period, and having a “somnolent appearance.”

The peer-reviewed study, conducted on Holstein cows in Berlin and published Monday in the journal Nature Food, is one of the first major investigations of the use of industrial hemp as a potential supplement in animal feed.

For now such use is illegal under United States law, which does not allow THC in the food chain. But the new research comes as hemp, which has many industrial uses, continues to emerge from an agricultural exile that dates to the “reefer madness” hysteria of the 1930s.

{snip}

By Joel Achenbach
Joel Achenbach covers science and politics for the National desk. He has been a staff writer for The Post since 1990. Twitter https://twitter.com/JoelAchenbach

[DURHAM D]

1. lol

Those Holstein cows work hard. Glad they have been rewarded.

[sop]

2. Chocolate THC Milk will be a big hit.

[Girard442]

3. I was wondering why alla sudden I wolfed down 3 bowls of Frosted Flakes.

[SmartJellyfish]

4. Win - Win!

[twodogsbarking]

8. Let's go behind the barn and burn one.

[Probatim]

10. Can we medium rare one instead?

[getagrip_already]

5. by fed law, hemp must have less than .3% thc-a, not zero...

So there is some, but not a lot. It also isn't thc, it's thc-a. Normally you need to apply heat to drive off a carboxyl acid group before it can become psychoactive.

So I'm not sure what this study is claiming, since the cows are not ingesting thc.

And btw, you can also taste garlic in milk if they eat garlic grass.

[Igel]

12. I suspect they've redefined "hemp".

Had an employer that tried to do that. Sold hemp clothing and said it was basically weed.

Different genetics. Same species, different varieties. Rather like confusing a newfie, a doberman, and a toy chihuahua. Same species. But you don't sic a toy chihuahua on a full-sized German shepherd, or buy a carrier for a newfie based on the size of a toy chihuahua. (
Both are bloody in the execution.)

We've differentiated the terms, it's a useful distinction. Few want rope made of sinsemilla, few want to smoke hemp rope.

[EmeraldCoaster]

6. Hallelujah

That's all!

[Wounded Bear]

7. Ok, that got a chuckle...

This thread rocks!

[mitch96]

9. I guess a stoned cow is a happy cow.. mon..I wonder if they get the munchies??..nt

[Warpy]

11. If cows had produced THC milk when I was a kid

maybe my mother wouldn't have had such a struggle getting me to drink the shit.

I was lactose intolerant by the age of 5 but the woman thought I'd die without 3 glasses of the horrible stuff a day.