Bleu Blanc Coeur – Better for People, Animals and the Planet

Bleu Blanc Coeur – Better for People, Animals and the Planet

Many people know flaxseed as one of the richest natural sources of omega-3, but fewer know about the remarkable French initiative that has spent more than 20 years using flax to improve food quality, animal welfare and environmental sustainability.

Bleu Blanc Coeur (“Blue White Heart”) was founded in France in 2000 with a simple idea: improve human health by producing more nutritious food with high omega- through better animal nutrition. To meet the Bleu Blanc Coeur standard, farmers include flaxseed and other carefully selected feed ingredients in livestock diets, helping to create a healthier balance of nutrients – including omega-3 – in meat, milk and eggs.

Better Nutrition for People

When animals eat a more balanced diet that includes flaxseed, the foods they produce naturally contain higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids.

Bleu Blanc Coeur research has shown that regularly eating these naturally omega-3 enhanced foods – without making any other changes to the diet – can improve the balance of omega-3 to omega-6 fats in the blood. Studies have also reported improvements in important health markers, including:

• Lower triglyceride levels.
• Improved omega-3 status.
• Potential benefits for blood pressure.
• Support for healthy weight management.

The approach focuses on improving nutrition through everyday foods rather than relying on supplements.

Healthier Animals

One of the most interesting outcomes of the programme was that farmers quickly noticed improvements in animal health and performance.

Animals fed balanced diets containing flaxseed have been shown to experience:

• Better overall health and wellbeing.
• Improved immunity.
• Reduced veterinary interventions and lower vet bills.
• Enhanced fertility and reproductive performance.
• Better digestive health.
• Improved milk production in dairy herds.
• Reduced mortality in some livestock systems.
• Lower reliance on antibiotics.

These benefits may seem randomly wide-ranging, but they reflect something we’ve learnt to expect in both animals and people: when nutrition improves, health tends to improve holistically throughout many the body rather than in just one specific way.

Benefits for the Environment

Bleu Blanc Coeur also aims to reduce agriculture’s environmental impact.

Research suggests that feeding flaxseed to ruminants can help lower methane emissions. The programme also promotes farming practices that support soil health, biodiversity and more sustainable crop production, reducing dependence on intensive chemical inputs.

What About the UK?

Foods produced under the Bleu Blanc Coeur scheme are not widely available in the UK. However, you can still increase your intake of omega-3 directly through foods such as flaxseed oil, freshly milled flaxseed, flax porridges and other flax-based foods.

If you want to improve the balance of fats in your diet, try increasing omega-3-rich foods while reducing less favourable fats. Choosing leaner meats such as turkey, venison and fish, alongside Flax Farm’s flaxseed oil, ground flaxseed, flax porridges and flaxjacks, can help increase the proportion of beneficial fats in your everyday diet.

After all, the idea behind Bleu Blanc Coeur is straightforward: healthier soil, healthier animals and ultimately healthier people.

 

Flax Farm for Natural Nutrition, More Omega-3 and Better Health

Bleu Blanc Coeur foods aren’t widely available in the UK, but you can still enjoy the benefits of omega-3 directly with Flax Farm’s nutrient-dense flaxseed oil, freshly milled flaxseed, porridges and Flaxjacks.

• Flaxseed Oil – plant omega-3
• Flax Porridge & Muesli – rich in omega-3 and natural fibre
• Flaxseeds whole and freshly milled – fibre and omega-3
• Flaxjacks – less sugar and sugar-free, full of whole grains, seeds fruits and spices;  rich in omega-3 and fibre

Blog Notes

Did you know that French farming initiative Bleu Blanc Coeur has been using flaxseed since 2000 to boost omega-3 levels in meat, milk and eggs? Farmers found an added bonus too: flaxseed in animal diets doesn’t just increase natural omega-3 in our food, it also supports animal health, fertility and immunity. Farmers find that their animals are healthier and require less treatment from vets; they live longer and farm animals produce more, better and healthier offspring.

Less Methane

The programme even aims to cut farming’s environmental impact, including reducing methane emissions from ruminants.

Find out more:

Bleu-Blanc-Coeur – For the Earth, animals and men