Green Pasture's

Two most asked questions:  Why Fermented Cod Liver oil,  Why High Vitamin Butter Oil

Fermenting fish/fish livers to make oils is an ancient practice, and the resulting oils were considered a sacred food. Fermented cod liver oil (FCLO) has been an important part of a typical family’s home for several hundred years.

The industrialization of  fish oils began around 1850 when oil manufacturers in Norway discovered that rendering (heating) the cod livers enabled them to produce a finished product in days. This was much faster than allowing the livers to ferment naturally, which took several months. Rendering(heating) the livers also extracted up to twice the amount of oil as natural fermentation. However, industrializing the oil making process had nothing to do with increasing the quality of the oil. The sole focus of industrialization was increased quantity and profits.

What manufacturers in the mid 1800s did not understand was the damage done by heat to the oil and its nutrients. Heat broke bonds and denatured the nutrients/oil.  These broken bonds latched onto hydrocarbons and oxygen during and after the heating process. The resulting products had very short shelf lives and horrific tastes and odors.  

Around 1950 the oil industry advanced technologically to the point that manufacturers could produce oil without color, flavor, or odor. Industrializing the oil further also allowed them to clean up the oxidative properties by applying heat—close to 400º F—under nitrogen and pressure. These industrial fish oils were easy to sell, tasted great, and had a long shelflife.

The industrialization of the fish oil industry has resulted in great changes in the oil itself.  What was originally sacred fermented food with a deep and broad nutrient content has become processed oil with a few fatty acids such as EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). Most industrial CLO also contain little to no natural occuring vitamins A and D; however, these vitamins must be added back in a unnatural form to the oil after manufacturing, as they are removed during the manufacturing process.

Real FCLO has thousands of nutrients.  There are many types of vitamin D, not just D3, and the same is true for other fat-soluble nutrients such as vitamins A, E, K, and other quinones. Real FCLO also contains nutrients we do not know how to discuss or measure at this time.

Our Family was introduced to the general topic of cod liver oil when studying Dr. Weston A. Price’s work with Cod Liver and High Vitamin Butter Oil. Dr. Price traveled the world, studying people and their health as it related to their diets. He found a common nutrient denominator that most affected the populaces’ minds, bodies, and spirits. He described this nutrient as an activator for other nutrients and called it Factor X. This nutrient was in all diets of the world. In some populations it was found in the insects they consumed, and other societies got the nutrient from eggs or fish organs. Dr. Price found the highest levels of Factor X in what he described as High Vitamin Butter oil. The pinnacle of his discovery was the synergy he found when combining the High Vitamin Butter oil with cod liver oil (CLO).

Our Family began pursuing these sacred foods by mastering the farming and making of High Vitamin Butter oil. During this process we discovered the shortfalls in the industrialized version of CLO.  We did not like what we discovered and felt that, if possible, we needed to providereal foods for our community.  Our work with High Vitamin Butter oil andcod liver started in 2000 and we introduced our FCLO by 2008.

If you have a sensitive palate, please consider our manycapsule products.

If you do choose to purchase the oil, please consider mixing it with other foods, water, smoothies, etc. Our products are artisan processed and vary widely from batch to batch. Many consumers consider this a good thing because it ensures the intent of the product as wholesome, genuine nutrition rather than one produced strictly for market appeal. Others may be used to products that are uniform from jar to jar. Without the knowledge of the importance of producing a product with a healthful focus, these consumers may be discouraged with a 'real' FCLO or butter oil product produced with such unworldly focus.