Canadian Buttergate Made Butter Harder to Spread

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadian home bakers noticed something strange: their butter was not softening at room temperature. This phenomenon, dubbed Buttergate, sparked a national investigation. The cause was traced to changes in dairy cow feed. With demand for butter rising over 12 percent in 2020 as more people stayed home baking, Canadian farmers sought ways to increase milk output. Many turned to palm oil-based energy supplements, a decades-old practice that boosts both milk volume and fat content. However, agricultural experts discovered that butter made from palm oil-fed cows has a higher melting point, making it harder to spread at room temperature. The controversy raised ethical questions too, as palm oil production harms the environment and may increase heart disease risk. The Dairy Farmers of Canada formed an expert committee to investigate, while food scientists confirmed the link between palm fat in feed and harder butter.