Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Why I Don't Buy Organic Milk

As moms, we pay close attention to our grocery dollars. We choose which foods our family's hard-earned money will purchase and which foods we'll say no to in the interest of health, nutrition and expense. One of the big debates today is organic versus non-organic--specifically with regard to milk. You'll read horror stories about non-organic dairies--the foods fed to the cows, the over-crowded feedlots, the antibiotics and steroids pumped into the cows that reportedly makes its way into the milk we drink. I read one blog post once where a mom compared buying non-organic milk to buying her family illicit drugs. A little over the top, in my opinion.

Yet, one of the first lessons I learned as a news reporter was to choose your sources carefully. First-hand sources are the most reliable and trustworthy. Therefore, my opinion that the arguments against regular milk are largely untrue is based on first-hand information from one of my best friends, whose parents and in-laws both own large dairies in California. Plus, the Central Valley area in which she lives produces something like 90% of the nation's milk. I'd say she's a pretty reliable source. So you can read and believe what other sources tell you about dairies, or you can believe her first-hand account. Here's the truth of what happens on a dairy, according to my friend.

First of all, the cows are the farmers' livelihood. This means great time and expense is devoted to taking excellent care of the herd. The better cared for they are, the better their milk will be, and the greater the profit for the dairy. (Plus, many of these dairy families are committed Christians, and so there are stewardship issues and deep personal values involved in caring for their cows).

My friend told me nutritionists come often and check the cows' pH-levels, to see if they are alkaline or acidic. Their diets are adjusted accordingly. Few of us monitor our diet and nutrition as closely as these cows are checked. My friend said they grow their own corn, but in addition, citrus producers send surplus citrus, almond producers send almond wholes, and other healthful foods are ground up and fed to the cows as well. Plus, yes, they are also turned out to pasture where they can graze on grass.

Contrary to public opinion, they do not administer steroids to the cows to help them make milk faster. Plus, most milk cartons these days are printed with a statement that the milk is from cows not treated with rBST growth hormones. I don't know where that idea got perpetuated, but I believe the vast majority of dairies do not employ the dreadful practices the organic-milk crowd rails against them.

Yet, here's my favorite, most convincing argument about the safety of non-organic milk:

My friend's family's dairy is made up of 2,200 head of milk cows. One day, one cow was on a trace amount of antibiotics. This cow accidentally made it in the milking line. Oh-oh, right? Antibiotics in our milk. Wrong. When the milk truck came to take the milk, mandatory testing (performed on the milk every time it is picked up) detected that trace amount of antibiotic--from one cow out of 2,200. The entire tank of milk had to be dumped, per FDA regulations. So since this is true, how in the world can people say that cows' antibiotics make it into the milk we drink? It just doesn't happen.

Here is some additional proof:
"Sick dairy cows treated with antibiotics for humane reasons go through an FDA-prescribed withdrawal time that varies, based on the antibiotic and the animal’s illness. This means that during the withdrawal time, the sick animal’s milk and the antibiotics are kept out of the milk supply. The FDA also has set strict standards for the presence of antibiotics in milk, and each and every milk tanker is tested for the presence of the important antibiotics before the milk is allowed to enter the milk processing facility. The milk from the rare tanker truck which has been accidentally contaminated is discarded and does not enter the human food chain." Source:  http://www.realcaliforniamilk.com/farm-life/animal-care/animal-faqs/
Additionally, with the radiation issues coming from Japan, my friend shared with me that we are all safer if we do not rely on any one dairy or farm--organic or not--for our milk, eggs, and meat. This is because if a radiation cloud were to contaminate a farm, or radiation got into the feed, we would be exposed to that radiation through the cow's milk, let's say. If it were our only source of milk, its effects would be highly concentrated in our bodies. But if we bought our milk at the store from a wide range of producers, any effects from possible radiation at one farm would be dispersed and lessened in our bodies. Does that make sense?

Going back to the heart of the issue, my friend lives just down the road from an organic dairy. She really believes her family takes better care of her cows and devotes more time and attention to them than the organic dairy does.

If, after reading this, you are still convinced you want to dedicate some of your grocery budget to organic milk, that's fine. But if you are on the fence about it all, I hope this report helps convince you that non-organic milk is really ok. Don't believe everything you read against non-organic dairies. Listen to dairy farmers themselves. Hear what they have to say about their farms and practices (a great source is realcaliforniamilk.com), and then make a decision for yourself.

I'd love to hear your opinion of it all, and if you have any questions, I'll see if I can get them answered for you. (My friend, a conventional California dairy farmer, shared in a post here about the nutrition and care they give their cows, and her take on why organic is a non-issue when it comes to milk, in her professional opinion. That post of mine is here).
(linked to Works for Me Wednesday)

26 comments:

  1. Great post! I have always been a skeptic about stuff and all these documentaries and such, I have always been asking myself, what's in it for them? What's their angle, so to speak. Who's behind this? You have to ask yourself these questions so you are not blinded by the feelings they hope to evoke in you through their information. Our seventh child is due in 10 weeks. Making the grocery budget stretch is a challenge everyday and organic milk just doesn't make it on the list of priorities! Thanks for the reassurance that it's 'okay'.
    Hope you are doing well through the summer with your pregnancy. How much longer do you have?

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  2. Hi Stephenie,
    Thanks! I am 35 weeks right now. My due date is Aug. 16. We'll see if we make it that far :)
    Hope you're doing well too & congrats again!

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  3. I came to pretty much the same conclusions as you did and our family uses conventional milk labeled no growth hormones. Another reason that I choose not to buy organic milk is that at the stores available to me, all organic milk is ultra pasteurized. I would much rather use regular pasteurized milk that actually spoils than ultra pasteurized milk that doesn't spoil because it is essentially "dead."

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  4. I totally agree, but it is sooo difficult to convince people that buying organic is generally silly. I come from 6 generations of orchardists, and the idea of organic gardening is ridiculous to them.

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  5. AnonymousJuly 07, 2011

    I was feeling so much better after reading this, and on my fb page I got a post from Tropical Traditions about all the drugs in milk. Would you try to read it. I think you will be interested to see what is out there. I was so relieved with your article, I bought regular milk this afternoon. Thank you again. Linda

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  6. AnonymousJuly 07, 2011

    Thanks for your info. Makes me feel better that I haven't even considered going organic on anything since our budget would not allow.

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  7. Hi Linda,
    I looked at that article. I think the key is that the study focused on Spanish and Moroccan milk. In the States, the FDA has so many safeguards set up to prevent that. I think one person commented on that article that in the US, milk with antibiotics doesn't make it into the tank, as I shared in my post as well.
    I'm glad you feel safe buying regular milk! :) I think we all should :)

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  8. Great information. It's a good practice to look at where the money trail leads. The organic producers have to convince us that there is a "need" to spend more money on their products, or nobody would.....

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  9. Unfortunately, misinformation tends to spread like wildfire. People accept as truth something they heard because they heard it a lot, never remembering that, if you trace something back to the source, the original claim really had no validity! It happens way too often. Thanks for a great post. I don't buy Organic as a rule, anyway, since it's overpriced, but thanks for the great information about milk! (PS--I agree, why would a farmer abuse his cows if they are his livelihood?)

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  10. Very interesting stuff! I don't buy organic -- first the budget didn't allow for it and now that it does, I figure if the other stuff was good enough for us all these yars, why switch now. But I do know moms who see buying non-organic as practically child abuse....so it's nice to have some facts to back up my own side of the arguement.

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  11. We do buy organic dairy to avoid the artificial growth hormones mostly. The antibiotics aren't really a sticking point for us, though I'd glad they're not in there. The hormones they're pumping into any farm animal that moves scare me silly.

    Cheers!

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  12. I normally buy non-organic, but it's actually because that's what my husband prefers(taste-wise). Thank you for sharing this information. :) Do you have any information about the artificial growth hormone claims?

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  13. We just don't buy much milk! I grew up on a small farm (mostly chicken and soybean), and our neighbor had a dairy. Then, I worked on an organic dairy farm. There are some small differences between the two, but really minute. Still, both farms turned me off of many dairy products (not completely, I do think "milk and honey" is in the Bible for a reason). I have 4 kids (6, 5, 3, and 7 months), and we don't even use a 1/2 gallon a week!

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  14. I don't buy organic milk because I also need to concentrate my grocery $ on the issues that are teh *most* important to *my* family. So I do actively search out rBst free/hormone free milk.

    I think that a lot of people don't realize that "organic" factory farms aren't much different from regular factory farms as far as cow treatment, etc. But I do think there is a point to being concerned with antibiotic overuse in farm animals in general, even if it isn't at testable levels in the end product. Overusing antibiotics does have an impact on the food chain overall, and can be excreted ultimately contaminating the soil and or water supply with antibiotic residue, which does lead to the overgrowth of drug resistant bacteria.

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  15. I don't buy it because it comes in the plastic-cardboard hybrid type carton, which is not recyclable and really not something I can repurpose either.

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  16. You make some good points. This is something that I need to read more about.

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  17. AnonymousJuly 21, 2011

    Thanks for this great post and helping get the correct information out there. I grew up on a dairy, have a degree in Dairy Science and worked on a dairy after college until I married (hubby is a Marine, not many farms around where he has been stationed plus I am currently staying home with the kids). Anyways this still a passion of mine, so thanks for again for posting the correct information. ~Nancy

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  18. AnonymousJuly 21, 2011

    Thanks for posting this...very well stated and with correct information!!! So refreshing to see this as I have a passion for the dairy industry and agriculture and getting the correct information out.
    ~Nancy

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  19. Thanks for posting this, I have been spending $3.49 for a 1/2 gallon of milk (and buying 2-4 containers per week) because I thought I was proving my family with a better product. Time to reconsider that investment!

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  20. I think you addressed the issue of antibiotics being less of a real threat than we imagine them to be in ALL milk, organic and conventional but your post does nothing to address the concerns about pesticides. First, the research points to pesticides being stored in our bodies' fat cells (and that goes for animals as well as humans) so when I am looking to buy organic (pesticide-free or extremely reduced amounts compared to conventional) I am particularly concerned about buying organic when it comes to foods with high fat content like butter and whole milk or yogurt. The pesticides are in the grains fed to the cows, the cows' body stores those toxins in their fat cells, the fat cells are then mobilized when that cow makes milk and it ends up in the finished product ie. milk, butter, yogurt. Buying organic products will indeed limit the load of pesticides you consume especially if you consume fatty dairy products. Until someone can give me a first-person account of a conventional dairy farm using organic feed, it won't be good enough for me to serve my kids at the breakfast table.

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  21. I think you addressed the issue of antibiotics being less of a real threat than we imagine them to be in ALL milk, organic and conventional but your post does nothing to address the concerns about pesticides. First, the research points to pesticides being stored in our bodies' fat cells (and that goes for animals as well as humans) so when I am looking to buy organic (pesticide-free or extremely reduced amounts compared to conventional) I am particularly concerned about buying organic when it comes to foods with high fat content like butter and whole milk or yogurt. The pesticides are in the grains fed to the cows, the cows' body stores those toxins in their fat cells, the fat cells are then mobilized when that cow makes milk and it ends up in the finished product ie. milk, butter, yogurt. Buying organic products will indeed limit the load of pesticides you consume especially if you consume fatty dairy products. Until someone can give me a first-person account of a conventional dairy farm using organic feed, it won't be good enough for me to serve my kids at the breakfast table.

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  22. Hi Sierramom, here is an additional post where my friend who is a conventional CA dairy farmer shares about the high value they place on nutrition for their cows and what their diet looks like. It is a first-hand account. http://momsinneedofmercy.blogspot.com/2011/08/more-on-milk.html

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  23. AnonymousJune 13, 2012

    I prefer not to give my family anything that is fed genetically modified organisms (GMO crops), as these will then transfer into the meat and milk of the animal, and then into our tummies! Cows were made and designed by God to eat grass, not corn or soy, which are two of the biggest GMO crops. It is worth the extra expense for grass fed beef, or dairy products that come from pastured animals, so I can be guaranteed they don't eat GMO's. Yes, it is an extra expense for sure, but I have found that when I stopped buying boxed breakfast cereals, packaged snacks, and cut down on our meat consumption that I am able to afford buying better quality. Whole foods really are the best, and it really is important to stay away from foods that were grown in a lab :-) Just my two cents!

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  24. Are you serious? Are you assuming that most milk comes from small family farms? Because that is not the case. Farmers are happy to abuse their livelihood because by pumping cows up with hormones and antibiotics they can produce a greater amount of milk thus increasing profits. Cows are artificially impregnated once a year (even though they normally only give birth every 2-4 years) so they can keep up with milk production needs. They are separated from their calves right after birth, which is very distressing. And the hormones and antibiotics that you don't think are given to cows? Well they cause a very painful inflammation of the udder called mastitis that inflicts 1 in 3 dairy cows. Dairy cows are worked hard all their lives in often deplorable conditions just to be sent to slaughter. It may or may not be true that the hormones in milk are not harmful to humans. If this is why you don't buy organic humane milk then that is fine. But please don't blind yourself into thinking that the cheap, hormone free milk you buy comes from happy, grazing cows. Because a majority of the time, it simply doesn't.

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  25. Organic milk is not just about antibiotics, it's about what they eat. And I am a milk lover, have been my whole life. Organic milk just tastes better. If you open a gallon of regular milk and sniff the top there is actually a light corn smell. Some brands are better or worse than others and they all vary in taste. I have a big family and one child who I swear to you knows I gave him "the wrong milk" just by taste if I try to save money and buy cheaper milk.

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  26. I just have to add my two cents... working on a dairy farm in college, then in the QA lab at a dairy where we processed the milk for stores after graduation, I can attest to everything you're saying. Every single milk tanker that came to us was tested for antibiotics (and other things) and if it was in any way positive it was not accepted and dumped. It was definitely a BIG deal, for our dairy and the FDA. Yes, the calves destined for the dairy farm were fed a milk replacer with added antibiotics when they were young, to ward off disease, but the overuse of antibiotics in a general sense is a different topic. I know none of that gets into the milk we are drinking, and milking cows were only treated when they were sick, and their milk was kept out of the tank during treatment. By the time I left the dairy in 2009, we had started accepting milk only from farmers who pledged to not use rBST, and that was printed on the bottles. This was all in Pennsylvania, but I believe most of the farms were small family farms, (the one I worked on was- about 100 head) since there were often several farms collected in one tanker truck. I don't dispute that dairy cows are worked hard, but they are taken good care of.
    Oh, and another secret about milk? Check the production code included in the expiration date stamp. Often the more expensive 'name-brand' right next to the store-brand (and the different store brand at the store across town) all comes from the exact same processing facility from the exact same cows.

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