Organic Dairy: Is It Worth the Cost?
Organic dairy products can come at a premium and when you’re spending a little extra money, it’s always good to know whether it was worth it, which can be hard to evaluate when there are so many conflicting claims about the benefits of organic. After the jump, we’ll try to untangle what organic is and what it isn’t, what it means for your health, for the environment, and for the cows so you can make an informed decision about what’s best for your family.
What is organic dairy?
To be labeled organic, dairy products have to come from livestock that have been raised according to USDA organic standards. Among other rules, the USDA states that organic milk must come from cows that have been pastured for the entire grazing season (not less than three months), that have not been given synthetic hormones, that have access to the outdoors year-round, that have been fed only organic feed, and that have not been given antibiotics.
What does this mean for your family’s health?
There are a lot of conflicting claims. While some claim that the hormones and antibiotics in conventional milk are bad for you, the general consensus is that they either don’t have an effect or that effect is negligible. However, organic milk can be more nutritious than its conventional counterpart with 68% more omega-3 fatty acids, because of the cows’ better diet and the breeds of cows that are typically used on organic farms.
What does organic mean for the environment?
There’s little question that the pesticides and fertilizer used to raise feed for conventional cows are bad for the environment. Moreover, pasturing the cows for at least part of the year means that less land is given over to cultivating food for cows, which is one of the big causes of deforestation. This is an important consideration when weighing the expense of organic dairy. Conventional dairy imposes a lot of environmental costs that aren’t paid by the consumer. When you buy organic, you pay something closer to the truer cost of your food which may make you reconsider how much you use.
Is organic better for cows?
Living life outside, with less illness, and a more natural diet are clear reasons that organic cows might have a higher quality of life. Cows that are allowed to graze, and have access to the outdoors are going to have a higher quality of life than those living in a factory farm situation. And since organic cows aren’t given hormones or antibiotics, their diets are healthier, and the cows are in much better physical condition.
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Would you please stop perpetuating the notion that conventional Milk contains antibiotics. Its simply not true. Milk cannot be sold that has antibiotics. I also find your claim that organic cows are healthier because they are not given antibiotics to be completely unfounded. I ask you this question. If you or your child contracted a serious bacterial infection lets say pnemoinia for example, would you deny your child or yourself the access to health care. I am a proud Dairy Farmer and i believe my cows have the right to responsible health care. Do you think Organic cows are absent of all diseases and illness? Do you think if those cows had an infection they would want it treated appropriately with sound medicine as you or i would?
Hi Kevin, there’s evidence that the testing of antibiotics in milk isn’t completely effective and that the dairy industry has resisted better testing regimes. See this article for instance- http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/26/business/26milk.html. I agree there’s nothing wrong with giving a sick animal medicine and in fact, a sick organic cow can be given antibiotics under certain circumstances. But conventional cows are often given antibiotics as a regular part of their feed whether they are sick or not, because their living conditions and diet make prone to illness.
As someone who has dealt with the dairy industry for over 40 years, I can tell you that there have been many tank truck loads of milk dumped due to antibiotics in the milk. It is simply not allowed. Also, as far as synthetic growth hormones, I know of no milk processing plant that allows milk from farms using them. As far as the omega-3 fatty acids are concerned, this claim is contentious at best.
This is an older post but I have to agree with Kevin and Tom and my Dad is an organic dairy farmer who wasn’t always organic.
First: They test like crazy for the antibiotics and no farmer wants to bear the brunt of the cost of a dumped load, especially since it’s not only his milk but the other farmers on the route who get dumped. They have a hard enough time paying their bills as it is.
Second: Yes there is antibiotics in some of the feeds that non organic farmers use but these are primarily for young calves who are more susceptible to illness. The milking portion of the herd do not receive grain with antibiotics in them.
Third: Organic farmers can give their cows antibiotics, they just have a longer waiting period before they can sell that milk. It would be irresponsible of any farmer to refuse to treat their cows with antibiotics when they are called for. Would you stay away from antibiotics if you had mastitis or another type of infection? Cows aren’t as fastidious as people are in their own cleanliness as well has having at least twice as many milk ducts and are much more prone to mastitis infections than humans.
Fourth: To assume that the living conditions are atrocious on most conventional farms is ill advised. There usually is very little difference with the exception of possible more pasture time and even that isn’t a guarantee. Cows, like people tend to produce more when they are relaxed and healthy and increased pasture time leads to this. Most smaller farmers I know have some pasture time for their cows regardless of their organic status. It is the larger conglomerate farms that tend to limit pasture time or eliminate it entirely.
Fifth: The difference in how much land is “deforested” between an organic farm and nonorganic farm can’t be that high, since by definition pasture means there are a limited number of trees and therefore the land is deforested. Also, most non factory farmers are farming on land that has been farmed for generations, in their family or someone else’s family. I would look too the beef industry if you are going to blame deforestation on growing feed for cows. And I would look tot he building industry because between 1970 and 2006 the number of dairy farms went from 648k to 75k and it just keeps going down and a lot of that land was sold for houses to pay off the debts incurred by farmers who went out of business.