DEBATE: WHAT MAKES MILK ORGANIC?

Rural societies do not have to worry about the quality of their food - they grow it themselves, after all. But in our modern world, how many of us grow our own tomatoes and carrots? We may have tiny backyard gardens that produce a few delicious tomatoes or peppers, but our food generally comes from the grocery store, supermarket, wholesale buying club, or farmers markets. We rely on these establishments to provide everything from toilet paper to strawberries and we expect the food to taste good, smell good, and be beautiful. A growing number of consumers are realizing that the grocery stores and supermarkets that are everywhere in our cities are just businesses - the days of knowing who grew our food are gone. Food is now an industry and is heavily regulated and managed. Most farmers are using pesticides, fertilizers, packaged meals for their livestock, and hormones, and this has many effects on the food that we eat. More consumers are beginning to realize that our food is not the same healthy and wholesome food that our grandparents and great-grandparents ate and are becoming concerned about our health because of the impurities and chemicals in our food. Conscious shoppers are now turning toward organic foods in an attempt to stay away from genetically engineered food, pesticides, herbicides, and hormones. The organic market is constantly on the rise, and the big-shots in the food industry now want to get their share of the organic profits. This is causing controversy in the organic farming circles, especially within the production of organic milk.

Dairies are now in the middle of a very important battle over the meaning of the term “organic” - a term that can add between $6 and $7 to the price of every 100 pounds of milk sold. Consumers are used to paying a premium for this higher quality milk, and it usually retails for almost twice as much: at one grocery store, ordinary milk costs $1.57 per half-gallon, while organic costs $2.99 for the same amount. The industrial dairies are starting to feel like they are missing out on an important market, and larger dairy farms are not competing with smaller, more traditional dairies. The smaller dairy farmers have started to complain that the bigger, more industrial dairies are fooling the consumer into believing that their milk is truly organic. 

What makes milk organic rather than industrial or ordinary? Organic food is produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations. Organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering, or ionizing radiation. Before a product can be labeled “organic,” a Government-approved certifier inspects the farm where the food is grown to make sure the farmer is following all the rules necessary to meet USDA organic standards. The USDA says that organic milk must come from cows that have access to pasture, but they do not specify how much of a cow’s food must come from grazing vs. other feed. 

Smaller-scale organic dairy farmers allow their cattle to graze often. Even in the cold of winter, organic dairies send their cows outside to graze after milking them. Their cows are the ones that consumers assume are “organic dairy cows” - they trod out to pasture and graze the day happily away, enjoying the fresh air, natural diet, and sunshine.Consumers expect organic dairy products to come from cows that spend a lot of time out in the pasture… but this is not always the case. Large-scale dairies that call themselves organic usually keep thousands of cows penned up in open-air pens, feeding them organic hay and grains, while allowing them time to freely graze in the pastures only when they are not producing milk. 

A Wisconsin advocate for family-scale farming, The Cornucopia Institute, filed complaints with the Department of Agriculture against three large dairies in Colorado, Idaho, and California for grazing violations. The institute's Organic Integrity Project acts as a corporate watchdog, assuring that no compromises to the credibility of organic farming methods and foods are made in the pursuit of profit. This is a hot debate: on one side are those who believe organic means small farms, ecologically- sustainable farming, and conscious responsibility. On the other side are those who see organic farming only as a business that is there to meet the demand for the organic product. Is organic farming a way of life or is it just about making a dollar? 

"There's a real concern about the dilution of the organic mission," said Greg Bowman, online editor of Newfarm.org." Ned MacArthur of the Natural Dairy Products Corp, agrees. "The biggest danger I see in these big corporate dairies is the potential for the development of two different types of organic milk," he says. He fears there will be an organic milk from cows who graze and milk from cows who eat feed, and this will confuse consumers and discourage them from buying and drinking organic milk. 

Organic food sales rose about 19.5% per year between 1997 to 2003. Sales of organic dairy increased by an average of 22.5% per year during that same period. Organic dairy farmers are getting about $23 per 100 pounds of milk (about 12 gallons), compared to $16 for typical milk. With this financial incentive, the large industrial dairies want a cut of the organic pie, but at what price?