The ethics of organic milk

mamakay, i have done research on this myself.

i used to buy organic milk at costco (do you have one of these in your town?) and it was so much cheaper than other organic milk. it's from aurora dairy farms.

several articles i found online said that aurora is a mega dairy, albeit an organic one, and they have been lobbying to change (relax) the organic standards for dairy. the amount of space they have for pasture has been one big issue. aurora dairy supplies the "store" brand organic milk for costco, harris teeter, and other large supermarket chains.

i contacted aurora dairy and they wrote back saying the articles i cited were false.

i think horizon is a "mega dairy" too.

it is all very confusing to me, as i can't find any evidence one way or the other, kwim?

i buy my milk cheese and butter from organic valley, b/c i know they are a coop of small farmers from all over the country. but honestly i don't know if it makes a bit of difference.

i would check out this site for info about how "organic" various brands are:
http://cornucopia.org/index.php/dairy_brand_ratings/

i don't know the answer to the question of how antibiotics are used at organic farms, but my understanding (which could be wrong) is that they treat sick animals with appropriate medicine, but don't use the milk from the animal until she is off the medication. pump & dump, i guess

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Thank you!
http://cornucopia.org/pasture/?page_id=18
Yikes!
When I first heard rumor that Horizon was just as bad (minus the continuous antibiotics, antifungals, and BGH) as "regular" milkeries, I went on the Horizon site to see what they had to say.
There was a lack of transparency to the site that seemed suspicious....now I know why!
What a scam!

There are several large scale organic dairies out there. Horizon owns 70% of the organic milk industry. They provide the milk for many generic brands, I believe.

These dairies are certified organic. The cows get organic feed, do not recieve GMO feed, are not fed parts of other animals, and are not administered antibiotics or growth hormones.
However, most of the cows are raised on large scale farms with limited access to the outdoors, are usually overcrowded, and are not treated too well. Someof Horizon's dairy operatios have over 5,000 cows, and they are crammed into pretty small spaces.

The farmers are not paid very well in comparison with what the profits from organic milk brings in. Farmers make $20 for 100 pounds of milk, which is only $5 more than the price for conventional milk, despite the extra costs associated with organic production. Some fsrmers with long-time contracts with Horizon are driven out of busiess when Horizon cuts their wages after the contracts exprire. It is very hard for these farmers to make cost. More and more dairy farmers are going bankrupt, and companies like Horizen take over with large-scale operations.
So we have an organic company that, in the terms of organics, sustainibility, and envrionment really does the minimum it can to make a maximum of profit. Unfortunatly the price is paid by the farmers, the livestock, and the environment. They may have better ethics than many conventional dairies, but they are nowhere near up to par as far as the "spirit" of organics go.

My favorite organic dairy company is Organic Valley, hands down. (There's a great article on them in last month's copy of Mother Earth News.)
Organic Valley is the second largest producer of organic dairy products in the USA. But they are run completely different from Horizon Dairy.
The company is cooperitavly owned by ALL of its farmers (currently over 723 family farmers in 22 states). The cows have plenty of pasture and fresh air. They are treated well. The farmers are paid fairly, and they see the profits themselves, not corporate stockholders. More and more dairy farmers are joining Organic Vally because it enables them to actually make a living with their dairy farms. OV is accepting around 25 new farms a year as the company is expanding so quickly.

Organic Valley's mission is "marketing organic products cooperatively at fair prices and producing them in ways that are environmentally and economically sustainable." They are very concerned with the wellbeing of their livestock, of the farmers and their families, and with the care of the environment.

The milk that is produced by Organic Vally stays in the region that it is made: milk that comes ftom the Northwest is sold in the Northwest. This is because OV is concerned with environmental impact from shipping and burning fossil fuels, and wants to deliver the freshest milk possible. Other dairies produce the milk, ship it all to a central location, and then ship it back out for distribution. Milk that was made in Kansas ends up in Colorado, for example.
The cows are all raised on smaller family farms with access to actual grass, fresh water, and light. They are not crammed in like sardines as Horizon cows are. They are healthier, and happier.

Organic Valley certainly wins my award for the most "organic" company. Their business practices when compared with Horizon are so much better. They are far more environmentally friendly. They deliver a better quality product (and better tasting, in my opinion!).

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ITA!! Thanks for the great post, mama

I used to drink raw milk when I lived in a different city.
Unfortunatly in my area now there is nowhere that I feel that is safe enough to buy raw milk. I could drive an hour to a good dairy, but it is just not worth the time, expense, and wasted gas, unfortunatly. So I just have to make due with pasturized, unhomogonized milk, the the best and most ethical sources I can find.