Got (Organic) Milk?

Parade Magazine, that Sunday morning paragon of wisdom, has broached the subject of organic milk production in the U.S.. In their weekly soundbyte for Dec 3rd, 2006, they point out that organic cows in the U.S. can't keep up with demand from companies wanting organic milk products. U.S. food companies wanting to use organic milk are considering the importation of powdered organic milk from New Zealand and/or using soy milk from China or Brazil. Bad news: fuel costs to import the milk.

America’s dairies can’t produce enough.

By Lyric Wallwork Winik
Published: December 3, 2006, Parade Magazine
[In the News]

The Problem With Organic Food

"The U.S has about 9 million dairy cows, but fewer than 150,000 qualify as “organic”—so the makers of organic products must be resourceful. With organic food sales up 20% in recent years, at least one company is using soy milk from China and Brazil, and others are considering powdered organic milk from New Zealand. The good news for environmentalists: Organic means no pesticides were used. The bad news: Importing food from afar takes more fuel to get it to our plates."

It's good to see this coverage, but the question not answered in this soundbyte, is why are there fewer than 150,000 organic milk cows out of the nation's 9 million cows? Milk production in the U.S. is set up on the industrialized model. Most loans are for capital expansion for large dairy operations. Cummins from a Mother Jones article http://www.motherjones.com/news/update/2006/04/organic_milk.html (see below) points out that “there’s a huge demand for organic products which has caused a shortage in supply because our public policy doesn’t help farmers make the transition [to organic]. So you either lower the standards or import from overseas.” What's tough about going organic? You can't use industrial feeds or fertilizers for three years; there are clear expenses involved in the transition. The article also discusses whether or not organic "mega-farms" should be called organic since they do not necessarily comply with pasture regulations (letting dairy cows graze for some of their food). In essence, large-scale organic dairy farms mean the cows are kept inside and fed the organic feed and no bovine growth hormones are used, which is good, but it defeats the purpose of the smaller-scale, pasture feeding operations that most imagine when they think of an organic dairy farm. Read on for more....

This does not mean that one should stop buying organic milk, but with the rise of large-scale organic milk operations and the USDA's allowance for that, it's important to think about what we are really buying when we buy organic: small-scale, local organic or large-scale industrialized organic? Large food companies have figured out that organic is profitable (Wal-mart & organics, fo instance)--so the farmers that supply these large chains are doing what they can to meet organic standards and cutting the sustainable and eco-friendly part out of the organic equation. As many small-scale organic farmers have argued, this is antithetical to the very idea of organic agriculture.

So here are a cornocopia of articles about organic milk production and the latest trend: large-scale "organic dairy operations" (an oxymoron). I'll try to keep this thread going about "what does organic really mean?" I also strongly recommend Michael Pollan's book _The Omnivore's Dilemma_ as he takes up this question in a thoughtful fashion. A great read! He distinguishes between small-scale organics and industrialized organics (EarthBound farms, for instance--the makers of the baby cut carrots and mixed green lettuce in a bag).


http://www.motherjones.com/news/update/2006/04/organic_milk.html
News: Can mega-dairies whose cows rarely get out to pasture still be called "organic"? And where's the government oversight?
By Cameron Scott April 26, 2006

2. “Wal-Mart’s Organic Offensive”
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/mar2006/nf20060329_6971.htm

3. See also Business Week article on “The Organic Myth” Learn about Stonyfield Farms--how is their organic yogurt produced? Industrialized organic or small-scale organic?
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_42/b4005001.htm

4. http://www.uh.edu/ednews/2006/bglobe/200603/20060327farms.htmlThe Boston Globe
Monday, March 27, 2006 "UNH sees organic future for farms." See what one university is trying to do about promoting organic farming in the sustainable tradition. This is notable as most dairy science programs do not stress organic milk production.