What Makes Milk Organic?

On my way to work this morning, I heard a very interesting story on National Public Radio. Standards for labeling milk organic could be changing to incorporate mandated grazing times for the cows. Some large scale organic farms host large numbers of cows in a small field, leaving very little room for grazing and grass feeding.

As of now, regulations for "USDA organic milk" include cows that are free of BGH (bovine growth hormone) and antibiotics, the cows feed is grown without pesticides and chemicals, and that the cows have "access to pasture." Specific pasture time may be required due to the growing desire to know what the term "organic" is describing and because of the disparity in the health content of the milk. Depending on the grazing facilities, cows eat different grasses, including clover, or a combination of a grass and corn-based diet. The milk from the clover fed cows was 60% higher in omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 content differed per season as well because of the decreased amount of time cows grazed in the colder, winter months. Gillian Butler, an animal nutritionist with the Nafferton Ecological Farming Group at Newcastle University in Great Britain, published this research in the Journal of Food Science and Agriculture.

Keep your ears percked for more information on organic milk. In the meantime, notice that Whole Foods has the lowest prices around on organic dairy!