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Organic milk comes from animals raised in accordance with organic standards, including feed without pesticides and access to pasture. Organic milk is not treated with antibiotics or growth hormones, but nutritional and safety differences between organic and conventional milk are minimal. Organic milk is often more expensive.
Organic milk is milk taken from cattle and other dairy animals that have been raised in accordance with organic standards. Tests conducted on organic and conventionally produced milk have shown no obvious nutritional or safety differences between the two, with consumers opting for organic milk over conventional milk for a variety of reasons, ranging from ethical concerns to of taste you perceive. Many markets carry organic milk and other organic dairy products, or can order them upon request for customers.
Several criteria must be met for animals producing certified organic milk. Animals must eat feed that has been raised in accordance with organic principles, which means they should not be treated with pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals. Organic milk can come from animals that graze on grass or from animals that eat hay and grain, as long as the forage is organic.
Furthermore, organic animals must have access to pasture. There has been some controversy over this requirement, as to consumers it evokes the idea of a herd of animals roaming freely through lush green pastureland, while to farmers it can simply mean that a small area of pasture is kept outside the barn, and a door is left open periodically so that animals have a chance to reach it. Similarly, animals may be rotated between pasture and barn and still be considered organic, just as animals may be confined to feed that may lack natural grass, but may still be considered “pasture”.
Animals cannot be treated with antibiotics for their milk to be considered organic and if an animal is given antibiotics to treat a health condition, there is a waiting period before its milk is organic. Also, organic cows cannot take bovine growth hormone (BGH) or recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) to stimulate milk production.
The dairy industry claims that there are few quality differences between organic milk and conventional milk. The flavors of both can vary widely, depending on what the animals eat, and the safety of both is ensured through tests that are designed to identify contaminants in the milk. However, some consumers believe that organic products are more ethical, as they combine organic means of production with humane treatment of animals, and others may be against the use of chemicals in agriculture, opting for products made without these chemicals at which to send a message to the agricultural industry.
Consumers should be aware that organic milk is often more expensive than conventional milk and that due to the fact that organic standards are vague, the ethical differences between organic and conventional milk are sometimes very small.
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