Quality of Organic Dairies Ranked by Survey
by Justin Thomas, Virginia on 03.22.06
The New York Times reports that The Cornucopia Institute, a nonprofit research group will release a report today that ranks organic milk and dairy products based on federal organic standards as well as environmental and humane concerns. The group asserts that producers selling organic products from cows that live with as many as 6,000 other animals and that seldom see pasture, which fits the definition of a factory farm. There are farms where nonorganic cows are brought in as replacements and where antibiotics and hormones are used.
To get at the heart of the producers' actual practices, the institute sent a survey by certified mail to known marketers of organic dairy products in the United States. The survey consisted of 19 questions about the care and feeding of their cows. The Organic Trade Association said it was distressed by the survey. In a statement, the association said that the survey was nonscientific and that it would "only succeed in sowing seeds of distrust in organic farming and organic products." :: Via New York Times
This is frustrating. It seems that consumers and "real" organic farmers need to come together in a more organized fashion and create a single, much more strict standard for all foods, beverages and cosmetics. The US government is too much under the sway of industrial farm lobbyists to keep on top of these standards, it seems.
Bit of a free market problem here. Demand for organic dairy production is way up and still accelerating. Coops already signed contracts to meet demand but now can't find enough milk to meet it. Underlying this: many diary farmers held onto the notion that organic was a "fad" and refused to convert their practices in time to pass the standards. It reportedly takes years to get to that point wehre you pass inspection and start getting premium organic prices. The transition is hard as you put at stake loosing existing customers. Moreover, if you look at the average age of diary farmers it is way up there. At the same time their debts are high and income low. THese are old guys who might rather retire if they really wanted change. All the true believers changed over long ago and the ones left will need help from their customers and the government to ramp up the rate of changeover. The only alternative would be for talented organic dairyment to syndicate their management practices, and become business managers. Rough times this shakes out.
Perhaps an even better alternative is not consuming dairy products at all or for those who demand dairy to produce it on there own.
I am just going to buy my own cow...
Consumers have to know if what they think they are buy truly is organic. The CI's ranking can only help. With organics leading all growth in the food industry, big food is going to seek to get its piece. Many are doing it in less than truly ethical ways. This should shed light on that practice.
I think the interesting issue is the co-opting of the Organic Trade Association by big business in order to combat the real agent for maintaining meaningful organic standards and promoting progressive change: the Organic Consumers Association. See them at www.organicconsumers.org.
I love the organic milk I get from Traders Point Creamery in Indiana. www.tpforganics.com for list of locations - outside of Indiana too. I can go pet their cows and watch them be milked. It's pasturized, of course, but not homogonized, so the cream still floats to the top. Yummy.
Consumers definitely need this information. Bravo!