Organic Milk Really is Healthier
by Bonnie Alter, London on 09. 1.06
It's has finally been proven--organic milk really is healthier. Although we have always known this intuitively, researchers have now shown that organic milk has 68% more omega 3 fatty acids. These are the good ones that have been linked to reduced risk of heart disease and cancer. In addition, two British universities have looked at milk from 36 farms over a three year period. It turns out that the omega 3 content went up significantly when cows ate fresh, juicy grass in the great outdoors. Clover adds an extra dose of health, and guess what—organic farm cows graze in fields with more clover. The kind of cow matters too. Lowest levels of omega 3 were in Holsteins—the cows that are bred on mass-production farms. Jersey and Swiss cows look nicer and give more omega 3. The study was sponsored by the Organic Milk Suppliers Co-operative, but was carried out independently. The scientists are now appealing to the Food Standards Association to reconsider their stance on this issue. :: The Times
this is great news. i'm surprised the reduced hormone levels weren't mentioned - probably no proof that it plays a factor, but it's worth the peace of mind.
Is there anyway we can get our hands on the actual study?
It sounds to me as though these results would also occur in a conventional dairy system where the cattle are strictly grass fed.
Is the Omega-3 in organic skim milk or just whole milk?
My household has found organic milk actually stays fresh longer than the non-organic kind.
A lot of the US organic milk comes from cows that are heavily grain fed. The only grass fed milk I can find here is "Natural by Nature" Grass Fed milk.
However, they use a modified "light" pasteurization process (HTST- high temperature short time) and the milk I get keeps only about 3-4 days after purchase. It's either the HTST process or a distribution problem. I seldom buy it as it always goes bad before I've used half of the half-gallon carton - the only size they sell here.
I use their butter, though. No problems with the salted butter going bad and I think it tastes better than most other butters I've tried.
like Hezzawezza said before, it sounds more like this is a study that finds "pasture raised cattle milk" more than "organic milk" is healthy. remember that brands like Horizon Organic are basically just factory farms where the cows have limited/minimal time spent outdoors but eat organic feed.
i buy milk from Cream-O-Land Dairy because i called them and asked if their cows were ever sent out to pasture. the "old farmer" sounding guy on the other end of the line sounded very confused why i would ask such a silly question, and said "they're out in the fields right now! where else would they be? we can only bring 'em in long enough to milk 'em!"
their milk doesn't claim to be organic, and i'm sure it isn't. but they specifically state on their packaging that they do not use any hormones. which is good enough for me. it's half the price of Horizon and other organic brands, tastes quite good, typically lasts a long time, and a guy who sounds like he's been milking cows his whole life answers the phone when you call to ask questions. what more do you want? oh, organic. yes, well, besides that!
www.creamoland.com
I would assume the same would be true for eggs from free-range chickens - my chickens love clover! My milk is delivered to my doorstep within 24-48 hours of coming from the cow, no antibiotics or growth hormones added, and wow! is it tasty! www.lwdairy.com
Isn't there another reason to be drinking organic milk? Health effects of food production can show up in indirect as well as direct ways. Even if a chemical analysis doesn't show any difference between organic and conventional, organic is still better for the environment. The feed/etc was produced to organic standards, using less pesticides, etc. -- so you and other critters have a healthier place to be drinking milk (or whatever) in. A ta sante!
I've been drinking Organic Whole Milk for a few months now, and I love it. The milk never really goes bad it just cultures. Pasturized milk goes racid because it has been heated to get rid of baterial and etc.
At the local agricultural college, they've been looking at CLAs and omega 3s for several years, and have found that cows on clover-based pasture diets do produce higher levels than those fed primarily concentrate-based or stored forage (such as silage). Both feeding regimens were "non-organic"; they just compared pasture vs confinement-fed systems.
The word "organic" has been very successful in terms of marketing, but we have to remember that just because it's organic, it doesn't mean it's not "factory farming". Lots of "conventional" farms are still small, family-owned businesses, and regardless of size many are trying to do the best they can with their land and livestock.
(ps-I'm not sure about the US, but here in Canada milk must be pasteurized to be sold on the market, whether it's organic or not. Also, in Canada, it is illegal to use rBST, the growth hormone used to increase milk production.)
Dairy, period, isn't ecologically sound.
"Organic milk is healthier? Don't swallow it
The claim that organic milk is richer in omega-3s than conventional milk - and therefore better for us - is a lot of bull."
http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/1611/
I am disappointed that a website intended to raise awareness about the diminishing resources on our planet is encouraging drinking milk. Animals are a huge drain a on our water and food supply as well as a major contributer to the depletion of the ozone layer.
a vegan in a hummer produces less carbon emissions than a meat-eater in a prius
http://www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2006/sep/organicmilkresponse
This is the other part of the story on the study.
Actually, the reason organic milk lasts longer than conventional milk because it is cooked at a higher temperature (unless you're talking about certified RAW milk).
Most commercial brands of organic milk are Sterilized, as oppossed to just being Pasturized. Since there are still relativey few organic dairies, their product must travel longer distances to reach the consumer It spends more time in the distribution chain before arriving at your store. If it were simply pasturized, it would spoil in-transit, or you might only get one day to drink it after buying it.
As everyone knows, cooking food kills vitamins, and cooking to a higher temperature kills even more vitamins. It also camelizes sugars in the millk, creating a sweeter taste. It "tastes better" because sugar makes everything taste better.
People who REALLY care about nutrition and the environment buy certified raw milk from a local farm that they know is reputable and clean. Raw milk is as nature intended it (sorry industrial organic supporters). It is delivered fresh, not a week old or more. You don't need to worry about killing bacteria, because it doesn't have a chance to grow before you drink it.
Locally poduced raw milk doesn't have the high carbon footprint of organic milk, which must be processed (cooked, skimmed, homoginized, fortified, etc...), shipped farther, and must be kept refrigerated longer before reaching the consumer.
To me, it seems that buying commercially processed organic milk (eg. Horizon) isn't really any better than buying your run of the mill homoginized milk. You pay more, and may feel better about yourself, but you're still buying a processed food with even more diminished nutritional value, and are likely using more carbon than if you had bought the regular stuff. How is that better for you OR the environment? It's only better for the corporation marketing the stuff and charging you a hefty premium.
Buy Local. Buy Fresh. Cream floats to the top on REAL, naturally produced, environmentally friendly, organically produced milk.