If you’re like me, you don’t hesitate to shell out for the organic milk at the grocery store. All those happy cows grazing on grass produce milk that's just better for you, right? But though more and more Americans are willing to spend almost twice the price of conventional milk for organic, it turns out we may not be getting what we're paying for.
According to a recent investigation by the Washington Post, some large-scale organic dairy farms may be falling short on certain USDA requirements for organic milk. Here’s what you need to know:
What are the requirements for organic milk?
To produce milk that the USDA certifies as organic, cows cannot be given hormones that stimulate milk production. Any feed they are given must be grown without synthetic pesticides. And throughout the entire growing season, organic-milk farmers are required to put cows out to pasture. The grazing season must last at least 120 days out of a year, and the cow must receive at least 30 percent of its nutrition from grazing during this season.
What's the Problem?
According to the Post, some large-scale organic dairy farmers may not be complying with these grazing requirements. A Washington Post reporter paid multiple visits to Aurora Organic Dairy, a large dairy company that supplies the house brands of major retailers like Walmart and Costco. According to the article, though the central production facility is home to more than 15,000 cows, at no point were more than 10 percent of the herd out to pasture.
Lab testing of Aurora's milk and seven other organic milk brands showed wide differences in the levels of the nutrients associated with grass-fed milk, too. Milk from grass-fed cows should contain higher levels of the nutrients conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), beneficial antioxidants that are a marker of cows that have grazed on pasture. But studies conducted for the Post by Virginia Tech scientists showed that some varieties of milk labeled organic, including Aurora's, contained CLA and ALA levels that were similar to that of conventional milk.
How does this happen?
Though the USDA has clear grazing requirements for organic dairy, the agency doesn't typically inspect the farms themselves. Instead, farmers are required to supply their own inspectors, which they select from a list of private organizations licensed by the USDA.
This saves the USDA money, because they don't have to pay their own inspectors. The inspectors from private companies make annual visits, only 5 percent of which are done unannounced. And the USDA reviews the inspection companies only about every 2½ years, which may make it easier for oversight to slip. In the case of Aurora, the Post investigation revealed that the USDA-licensed inspectors had conducted their audit outside of grazing season, so they couldn't even verify whether the cows were grazing as required.
So, what organic milk brand can you trust?
In the limited testing done by the Washington Post, Horizon and Organic Valley were the two widely available national brands that scored highest in grass-fed nutrients, so the cows that produced the milk were likely pasture-fed according to regulations. Other organic brands that were not tested could also be following regulations, too—clearly more testing is needed.
Buying organic milk from small, local farmers also seems like a good bet, since milk produced by two small dairies, Prigel Family Creamery outside of Baltimore, and Snowville Creamery in Ohio, scored highest in CLA—higher even than the two national brands listed above. The worst performer? Aurora, the dairy company that supplies milk to Walmart and Costco's house organic brands.
To get the truth about your own favorite brand of organic milk and whether it's truly grass-fed, consider calling their customer service department to find out more details on their grazing practices. It never hurts to ask—and it's always a good idea for companies to know their customers care about whether their cows really got a chance to graze.
