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A new rule will make sure that cows have access to real pastures if their milk is sold as organic.
RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Thanks to a new rule from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, your next glass of organic milk may be a little easier to swallow. The agency has finally revised its definition of "pasture," now requiring organic dairy farms and beef producers to let their animals roam on the hillsides during grazing season, so the cows can eat a diet that makes their milk and beef healthier and tastier.
THE DETAILS: Existing organic regulations are pretty vague when it comes to how much time animals actually spend on the range. The USDA requires that animals have "access to pasture," but in the first iteration of organic rules passed in 2002, there were no definitions as to what "pasture" was (it could be a grassy field or a simple concrete pad), or how much time the animals needed to spend there. The law also allowed cattle to be fed grain, such as corn or soy, in addition to their natural diet of grass, as long as the corn and soy were certified organic. That became a point of contention for those who felt that cattle raised organically should be fed only grass, hay, and forage—the diet nature intended for them. The existing rule also gave milk producers the opportunity to operate large-scale, factory-style operations, in which animals never saw the light of day, and still call them "organic." Not only did small organic farmers feel that this was a violation of what organic should be, they felt these large dairies put them at a competitive disadvantage, pumping out organic-labeled milk at a much cheaper cost than small farms could. The Cornucopia Institute, a nonprofit that advocates for small family farmers, estimates that as much as 40 percent of the organic milk on store shelves comes from this type of large organic dairy farm.
The new rule, however, makes all that illegal. In order to retain their organic certification, farmers must allow cattle and other ruminant animals (animals that need grass to survive, such as cows and sheep) access to the outdoors for 120 days—the entire grazing season—during which time at least 30 percent of their food must come from grass. Animals must have access to pasture year-round, as well.
Read on to find out what this all means at the grocery store.
Close but no cigar
Well, that's a nice change! I do approve of that, my beef (no pun intended) is with what happens to the milk after it leaves the cow. All the organic milk that I have found in any store within 30-50 miles of me is ultra-pasturized and homogenized. I know my parents have access to milk that is just barely pasturized enough to pass to be sold in the store, but that's a very rare thing. Pasturization and homogenization changes the caesin in the milk so it cannot be used by humans and causes tons of issues. My kids, for example, if I give them pasturized, homogenized milk 2-3 times in one week, they will both have ear infections. However, if they drink raw milk everyday, they have no issues. Ultra pasturization makes the milk almost able to sit on a shelf without being refrigerated at all, because they've killed off anything that could cause it to spoil. Plus anything that could be beneficial to our bodies, thus causing us to be more suceptible to disease and infection. So, while organic is good, because it means the cows aren't getting treated with gross amounts of antibiotics, artificial hormones, or eating food that was genetically modified, it's just not enough. We've gotta do something to change the way that milk is processed so us, the consumers, can actually get some good benefits from it.