What’s the difference between organic milk and regular milk?
Nothing. The products are the same. If you have a glass of organic milk and a glass of regular milk, there’s no test that says – yes, this is one, and this is the other. They have the same nutrients, neither of them have antibiotics, and neither of them have added hormones. They are both GREAT.
It’s not just me saying it. There have been many studies – like by the USDA and the American Dietetic Association – that show organic and regular milk are equally nutritious and safe.
(Please see articles about how there are no antibiotics and no added hormones in your milk. There are none in organic milk or regular milk.)
The difference is in the process, not the product.
Organic farms produce organic milk. This means:
-The cows must eat organic feed, except minerals and vitamins.
-The cows must not be treated with antibiotics or added hormones or during their lifetimes.
-The cows must be allowed outdoor access for at least 120 days a year.
(You can read the regulations from the USDA here.)
Conventional farms produce conventional milk. This means:
-The cows eat feed that benefited from technology, including fertilizer and weed and pest control.
We grow corn and alfalfa and sudax, plus we have our cattle on pasture, and we take pride in our crops! It takes a lot of work to grow food for hundreds of cows.
-The cows are treated with antibiotics in the rare occasion one is sick.
The milk from a cow treated with antibiotics never goes into the tank, and there are many, many safeguards to prevent this from happening. NO ONE wants antibiotics in the milk. Read about it here.
-The cows can be indoors or outdoors.
We personally have our cows on pasture as well as indoors, but lots of farms have their cattle indoors in well ventilated barns, using all the latest technology on how to keep your cattle comfortable. (Sand bedding, misters, fans, waterbeds.) Conventional farms also adhere to strict government regulations and frequent inspections. There's a small sampling here.
So the result is … milk!
Some organic and some regular milk have longer expiration dates, and the reason why is because they are ultra pasteurized. This isn’t because it’s organic, but instead because heating it up hotter for longer makes milk shelf stable for a longer period of time. You can read all about that here. Some is more expensive, but don't feel like you have to pay more.
Again, the milk that comes from farms, both organic and regular, is the same. It still has nine essential nutrients. It has the SAME amount of vitamins, minerals, and proteins. It still has no antibiotics and no added hormones. And most important to me … it tastes great.
If you’re one of those people who doesn’t like milk, please enjoy cheese, ice cream, or yogurt! Or just pick some up for me. We buy skim, 2%, and whole and right now we’re out of ALL THREE.
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14 comments:
Hi, interesting article. But there is a difference. It's the very food the cow is eating that makes the difference...Organic vs non organic. It's like this..if my child had a wheat allergy and I breastfed her after having eaten a diet full of wheat, she would be affected. If I stayed wheat free and breastfed her she would not be affected. What's the difference in my milk? Wheat vs no wheat. I could use the same example for eating organic or not eating organic then breast feeding my baby. The difference in the milk is what I am exposed to/what I eat. Thanks!
Hi Marcie! Thanks for commenting. No tests have indicated there is any difference between milk from cows who have eaten organic feed and the milk from cows who have eaten food that is not grown organically. Allergies in people to food is a different issue. Luckily, we live in America, where you can choose to buy whatever you want on our amazing store shelves!
Because of the requirement of pasture consumption, the CLA's, Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids in organic milk are different, and tests do show this. Your cows supplemental pasture is not the norm for the majority of non organic farms, and the milk is Co-mingled, meaning non organic milk buyers do not benefit from your dairy's pasturing. Also, just because they have (purposely, follow the money) not created a test, does that make it not true? They also (purposely) did not create a test for the widely used rBst. now condemned. Because if big pharma created the test, how would they sell it? And no, the genetic make up of synthetic rBst is not the same as the natural occurring hormone in the cow. It is not a carbon copy. "Not having a test to decipher organic from non organic" is a very poor argument. I would highly recommend not making choices based on whether the government or big pharma has "made a test for it".
Hello Anonymous! Thank you for your comment. Fat content is different in milks, based on the diet of the cattle, but that doesn't mean that organic milk has more or better fat than regular milk. Cows being on pasture is actually very common in my area. As for rBST, which we have never used on this farm, there is no test that can be done for it because BST already occurs naturally in cows. I personally don't choose to buy organic milk or food, but that's not why I wrote this - I wrote it because people frequently ask me this question. I applaud the farmers' choice to grow and produce organic and conventional and the public's choice to buy what they want ... another wonderful aspect of our country!
I agree its great to have a choice. And I appreciate that there is no bashing on or the other.
My question is: conventional dairies use hormones in timed AI (artificial insemination) breeding, has there been any studies on the amount of the hormones given-if it raises the hormones in milk?
Also, there are some antibiotics in feed, Rumensin, for example, that are routinely fed on some dairies. So how is that there are claims of no antibiotics in milk?
Hello Pam!
Thanks for your questions. While we personally use bull breeding on our farm, I do realize that a lot of conventional dairies use AI. While I'm not aware of studies on this, I can tell you more about hormones here: http://truthordairy.blogspot.com/2016/10/doctors-pay-attention-humans-arent.html - the main point being that science tell us that humans do not have receptors for bovine hormones.
As for your second question, there is no acceptable level of antibiotics in milk, and here’s the verification process:
Step 1: At the farm, the driver takes a sample to hang on to from each farm’s bulk tank, then adds the milk to the combined truckload. The driver drives to the milk processing plant.
Step 2: Each and every combined truckload of milk is sampled immediately upon arrival at the milk processing plant before unloading.
Step 3: If the combined truckload tests positive for antibiotics, the plant goes to the individual bulk tank samples from each farm to determine which farm had antibiotics in the milk. (Each individual sample from the bulk tank is tested every day anyway, so that the farm knows the exact components of their milk.)
Step 4: If the milk plant finds a trace of antibiotics in the milk, it dumps the entire load (yours and whatever other farms’ milk they have in the truck). The tainted milk never even gets to the milk plant’s tank.
Step 5: That farm that had antibiotics in its milk is then fined and it doesn’t get paid for its milk.
Step 6: If it happens more than once in a year, that farm is suspended.
If an antibiotic is present in the milk, no matter how it got there, there are safeguards to prevent it from getting into any people.
Have a great day.
Hi! I really don't know what to think about organic vs non-organic food. You know, I try to eat healthy food. I grow my own vegetables in my garden, so I know there are no pesticidal. I get fish from a good friend, so I know there are no antibiotics. He only sells them for private use. And my uncle is a farmer, who gets his cows the best possible food and has them outside whenever possible. But he is not an organic farmic, because the label and the checks for it are too expensive. So yes, it could be that organic milk is the same like non-organic. But what if there is a farmer who has his cows inside every day of the year in a small stable? I don't want to support this. So I'm buying milk from my farmer-friend or organic milk in stores. Because of what Marcie said: I never was able to breastfeed, so I couldn't control what's inside my baby's food. So I get her organic formula from Hipp. I don't care if it's more expensive. Maybe it is better, and for me that's worth it. And as you said - luckily everyone can choose to buy whatever he or she likes :)
Mira
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I found this article on organic vs. conventional milk enlightening! A2 Milk Chennai The breakdown of nutritional disparities and the insight into farming practices shed light on the choices we make. It's crucial to be informed consumers, and this piece does a great job of highlighting the differences. I appreciate the balanced perspective, making it easier for readers to make informed decisions about their dairy choices. Great read!
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