Should Santa Go Organic?

By Shelly Bokman

The cost of milk is really rising, and—let’s face it—from their morning cereal to their milk and cookies, kids drink enormous amounts of the stuff! We all know drinking milk is a good thing, and organic is the ideal option, both for our kids and the planet, but with grocery prices continuing to rise, more and more moms are pausing in the dairy section to wonder: Is organic milk really all that?

What does “organic” really mean?
The USDA labels milk “organic” if it meets certain criteria. The first requirement is that the cows have not been treated with bovine growth hormone (BGH) to increase milk production. BGH has been banned in Europe, Canada and Japan because of potential health hazards.

To earn that “organic” stamp, milk must also be free from antibiotics. If a cow in an organic herd does need to be treated with an antibiotic, it is removed from the herd and not returned until it tests free of antibiotics. The overuse of antibiotics in our country is seriously impacting the effectiveness of these life-saving drugs.

A third requirement of organic milk is that the cows’ feed, whether it is grass or grain, must be grown without pesticides. Residues from cancer-causing pesticides can remain in cows’ milk and are then consumed by our children. 

Lastly, organic milk cows must have “access to pasture.” Many people assume this means they roam freely around fields all day long like happy little characters from a children’s book. Really, it just means they have some (often limited) access to pasture. The gate may only be open for an hour a day. Still, this is often an improvement for keeping cows healthy.

But it costs more!
A half gallon of organic whole milk is approximately $4.19 at Raley’s and Safeway stores while non-organic is about $3.69 for a half gallon of brand name stuff and around $2.99 for the store brand equivalent. Yes, organic does cost a bit more, but as availability and demand have increased, the cost difference has actually decreased over the past couple of years. And luckily, organic dairy is a fast-growing segment of the organic food industry, having grown 20-30% over the past few years. This increase in the number of organic farms has also brought us a greater variety of organic products to choose from. 

The bottom line.
Nutritionist Marion Nestle, Ph.D. and author of What to Eat, suggests that if you want to splurge on only one organic product, milk is a good first choice. Jenn Savedge agrees. In her book, Green Parent, Savedge places dairy products on her Top Ten List of organic products to buy. Pregnant and nursing moms should consider drinking organic milk as often as possible, but if your budget is just too tight to buy organic all the time, consider going organic just half the time. This will at least lower the amount of hormones, antibiotics and other yucky stuff your kids consume and help reduce pesticide pollution too. 

Whether you are adding milk to your morning cup, filling the kids’ breakfast bowls or setting out milk and cookies for Santa, remember that while organic milk may cost more, it’s a smart way to spend your organic grocery dollars.