Grocery shopping these days is liable to leave you with sticker shock. It seems like the price of everything in the supermarket is on the rise.
But if you’re anything like me, you still open up your wallet to pay extra for organic foods. It’s painful sometimes, sure. But you’re willing to part with the extra cash because there are solid reasons to choose organics instead.
- They’re grown with ZERO chemicals
- They often have MORE nutrients
- They’re raised or grown in BETTER conditions
- They TASTE superior
In other words, eating organic is healthier and more responsible. This is why a new report on organic milk is so disturbing.
According to industry watchdogs, millions of Americans who buy organic milk are being swindled. You think you’re paying extra for the good stuff. But instead, you could be getting the conventional milk you thought you were avoiding.
So today, let me rip the lid off this sour news about dairy.
More importantly, I’ve got a tip that can help make sure you get what you pay for.
The TRUTH about organic milk
The moment something becomes popular, some jerk comes along and tries to ruin it with a cash grab. That’s what’s happening with organic milk.
A few years ago, the majority of organic dairy foods were produced by smaller artisanal dairies. Most of them genuinely cared about what they were making and selling. They were committed to the organic way of life.
But then Big Ag executives began to notice that consumers were willing to spend about $2 more a gallon for organic moo juice. And with visions of dollar signs dancing in their heads, they moved in for the kill.
They quickly consolidated power and now produce much of the so-called “organic” milk you find in your local supermarket. And the products produced by those smaller dairy farms have been shoved to the back of the shelf.
Now it’s true that tales about the little guy getting squashed by the giant are as old as time. But this one has a twist. Because there’s alarming evidence that your organic milk might not be so organic after all.
Avoid this dairy aisle deception
Reporting by the Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) shows how those colossal factory farms essentially play a shell game with their cows. They’re moving organic animals into and out of conventional herds to save cash on raising them.
Here’s how it works, according to ANH:
“Farmers remove organic dairy animals from a herd, raise them using conventional feed and other prohibited management practices, and then re-transition them back to organic.”
Essentially the Big Ag lawyers have found an organic loophole to exploit that’s letting them get away with this disturbing switcheroo.
The rule that lets them pull off the deception is designed to help non-organic farms that have seen the light transition to an organic operation. But now factory farms are using it to save somewhere between $600 and $1,000 per animal.
The result is cows that aren’t even remotely organic, except for specific periods in their lives. And the milk they produce definitely isn’t organic either. But it’s sure being sold that way anyway.
ANH says roughly half of all organic milk comes from big “concentrated animal feeding operations,” or CAFOs. And that many of these CAFOs take advantage of this loophole to deliver low-quality conventional milk at high organic prices.
2 tips to make buying truly organic milk easier
ANH is calling for legislation closing the loophole. And if you’re as disturbed by this big business scam as I am, I’d certainly encourage you to contact your lawmaker in Congress and the USDA.
But change takes time, and I’m worried about the impact this has on you and your family right now. So break out your Sherlock cap and do a little sleuthing before you make your next milk purchase.
Look for smaller, more local brands on the shelf at your supermarket. I know of at least two in my own area. They’re far less likely to pull this stunt, so you can be more confident that you’re getting the high-quality organic milk you’re looking for.
And for even more help choosing truly organic dairy, The Cornucopia Institute, an organic industry watchdog group, offers an easy-to-use Organic Dairy Scorecard.
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