Sally, organic milk should not have rBGH. It's an artificial growth hormone marketed by Monsanto that increases the milk yield by as much as a gallon per day per cow. They argue that it's no different than milk without it and want labels banned that say "hormone free" or "rBGH free" on the grounds that consumers are just confused and don't know whether it's good for them or not so they shouldn't even know. Ohio and Pennsylvania are currently considering legislation banning "rBGH free" labeling because consumers are apparently viewed as so stupid they'd get confused.

Whatever. I get my milk from a local hormone and antibiotic free dairy called Country Dairy, they also have cheese and ice cream and still are small enough to give farm tours.

If you don't have access to such a place you SHOULD be OK with organic milk, but not all "organic" is really organic, if you know what I mean. Yeah, some farmers cheat...

Annie

To me, organic milk is like calling honey organic.

Who knows where those bees went to gather the pollen?

So either the dairy herd was kept confined, with zero access to grazing, to ensure only "organic" feed was consumed or the milk is not certifiably organic.

In the Valley here, all our cattle graze under the flight paths of the airport. Its a Can. Forces airbase as well as a busy commercial airport. Lots of jet fuel additives raining down. Yet, I can buy organic milk, produce, etc.

Go figure.

I may be wrong but organic is like the faded jeans thing...as soon as it was seen to be a money thing it got subverted. Just as the kids today can buy jeans already faded and ripped from the factory, which are not the jeans that got me suspended from school; so can you buy organic stuff that is not what you think it is.

I'd like to be wrong but I think I'm not.

Organic milk CAN ( not saying it always is)be from a farm where the farmer grows all his own feed and uses no pesticides or or growth hormones. But to ban antibiotics completely would be un realistic, as a milking cow is subject to mastitis just as a nursing mother is, but the milk should be tested and discarded until it tests clear of antibiotics.
Antibiotics in milk are a very sensitive issue for cheese makers, as one cow, who's milk is mixed with that of several hundred others can ruin a batch of cheese.

If that "organic" milk is from cows that are raised on organic farms and sold through an organic co-op, I think it's very likely the milk is raised hormone and pesticide free.

LindaC, antibiotics are necessary in isolated instances, just as they are in humans, but CAFO cattle are kept in conditions so unhealthy that they all get routine antibiotics just to survive.

I've not had a vet or an antibiotic necessary on the farm for at least 10 years and in my entire life I've only had one cow with mastitis, and that's in 55 years. Of course, we've only owned a couple hundred over that time, not the thousands or millions in CAFOs.

I don't buy animals at sale, I don't buy feed and I raise all my own hay. The barn is open if they want to go in but they seldom do and for some reason my animals are inordinately healthy.

So, antibiotics on an "as needed" basis, not as general practice.

Oh, and Country Dairy DOES add vitamin D...

Annie

But do you use a milking machine on your dairy cows? And are your cows in milk 10 months out of a year....or longer if they are not bred? Those instances make the incidence of mastitis much higher....just as a mother who breast feeds for a year or more has a higher chance of mastitis than one who just breast feeds for 4 or 5 months.
When the farm my husband managed ,milked cows for fluid milk sales, they were out to pasture as soon as there was pasture to be in and had access to outside pens at other times, were fed own hay and silage made from milo and alfalfa, beet sugar and salt/mineral blocks were bought, no rBGH given because the owners and my husband didn't believe that in the long run it was wise....and antibiotics only as needed.
Those were pampered cows....how many barns do you know of with ceiling fans??

Organic is supposed to mean at least 95% of the total ingredients are organic and the other 5% can be other. According to wikipedia: "Foods claiming to be organic must be free of artificial food additives, and are often processed with fewer artificial methods, materials and conditions, such as chemical ripening, food irradiation, and genetically modified ingredients. Pesticides are allowed so long as they are not synthetic."

There are also arguments that companies who label "organic" are not truly organic according the the 95% rule but are actually "using organic ingredients" or "made with organic ingredients" which requires, I'm pretty sure, at least 70% organic ingredients.

But, even "organic" foods that are labeled as having 100% organic ingredients have allowances by respected organic certification agencies/organizations stating that some non-organic ingredients can be used "when organic is not available".

This doesn't mean that any old non-organic main ingredient can be added when organic ingredients are not available. It means the best, natural ingredient can be added in place of the organic ingredient, with proper docummentation, until the organic is again available. This can really save a smaller company when natural disasters affect available supplies, which does happen often and can be quite harmful and sometimes entirely destructive to a small company.

I know, I've worked in the industry in the past. The things added to even 100% organic are sometimes not organic and not even natural as long as they remain under a certain percentage, I think it was .03%, and they don't need to be listed on the ingredients!

So, although I still think organic is best, it can be questioned.

As far as added hormones, I'm uncomfortable with that. I choose to ingest dairy products that have not had added hormones or antibiotics. But, there are many arguments for and against all those practices related to hormones and antibiotics. Feeding this huge population takes hard work and right now, there are practices that we may not be comfortable with but it gets our country fed and those in other countries fed as well.

I know that we haven't gone so far off into the future that we can't find our way back to sustainable agriculture and food production.

And, I do feel we have the right to know what is in our food and the products we put on our bodies. Even if it seems like too much information for the masses, it is information we have a right to know.

Another thing about rBHT etc: There is no need to take anyone's word for anything. Not the word of the corporation making profit off the additives and not the people who make claims against the additives. You could always go to a trusted research site, like Johns Hopkins or pubmed and search their sites for actual, documented and peer reviewed studies. See for yourself if growth hormones are in your milk or are affecting people in significant ways. And, you can decide what "significant" means for yourself.

Just my thoughts...

J.

Yes, LindaC and now we are back to CAFO agriculture, where they need antibiotics because of practices that are unhealthy for the animals.

Annie

Thanks for the responses. I didn't know Monsanto owned the growth hormone, but I shoulda figured. Y'all really don't want me to get started on how much I hate Monsanto.

Sadly, I don't know of a place like you describe, Annie. The closest thing to that I can do is buy Organic Valley products, which is a big company that supposedly buys from local organic dairy farmers. However, the stores that I am closest to don't carry that brand. I have learned of a place quite a ways away from me that sells "pet milk" which I want to try some day, but it's something like 100 miles or so from me, so it's not a quick trip to the store to get milk when I've run out and need it.

I'll just figure and hope that the organic milk I bought is hormone and antibiotic free.

Sally

Milk cannot be labeled organic if bovine growth hormone is used.

Thanks. I guess what confused me is that for a while I saw the statement on many, of not most of the dairy products I bought that the growth hormone wasn't used on their cattle. Now, I'm not seeing it as much. I guess the pressure to take it off the label is why. Sad.

Sally

Some non-"organic" dairies have also stopped using BGH. For some reason it's not much publicized. The biggest label here in my county in southeastern PA, Clover Farms, gets its milk from a lot of dairy farmers, and says on its web site that consumer concerns over BGH have led them to ask all the farms to not use it. So it may be worth checking out some of the less expensive sources wherever you are. Especially if you have a pretty much local source.

One recent problem I've had is vitamin taste. I've noticed for a long time that I can't buy 1% milk from the really small dairies, because it always tastes like a vitamin pill. I figured it's too hard for them to get the dose right in their small batches.
But lately the Clover Farms 1% also sometimes tastes like a vitamin pill. I wonder if some idiot government regulation has changed the amount they have to put in? I'm going to call them and ask.