By mid-June, all dairy cows on “honest” organic dairy farms should be
belly-deep in grass – nature’s verdant bounty.
In mid-June, The Milkweed collected retail samples of organic whole milk,
from stores located in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Texas. Ten different marketers’
organic raw milk were tested; although some samples were processed in common
fluid milk plants.
In late June, the 10 samples were submitted to a world-class laboratory,
where analyses of those samples’ milk fat “profiles” were conducted (at a rate of
several hundred dollars apiece, we might add). Cows’ milk fat contains at least
two dozen distinct “fatty acids.” Key focus in this testing was devoted to two
critical fatty acids: Conjugated Linoleic Acids (CLAs) and Omega-3s. CLAs
and Omega-3s are widely recognized as key “nutraceuticals” – i.e., beneficial
nutrients – contained in cows’ milk fat.
The winner: Cedar Summit Farm, based in New Prague, Minnesota, a producer-handler whose milk cows eat an all-grass diet, year-round.
The loser: a Wal-Mart milk sample processed by Aurora Organic Dairy of
Colorado.
(CLAs, for example, are currently recognized as THE leading, cancerfighting
natural substance. CLAs’ role in preventing and fighting cancers was
originally established, more than a decade ago, in research headed by Dr.
Michael Pariza, chairman of the Food Science Department at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison.)
Importantly, content of CLAs and Omega-3s in cow’s milk correlates directly
with access to pasture – i.e., how much quality fresh grass those milk cows’ are
eating. Higher CLAs and Omega-3s correlate directly with other food products
derived from grass-fed beef, poultry and pork. Several universities are conducting
research to seeking to boost CLA content in milk by adjusting cows’ feed intake.
CLAs/Omega-3s: Important measure of organic integrity
Content of CLAs and Omega-3s is a critical measure of the integrity of
organic milk, in two ways: compliance with USDA’s rules for pasture access and
meeting consumers’ perceived expectations about higher nutritional attributes of
organic milk.
ORGANIC RULES SPECIFY DAILY PASTURE ACCESS
USDA rules require that milk cows on dairy farms certified as “organic”
must have adequate daily access to pasture. Specifically: milk cows must have
access to adequate pasture for a minimum of 120 days per year. USDA’s rules
do not detail exactly how much pasture must be consumed on a daily basis. Simply
put: higher levels of fresh grass in the dairy herd’s daily diet will register as
higher levels of CLAs and Omega-3s in the milk.
The organic dairy sector is currently torn by controversy over USDA’s failure
to enforce standards mandating daily access to fresh pasture for milk cows
on some so-called “organic” dairy farms. Critics puzzle how “factory” organic
dairy farms can physically comply with USDA’s rules for adequate daily pasture
access. It’s physically impossible for dairy cows in mega-dairies to get out to“adequate” pasture on a daily basis. The thousands of cows on “organic” factory
farms simply can’t get out to “adequate” grass and return for twice-daily milkings… or so it seems to critics of USDA’s failing organic oversight.
USDA’s guidelines – issued by the agency’s board that establishes national
organic standards – are vague, perhaps intentionally so. USDA’s oversight of
organic foods, originally mandated by Congress in the early 1990s, has regularly
come down on the side of corporate, factory farms. |
Organic products presumed superior
Many consumers buying organic milk (and other
organic foods) presume that the “organic” label guarantees
nutritional superiority. These consumers shell
out big bucks for organic products, presuming both
nutritional superiority and production practices for
such foods that comply with USDA’s organic rules,
while also avoiding synthetic hormones, geneticallymodified
crops, pesticides and chemicals, etc. Today’s
organic food consumers are a nutritionally savvy
bunch.
Organic consumers pay top-shelf prices for
dairy foods that they believe contain nutritionally
superior benefits – such as CLAs and Omega-3s.
They expect the superior flavor of milk from grassfed
herds.
Thus, when and where certain brands of organic
milk register “low-end” scores for CLAs and
Omega-3s, one can argue that organic consumers are
being short-changed, in a nutritional sense.
Statistical limitations of this research!!!
Single samples of products form a very limited
basis any claims. Legitimate statistical process
would require numerous samples – say, at minimum,
a dozen each – to begin to draw any significant differences.
This research funded by The Milkweed is
designed to raise more questions than it answers.
Results from single samples of different brands must
be viewed with reservation. However …when the
CLA content of the brand at the top end of CLA-content
tests (Cedar Summit Farm – New Prague, Minnesota)
is about 6X higher than the low-ender (Aurora
Organic Dairy of Colorado) … legitimate questions start to arise! |
