I have a question that maybe your readers could answer: Is organic milk worth the price?
There is such a huge difference in price between conventional and organic milk and I wonder if there is any difference in quality. I recently read somewhere that there is no difference and that standard milk does not contain any hormones.
Buying organic milk takes up the biggest part of our grocery budget and it would be wonderful if it turns out that conventional milk is the same! -Sheri
Please note: I thought this would make for an interesting discussion, so have at it. However, as always, keep your comments cordial. If you can disagree in a friendly manner, go for it. But if you leave a comment screaming at someone that if they don’t purchase raw grass-fed milk from a goat in their backyard they are going to fall over dead tomorrow, you’re likely going to have your comment deleted. 
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We drink raw organic milk at $4/gallon. We get it from a local farmer. It is wonderful! Tastes so much better and doesn’t have that nasty smell. Ever smelled store bought milk when you opened it? Nasty! It has also done wonders for my kids asthma and allergies. They actually get sick when they drink regular milk now, not fun. Doesn’t last as long in the fridge, but we drink fast enough that it doesn’t matter. We buy more milk weekly anyways.
We drink raw cows milk for the nutrition. I get it from a local farmer for $2.50 a gallon in plastic milk jugs. Tastes so much better and we have fun doing different things with the cream. My favorite is taking frozen blueberries sprinkle with a packet of stevia and pouring some cream on. Then stirring it and the cream crystallizes onto the blueberries and makes it into ice cream. Delicious!
The raw milk does not need nutrition added to it because it is in it’s Whole form and packed with nutrition that is lost in the cooking process.
Um, maybe this is too obvious, for sure cheaper….or maybe cuz I’m vegan this sounds more reasonable than it will to you, but my omni mom, who is a ddairy lover even admitted she likes that vanilla almond milk!but what if you just buy less milk?? Buy the good organic stuff, but less of it and explore the wonderful world of soymilk and almond milk! Trader joes has some amazing deals on organic almond milks and soymilks that taste great and are
we buy organic milk for our three young boys because I have read numerous times that dairy is one of the top three food products that you should buy organic. we save on other groceries, but I feel the extra cost is worth it to try to ensure the health and protection of our growing boys! it is also a little cheaper to buy in bulk (three half-gallons) at Sam’s Club!
We buy organic here because if you don’t use a lot of milk, the organic milk has a longer shelf life — typically three weeks. And conventional milk has some stuff added…as a former dairy farmer’s daughter, I can tell you dairy cattle without access to grasses are treated with antibiotics, and all that exposure to antibiotics over time can be a possible cause to antibiotic-resistent medicines. Definately look in to it and decide what you want for your family, like tt in nyc, I’m an almond milk fan, but not everyone in our house is, so we buy organic…I go to http://www.organicvalley.coop/ or http://www.stonyfield.com/ to print off coupons for either brand. I obviously grew up on raw milk as well, but we stick with just organic here because we live in a city with no access to raw milk.
When my son was 2 years old he got 3 ear infections in quick succession. I wasn’t getting any advice from the docs other than make sure to give him all the medicine. So I asked a naturopath who helps out at the local health food store for advice. He said to give my son only organic milk as its really the things that are added to milk that create problems. He didn’t have another ear infection for 5 years. Now that they are older I’ve moved back to regular milk because of price, but I always cruise by the organic section to see if they have any with the clearance sticker on them. Good luck!
Hi! Organic milk is worth the extra price to my family. Not only are the cows not injected with hormones or antibiotics, but they are fed grass and organic feed not treated with pesticides. There is a taste difference as well, it tastes creamier and fresher than conventional milk. I like the fact, too, that the cows are usually treated much better on an organic farm. I can usually find organic milk marked down at Kroger on weekday mornings for around $3 a gallon. It may cost more, but the benefits are worth it!
@Jill, The cows may be treated better in general, but I would have to argue that NOT giving an organic cow an antibiotic when it has a bacterial infection and truly needs one is not treating that cow very well.
@Jill, I should also mention that I don’t know for sure if organic cows are NEVER given antibiotics (I don’t know very much about organic cows to begin with), but after reading many of the comments on this post, I’m beginning to think that maybe they aren’t ever given an antibiotic. While I do believe that giving cows (or people, for that matter) too many antibiotics when they aren’t necessary is also wrong, I think it is wrong to withold an antibiotic from a cow if it is necessary (if that is what happens on organic farms).
@Emily, From what I understand, organic cows who are sick are given antibiotics, but are taken out of the organic herd at that time, and the milk that the cow makes is not put into production. Then, after a certain amount of time when the cow is better and the meds are out of its system, they are put back into the herd. So the cow is getting proper treatment, and we don’t have to drink the meds in its milk. I hope that clears it up a bit!
@Jill,
Organic cows are not given antibiotics and if they are, they are either sold to a conventional dairy farmer and are not milked into the food chain while antibiotics are in her system, or they are sold for slaughter. If an organic cow is given antibiotics, she can never be milked in an organic herd again.
@Emily,
Organic cows are not given antibiotics and if they are, they are either sold to a conventional dairy farmer and are not milked into the food chain while antibiotics are in her system, or they are sold for slaughter. If an organic cow is given antibiotics, she can never be milked in an organic herd again. The organic dairy farmer tries to cure the cow’s illness without the use of antibiotics.
If you have a local dairy around you, their milk is usually cheaper and you can find out everything you want to know about their cows straight from the source. Usually, you are getting organic milk that isn’t certified. My local dairy is soon going to be offering raw milk, so others must be, as well (though I don’t endorse drinking it… sorry, I just can’t get my head around that one), so that’s an option, too.
I went to a naturopathic physician and she told me that nonorganic milk can cause hormonal imbalances in women…….since I am trying to conceive, she strongly suggested that I switch……….nonorganic milk not only causes hormonal imbalances, but also can lead to other female problems not conducive to pregnancy such as causing fibroids to grow in your uterine cavity or causing any fibroids that you already have to become larger.
As someone who is lactose intolerant, the thought of drinking milk at all kind of hard to relate to. I have tried rice, soy, almond — even hemp milk, and they are all fine. However, I am surprised at the implicit assumption that if you _must_ drink milk. Granted, it’s hard to find food without dairy products (though soy and HFCS are worse). Even things like baking are harder without a good liquid protein like milk.
But if you are all so worried about it, why not just stop buying ANY milk?
Calcium can be had from other sources, though if you don’t believe in fortified foods, you had better like leafy vegetables
Of course, the whole cereal industry would dry up if we stopped buying milk, too.
I’m not a huge Organic food fan…I think most of it is labeling and hype. But for Organic Milk I am a HUGE believer. It truly tastes different. I cannot drink regular milk anymore – it tastes bitter to me. It’s worth the extra cost to us.
Organic milk is very expensive. What works best for us is to buy our milk and dairy from Braums. They are not certified as organic, but the dairy has no hormones or antibiotics added. The cows are also hormone and antibiotic free. The milk taste wonderful.
http://www.naturalnews.com/028799_pasteurized_milk_raw.html
^^^^^^this article says it all, i dont have to say anything more! Sorry but this is ALLLLL true in the article
@wendi, I completely second this link! there is an enormous amount of information out there if you just look! We drink Raw organic milk. Thats it. We don’t consume a ton cause it’s just not necessary. If we do drink pasteurized milk, organic or not, we all get sick. Don’t waste your money purchasing organic if it is not raw. It is a high price tag that does no good and only harm for your body,because of the pasteurization. Don’t just believe me though, read for yourself. And keep on reading. Truth is out there but you have to find it yourself.
I thought I remembered something about Wal-mart vowing to keep hormones out of their milk in the movie Food Inc.
Please correct me if I am wrong as I would love to know the truth!
Actually, to let you guys know, there is no way to test for hormone treatments in cows. One way ‘organic’ farmers can make more money is by using hormones to help the cows produce more milk and claiming it as organic if they don’t use antibiotics. However, these hormones don’t show up in the milk so it’s really not a problem for our health.
I steer clear of milk. There’s no reason for an adult human to drink it, and very few reasons (none of them good ones, IMO) for children to drink it. Calcium can be had from a boatload of other sources–some of which carry greater concentrations and are more easily absorbed by the body.
We’re the only species that drinks the breastmilk of another animal. Weird, huh?
Industrialized soy milk isn’t a great thing to put in your body either.
I am a non-organic dairy farmer with 30 cows (they have pasture access and are kept as comfortable as possible when they are not). I am amazed at how many myths there are surrounding conventional milk versus organic.
For starters, conventional milk does not have antibiotics in it (otherwise, a farmer can be fined and the milk is discarded. Testing is done on every tank of milk that a dairy farmer ships (organic or conventional) to ensure antibiotics are not in the milk. Also, a cow cannot be butchered until the antibiotics are out of her system.)
Secondly, I feel treating an animal when they are sick is a must! (Would you not treat your child or pet if they were sick?). All milk (and most food you eat) contain hormones (that’s part of being a living thing…organic plants included). If you are truly concerned about hormones in milk…soymilk will cause more complications due to the estrogen it contains.
In addition, I believe in buying local as the most important key for freshness and supporting the local farmers. I know how hard my family works to ensure the healthiness of our animals and the quality of the dairy products we provide for consumers. Its a shame that most of these posts are against conventional milk as the milk my cows produce is probably healthier than organic (seeing as I ensure my cows are healthy and will treat them if they are sick. Their milk is withheld from the shipment until it is no longer in their system.)
Please do not believe the hype surrounding organic milk, as you are just wasting your money.
I don’t think it’s worth paying extra for anything organic or “green”.
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