Organic Milk to Come from Happier Cows

Published on Tuesday, November 25, 2008, by nicholassday / Edit Post

At long last, we may be a little closer to knowing what an organic moo cow does all day. Recently issued USDA draft rules explicitly state that cows producing organic milk should spend considerable time on pasture, the Associated Press reports. The new rules require cows to be on pasture 120 days a year and to get at least 30 percent of their feed from grazing during the growing season. That’s strict enough to satisfy most organic organizations according to the AP story.

Such rules would eliminate industrial organic milk operations, which feed cows organic grain but keep them inside feedlots. When news broke about these farms several years ago, the USDA heard about it: In a public comment period, the agency received 80,500 comments, and only 28 thought the rules should not be tightened.

ALLGreen
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  • Horizon Organic milk company is misleading consumers and dealing unethically with producers. They claim to get their milk from small, family-owned farms when they are actually driving these exact farms out of business. Horizon is not honoring contracts with small farmers, but instead getting their milk from their OWN company mega-dairy. They are misleading consumers by stating, on their website...+READ

    Horizon Organic milk company is misleading consumers and dealing unethically with producers. They claim to get their milk from small, family-owned farms when they are actually driving these exact farms out of business. Horizon is not honoring contracts with small farmers, but instead getting their milk from their OWN company mega-dairy. They are misleading consumers by stating, on their website and in their literature, that they are comprised of small family dairies, when in fact, much of their milk comes from dairies with more than 500 cows.

    One dairyman, Mr. Don Halverson, the owner of a small 50-cow dairy in Idaho, has shared his story of Horizon committing verbally to take his milk once he completed the expensive organic certification process, only to refuse to honor that agreement after he'd invested the thousands of dollars and time required. You can see the full story at http://sites.google.com/site/integrityinbusiness/-COLLAPSE

  • Straus Family Creamery in California, a small organic operation, is fighting the strengthening of the rule. claiming it would put them out of business.

    http://is.gd/cRTD

  • I don't see why anyone wouldn't want the regulations to be tightened...unless they actually work for horizon or any of the other brands that have terrible reviews on that cow website.

  • Happy cow milK? yum sounds delicious