Food Democracy

Organic milk is significantly richer in nutrients than that from conventional dairy farms, thanks to the cows’ diet, a new study has shown.

Researchers found that when cows were grazed outside on grass and clover, they produced milk with higher levels of beneficial fatty acids, antioxidants and vitamins.

The study by Newcastle University showed conjugated linoleic acid (CLA9) – which has been hailed as helping to reduce the risk of cancer – to be 60 per cent higher in organic milk during the summer months.

It also found organic milk has 39 per cent more omega-3 fatty acid and 33 per cent more vitamin E than the non-organic alternative. Both are thought to reduce the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease. Read the rest of this entry »

Organic milk is healthier, says a new study from Newcastle University in the United Kingdom. Scientists found that milk from organically farmed cows contained 67 percent more antioxidants than milk from conventionally farmed cows.

The study which analyzed milk from twenty-five farms, found other nutritional differences between organic and non-organic milk. The organic milk contained 39 percent more heart-healthy omega-3 oils and 32 percent less of the less-healthy omega-6 oils. It also had 60 percent more conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, which studies have shown can reduce tumors, and also about 60 percent more of vaccenic acid, which may reduce the risk of heart disease, obesity and diabetes.

The researchers found that levels of antioxidants and healthy fatty acids were higher in summer, when cows ate fresh grass. Organically farmed cows get about 80 percent of their diet from grass while cows raised on conventional farms get under 40 percent of their diet from grazing.

 Although organic milk is more expensive than regular, experts say that since organic milk is so high in nutrients, customers wouldn’t have to buy as much to get the health benefits.

“This research confirms what organic farmers and consumers have long believed to be true,” said Peter Melchett, from the Soil Association, which advocates using organic farming methods. “This latest research demonstrates that it is the cows’ organic diet that makes their milk healthier.”

http://www.newsmax.com/health/organic_milk_healthier/2008/06/06/102225.html

A new study by Newcastle University proves that organic farmers who let their cows graze as nature intended are producing better quality milk.

The Nafferton Ecological Farming Group study found that grazing cows on organic farms in the UK produce milk which contains significantly higher beneficial fatty acids, antioxidants and vitamins than their conventional ‘high input’ counterparts.

During the summer months, one of the beneficial fats in particular – conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA9 – was found to be 60% higher. Read the rest of this entry »

Federal commodity regulators are investigating a price-manipulation scheme by the farmer-owned dairy cooperative that controls about a third of the nation’s milk supply, according to a published report.

Separately, the Justice Department is preparing to investigate a recently disclosed $1 million transfer to a former director of the Dairy Farmers of America, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing people close to the matter.

The Kansas City-based dairy cooperative, the nation’s largest, also faces antitrust lawsuits by farmers and retailers for allegedly conspiring to suppress prices it paid for raw milk in the Southeast, while raising prices to the region’s retailers, according to TheJournal. The alleged scheme could have boosted its profit as a middleman in those transactions. Read the rest of this entry »

Consumers think they are buying wholesome dairy products when milk protein concentrates in reality are an illegal, untested, unregulated, dairy ingredient from foreign countries that is displacing American dairy farmers’ local, quality milk.

by Brenda Cochran

As a dairy farmer, I’m proud to provide nutritious and quality products for “nature’s most perfect food,” milk. But now, I’m gravely concerned American food sovereignty is in jeopardy because of the greed of a few corporations. Nowhere is this trend more apparent and rampant than in the dairy industry.

As companies look for and encourage the cheapest, lowest quality product, consumers have responded with newfound concern for knowing what is in their food and how it is being made.

Sadly, agribusiness is targeting right-to-know labels in two egregious cases regarding milk:
1. Banning “rBST-free” labels.
2. Redefining milk to allow “ultrafiltered milk” to be labeled as “milk” even though it lacks so many vital nutrients that come from the real thing. Read the rest of this entry »

At a time when hormone-free milk labeling is under assault by Monsanto and its allies, Wal-Mart has taken a stand in favor of its consumers. All Great Value-brand milk sold at Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club will be free of rBST bovine somatotropin, a growth hormone, the company said this week.

“As many of you know, there is a fair amount of controversy on this topic, but … Wal-Mart’s customers are telling us that they are very concerned so we listened, and we’ve made a pretty big change,” Rand Waddoups wrote in Check Out, a blog by Wal-Mart buyers.

Many consumers see the hormone-free label as a window into the operations at farms. Hormones keep cows producing milk at volumes and for durations that are unnatural, and their use often goes hand-in-hand with other “industrial” farming techniques, like keeping large herds in close proximity and whole-herd treatment with antibiotics and pesticides.

Monsanto, which manufactures the artificial growth hormone, has been going state-to-state, urging local agriculture departments to outlaw the use of labels like “rBST-free” on milk. Wal-Mart, which has proved that it knows well what American consumers want, has voted. Wal-Mart made no statement about the Monsanto initiative in its announcement about going hormone-free.

See also: Top rBST & rBGH free milk producers

Watch: You and your milk

Source: http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/milk-hormones-rbst-47032108

In the UK, supermarket customers could soon be running out for a bag of milk instead of the traditional glass or plastic bottles or containers.  The environmentally friendly plastic sacs, called Eco Paks, were tested last year and the response was positive. The bags use 75 per cent less plastic than bottles. Customers can also buy a reusable jug to pour the milk into.

Experts believe that the milk bags could make a significant impact on recycling rates. At present, most supermarket milk comes in cartons or bottles made of high-density polyethylene, a type of plastic that can be recycled, although mainly in China. Recent figures showed only seven per cent are recycled.

In the US, it is estimated that 134.1 billion beverage containers were not recycled in 2005–43.6 billion PET bottles, 6.8 billion HDPE bottles, 55.0 billion aluminum cans, and 28.8 billion glass bottles wasted.  That’s an increase of nearly 4 billion from 2004’s total of 130.3 billion.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=512190&in_page_id=1770, http://www.container-recycling.org/

Organic Valley, the nation’s oldest and largest cooperative of organic family farmers, strongly opposes the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s ruling that food from cloned animals and their offspring is safe.

“Organic Valley farmers work in harmony with nature; we don’t seek to alter it,” said George Siemon, chief executive officer for Organic Valley. “Organic Valley and its meat brand, Organic Prairie, will never allow the use of cloned animals on our farms and in our products. And, we assume the USDA will never change its organic standards to allow for cloned animals.

Read the rest of this entry »

Cyagra is one of three privately held biotech start-ups making clones of genetically superior livestock for thousands of dollars apiece. In the coming years, they hope the rest of the U.S. — and the world — will join them in dining on steaks, pork chops and ice cream derived from animals conceived in their laboratories.

After reviewing hundreds of scientific studies, the FDA concluded last week that food produced from clones and their progeny is as safe to eat as conventional fare. The agency cleared the way for meat and milk from the offspring of cloned cattle, pigs and goats to be sold at grocery stores and restaurants without any special labeling. Food from the clones themselves is expected to follow after a transition period of unspecified length.

Though consumers are skeptical about this new culinary era, Cyagra, ViaGen Inc. and Trans Ova Genetics are enthusiastic. Some had bet the farm on FDA approval and were struggling to survive as the final decision was delayed to address concerns of consumer groups, the public and some members of Congress.

Over the next five years, the market for cloned animals in the U.S. is expected to reach nearly $50 million annually, according to industry analysts. Read the rest of this entry »

The Pennsylvania Agriculture Department announced Thursday it was loosening a rule that would have prevented dairies from labeling milk as free from artificial growth hormones.

The labeling rule drew a backlash from producers and marketers who said they wanted to give customers a choice, and the state agency responded by allowing such claims as long as a disclaimer accompanies it. Read the rest of this entry »