...does what it says on the tin. Organic milk rant : comments.
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(no subject)
For example, Anchor butter have started advertising that all their milk comes from cows fed only on grass, and promoting this as a good thing. But is it? What are cows missing out on? Are some of those things we would rather they missed out on (like ground-up other animals)?
I'm going on about this because I'm not a vet, and I don't have years of training, but I do have certain opinions about food production that I want to express directly in my purchasing. Labels like 'organic', 'free range', 'fair trade' make that a great deal easier, but if they're wrong in some cases, then I want to know why and how and to shout at people like the Soil Association a lot until the labels are trustworthy again.
(no subject)
More generally about things we can do here - we can encourage farmers to have thoughtfully designed housing which is nice and clean to prevent mastitis, and gentle on the legs to prevent lameness - these are the two biggest things that go wrong with dairy cows. The problem is that the margins in dairy farming are so low that if you forced every farmer in Britain to replace their post-war cowshed with a shiny new one, more than half of them would go out of business, to no one's benefit.
Fundamentally you can't push for high welfare while still squeezing every last penny out of the farmer at the farm gate like the supermarkets do. Push the margins that low, and something has to give. The organic movement has the right idea with many of their welfare standards, and they work for nearly every other class of animal, but I think at best you could say that they were broadly neutral when it comes to dairy cows. Yes, they ban permanent housing and force the farmer to provide straw bedding (many dairy units are concrete and 'cow-beds' - wash-down rubber pads in the sleeping areas) but on the other hand they have over-strict requirements when it comes to antibiotics which interfere with mastitis treatment.
So, in the current market, I'd definitely buy organic veg, because it's much nicer on the environment, and would buy organic meat if I could afford it, because it's probably nicer on the animal, too. Eggs, yes. Milk, if you value the environment and are willing to overlook the marginal-to-none animal benefit.
Basically, I think when it comes to milk the Soil Association are well meaning but misguided, and need to relax their regulations on antibiotic treaments for mastitis. But that'll be a hard one to sell to the average residue-shy Organic food buyer...
(no subject)
As it happens, most of my milk consumption is from the stuff kindly delivered by my milkman. Not organic, but relatively locally-produced and providing local employment. But as you've indicated, organic wouldn't be significantly better for environment or animal welfare, so I think bottle-on-the-step wins.
(no subject)
Although fresh (ie straight from the cow, pre-pasturised, still warm) milk is SO much nicer, that should you ever end up living next door to a dariy farm, ask them to buy your milk direct from them at 6:30am every morning. *drool*