Mission: Organic Milk

We decided when Charlotte turned one that it would be worth the money for us to give her organic milk. I did a considerable amount of research into this subject and really think it will be worth it. Besides, we were already spending $35 a week on formula so milk that is $2-$3 more dollars per gallon is still better than that!

According to Karen Collins, R.D. from MSNBC, milk that is labeled "USDA Organic" must come from cows that have not been treated with bovine growth hormone (BGV) to increase milk production. A second important characteristic of organic milk is that the cows are not treated with antibiotics. The third requirement is is that the cows' feed is grown without pesticides. Some recent USDA reports have shown that nonorganic milk may contain low levels of certain pesticides. And the final requirement is that the cows must be given access to pasture. Some suggest that pasture-fed cows may produce milk that contains more conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a special type of fat that may protect against cancer and other health problems.

The laws governing organic food production are the strictest in our nation, states Melinda Hemmelgarn, M.S., R.D. in her online article "Wake Up America! Benefits of Organic Milk Go Beyond Nutrition". She goes on to list all of the reasons that organic milk is far superior to nonorganic. It's a great article so check it out if you are interested in learning more.

After reading all of this convincing research on why to go organic, I was convinced. But then I started thinking... Are all organic brands created equal? Surely one must be superior over the others? So I started digging into that and found this survey that is done, and continuously updated, by the Cornucopia Institute: Organic Dairy Report.
Turns out that the brand we had been buying, Horizon, gets a 0 Cow Rating, which is the worst! Yikes! Our second go-to brand, Publix Greenwise, received a 2 Cow Rating, which is labeled as "good but questionable long-term commitment to organics". There has to be some better options out there!

There are three options that I have found using the Cornucopia Report that we will be trying over the next few weeks. I am going to update this post each time I purchase one of these options so I can get an adequate price comparison. Right now we are going through about a gallon a week of the Publix Greenwise brand ($5.00 for 1 gallon). The three brands I want to try all received a 4 Cow Rating (there are no 5 Cow Rating brands available that I can find) so they are comparable in quality but I do want to see how the prices/availability measure up to each other. The brands are:

1. Organic Valley ($4.29 for 1/2 gallon at Publix, $4.98 for 1/2 gallon at Ingles)
2. Ingles store brand, Harvest Farms ($3.57 for 1/2 gallon)
3. Whole Foods store brand, 365 Organic

According to their website, Organic Valley is sold at our local Publix store so it would obviously be the most convenient and will hopefully be the least expensive. I am not holding my breath though since I think it is only available in the half gallon size.
I work pretty close to an Ingles so I'll be running by there after work to get a gallon to test at some point.
Whole Foods is going to be the hardest to get to (so hopefully it won't be the cheapest!) and Jason would have to make a special trip over there every week on his way home from work.
I am hoping that Organic Valley is the winner because, after combing through their website, I am really impressed with their co-op of farmers. It even has a page introducing you to your local dairy farmers by region. Meet the Southeast farmers here.

I'll update each time we purchase one of these brands so we can locate the best milk for the best price!