Author Topic: organic cow's milk-is it worth it?  (Read 5093 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline *happy*

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 55
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 5199
  • blessed to have found BWing.xxx
  • Location: Ireland
organic cow's milk-is it worth it?
« on: February 01, 2013, 16:57:04 pm »
Im planning on starting DD with cows milk in the next few
days,but im debating which milk to give her!there are so many
different "supermilks" and then there's organic milk!any advicf?






Offline flutie

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 10
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 632
  • Location: Ontario, Canada
Re: organic cow's milk-is it worth it?
« Reply #1 on: February 02, 2013, 03:43:11 am »
I'm going to lurk if that's okay.  We have been giving ds organic milk but it is sooooo expensive.  Maybe there is a viable alternative.
Lisa
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


Offline *happy*

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 55
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 5199
  • blessed to have found BWing.xxx
  • Location: Ireland
Re: organic cow's milk-is it worth it?
« Reply #2 on: February 02, 2013, 07:30:00 am »
Lurk away!i managed to find a supermarket own-brand
organic milk yesterday after i posted,it's quite hard to
get here.






Offline Papaya

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 79
  • Posts: 3049
  • Location: Singapore
    • It's a dangerous thing, stepping out your front door...
Re: organic cow's milk-is it worth it?
« Reply #3 on: February 02, 2013, 07:57:50 am »
If I were budgeting to buy organic *anything*, I would prioritise meat, if available, then dairy (over spending money on other organic foods, if that makes sense).  Then fresh produce, particularly thin-skinned stuff. The dairy not so much for health reasons tbh, but more because I feel like organic milk is more likely to have come from cows which have been raised in good conditions - I've read conflicting advice as to whether there are or aren't health benefits in organic milk so it seems a bit unclear :-\ 
*Nuala*










Offline *happy*

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 55
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 5199
  • blessed to have found BWing.xxx
  • Location: Ireland
Re: organic cow's milk-is it worth it?
« Reply #4 on: February 02, 2013, 07:59:09 am »
Thanks nuala.xox






Offline new mum01

  • New, But Posting Steadily!
  • **
  • Showing Appreciation 1
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 62
  • Location: Wales
Re: organic cow's milk-is it worth it?
« Reply #5 on: February 02, 2013, 09:54:27 am »
I always buy Yeo Valley organic milk here in the UK as their herd are Friesians not holstein's and they are definately out to pasture eating real grass, and not routinely given antibiotics! I don't even trust supermarket own brand 'organic' milk but that's just me!
The Yeo valley whole milk seems lovely and creamy and worth the extra pennies.

Offline *Kara*

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 184
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 11802
  • So little!
  • Location: BC, Canada
Re: organic cow's milk-is it worth it?
« Reply #6 on: February 03, 2013, 22:34:23 pm »
I'm going to lurk if that's okay.  We have been giving ds organic milk but it is sooooo expensive.  Maybe there is a viable alternative.

Not needed in Canada hun.  The US (and some other parts of the world) do use growth hormones to stimulate milk production in cows - these hormones are in the milk.  In Canada, no use of hormones is permitted in dairy cattle. 

The only difference between standard and organic milk in Canada is this: organic cows are not permitted to have ever taken antibiotics in their lives (if they do, they are no longer used to produce "organic" milk).  Non-organic milk cows are permitted to have antibiotics to treat an infection but are required to be pumped/dumped for 30 days after the antibiotics are stopped to ensure it has left their system. 



Offline flutie

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 10
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 632
  • Location: Ontario, Canada
Re: organic cow's milk-is it worth it?
« Reply #7 on: February 04, 2013, 02:05:04 am »
Thanks so much Kara...that is very clear.
Lisa
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


Offline Erin M

  • The Sentinel
  • Global Moderator
  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 521
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 16463
  • Location: USA - the midwest...
Re: organic cow's milk-is it worth it?
« Reply #8 on: February 04, 2013, 02:09:04 am »
We buy organic milk, though we are in the US so a slightly different circumstance as Kara described. 
It's one of those things where I feel that I'll probably find out one day that I'm wasting my money on it, but on the chance that I'm not, I'll do it anyway. 
Like Nuala said, we prioritize our organic purchases with things higher up on the food chain (the idea being that the pesticides are more concentrated high up, if that) make sense...

Offline roseola

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 32
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 1764
  • Location: USA
Re: organic cow's milk-is it worth it?
« Reply #9 on: February 04, 2013, 02:29:27 am »
Go Canada! Fabulous!

This has a lot of info:

http://www.nongmoshoppingguide.com/Non-GMO-Shopping-Guide.pdf
Nini





Offline *Kara*

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 184
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 11802
  • So little!
  • Location: BC, Canada
Re: organic cow's milk-is it worth it?
« Reply #10 on: February 04, 2013, 05:43:29 am »
We buy organic milk, though we are in the US so a slightly different circumstance as Kara described.
It's one of those things where I feel that I'll probably find out one day that I'm wasting my money on it, but on the chance that I'm not, I'll do it anyway

I would only buy organic if I was in the US hun.  US milk has growth hormones in it to varying degrees... organic prohibits the use of hormones... totally worth the extra expense IMO.



Offline Erin M

  • The Sentinel
  • Global Moderator
  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 521
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 16463
  • Location: USA - the midwest...
Re: organic cow's milk-is it worth it?
« Reply #11 on: February 04, 2013, 15:57:38 pm »
It's true, but it seems like every other day people come out with evidence to differing sides of the issue so you can always manage to doubt yourself every few days.  ::) 

And FWIW, while it is "permitted" most US dairies don't use bovine growth hormone in their milk -- not to say there aren't others, but that seems to be the one of main concern these days -- even before I consistently bought organic all of the milk I could find didn't have it. 

Offline georgeo

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 21
  • Posts: 1705
  • Location: British Columbia, Canada
Re: organic cow's milk-is it worth it?
« Reply #12 on: February 04, 2013, 17:53:28 pm »
Wow Kara I didn't realize that! Thanks. One other reason I buy organic milk for the kids is because I like that the animals are only fed organic food and therefore pesticides from food aren't passed on in the milk.

A huge thanks to whoever is responsible for the laws you mentioned!!!

Offline Ima shel Alon

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 204
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 9665
  • Alon was once a tiny baby
  • Location: Germany, far from home
Re: organic cow's milk-is it worth it?
« Reply #13 on: February 04, 2013, 18:09:57 pm »
Not needed in Canada hun.  The US (and some other parts of the world) do use growth hormones to stimulate milk production in cows - these hormones are in the milk.  In Canada, no use of hormones is permitted in dairy cattle. 
In Europe as well.
But other than growth hormones there are the antibiotics to think about. A conventional cow can be given antibiotic and on the pack of it would be instructions how long not to use it's milk, but there can still be traces of it, not harmful for human consumption but they are still in there. In Organic farming you double this time so there are no traces of the antibiotic.
In Organic farming animal welfare is above all so the farmer does everything to prevent an illness by giving the animal better living conditions - so it doesn't get ill and needs antibiotics.

We don't buy everything Organic out of financial reasons (and I am married to an Organic farmer... :P), but like Nuala said - meat, milk and eggs are always Organic for us.
My journey of making 1000 goodies using unrefined sugar: http://1000crumbs.com/




Offline *happy*

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 55
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 5199
  • blessed to have found BWing.xxx
  • Location: Ireland
Re: organic cow's milk-is it worth it?
« Reply #14 on: February 04, 2013, 18:55:27 pm »
In Europe as well.
does this include Ireland do you know?