Organic Milk Not Always An Ideal Alternative

We have already discussed the relative merits of drinking organic, fair trade coffee. But what about the milk and cream that we add to our beverages? The issue of organic versus factory-produced milk is one of those gray areas that have yet to be fully resolved in the scientific literature. In these pages I will attempt to give the reader some idea of the complexities of this issue.

According to treehugger.com there is little doubt that drinking organic milk is the healthy choice. According to this site, organic milk has 68 per cent more omega 3 fatty acids, which have been shown to be instrumental in combating cancer and heart disease. The site says that two British studies found that when milk-producing cows ate fresh grass, the omega three acids were increased. What kind of cow one raises also matters: Jersey and Swiss cows tend to contain healthier ingredients than Holsteins - the cows that are bred on mass-production farms.

There are some who are not so optimistic in perspective, however. Many are concerned about the increased amount of land needed to produce organic milk. Organic milk also produces more greenhouse gases than the more conventional milk does, according to the Manchester Business School in England. According to Professor Ken Green, the project director for the study, if you are concerned about the 'carbon footprint' of foods, there can be a good case for importing some of the foods, even if they can be produced (locally) and are not organic.

The study also found that the impact of shopping by car on the environment is greater than the impact of transportation within the food production distribution network.

I will be writing more about these issues in future blogs.