Dispute: What Makes Milk Organic?

March 14, 2005 — -- In the seemingly bucolic world of green pastures and "happy cows," some ugly feuding is taking place.

A collection of organic dairy farmers have been taking aim at larger farms that also market their product as organic. The contention is that the larger farms have been taking advantage of vague wording in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's organic food guidelines and are housing cows in industrial-like facilities while selling their brand with the certified organic label.

"Consumers pay a premium to feel like they're supporting a certain environmental ethic and the humane treatment of animals," said Mark Kastel, senior farm analyst with the Cornucopia Institute, a farm policy research group based in Wisconsin. "These factory farms don't conform to that philosophy."

Representatives of the larger farms say these are false accusations and that they are in full compliance with USDA organic standards.

The clash gets at just what the term "organic" means when it comes to milk. In addition to the assurance that cows aren't given synthetic growth hormones or antibiotics, does "organic" mean the milk comes from smaller farms where cows are led to pasture on a daily basis? Or does it only mean the cows are fed organic food that is pesticide-free?

At stake are the profits of an increasingly successful industry. Organic food sales rose at an average annual rate of 19.5 percent between 1997 and 2003, according to the Organic Trade Association's most recent survey. Organic dairy made up a significant part of that growth, with sales increasing by 22.5 percent each year in the same period to $1.4 billion.

In the first round to address the dispute, smaller farms appear to have scored a small victory.

The main area of contention is pasture and just how much time organic dairy cows spend grazing. At the urging of a number of organic farmers, members of the National Organic Standards Board met earlier this month and suggested closing what they considered to be two loopholes in the USDA's rules for pasture requirements of organic dairy cows.