switch to organic milk - any impact?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Of course switching now is beneficial--when we were kids, there was no organic milk at the grocery store, but obviously many of us made the switch. I definitely recommend the Cornucopia website above. For me, organic milk is more about treatment of animals, and while it IS more expensive, even double or triple the cost of non-organic milk, we're talking, what $4-5? IMO, it's well worth it.

When we were kids, cows weren't given growh hormones. It always cracks me up when prople say, "I never ate organic, and I turned out fine!"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD is 6 1/2 and loves milk - drinks lots of it and always has. We've always bought regular milk at the grocery store. I now understand that organic milk is free of growth hormones that may contribute to early puberty, etc. My question is whether switching her to organic milk now would make any kind of difference or has the potential "damage" already been done? Has anyone researched this topic and can point me to some resources? tia.

Now? Really? Where ya been?

[Anonymous]

Be careful if your non-organic products say " no hormones added." this refers to the manufacturer not adding hormones to the milk. This has no reference to the hormones given to the cows.

[Anonymous]

Is your DH that cheap, OP?

Really? Has to be convinced it's worth spending another couple of dollars per gallon?

Are things really that tight in your household? Because if they are, I'll understand. But if you're otherwise comfortable, maybe he can cut back on his daily coffee or something to make this happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is your DH that cheap, OP?

Really? Has to be convinced it's worth spending another couple of dollars per gallon?

Are things really that tight in your household? Because if they are, I'll understand. But if you're otherwise comfortable, maybe he can cut back on his daily coffee or something to make this happen.

Exactly. Let's say you go through a gallon a week. Organic can cost $2 more. So that $104 more a year. If you decrease going out to dinner 3 times over the course of a year, you've made up the increase in buying organic milk.

[Anonymous]

On the other hand, there is this, which suggests organic may be oversold:

http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1355685

[Anonymous]

OP here. It has nothing to do with money. He just tends to be old school ("it was fine for us growing up"); he doesn't like change; he drinks a ton of milk himself and so we just run to the very nearby 7-11 for it - it would be an inconvenience in our already very hectic life to have to go elsewhere to get milk; he is a guy & grew up with 3 brothers and doesn't really "get" or think about the issues relating to early maturation in girls.

BUT - it's not a huge deal. I've been meaning to bring it up with him, was just organizing my thoughts, and thought maybe someone could point me to some definitive research or obvious scientific evidence about organic milk and/or milk that's free of growth hormones. So far, the responses haven't really helped.

So let's let this thread die and I'll just handle it. Thanks all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
When we were kids, cows weren't given growh hormones. It always cracks me up when prople say, "I never ate organic, and I turned out fine!"

This!!!!

Things before were organic in nature, but until we developed the pesticides we use today nothing had to be labeled organic - they just were.

Another aspect people haven't discussed is that even if cows are not given hormones, they can still be given antibiotics, which obviously isn't a good thing either.

[Anonymous]

OP why dont you just err on the side of caution and give your kids organic milk. Even people who dont make a habit of eating organic, still buy organic milk. It's more expensive but sorry, like the PP said, are you really THAT cheap? I mean, cut something else out of your life like starbucks or a dinner once a month and it will cover the cost of buying some organic MILK!!! WTF!?!!

[Anonymous]

Op the other plus of many organic milks is that they have a long shelf life. So you can buy extra on your regular shopping runs and no need for 7-11. Our CVS stocks organic milk so it's not like it requires a trip to whole foods.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is no need at all to switch, OP. I will not argue whether or not the growth hormones are harmful or not since that's beside the point now. As others noted, the VAST majority of milk available currently is from companies whose farmers have pledged not to use growth hormones. That's the same thing organic farmers do too - it's not as if USDA tests the milk - there is no test for the use of the growth hormones. I can't recall the last time I saw normal milk - even grocery store label - that is not labled as coming from cows not given growth hormones.

Well, it's not exactly the same thing organic farmers do. Far from it. Getting the organic certification is a rigorous process, and there is actual oversight to ensure that cattle are not only consuming only organic feed, but also receiving no growth hormones or antibiotics-- not just testing the milk, as you say, but also random visits to farms. The "no growth hormone" pledge is something anybody can slap across their product and there is no federal oversight for this process-- I'm not sure why consumers are so trustful of such pledges, esp. since I have toured farms where (non-organic) dairy farmers scoffed at the whole pledge thing.

OP wanted to let this die, but I will say that most of us who prefer organic dairy don't just do it for the bovine growth hormone-- there are other issues, one of which is that it can be a much more concentrated source of pesticides (like milk) than fruits or veggies, and another big one of which is the antibiotics thing. If you're concerned about early puberty, I think controlling your daughter's total dairy intake esp. whole milk products, is your best bet. (Read Walter Willett on modern dairy practices; there are a LOT of female hormones in whole milk dairy products, and a LOT of male hormones in skim milk dairy products.)

[Anonymous]

Well, ultrapastuerization is in itself harmful. Why not hunt up a local raw milk share and use organic raw milk? It tastes better and is much much better for you. In addition, grassfed raw milk reduces allergies.

[Anonymous]

Most dairy farmers don't use the artificial growth hormones because it's not worth the money or the hassle, and they know that consumers don't want milk from cows that are treated with it.
Signed,
Someone whose extended family probably milks at least 20,000 cows out west.

[Anonymous]

Ther is non ultrapasteurized organic milk from grass fed cows. You can get it at Roots and prob other places.

[Anonymous]

Organic milk is fine, but please don't take suggestions on raw milk. I would not give my child raw milk. The people who do this are the same ones pissed off that recent studies by Stanford showed absolutely no impact of organic food on health outcomes. They do it to say they give their children raw milk, whole foods, etc...they are insecure and needing to validate their parenting by thinking they are better parents because of choices like this.