When we started our blog in November 2005, my very first post examined a new trend in organic food: flavored milk. Dietitian Julie H. Burns, a nutrition consultant for Horizon Organic, noted:

Moms will love these new products because they’re organic, nutritious and convenient for a lunchbox or backpack. Kids will love them because they’re delicious and easy to drink on the go. Families can help reduce their kids’ exposure to added chemicals in food by incorporating organic products into their diets. An easy way to do that is by providing great-tasting organic foods in your child’s lunchbox.

A day later, we published Organic Flavored Milk: Pros and Cons, in which Chef Ann Cooper, the “Renegade Lunch Lady,” told us:

They’re really no better than soda—except for the calcium. Many have a sugar and calorie content that equals or exceeds that of soda, and they become just another way that we’re teaching our children to drink sweets.

Now, the Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP), creators of the got milk? advertising campaign, are promoting chocolate milk as the “Official Drink of Halloween.” The newest print ad, which debuted in the Oct. 16 issue of People magazine, features actress Angie Harmon (Law & Order, Women’s Murder Club) and her daughters, all sporting milk mustaches.

“At Halloween and throughout the year, my girls love the flavor of chocolate milk, and I love knowing it contains the same essential nutrients as white milk like calcium, vitamin D and other nutrients kids need to build strong bones,” Harmon states in a MilkPEP press release. “As a mom, it’s important to me that my kids learn healthy habits early—and drinking three glasses of low-fat or fat-free milk each day is one of the best habits I can pass on to them.”

Pediatrician Tanya Remer Altmann, MD, is also supporting MilkPEP’s efforts.

“With Halloween snacks all around, low-fat chocolate milk is something moms can feel good about sharing with their kids,” says the author of Mommy Calls: Dr. Tanya Answers Parents’ Top 101 Questions about Babies and Toddlers.

“Here’s a spooky fact: Two out of three kids fail to get enough calcium, which is critical to build healthy skeletons,” Dr. Altmann adds. “And studies show that kids who drink chocolate and other flavored milks have higher calcium intakes than those who don’t drink milk. Milk drinkers also tend to drink fewer sugary sodas and fruit drinks and are more likely to be at a healthy weight compared to kids who drink little or no milk.

“Encouraging kids to drink more low-fat milk is a great way to steer them from the nutrient-void temptations at Halloween and beyond,” she concludes. “Chocolate milk and white milk contain nine essential nutrients and are a key component in building strong bones during childhood. Moms can benefit from the calcium and vitamin D in chocolate milk, too.”

How do you feel about flavored milks, including the organic kind? Please share your thoughts.

Photos: Horizon Organic, MilkPEP

One major cheater: Aurora Dairy, the nation’s largest organic milk producer and supplier to Wal-Mart, Target, Safeway, Costco and others, is still not playing by the rules.

This week, the Cornucopia Institute, an organic industry watchdog group, filed a formal legal complaint with the USDA alleging that one of the five industrial-scale dairies operated by Aurora is failing to graze their dairy cattle as required by the federal organic standards.

Aurora’s bad behavior includes…

• Confining their dairy cows in giant barns and pens instead of allowing them to graze on fresh forage as the federal law mandates.

• Allowing cows access to substandard crops that wither in the desert-like heat, instead of more hardy perennials that stand up to continual grazing throughout the growing season.

Not the First Time

In response to a previous legal complaint filed by The Cornucopia Institute, in 2006, career staff at the USDA found that Aurora was in violation of 14 tenets of the organic regulations including confining their cattle to feedlots, instead of grazing, and bringing thousands of illegal conventional cows into their organic operation.

Killing the Competition

The above is not only bad for consumers, who are buying an organic product that doesn’t meet organic standards mandated by law…it hurts small farmers too.

Competitors to Aurora and Dean Foods, another ‘big organic’ dairy company (makers of the popular organic brand Horizon), have been forced to lower prices paid to family-scale farmers, institute cut backs on production or even cancel their contracts with some dairy producers.

“This is an unmitigated disaster for many family farmers who are now facing no market for their organic milk and possibly losing their farms because of the softening economy and the overload of milk coming from these giant factory farms,” said Kathie Arnold of Truxton, NY, an organic dairy farmer milking 130 cows.

The Bright Side

According to Cornucopia, 90% of all name brand organic dairy products on the market are produced with true integrity.  “No matter where someone lives in this country there are many wonderful brands of organic milk, cheese, butter, yogurt and ice cream that conform to not only the letter of the law but the spirit of what has made organics such a successful and fast-growing segment of our nations’ food supply.”

Use the Cornucopia Institute’s recently updated online scorecoard can help you make smarter consumer choices when buying your organic dairy products. Spoiler alert: organic dairy props go to Organic Valley, a farmer-owned cooperative that garners a four-cow rating in the Cornucopia scorecard.

Other blogs on organic milk:

Organic Food Supermarket Trends:  Got Milk?
Discover The Delicious Health Benefits of Organic Food
Illegal Organic Milk? Shameful
Milk Farmers in Crisis…and less Safe Milk
Keeping an Eye on Organic Dairy

At an emergency organic farmer rally held recently in West Salem, WI, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack heard emotional pleas from small and family-owned organic farmers fighting for survival: during the Bush administration, the USDA was accused of “looking the other way” as large corporate agribusinesses invested in organics while allegedly violating federal standards.  

Case in point
Aurora, operator of five factory farms in Colorado and Texas and the organic milk store-brand supplier for Wal-Mart, Target, Safeway, Costco and other national chains, was found to have “willfully” violated numerous organic regulations by USDA investigators in 2007.

In the dairy sector there are now estimated to be 20 large industrial dairies, each milking 1500-7000 cows, producing as much as 40% of the nation’s organic milk supply.  A glut of factory farm milk has flooded the organic dairy sector squeezing the incomes of family farmers as dairy processors cut payments and demand production cutbacks

The Secretary Speaks
Secretary Vilsack’s comments at the rally indicate that the farmers may have been successful in their mission:

“We are focusing on rules that will level the playing field so that small and medium size producers have a fair shot…We are, as you are, asking questions about how producers can make so little and how others who are in the chain can make so much,” said Vilsack.

Take Action
Use The Cornucopia Institute’s recently updated online scorecoard to make smarter consumer choices when buying your organic dairy products.

Take advantage of 110 ratings of all organic brands (listed alphabetically) based on their ethical and legal approach to milk production. While ‘big organic’ may be shortcutting the rules, the report shows that 90% of organic milk, cheese, butter and yogurt marketers are subscribing to the “spirit and letter of the organic regulations.”

It’s not just organic dairy farmers that are in danger: traditional dairy farmers are hurting too. Find out more – and how you can help –  here.

Read more and see a video clip of some of Tom Vilsack’s comments to learn more.

Since then, another dairy emergency has come to light from the folks at Food Democracy Now…the plight of the poorly paid American dairy farmer…and the consumer by-product: imported milk that is less safe.

Food Democracy’s recent email reported…

Since December 2008, the price that farmers are paid for the milk they produce has dropped over 50 percent – the largest single drop since the Great Depression -to a point far below the cost of production. This unprecedented collapse in prices has occurred in large part due to market manipulations and increased foreign imports by milk industry giants.

The report goes on to cite several disturbing stats:

• Dairy farmers are at the mercy of giants like the Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), which controls 40% of US milk production. Last year DFA was fined $12 million for price fixing by the US government and has also been implicated in the recent massive increase in imported milk products.

• Up to 30% of remaining dairy farmers may be lost by the end of this year – 20,000 dairy farmers in total

• Rural America will be negatively impacted, erasing over $52.7 billion of economic development in less than one year.

• Safety is an issue: losing domestic supply will create a serious gap in U.S. food safety as the DFA (Dairy Farmers Association) and others dramatically increase foreign milk protein concentrate imports from countries such as Mexico, India and China — countries which have much lower food safety standards than we do.

Take Action Today!

Send an electronic fax to Secretary Vilsack, head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (it’s all ready for you to sign and send thanks to the socially and environmentally aware cell phone company, Credo) to let him know that you support America’s family dairy farmers.

July is National Ice Cream Month, a culinary celebration designated by President Ronald Reagan in 1984.

About 9% of all milk produced by U.S. dairy farmers is used to make ice cream. According to the NPD Group, a global market research firm, America’s top five flavors are: vanilla (30%), chocolate (10%), butter pecan (4%), strawberry (3.7%) and chocolate chip mint (3.2%).

The U.S. Department of Agriculture notes that whole-milk ice cream accounts for most frozen dessert purchases, (62.4%), followed by low-fat/nonfat ice cream (25%), frozen yogurt (4.4%), water ice (4.1%), sherbet (3.4%) and other (0.8%).

Most of us purchase ice cream in supermarkets (as opposed to scoop shops), so be sure to buy organic brands. My favorite flavors include:

• Straus Family Creamery’s Organic Raspberry Ice Cream
• Julie’s Organic Blackberry Ice Cream
• Green and Black’s White Chocolate with Strawberries Ice Cream
• Humboldt Creamery’s Killer Caramel Ice Cream
• Stonyfield Farms’ Vanilla Chai Ice Cream

Pair any of these flavors with a Let’s Do Organic Ice Cream Cone, and you have a no-fuss summertime dessert.

That’s the World Wildlife Fund is proposing a new initiative. Label red meat and dairy products advising people to consume no more than three portions a week, to help cut their carbon footprint.

Advocates of the plan would also like to see less meat used in ready-made meals.

Now, the WWF is not telling people to dump meat all together, but rather, they’re encouraging people to eat less for the sake of the environment.

But still, the idea brought the crazies out of the woodwork. Officials at Dairy UK said the WWF wants to take one of the most popular foods off stores shelves. Meanwhile, the WWF said nothing of the sort.

And the British Meat Processors Association argued all food production has a carbon footprint and it’s not fair to single any one out. However, it’s widely known that raising livestock emits WAY more greenhouse gas than vegetable farming.

Now, this highlights the issue. What’s more important, profits or the health of our planet? It should be a no-brainer.

Via Food Navigator.

Most adults should consume about 1,000 mg of calcium per day. Adolescents require 1,300 mg, and postmenopausal women need 1,200 mg.

Unfortunately, up to 70% of us miss these dietary marks, which translates to greater risks for weak bones and osteoporosis, as well as dental problems. Calcium deficiency can also lead to nervous-system irritability and muscle spasms.

Experts agree that breakfast provides one of the best opportunities to add calcium to your diet, but many people skip this meal altogether in their haste to get to work or school.

“Adults who eat breakfast regularly tend to eat fewer calories, less saturated fat and cholesterol, and have better overall nutrition status than breakfast skippers,” says Andrea Garen, a registered dietitian with the Dairy Council of California. “Try to choose foods from at least two or more food groups. Protein-rich foods like milk and yogurt take longer to digest and will provide sustained energy to keep you feeling full and energized until lunchtime.”

Garen offers the following healthful and convenient breakfast ideas:

1. Cereal, low-fat milk, and fruit or glass of 100% fruit juice
2. English muffin with a melted cheese slice and 100% fruit juice
3. Yogurt with homemade granola and berries
4. Hardboiled egg and whole-grain toast with a glass of milk

If you’re a vegan, or if you’re lactose-intolerant, many other foods can help you meet your calcium quota: blackstrap molasses, sweet potato, beet greens, tomato puree, collard greens, kale, broccoli, soy milk, calcium-enriched tofu, almond milk, cod, prune juice, stewed prunes, lentils, kidney beans and split peas.

From Our Organic Blog

Going Vegetarian? Make a Plan for Success
Strawberries & Cream
Smart Organic Breakfast Choices
Nutrition & Gender
Organic Flavored Milks: Pros and Cons

Boo to ‘big organic’ dairy companies who break the good organic rules!

According to the Cornucopia Institute, a respected sustainable farm watchdog group …

Since 2005, a handful of giant factory farms, each milking thousands of cows, have been accused of skirting strict federal organic regulations and creating a surplus of cheap “phony” organic milk flooding the market and driving down profit margins for legitimate industry participants. The Cornucopia Institute estimates that as much as 30-40% of organic milk is now coming from giant industrial operations, milking as many as 7000 cows each.

Spoiling organic dairy even further is a class-action law-suit that was recently rejected by a St. Louis judge.

These consumer law suits claimed fraud in the sale of “organic” milk coming from Aurora Dairy, which the suit claims violated 14 different federal organic regulations. Consumers from 40 states sued alleging fraud in store brands in Wal-Mart, Target, Safeway, Costco and other national chains served by Aurora. Lawyers will appeal the judge’s rejection.

Milking the System for the Best Organic Milk

Good news for you: The Cornucopia Institute’s recently updated online scorecoard can help you make smarter consumer choices when buying your organic dairy products.

Check out the report and take advantage of 110 ratings of all organic brands (listed alphabetically) based on their ethical and legal approach to milk production. While ‘big organic’ may be shortcutting the rules, the report shows that 90% of organic milk, cheese, butter and yogurt marketers are subscribing to the “spirit and letter of the organic regulations.”

Sneak peak: Organic dairy kudos go to Organic Valley, a farmer-owned cooperative that garners a four-cow rating in the Cornucopia scorecard.”

Read More: Organic Food Supermarket Trends: Got Milk?

“She’s a beautiful, healthy calf, and May handled the birth like a pro,” says “Uncle” Charles Schwab, a UNH professor of animal and nutritional science. “We’re anticipating a busy month ahead, as 46 cows in the herd give birth and begin producing organic milk.”

Now, here’s the fun part: The calf will be named by the highest bidder on an eBay auction, with proceeds going to the university’s organic dairy project.

A registry for “baby gifts” will be established online. In lieu of diapers and strollers, the cows request contributions toward farm equipment and new facilities for their calves. (UNH has raised half the project total of approximately $1.5 million.)

Both May and her calf are resting comfortably at Burley-Demerritt farm in Lee, site of the organic research dairy farm. A maternity and fresh cow barn has been renovated, and a farm equipment building has been constructed. Planning and fundraising are in progress for a barn, state-of-the-art milking parlor and educational center.

UNH will begin shipping organic milk in early January. It launched its organic dairy in December 2005 as the nation’s first land-grant university to have an organic dairy farm. It provides much-needed education and science-based research for present and future organic dairy farmers, while helping to secure the future of the Northeast’s farming heritage.

The farm is located on 200 certified-organic acres in Lee, about five miles from the center of campus.

Yesterday, I shared a great organic food find: Coonridge Organic Goat Cheese. (Click here to read the blog entry.) I asked owner Nancy Nathanya Coonridge to share her thoughts on what it means to her, as a dairy farmer, to go organic. Her responses follow.

Why is it important to you to offer an organic product?

Being certified organic is a major part of what I am doing at my dairy. I want to make the best possible cheese. My goats, their milk and cheeses are all certified organic. I flavor my cheeses with certified organic herbs and oils because I want all those ingredients to be of the highest quality: GMO-free and without additives. Plus, it is what I can do to protect the Earth’s environment.

Any issues with shipping cheese during the summer months?

Coonridge Organic Goat Cheese ships without refrigeration at any time of year. I start with a living culture and then cover the cheese with herbed oils. The herbs and oil are part of the wonderful flavor of the cheese, but also serve to protect the cheese from the air so it cannot mold. It is continuing to age, so I ask people to refrigerate it on arrival to stop the aging process.

Part of my project at the dairy has been to make the cheeses that people made before there was refrigeration. These include cheeses submerged in oil, as my fromages are, or those made with salt, as in my feta cheeses.

What makes your goat cheese mild?

Healthy goats eating good feed produce excellent milk. If we take special care of the milk, the cheese will have that same excellent flavor. Goat cheese does not have to be strong and “goaty.” In France, they crave the stronger flavors, but I make my cheese for American tastes. Having my goats eating the wild feed they evolved to eat makes for a great and unique flavor.

Photo of the Coonridge goats courtesy of Nancy Nathanya Coonridge