When "organic" dairy ain't

A once dairy cow veterinarian gets ruffled

A Bit of History…

When I first graduated vet school in 1980, I moved back to my home state of Wisconsin, then and still known as “the dairy state.”

Though I was raised in the city and had little experience with cows, my love of horses, biology, and the great outdoors led me to large animal medicine initially, and I happily joined a mixed practice smack dab in the middle of dairy country.

To say that I was happy there doesn’t do justice to my experience. I couldn’t believe I was getting paid to have such amazing work!

Dairy farmers: Salt of the Earth

Though the practice was mixed, and I grew up with dogs and horses in my youth, it was the cows that I got to work with most.

And this in God’s Country, beautiful rolling hills, dotted with lakes, the so-called “kettle moraine” landscape, shaped by the glaciers coming and receding a few times during the ice age.

The farmers I worked with had mostly 50 cow herds, some fewer, some bigger, but 100 or over was the exception.

And these families all knew their cows intimately, and could rattle off the sires and dams of every cow by rote, not to mention grand dams and great grand dams.

Their focus was on caring for these cows as individuals, and selecting bulls (all frozen semen) to enhance their production, as government price controls dictated more milk was going to help their bottom line.

They graciously accepted me (“Dr. New,” one called me for a while, with a kind smile) surprisingly quickly and I soon realized I, even as a city boy, could offer valuable service to them.

In short order, I realized I was dealing with amazing families, any member of which would give you the shirt off their back. They ALL worked the farm, from milking, to feeding, to hauling manure, and all that goes into raising crops to feed the 1500 lb beasts I was there to care for.

“Organic milk” was barely a hatched idea at the time, and I remember meeting a colleague in another part of the state who was both a woman vet and the lynch pin behind a co-op of budding organic producers.

I met her and a few others through a homeopathic vet I’d studied with.

Organic milk? What a concept!

I was so impressed, as I’d long had a bent towards natural health, natural food, and always, always, a love and deep respect for Mother Nature.

My undergrad degree was in biology, and one key reason I decided to become a vet was a professor named Dr. Esser, who coincidentally taught an elective in organic gardening.

So, raising cows naturally? No antibiotics, but homeopathy when needed? Cows at pasture as much as weather would permit?

Oh, hell yeah!!

Enter the Cheaters

The fact that organic milk had a growing market and there was a premium paid to the producers of this “white gold” eventually brought out the crooks, as one might expect.

This was years later but I watched from the sidelines, as I’d moved a few times and landed in Texas, where I learned of some huge dairies in the north panhandle, some of which were claiming to be organic.

Yeah, right, I thought. You’re likely cutting corners and looking after profits, not cow health.

One was marketing “low heat pasteurized milk” to my food co-op in Austin. As I was drinking raw milk for years by then, and knew what little heat it took to deactivate enzymes, I knew they were scamming the consumers.

And they were milking “California style” cows: 1000’s, in largely confined spaces, where concrete feed lots were the norm, and “pastured” was a pipe dream most of the time.

It rattled me then and still does today, as more have entered this field with highly questionable practices, all chasing the almighty dollar.

While my cow patients in Wisconsin often lived well into their teens, some to over 20 years, the average California operator culled cows at 2 years old. They’d been pushed with so much grain and ever higher production goals that their health suffered and they were literally dispensed with when they couldn’t keep up.

Making a Difference: Cornucopia Institute

I’ve long followed this group, whose purpose is to weed out the frauds that litter the landscape from those truly organic producers doing what it takes to produce quality food we can trust.

They inspired me years back with their “scorecards” on everything from organic milk and eggs to meat, yogurt and more.

Their slogan?

THE NUMBER ONE INGREDIENT IN ORGANIC FOOD IS INTEGRITY

They are surprisingly SMALL but clearly dedicated:

Cornucopia’s small, 10-person staff spends thousands of hours consulting with insider sources, while constantly building new ties with retailers, policy experts, and organic advocates to be our eyes and ears in the field. We are honored to do this work alongside you!

Our latest video takes you behind the scenes with our Organic Investigator Anne Ross. (If you’ve been following our investigation of Natural Prairie Dairy, you won’t want to miss this.)

For two decades, Cornucopia has been holding industrial organic producers accountable. This work requires a significant investment of time and resources—and it’s made possible by organic advocates like you.

Today is Giving Tuesday.

Anything you’re able to donate today will be doubled.

I just donated at the link above. It took all of 30 seconds.

Won’t you join me?

And share this with folks like you that appreciate having watch dogs to ensure what’s labeled organic is truly worthy of that label.

The cheaters need to be culled. Ahem.

Thanks, and let me know in the comments what you think about The O Word and what it means to you.

Will Falconer, DVM