Why should you drink organic milk? Dr Alan Green, noted paediatrician, author and board member of the Organic Center, shares his beliefs as to why organic milk should be top of the shopping list. It is, “the single most important organic switch you can make to improve the health of you and your family.”

Dr Green knows there is more to milk than meets the eye. Of course what you don’t see is the cow that produced the milk, the feed that cow eats, the dairy or farm that rears the cow. If you buy conventional milk, you are buying into the whole system of chemical agriculture. If you buy organic milk, you are purchasing the inherent benefits of organic farming.

Mothers, says Dr Green, are more easily able to recognise that whatever they eat and drink, and whatever medicines they consume, are passed directly into their breastmilk and thus affect the health of their babies. And so it is with cows that produce milk. More and more parents are choosing organic milk because they want to reduce their children’s exposure to antibiotics, synthetic growth hormones, genetically modified feed and pesticides used on pastures, all of which may be found in conventionally reared dairy cows.

Some parents recognise that with organically reared animals, the quality of the milk is better. Studies are showing organic milk contains higher levels of much needed Omega 3 fatty acids and antioxidants such as betacarotene. Another reason for buying organic milk is for its taste. Some people simply want to support compassionate and natural farming methods where the welfare of the animal is of high importance.

Dr Green says that, for him, a glass of organic milk represents nourishing pasture, responsibly nurtured to provide natural feed for cattle reared without hormone intervention. In turn these healthy cows provide us with healthy, nutrient-rich organic milk.

It is reported that more conventional dairy farms are abandoning growth hormones for their cattle as a result of consumer demand.

Filed under: Organic Kitchen

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