30 October 2008
An Organic Label Doesn’t Always Mean What You Think
Posted by admin under: Healthy Eating; Locally Grown; Organic .
Unfortunately, greenwashing is alive and well. A study performed by The Cornucopia Institute (an organization dedicated to seeking justice for the small-scale farming community) and reported by Local Harvest rates various organic dairies on how well they adhere to true sustainable farming practices. For example, the study (originally conducted in 2006 but recently updated) asks producers about the animals’ access to sufficient pasture, and also asks about herd-replenishment practices. Some organic dairies operate using a “closed-herd” system, which means that they only replace or grow their herd from calves born on that farm. Others may purchase only organic cattle for replenishment or growth, while others may purchase conventional cattle that are certainly not organic, thereby tainting the milk supply from that farm.
Unsurprisingly, some of the brands that scored poorly are owned by large, national chains. For example, at least two of the brands with a score of zero were owned or managed by Dean Foods. Another dairy owned by Kraft Foods also scored zero points. Large grocery chains Meijer and Kroger each scored very poorly, as did Target. Ben & Jerry’s surprisingly scored 3 cows out of five, although this seems to be from a tight organic milk market rather than a desire to defraud customers (Ben & Jerry’s historically is a very honest, open, eco-conscious and reliable company). Stonyfield Farm, one of the largest names in organic dairy products, scored 4 cows out of five for a rating of “excellent”, as did Whole Foods Market. Several dairies earned a perfect score, although I was not familiar with any of them and they were all regional brands. I would like to mention that full disclosure was an important criteria of these ratings, and many of the most poorly-scoring dairies failed to be completely open with those running the study (of course, that makes me wonder what they have to hide).
Although I don’t purchase organic cow milk ( I drink soy and it’s too expensive for my wife and son to drink), I found this study especially interesting because I believe it exemplifies one of the major problems facing the American, and global, food supply, namely, how can a consumer know exactly what they are purchasing. Because many, many people are beginning to care about the food they eat and how and where it is produced, they are willing to pay a premium price for food that is grown organically and/or sustainably. Of course, because of the immense profits to be made, large-scale producers want a piece of the action. While this isn’t necessarily bad, the problems begin when large-scale producers want to market their products as organic or sustainable when they really differ very little from conventially produced items.
As I’ve said before, the best solution seems to be producing your own food, and when that isn’t possible or feasible, purchasing from local producers. When you purchase from local producers, you not only have the opportunity to get to know someone new, you also usually have the opportunity to tour their farm and ensure the animals are well-treated. But, if all else fails and you have to buy food at the supermarket, do some research first and find out which brands are truly organic.
