The whole organic vs. “regular” milk issue is pretty hot in Colorado according to a story in today’s Denver Post. What do you think of the way their reporter characterizes today’s dairies?
The less stress on the cow, goes the logic, the better the milk. Consumers who pay a premium for organic milk are supposed to feel good about subsidizing this expensive bovine lifestyle.
Ordinary dairy cows, by contrast, are strapped to a big corporate sucking machine for up to 10 months a year. And they typically get turned into hamburger before they can complain about it.
But Steve Wells, 48, who runs a 32,000- acre ranch east of Greeley, says he didn’t let the so-called organic cows out of his feedlot very often. Wells was a contractor for Boulder-based Aurora Organic Dairy, which supplies milk for private labels in stores such as Safeway, Wild Oats, Target and Costco, and also to Dean Foods’ Horizon Organic.