News

Is organic milk healthier?

Researchers at England’s Newcastle University say they have documented that organic milk is healthier than conventional milk. The researchers, who are part of the University’s Nafferton Ecological Farming Group and its Human Nutrition Centre, looked at milk in supermarkets across North East England at varying times of year over a two-year period. They say organic milk is lower in saturated fats and higher in Omega 3 fatty acids. Researcher Gillian Butler attributes the difference to less reliance on nitrogen fertilizers leading to more white and red clover for grazing which affect fatty acid intake and composition of milk.

The study published in the Journal of Dairy Science also found wet growing conditions led to a decline in nutrients in conventional milk

Total organic milk product sales in November were up 17.3 percent compared to a year ago. For the first 11 months of 2010, organic sales are up 12.2 percent compared to the same period in 2009. Dairy Market News reports the resurgence of organic sales is expected to carry-on this year. In fact, the blizzard in the Eastern U.S. last week caused a run on fluid milk including organic to the point of not being able to fill orders. Demand has also been spurred by lower prices, the national weighted average for a half-gallon of organic milk fell 45 cent to $3.00 after increasing 46 cents two weeks ago. Organic gallons were a nickel lower than two weeks ago averaging $5.22. Dairy Market News also noted the range of prices from high-to-low is the narrowest it has been since they started keeping track of this in October, 2009.