Pro tip: visiting a working dairy farm in Wisconsin totally changed how I feel about organic labels

Walked through the milking parlor at a family operation near Madison and watched them treat sick cows with the same antibiotics as conventional farms, and I realized all those premium organic gallons I was buying were just marketing fluff, has anyone else actually seen behind the curtain at a certified place?

3 comments

3 Comments

rowan9693d ago

So is the secret just that we're paying double for the same cow medicine packaged in a nicer looking jug? I guess I always figured organic meant they were using essential oils and prayers for sick cows instead of actual medicine. Maybe I'll just stick with the cheap store brand and buy myself a nice steak with the money I save.

emmaclark3d ago

Just switched to generic myself - same results, way more cash for fun stuff.

joel_clark373d ago

Wait, hold on - essential oils and prayers?? That's insane, who actually believes that's how organic farms work? I gotta say though, the reality is way funnier than what you're imagining. Those organic certification rules are basically the government saying "you have to prove your cow was sick before you give it medicine" like some kind of bureaucratic nightmare. I worked on a small organic dairy for like two summers back in high school and honestly those cows got more vet visits than the conventional ones did, just had to document everything in triplicate and use specific withdrawal times. The price difference mostly comes from all the paperwork and the fact they have to buy expensive organic feed that costs like triple the regular stuff.