Critics say dairy tests the boundaries and spirit of what `organic' means

These are excerpts from an article by Andrew martin in Sunday's Chicago Tribune:

Critics of Horizon Dairy, including two former workers, say the empty pastures are emblematic. The dairy's new management, installed a year ago, has been so obsessed with increasing production to meet the soaring demand for organic milk that it has mostly kept the cows in the barn, the former workers allege, despite a U.S. Department of Agriculture requirement that organic cows have access to pasture.

When cows are kept in a barn, they can be fed large amounts of energy-rich food, increasing their milk production. Organic milk enthusiasts argue that it is healthier, more natural and better for the cows to be allowed to forage in a pasture, even if that results in less milk.

Horizon officials flatly deny the allegations, saying they follow and even exceed the USDA's organic rules. Kelly Shea, the dairy's vice president for environmental stewardship, said the company is constantly looking for ways to provide its cows with more pasture at the Maryland dairy.

More broadly, the debate over organic milk reflects the growing pains of an industry that started as a counterculture movement in the 1970s but has increasingly attracted the interest of major food and grocery companies, from General Mills to Wal-Mart. Dean Foods, the nation's largest milk bottler, owns Horizon Organic.

As the organic business has flourished, critics maintain that big business has sought to water down the organic standards in the interest of profit, threatening the credibility of the organic label and the original values of the organic movement, which include helping the environment, producing healthy food and saving family farms.

Ronnie Cummins, national director of the Organic Consumers Association, said the problem with Wal-Mart and other large players getting into the organic business is that they demand cheaper and cheaper prices, forcing suppliers such as Horizon to look for ways to cut corners.

"You can only get the kind of prices [large discount stores] want if you bend the rules a little bit, which is what they've done," said Cummins, whose organization has called for a consumer boycott of Horizon and Aurora milk. "They are in flagrant violation of traditional organic standards."

Because of complaints that several large farms were exploiting loopholes in the regulations, the Organic Standards Board sought to clarify the guidelines last year. Under the new guidelines, organic dairy cows would be required to get about one-third of their diet from pasture four months out of the year. To date, the USDA has not adopted the recommendations.

Steve - this cannot come as a surprise due to the explosion of organic foods; whether or not these allegations are valid, this piece should shed some light on how the organic standards can dragged through the mud.