Organic Milk Doesn't Mean Grass Fed

If you think that buying organic milk is enough to make sure that the cows that made that milk are treated properly think twice. According to the USDA official website:


"All organically raised animals must have access to the outdoors, including access to pasture for ruminants. They may be temporarily confined only for reasons of health, safety, the animal’s stage of production, or to protect soil or water quality."(USDA organic production and handling standards)

Therefore even though the cows have to be granted access to the pastures, there is still no specification on how long the access should be granted for and if that should constitute the only feed of the cow. The same document also specifies:



"Producers must feed livestock agricultural feed 

products that are 100 percent organic, but 

may also provide allowed vitamin and mineral 

supplements." (ibidem)

In other words, as long as the feed is organic it doesn't matter if it is grains or grass. Although the USDA established a standard for the grass-fed claim, it seems to me that organic and grass-fed are not synonyms.
As I was researching on the topic online I came across an article on the Medill Report that states that the USDA would have instated a new regulation that :



 "requires that dairy cows graze during the grazing season, for a minimum of 120 days, as opposed to the previous rules that were vague and required only access to pasture, but not necessarily the use of it.  " (Medill Report, article by S.Chandhoke)

It sounds very good but I haven't found anything supporting this claim in the USDA official website and the author of the article doesn't cite any sources in it. I have contacted the author for clarifications, and hopefully I will be able to post her reply soon. 


In the meantime, I found at the store a milk that claims to be from grass-fed cows. The brand is called "Grass Point Farms"  and they claim to have very high standards not only in the handling of the livestock but also in the keeping of the pastures and the quality of the labor involved. On their website I saw that they produce also cheese that you can order online, but part of my quest is to find products that are easily accessible on an everyday basis, and ordering cheese online doesn't seem to me like the simple way to go.


I also would like to find a milk that is local, and I found a website called "where is my milk from?" that lets you check the exact plant where your milk was processed through the code that is stamped on top of the milk carton. Even though the website claims that the milk comes from Wisconsin pastures, it appears that it was processed in Indiana, about 300 miles from here. I would have preferred something closer but at least is not California.