Organic milk

Figures for the numbers of organic dairy cows in Europe (Foster Lampkin, 1999) indicated that in 1996 Great Britain still had only 3436 organic dairy cows, compared to Austria (87 068), Switzerland (32 504) and Denmark (21417). By 1999 Padel, et al. (2000) calculated that there were 45 million litres of organic milk produced in the UK. From 2000 to 2003 organic milk production in the UK increased by approximately 600%, and the total organic milk collected in 2003 was 293.4 million litres, of which 62% was sold as organic (Soil Association, 2003).

In the USA, frozen organic vegetables, organic milk and organic... 

The Organic Valley dairy co-op, based in Wisconsin (USA), has 633 farmers in 16 states and one Canadian province. They have 20475 cows and 95000 acres. They claim that their success stems from paying farmers a fair, sustainable and stable price. They sell via natural food stores and supermarkets. They have also been active in getting schools to offer organic milk (The New Farm, 2003). 

Dowding, O. (1992) BOMP [British Organic Milk Producers] and the Organic Market Place. New Farmer and Grower, 37, 28. 

Thomassen MA, van Calker KJ, Smiths MCJ, Iepema GL, de Boer IJM. Life Cycle Assessment of Conventional and Organic Milk Production in the Netherlands. Agricultural Systems. 2008 96(l-3) 95-107. DOI 10.1016/j.agsy.2007.06.001... 

Hill H and Lynchehaum F (2002) Organic milk attitudes and consumption patterns , British Food Journal, 104, (7), 526-542. 

There have been relatively few studies comparing the mineral and vitamin composition of milk from different dairy systems. Toledo et al. (2002) compared milk samples from organic and conventional dairy systems in Sweden, for iodine and selenium, and found that levels of selenium but not iodine were lower in organic milk. Studies in Denmark compared the vitamin E... 

Hovi M and Roderick S (2000), Mastitis and mastitis control strategies in organic milk , Cattle Practice, 8, 259-264. 

Nielsen J H, Lund-Nielsen T and Skibsted L (2004), Higher antioxidant content in organic milk than in conventional milk due to feeding strategy , Newsletter from Danish Research Centre for Organic Farming, September, No. 3. 

Boer IJM (2003) Environmental impact assessment of conventional and organic milk production. Livestock Produc Sci 80 69-77... 

Hagger, R. and S. Padel (1996). Conversion to organic milk production. 

Krutzinna, C., Boencke, E. and H. J. Hermann (1996). Organic milk produktion in Germany. Biological Agriculture and Horticulture 13(4) 351-358. 

Lundstrom, S. (1997). Bor vi dricka ekologisk mjolk - An Economical Comparision of Conventional and Organic Milk Production. In Lundstrom, S. (ed) Examination certificate, 143. 

Weller, R. F., Cooper, A. and R. Wilkinson (1996). Animal Health. In Hagger, R. and S. Padel (eds) Conversion to organic milk production. IGER technical Review, No. 4. Institute for Grassland and Environmental Research ... 

Avery, D. 1995. Saving the Planet with Pesticides and Plastics. Hudson Institute, Indianapolis. Butler, L. 2002. The economics of organic milk production in California a comparison with... 

Franks, J. 2003. Current issues in marketing organic milk in the UK. British Pood Journal. 105(6-7) 350-363. 

Mather, I. H. and Keenan, T. W. 1983. Function of endomembranes and the cell surface in the secretion of organic milk constituents. In Biochemistry of Lactation. T. B. Mepham (Editor). Elsevier/North-Holland, Amsterdam, pp. 231-283. 

Organic cheese is less available than organic milk, even at your local Whole Foods. Persist, though, and you will find. Ask someone at a gourmet cheese store, or go to www.organicvalley.coop for suppliers near you. We couldn t have made it nine months without their cheddar to melt, or their butter to spread. 

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