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May 15, 2007
Milk Industry Blues
There are tons of stories about milk in the news this week. Here's a roundup of what's going on.
The good news (sorta)? According to Reuters (via Common Dreams) organic dairy supplies are expected to exceed consumer demand this year, virtually "flooding the market" with the good stuff, which is good for those of us who prefer to drink it, but potentially bad for some organic dairy farmers. In spite of the potential surplus, no one is anticipating any drop in price, as the demand-supply difference is expected to level out soon. Hopefully, the surplus will create opportunities for industry biggies like Starbucks to switch over to rBGH-free dairy. The Wall Street Journal notes today that ethanol and other demands on corn have already raised the price of conventional milk. (We prefer organic milk from grass-fed cows).
And the bad...
Last week, The New York Times (via Ethicurean) wrote about the fact that the National Dairy Council is ending their ad campaign that linked drinking milk to weight loss because research does not support those claims. Also via Ethicurean (via The Complete Patient), Harvard Magazine reports that commercial dairy cows kept pregnant and lactating for excessive periods of time (300 days per year) may produce milk with such high levels of estrogen that it puts consumers at extra risk for hormone-dependent diseases like breast and prostate cancer.
Posted by leslie at May 15, 2007 03:42 PM
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