 American dairy farms produce over 20 billion gallons of raw milk per year, i which is then processed and transformed into cheese, milk, butter, cream and ice cream for consumers in the US and abroad to enjoy. The dairy industry has a long history in the US, and when most of us think of dairy farms, we imagine rolling fields, grazing cows and big red barns. Unfortunately, the growth of the corporate dairy industry over the past century has contributed to the demise of this type of traditional farming, and now most of our milk is produced in large industrial facilities that do not resemble farms at all.
The Birth of America’s Dairy Industry
During the early years of commercial dairy production in the US, most dairies were in cities - and they were filthy. Stables held up to 2,000 cows that were fed the waste residues from grain used in nearby liquor distilleries and breweries.iii The milk produced by these urban dairies was known as “swill milk,” which would later be referred to by historians as “white poison.”iv
Because of the close relationship between alcohol production and swill dairies, some of the first reformers to call for stricter standards in the dairy industry were the anti-alcohol temperance groups. These early reformers pushed for the importation of “country milk” into the cities, taking advantage of new railroads and other transportation improvements. v Milk was transported into the cities by rail, vi but because it was transported without refrigeration, it was no healthier than swill milk.
By the end of the 19th century, pasteurization had been invented and was widely practiced, not only improving the quality and safety of milk for consumers, but also increasing milk’s shelf life. Generally, refrigerated pasteurized milk can last from 10 to 16 days after processing before it spoils. vii Once it was pasteurized, milk could be distributed over great distances, giving milk distributors a major edge. viii
 Pasteurization and Centralization
The shift toward pasteurization gave larger dairies a huge advantage over smaller ones, since pasteurization equipment was expensive and the majority of smaller dairies could not afford it. As local governments pushed for the pasteurization of all milk, smaller dairies found themselves unable to compete.
Oddly, at a time when many of the largest corporate trusts were being broken up by the federal government, the dairy industry started consolidating into fewer and fewer hands-- with government encouragement. As the director of the U.S. Public Health Service during Theodore Roosevelt’s administration put it:
"The day of the small dairy man is doomed … the production of milk will gradually and inevitably drift into the hands of larger dairies where economic conditions justify competent assistants, skilled supervision, and efficient equipment.… [The] large contractor … is a power for great good in the milk industry … It is evidently much easier to control, educate, and regulate a few large contractors than hundreds of small independent dealers." ix
After pasteurization became mandatory, local milk industries were replaced by larger processors who could afford to scale-up production and distribute products over a wider geographical area. Milwaukee, for example, passed its pasteurization law in 1914, and within six years the number of milk distributors serving the area fell from 200 to 32. By the 1930s, just two distribution companies would control distribution for a third of all milk produced in New England. x
Corporate Growth and the Demise of the Small Dairy
Today, after nearly a century of growth and consolidation of the dairy industry, most of our milk supply is processed, priced and distributed by only a handful of multi-billion dollar firms – many of which are European owned. For example, just two companies, Unilever and Nestle, account for 30% of the US ice cream industry. xii Because these companies buy such a large portion of the raw, unprocessed milk produced in the world, they wield enormous power over the way milk is produced and what it costs, and dairy farmers have virtually no control over their livelihood and their product.
Even though you may find a large variety of different brands in your grocery store’s dairy section, many of those “different” brands are in actuality all owned by the same company. For example, Dean Foods is America’s largest dairy processor and distributor in the US, with over 40 dairy foods brands under its control, including 3 organic milk brands. xiiiThis mega-corporation controls 100 processing plants throughout the US and Europexiv, and makes over $10 billion in revenue from its dairy division.
And with modern refrigeration and transportation technology, dairy foods can now travel thousands of miles before they reach the consumer’s refrigerator. For example, the world’s top dairy products exporter, Fronterra, is based in the extremely remote country of New Zealand. In today’s global market, New Zealand distributes milk to North America, Europe, Saudi Arabia, and throughout Asia. xv These days you can pick up a carton of milk, a stick of butter or a wedge of cheese at any supermarket in the US, and never know what cow it came from – or even what continent that cow lived on.
As the dairy industry grows, so does the size of the farms. There are about 65,000 dairy farms in the US, xvi but that number is dropping as small farms die out and big farms expand their herd sizes. Small farms with fewer than 100 cows are dwindling, while farms with over 500 cows are growing in number. xvii Startlingly, about half of our milk is supplied by just 3.7% of US dairy farms.xiii Thus the small family dairy could become extinct as the market is taken over by industrialized milk factories.
Breeding, Artificial Hormones and Feed
Because it’s cheaper to produce more milk from fewer cows (smaller herds require less space, feed and other inputs), the corporate dairy industry aims to maximize efficiency by increasing the amount of milk that each cow produces. As a result, the use of breeding, feeding inputs and new technology led to a quadrupling of the average amount of milk produced per dairy cow between 1950 and 2005. xix
With the invention of artificial insemination, farmers have been able to take tight control over the breeding and genetic makeup of their dairy herds. Using this technology, a single bull may sire tens of thousands of cows, thus minimizing the diversity of the dairy cow gene pool. xx
Not only are cows bred to produce maximum quantities of milk, their feed consists of fat, energy, and protein-rich grains to increase milk production and replace the energy lost by giving off such large quantities of milk. However, since cows are naturally grass-eaters, they develop digestive problems when they feed on primarily grains like corn and soy. xxi But perhaps the most drastic measure that dairies take to boost milk production is the use of artificial growth hormones such as
rBGH
- said to increase per-cow milk yield by 10-15 percent. xxii
All of these practices do not only result in health problems in cows, they may also be dangerous to humans that consume their milk.
The High Price of Factory Farmed Milk
With each passing year, more small to mid-sized dairy farmers go out of business. Worn down by production costs that always go up and income that is unpredictable at best, dairymen and women who have been in the business for generations are calling it quits, and are selling off their herds to corporate operations or selling their land for development. Others have tried to adapt by getting big instead of getting out—increasing production through the use of artificial hormones, antibiotics, and highly-concentrated feed, and moving cows off pasture and into large confinement facilities.
Meanwhile, consumers are buying low-quality milk that is potentially harmful to their health. The only winners in this system are the dairy corporations that are willing to go to great lengths to cut costs and increase profit, regardless of the consequences for consumers, animals and the environment.
What You Can Do
Luckily, there are still small dairy farms throughout the US that raise their cows on pasture and produce high-quality milk and dairy products without sacrificing human and environmental well-being.
- Visit the Eat Well Guide to find a dairy farm near you that produces sustainable milk, cheese, butter and other dairy products.
- Visit our Questions to Ask page for questions to ask a dairy farmer.
- When you’re shopping in a conventional grocery store, look for the USDA certified organic label, and buy milk and other dairy products that are free from antibiotics, hormones and pesticides.
Did You Know?
- About 3.5% of all dairy products sold in the US are certified organic, and organic milk sales are growing by about 25% each year. xxiv
- The countries that consume the most dairy products are also the countries with the most wealth, including the US, the EU, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. xxv
- Swiss-owned Nestle is the world’s largest Dairy company, with nearly $19 billion in revenues in 2005. xxvii
For More Information
- The Cornucopia Institute
Engages in educational activities supporting the ecological principles and economic wisdom underlying sustainable and organic agriculture. Through research and investigations on agricultural issues, The Cornucopia Institute will provide needed information to consumers, family farmers, and the media.
- Family Farm Defenders
Works to create a farmer-controlled and consumer-oriented food and fiber system, based upon democratically controlled institutions that empower farmers to speak for and respect themselves in their quest for social and economic justice. FFD has worked to create opportunities for farmers to join together in new cooperative endeavors, form a mutual marketing agency, and forge alliances with consumers through providing high quality food products while returning a fair price to farmers.
- The Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance (NODPA)
NODPA is an organic dairy farming resource for dairy farmers and organic dairy consumers. You will find organic dairy news, events, classifieds and organic grazing, soil and cow health information.
- The Organic Consumers Association (OCA)
The OCA is a grassroots non-profit public interest organization that deals with crucial issues of food safety, industrial agriculture, genetic engineering, corporate accountability, and environmental sustainability. They are focused exclusively on representing the views and interests of the nation’s estimated ten million organic consumers.
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