Fly-reducing pesticides used by most dairies are good for consumers, cows and the environment
Milk is Milk blog by Alex Avery
Summer is in full swing and that means the return of fly season for backyard gardeners and many dairy producers. Actually, flies and other naturally occurring pests are found in and around farm animals, including dairy cows, throughout the year; however, when spring and summer warm weather hits fly control issues tend to go up for dairy farmers. The June edition of Hoard’s Dairyman (a great publication for anyone interested in dairy topics, but unfortunately not archived online) simply notes, “Every farm that has production animals has a fly problem.” That means organic dairy farmers and conventional alike.
Flies can be a real problem for dairy farmers, their neighbors and consumers of milk. Why? Flies have the ability to transmit infection and diseases, including anthrax, Staph, Strep and brucellosis. Their bites cause blood loss, tissue damage and allergic reactions. All this and more can mean less healthy cows which produce less milk and present disease and other risks to the public and our environment.
Just from the annoying distraction caused by flies, dairy cows feeding efficiency can drop by as much as 15% according to one study by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Other reports show that some groups of bloodsucking flies (e.g. horn and stable flies) will commonly draw a half-pound of blood or more from an animal in one day. Yuck! Sick and low-producing cows also means less milk produced, while consuming more limited natural resources - which is bad for consumers and the environment.
So most producers use a range of control strategies (such as sanitation, manure management, integrated pest management and moisture controls) in their facilities to limit this problem, then use various government-approved chemical controls - which are researched for safe use and strictly regulated around any lactating (milking) cows to protect the quality of the milk. Just a reminder - despite false and misleading labels and marketing suggesting otherwise - no dairy producer adds pesticides of any kind to their milk.
So how do these organic dairies, which promote “pesticide-free” claims, deal with fly problems? Well, just like conventional producers they use sanitation and related practices to limit this process. Organic producers (like many conventional producers) may also introduce “biological controls” such as fly larvae eating mites, wasps and beetles. Mind you, introducing other pests (sometimes non-native to a locality) can present other health and environmental problems. However, according to organic experts, such as the University of Maine Extension service biological controls are “only one piece of a complete fly management program and, like many other components, will not eradicate flies entirely.”
So, in come the “organic” pesticides. Yes, despite all the marketing hoopla and mistaken consumer beliefs, chemical pesticides are used by organic farmers. You see, for fly control and dozens of other reasons organic producers do use pesticides. What is the distinction between these “organic” pesticides and the pesticides used by conventional farmers? The conventional pesticides are required to go through years of safety testing and are products regulated by independent government scientists. Organic pesticides are not put through the same rigorous safety testing and are self-regulated by certifying agents paid by the multi-billion dollar organic industry.
Let’s look at the chemical pesticide used by organic dairy farmers for fly control. Organic producers spray chemical pyrethrins - which are “natural” chemical nerve agents that poison and kill insects like flies - multiple times in their barns, on and around their cows. These pyrethrins are also highly toxic to other beneficial pests, such as honeybees, and pyrethrins kill fish and tadpoles. The Pesticide Action Network (PANNA) claims pyrethrins are a possible carcinogen - although I believe their claims should be considered suspect. However, the organic industry frequently supports and points to PANNA to validate their claims that conventional pesticides are linked to cancer - so if it’s good enough for them to use to attack conventional producers… what is it about people who live in glass houses?
Other chemical pesticides used - often in combination with pyrethrins - by organic farmers include ryania and rotenone. Ryania, highly toxic to fish, can also kill birds and other wildlife, but is only considered moderately toxic to humans - but don’t feed it to your dog! Rotenone on the other hand is an organic pesticide also used as rat poison, is highly toxic to fish, animals and people, and has been linked to Parkinson’s disease in humans. This all makes for a nice toxic chemical cocktail used by people like Horizon Organic and Organic Valley who irresponsibly attack the safe use of conventional pesticides by the non-organic dairies with whom they compete.
So by the organic industry’s own admission and the standards they use for making human health and environmental safety marketing claims they are using cancer and wild-life killing pesticides, some linked to Parkinson’s disease and cancer in humans, to produce organic milk. At the same time they market their products as “pesticide-free.”
It is important to remember, according to Clemson University, that “just because a product is thought to be organic, or natural, does not mean that it is not toxic. Some organic pesticides are as toxic, or even more toxic, than many synthetic chemical pesticides.” But let’s not stoop to their level. Conventional dairy producers use pyrethrins too, or their government-approved, safety-tested, synthetically-derived pyrethroid version, for insect control. The alternative would be sick cows, less milk, risks to people and related environment problems.
Next time you see a “pesticide-free” claim on milk in your local market remind your grocer that he’s complicit in selling products with false and misleading labels to his customers - which is a crime. The only measurable difference between organic and non-organic is the price. Chemically and nutritionally it is the same - milk is milk.