Milk is Milk Blog by Alex Avery
I came across a press release from a company touting its “Ultrapure” line of dairy products. Here’s a line from the release: “As more and more consumers reach for organic milk for its health benefits and to help combat the routine use of antibiotics and growth hormones used on cows, increased demand has pushed prices of organic milk out of many consumers’ reach. For consumers who want ultra-pure milk without having to pay the ultra-premium price, a new option has emerged with Mountainside Farms UltraPure(TM) milk, an affiliate of Elmhurst Dairy, Inc., New York City’s largest milk supplier.”
Say no more. If Elmhurst is behind it, I am already suspicious that there will be misleading labeling involved. But I digress. The press release continues, “Mountainside Farms UltraPure(TM) milk represents an exciting new category that bridges the gap between conventional milk and organic milk.” (There is no gap - the milk is the same, no matter how it was produced.) “Combining environmentally friendly business practices with the use of innovative UltraPure(TM) technology in the processing stage, Mountainside Farms is able to produce purer, better tasting milk that is free of hormones and antibiotics, with improved shelf life.” (Free of hormones? Wow, that is a breakthrough! Wait - it is not possible for milk to be free of hormones and all milk naturally contains more than 25 hormones. And most, including those supplying organic and Elmhurst dairies, use health and reproductive hormone injections such as Prostaglandin and Oxytocin critical to dairy cow reproductive health practices. And improved shelf-life usually means that the milk has been boiled and boiled again.)
“Our customers have been telling us that they want access to many of the qualities that organic milk provides, but didn’t want to pay the $4 to $5 charge per half gallon.” (What qualities are those, as to date no health, safety or taste benefits have been found or proven.) “UltraPure(TM) gives them many of the same health benefits at a cost that’s closer to that of conventional milk,” said Cyrus Schwartz, president of Mountainside Farms and fifth generation member of the Schwartz family who founded Elmhurst.” (Ahem. To what health benefits do you refer? I have not been able to find ANY study or research that backs up this claim.) And if you needed any more misleading claims to turn your head, the release goes on “To ensure the freshest and purest milk, Mountainside Farms tests all of its milk for the presence of the six antibiotics most commonly used on dairy cows, surpassing the mandatory testing required by state and federal regulations by 20 percent.” This is just malarkey of the first degree. ALL milk is tested and retested for the presence of antibiotics. If there is even a TRACE of antibiotics, the milk is thrown out! There is not a dairy farmer in the world who can afford to WASTE his valuable commodity! I won’t repeat any more of their other claims regarding growth hormones and bacteria as I have heard enough.
I have a theory. I have not been able to validate this with anyone in the dairy industry (surprise surprise!) But I think I am on to something. Could this “exciting new category” be Organic Lite? A false niche market created on the backs of hardworking dairy farmers by taking away tools that allow them to get more from less - and without even paying them the so-called “premiums” that organic interests offer?
The facts about “organic lite” and similar black marketing have been made clear by research which shows:
- It damages the overall dairy market, driving a percentage of consumers away from milk altogether - we’ve seen a 14 percent decline in fluid milk consumption corresponding with the growth of these marketing tactics!
- It economically harms dairy producers, increasing their costs while driving down the price people pay for milk not using these false marketing claims
- It misleads consumers into paying more for products that are exactly the same (with the exception that they are often ultra-pasteurized for longer shelf life - read “older milk” as the higher priced milk doesn’t sell as quickly)
We will be watching to see if this press release entices any easily-duped reporters into writing about this. This is outrageous and it is time for action. From regulators, from law makers, and most importantly from the dairy industry itself. Because they know that Milk is Milk.