Whole Milk or Organic Whole Milk for My Baby?

I cannot afford to buy most of my foods organic but I do give my kids organic milk. The amount of hormones and antibiotics in milk is staggering. Organic is the way to go with milk if nothing else.

Organic doesn't mean "raw", and it doesn't need to be boiled. It's just like regular (or "conventional") milk, except that organic doesn't contain added hormones or antibiotics, both of which can be harmful to humans if consistently consumed.

The last person who replied said organic milk comes from cows who graze and eat superior food. That isn't necessarily true, but is a common misperception. Cows are meant to eat grass, so grass-fed cows are healthier and produce superior milk, but not all organic milk comes from grass-fed cows. Most cows (including Horizon Organic cows) are fed a diet of corn and grains, and while the corn and grains may be organic, that diet isn't necessarily making healthy cows, and therefore isn't making the healthiest milk.

Grass-fed cows who are free of added hormones and antibiotics, and who don't eat pesticide-laden food, produce the healthiest milk. Second best is probably anything labeled as organic (no hormones, no antibiotics, no pesticides). Regular milk (corn-fed cows, usually with added hormones, pumped with antibiotics, have ingested pesticides) is definitely not the best option.

My kids drink only organic milk. We haven't had the non-organic stuff in YEARS! Besides the obvious health benefits, we found that organic milk just plain TASTES better.

There's a million reasons to choose organic over regular milk. If there is a reaction to the cow milk, you may want to consider goat milk as it's closer to human milk and much more easily digested. You can buy non-organic milk fromlocal farmers as well. Many farmers use organic practices but cannot afford to get certified or may not be able to due to location, but the milk is just as good as certified. So shopping around at farmer's markets, local farms and your neighborhood grocery store you should find a wealth of organic and natural food for you and your baby.

Milk is one of the few things I shell out the big bucks for. In our house we only consume organic milk products.
I prefer to avoid about the added hormones and antibiotics in regular milk, so I don't buy it. Did you know they have been outlawed in milk production in Europe for decades? Why is it ok for us to ingest them?

Totally worth the $6 a gallon! But that's just my opinion.

If you can afford to do organic milk, it is not a bad idea. Most store brands of regular milk are now hormone-free, so they are better than they used to be. At least around here they are. It will say it on the label if it is hormone free. But organic is still better and more nutritious than regular. I don't do all organic, but I do milk, yogurt and a few other things. If I don't have any organic left, I don't freak out and I just give mine regular, but I try to do organic. I don't bother with Horizon or other name brand, I use our store brand of organic, I can't afford to pay double the price for those. I figure store brand is better than not organic at all. Another good reason to do organic is that supposedly it tastes closer to breast milk than regular, so it can be an easier transition. Plus, it doesn't expire for like a month! Which is great when they are first starting out and might not like it much.

You might still have a difficult transition from breast to milk, it is pretty common. Do you pump? It is a good idea to try to do part breast milk, part cows milk in a cup for a while and ease them into the transition. Most kids reject it if you go straight to cows milk. You can probably do 75% cow to 25% breast at first and see how it goes. If he takes it fine, do 50/50, then 25/75 and then only cows. It took my son several months to decide he liked milk in his cup because until that point he had only had water in a cup. I didn't ease into it either, it didn't occur to me. But one day he did take it just fine, all of a sudden.

It does need to be whole milk and not 2% or less, until age 2. Unless your pediatrician is concerned about weight, but they will tell you to do lowfat if they think it is necessary. Otherwise he needs the fat in whole milk for good brain development. And you don't have to boil it, milk is pasturized and safe already.

Hooray for Kathy W--I think she put it best! Organic milk is not raw, most American consumers do not understand what benefits raw milk can give. This is because the USDA forbids the sale of raw milk. But I digress, your question is not about rawness.
My family and I only drink organic milk. In organic milk, not only are the cows not given growth hormones to increase their size and overall milk production, they are not given antibiotics. Why would a cow be given antibiotics? When you stick several dozens cows in a pen with no grass just troughs of corn feed along one side they have no where to poop. They end up pooping in the pen and it get mixed with the mud. Multiply this by a couple dozen cows and you have dangerous bacterial situations where the cows are literally standing on huge piles of poop. Farmers give antibiotics routinely to healthy cows because they are kept in such crowded circumstances it is inevitable that one cow will get sick from something and spread it to the heard. Think of the conditions of the Lower East Side of Manhattan circa 1880. But other respondants are right, organic dairy cows do not necessarily have better living conditions, they are just not given the hormones for growth and the antibiotics. Veterianrians must be on site to monitor the cows' health in case of some kind of illness. The other folks are right about Horizon dairies, they still have huge pens of cattle and they still all eat corn. And they still qualify as organic under USDA guidelines. The growth hormones and antibiotics get into the milk and continue to function the same way in YOUR body, making you grow, messing with your endocrine system and killing off bacteria in your body creating all kinds of bizarre health phenomenon seen in the modern population.
Also Organic dairy cows cannot eat any feed that is grown with pesticides and i believe petroleum based fertilizers. (though I don't want to stand on my soapbox about the fertilizer because I might be wrong). The cows' feed must be organic as defined by USDA. But it can still be corn feed. Why is this an issue? Because cows have stomachs that have evolved over thousands of years to eat grass. Cows that eat corn have similar problems to all the modern people that eat corn(and corn fed meat and corn derived products like high fructose corn syrup...), they overeat, they have high blood pressure and high blood sugar, there is a higher density of fat within their muscle tissue, and they are in general bigger. Which is good if you are a farmer that sells his beef by the pound. Corn is not meant to be eaten by cattle and it upsets the animal's overall balance. Aside from calories, Corn has very little in the way of nutrition to offer.
Grass on the other hand is a plant (duh), consider the same as a vegetable. Grass has nutrients and vitamins essential to the cow's overall health, just as vegetables have for us. They are also able to digest it because it is what they have evolved to eat. Grass fed cows produce meat that is higher in omega threes and have less fat overall. Grass fed cows produce milk in much the same way, though I am not sure about the Omega three content of the milk, I am only sure about it for the meat. Those in charge of our modern food complex want us to believe that beef or milk has a certain and fixed number of calories and fat and vitamins per ounce. The truth is just as your breastmilk is different from day to day, so is meat and milk (and all natural food sources for that matter) different from day to day, batch to batch and animal to animal. They way an animal is raised and particularly fed, makes alot of difference in the quality of the meat or milk produced.

I feel that the taste alone is worth my extra money in buying Organic Grass fed milk. In New York, I shop at Fairway which offers organic grass fed milk under their store label for $3.50 a half gallon. It is produced by a Pennsylvania dairy and is the most local source of dairy that I have found available on a large scale in the New York area. All the Horizon and Organic Valley versions are trucked in from Wisconsin. and I am sure some are sourced from California. There is a Fairway in Paramus off of Route 17N, but I understand that's a hike for you.
If you feel empassioned about food and the health of your food do a quick Google search, you might discover a local food co-op or health food store that offers a product you feel good about.
Now for the bibliography. All of my information I got from reading two books that changed my life. The best one, 'An Omnivore's Delimma' by Michael Pollan and 'Animal, Vegetable, Miracle' by Barbara Kingsolver. They are both great tools in gaining information on the convential ndustrial, organic industrial and local food complexes in the United States. Also they can lead you to other sources of information on the subject as these books also have their own impressive bibliographies.
And as a last advertisment. I was trying to lose my last 10 pounds of baby weight when I started reading these books 2 years ago. I began to limit the amount of processed foods, ate more vegetables, and switched to mostly organics. My food cravings went away and instead of losing 10 pounds I lost 25. I have never felt so great in my life. When I got pregnant again 18 months ago, I ate organic and healthy through my pregnancy and gained the same 40 pounds that I gained the first time around, but I produced a 9lb 3oz baby, versus 7lbs 9oz for my first. Now 8 months later I am back to my prepregnancy weight.
Anyone can tell me that there are no majors studies that show a difference between conventional and organic foods, but my personal experience has proven it to me. Besides, the USDA and major food processors like Cargil and Con Agra could not afford a mass exodus of consumers toward organic foods. I don't trust the information coming out of the government because they cannot provoke public fear of the food supply. And there are not enough organic resources right now. The shift is happening and I believe will continue.
Sorry for the essay, I have discovered that organic and sustainable farming/ food are a true passion of my life. So I get a little carried away. Do your research and come to your own conclusion.
Good Luck--C.

If you're concerned about Bovine growth hormones then you should go organic. Organic milk comes from cows who wasn't given any hormones, or antibiotics. Other than that, the regular milk and organic milk provide the same amount of Calcium that our bodies need. We chose to give our daughter organic dairy, just to be on the safe side! Good luck!

ORGANIC!!! Organic certified milk not only lacks hormones, but vaccines that many non-organic farms use chronically on cows. Organic dairy farms also graze their animals on superior food and do not fertilize the grazing fields with chemicals or (really gross) sewage. Yes, sewage.

Organic also lasts a LOT longer in the fridge because it lacks all the chemicals that non-organic milk has (which causes the non-organic to sour quicker).
Never boil milk! Organic tastes better too and I reacted tummy-wise a lot less to Organic.

Breastmilk is the ultimate, perfect food. Skip the formula and go to organic whole cow's milk.

:)

I give my kids organic milk just because it doesn't have hormones or antibiotics in it that regular milk can have. It is a bit more expensive, but I think it's worth it.

Organic or not, it should be whole milk for your child until they turn two. They need the extra fat for brain development.

Regular milk doesn't have hormones either - just check the label. I think regular whole milk is safe and healthy.

Organic, organic, organic! Milk is one of the products where organic really wins out and makes a big difference. The important difference (IMO) is for your own health. Cows producing organic milk have not been treated with bovine growth hormone, they have not been fed antibiotics to speed their growth or for other non-disease related uses, and their feed has not been treated with pesticides. Trace amounts of all these chemicals and hormones do make it into regular milk, the scientists and toxicologists and endocrinologists can aruge over whether the amounts pose a health threat or not. Anyone I've ever spoken to, including my daughter's pediatrician, has said if you only go organic for one item, milk is the one to choose.

The increasing popularity of organic products means that big farms are "going organic" as well, not just the original small family-owned farms (and not all family-owned farms are small). Originally, organic milk meant, in addition to no added chemicals, the cows grazed on grass. I think there are few, if any, mainstream supermarket organic brands where this is the current practice. So, if you have a local farm, where you see the cows grazing, and this farm sells milk directly, you could ask them about their farming practices (growth hormones, antibiotics, etc.) and buy from them.

The main benefit to grass-fed cows over grain fed, other than the alleged "happiness" of the cows, is that cows fed grass do not develope the same e. coli strain in their guts which has led to contamination of produce from farm run-off.

So, yes, I would feed both your children organic whole milk. Also, as another mom said, whole milk is 3 to 4% fat, not 12%, and it lasts longer because it is ultra-pasteurized not due to its lack of chemicals.

Save yourself $6 a gallon and continue to nurse your baby : )

I just wanted to add that my oldest never took formula either (only breastmilk) and she had some difficulty learning to like cow's milk. For the second year of life, you DO want the whole milk because the higher fat content (much lower than 12%) supports their brain development. For her, I went through a phase of mixing the milk with water to make it thinner (breastmilk is quite a bit thinner than milk). Over time I had to add less and less water until I wasn't doing it anymore. I also did not stop nursing her cold turkey at age one either. We got down to only two times a day - wake-up and bedtime - which lasted until 18 months. By that time she liked milk enough to be happy to be greeted by a sippy cup of it in the morning in replacement of nursing with mom. A more gradual transition is easier.

I use Braums milk. I was told and label confirms it does not have the hormones and is not much more expensive. I may have bad information but I was told they have their own private dairy farm where the cows are free to roam.

We gave our son organic milk..

Since traces of bovine growth hormones or antibiotics are primarily stored in an animal's fat, milkfat is also where most of these pollutants are found in the milk we drink. I vote for organic. The cows are treated more humanely, too.

If I had the option, I would buy nothing but organic food. However, groceries are expensive enough as it is, so I don't have that option. But the one thing I do spend money on is organic milk. But it really boils down to only a few dollars difference and that is worth it for me.

As for when to start introducing milk, most ped's say 1 year and whole milk, but before you do anything you should wait for your baby's 12 month doctor's visit. Let the doctor be the one to tell you when to start introducing milk.

http://www.naturalnews.com/028188_organic_chickens_geneti...

You have to decide. But at the end of the day, organics are the only thing I consider healthy, for this and so many other reasons.

You already got a mouth full so I thought I'd add my two cents as well. Non-organic they give the cows bovine growth hormones (B.G.H.) to produce more milk. Then the machine that milks them causes sores in turn the utters puss and bleed. This causes the use of antibiotics to get rid of infection. You get hormones, puss, blood and antibiotics in non-organic milk. Doesn't that sound appetizing for anyone let alone your baby.

Organic milk lasts longer and tastes better. I'd go with the whole in less your child starts to get really over weight as they get older.

If your gonna pick and choose what is and isn't organic another very important thing to get organic is berrys cause the pesticides and fungacides saturate into the whole fruit.
Be well

buy whole milk.. By the way whole milk has 3.25% fat.. not 12%.

there is no proof that organic food is an anyway superior than regular food.

it costs a lot more money. that is a big difference.

there are no known benefits of organic milk - it is a waste of money.

Go organic. That ensures that it is not pumped full of growth hormones (that is, the cow from which it comes). It has still been pasteurized and even homogenized (cream and milk mixed together so they don't separate). The fat is great for their brain development - so, yes, whole until age two. All the impt to do organic b/c fat holds the bad stuff as well as the good stuff.

When baby turns a year, you can introduce cows milk. He should get whole milk, none of the lower fat alternatives. His growing brain needs that fat. Often, pediatricians will suggest switching to 2% milk at two years old. No skim milk is recommended by the AAP til age 6. They need the fat. If you can afford organic, I would go that route, I now regret not having done that myself.

I believe the choice to purchase organic is a lot like politics and religion - you're not easily going to change someone's mind. But, I'm one of the few who hasn't bought into organic yet.

My best advice (as a mom and biologist) is to ask your Pediatrician their opinion as your child's primary medical caregiver to see what they recommend and why.

There are pesticides, that are used on organic produce to help control insects. They're just certified by the USDA - so, the product you are buying may not necessarily fit what you're seeking when purchasing organic.

I've yet to see any scientific data that confirms explicitly that organic is a better product than regular milk. Even when I was diagnosed with cancer and asked my oncologist about my diet (which I was expecting to hear I needed to do free-range chicken, organic beef/vegetables/milk....and did not) said to add more protein. That was it. Some oncologists disagree, but there are NO large clinical trials with scientifically proven outcomes that show definitively the health benefit of organic vs. non certified organic products.

It doesn't mean you shouldn't use them - it just doesn't mean it's harmful not to go with organic at this time.

Boiling the milk will break down the necessary proteins and nutrients, so it's not recommended.

Our son was nursed for the first year and went to whole milk without a problem. Your child needs the fat of Vitamin D milk for continued brain development. Some people argue using soy milk, almond milk, rice milk, goat's milk. Ask your pediatrician and let them provide the basis of guidance as you transition your child.

Good luck.

Whole milk definitely, organic optional, but highly recommended by most pediatricians, based on my experience. May be more expensive, but considering how much they drink, you're talking a difference of maybe $5/week?

I agree with the herd :) - go organic. Also in addion to berries mentioned by Linda B - you should also only by organic when you are getting any thin skinned fruit (apples, pears, plums etc.) as they absorb more chemicals than thick skinned (oranges, bananas etc.) It all comes down to $$, but you may also want to look at organic bacon...

BTW - there is no need to stop nursing at 1 unless you really want to. My daughter nursed until 23 months just lesser amounts becuase she also was drinking milk. Once we stopped nursing (and boy was that fun :( ) she gradually increased her whole milk intake to an average of 8-12 oz a day. I did not force milk on her becuase she also gets calcium from the cheese she eats.

Have a great day!