Posted in Going Green

My organic journey began with milk.  Yes, milk, that wonderful liquid that "does a body good"!  About seven years ago a friend of mine appeared at a get-together all in a tizzy, rambling about some talk show she'd watched that afternoon that mentioned girls going into early puberty and a possible link between the issue and growth hormones in dairy cows being transferred through their milk.  While she was more than mildly overreacting at the time (I'm talking wringing of hands, freaking out about conspiracies and drugs and so on and so forth), her fears did lead me to investigate further. 

What I found made me decide to switch to organic milk.  Which led, over time, to me doing further research, and deciding to start buying other organic products, starting with dairy and moving along to eggs, beef, produce and finished products made primarily of certified organic ingredients.

Horizon Organic was the first milk I bought once I made the decision to switch.  They've pulled together a fun yet professional website that explains a lot about why organic products are better than traditionally-farmed items, with a focus on dairy, of course.  I've since switched to another brand that I can get bulk at my local Costco Warehouse, but I still buy their single-serve chocolate milk from Costco.  (The Little loves it, and frankly, I do too!) 

Before my local Costco sold half-gallon sized containers of organic milk in bulk, I bought single units from my local Safeway.  I started with the Horizon brand, then noticed that the Safeway in-house brand was usually less expensive, especially when they ran their (frequent) "2 for $5" sale on it.  I haven't tried Safeway's new O Organics brand of milk, but I will give it a shot if my supply at Costco runs out. 

I don't know for certain if drinking organic milk and eating organic foods will make my daughter any healthier than any other child her age, but it's certainly doing no harm and I feel much more secure in my selection of this path for her and me.  I've also learned that, like any products, some are tasty and others are lousy.  So at the very least, over the years I've stepped out of my ruts and tried new things, simply because they were organic and looked interesting. 

All because of some milk!