Life in Southeast Alaska

Is it worth the money for Organic?

While we are not able to grow, hunt and gather all our own food yet, we should be more aware of where our food is coming from.  How is it grown?  How are the animals treated?  What else is in that milk??

First to the list to be evaluated is milk and eggs.  Cows can be treated with growth hormones, antibiotics, etc. that is then found in the milk they produce.  The hormones are given to get more milk out of them so that the companies can make more money.  Is this a good life for the cows?  Is this the type of company that I want to be supporting with my money?  How much do I know about the gallons of milk I buy at the store - where does it come from?

I normally buy Fred Meyer brand milk - $2.99 per gallon.  We drink 1 1/2 to 2 gallons per week.  So $4.50 to $6.00 a week is spent currently on milk.  I don't know where Fred Meyer milk is from - it is packaged by Inter American Products.  I've found that another store - Super Bear - carries Darigold brand milk at about the same price.  Darigold offers a hormone free milk:  http://www.darigold.com/questions.asp?p=8, so I will ask if they carry that and see what the price difference is.

I priced organic milk - Organic Valley - at two stores.  Super Bear carries 1/2 gallons for $4.77.  Safeway carries 1/2 gallons for $4.19.  So organic milk here runs about 3 times as much as standard.  Ouch!  We would be spending a large portion of our weekly budget just on milk.  It would be interesting to do a cost study on how much it would cost to keep a milk cow here and how that would compare to buying organic from the store.

Organic products isn't the only thing to consider in the equation though.  I believe it is better to buy locally when possible to support local businesses.  Also, items from closer states don't travel as far, so are fresher.  Also, by not travelling as far, this saves on energy, pollution and resources.  The Darigold brand is from the Pacific Northwest.  The only other option I know of is Matanuska Maid out of Anchorage, but right now no stores in town carry that brand.  I think for us right now I will begin buying Darigold milk instead of Fred Meyer and will find out about their non-rBGH milk and its availability.

Now for eggs.  We don't have our own chickens and I don't know of anyone who has extra eggs here in town.  I checked into egg prices at Safeway.  There are a few different ones offered.  They have O Organic brand Large A Brown, Free Roaming for $3.49 per dozen (sale $2.79); Egglands Best brand Large A Brown, Cage Free, Vegetarian for $3.49 per dozen (sale $3.34); and Naturally Nested brand, Large A Brown, Cage Free, Vegetarian Diet, no steriods, stimulants or hormones for $2.99 per dozen.  Their standard eggs are $2.19 per dozen.  Not sure what all the different types mean yet.  At first glance the difference in price between standard and Naturally Nested isn't that great, so I will try those next time we buy eggs.  I want to support the responsible practices of companies that raise their chickens the way I would raise mine.

We will continue to evaluate and adjust how we spend our food dollars and be deliberate about who we support with the money we spend.

MIlk

3:38 AM, Tuesday, September 19, 2006 .. Posted by maa

If you decide to buy an animal for milk try buying a dairy goat. Their milk is so good. When my brother was two he drank the goat's milk and we tried to switch to store milk because our goat was drying up.He didn't like the taste of the store milk at all. I think he didn't like it because the goat's milk was so creamy and rich. My whole family loves goat's milk!
Belle-homesteadgirls

Thanks

11:12 AM, Tuesday, September 19, 2006 .. Posted by mdonohue

Thanks for the comment Belle - I hadn't really considered goat milk. A goat would definitely be cheaper to feed around here!