USDA caves in again

Organic milk is no longer guaranteed to be antibiotic-free. USDA caves in and loosens up their organic standards. Now dairy producers can make even more money since organic milk costs more than regular milk.

A coalition representing nine million U.S. consumers today objected to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's new directive that allows milk products from antibiotic-treated cows to be labeled organic. This directive ( http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/NOP/GuidanceStatements/AntibioticGuida nce041304.pdf ) and three others were presented as fait accompli by USDA officials Wednesday to the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), an advisory board to USDA that is concluding a three-day meeting in Chicago today.

"The USDA's new directive allows milk products from dairy cows treated with antibiotics to be marketed as organic after the cow has been under organic management for one year," said Richard Wood, a recent member of the FDA's Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee, a member of the Keep Antibiotics Working coalition and Executive Director of Food Animal Concerns Trust. "This new directive makes a mockery of organic standards by undercutting consumers' long held confidence that organic animal products are from animals not treated with antibiotics."

Resource: Keep Antibiotics Working