Green Calgary

Cheese, Louise!

Filed in: Food Choices

Reader Question

Dear Ashley,

I recently saw a Kraft commercial stating that Kraft Cracker Barrel cheese was made from Canadian milk and was therefore free of growth hormones and antibiotics. If this is true, what makes organic cheese different from regular cheese?

Thanks,

Dawn

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Ashley's Answer

Hello Dawn,

Canadian per capita dairy consumption has increased steadily over time, with the average person drinking 90 litres of milk and cream and eating 11 kilograms of cheese each year. Thankfully, though, while Americans have been fighting to rid their milk of Monsanto’s bovine growth hormone (rBGH), it has never been approved for use in Canada. This much is true. But where things become a bit more muddled is when we begin to talk about antibiotic use, animal welfare, feed quality and the treatment of milk before it appears on the shelf.

To say that Canadian milk is free of antibiotics is not the same thing as saying cows are never administered antibiotics. In fact, we know that antibiotics are routinely used for growth improvement and to treat sick animals, and dairy cows are no exception. Why Canadian milk is said to be free of antibiotics is because cows treated with antibiotics are not to have their milk enter the general supply until it is drug-residue free. This, however, does not address the major concern, which, according to experts, has more to do with the impact antibiotics are having on the environment once they have passed through the animal. Water pollution, soil contamination and antibiotic resistance are problems organic practitioners are avoiding through more holistic practices.

Organic certifiers, like the British Columbia Certified Organic standard, require certain animal welfare standards not guaranteed in conventional operations, and they stipulate that cattle be fed a diet free of pesticides, mammalian or avian slaughter by-products, or other animal waste. The basic welfare standards ensure access to pasture during the grazing season, access to the open air at all other times, and minimum space requirements when housed indoors to prevent the spread of disease. Collectively, these measures work to reduce animal stress, improve quality of life and prevent illness. 

Another plus for organic dairy is how male calves are treated. Veal, it turns out, is a by-product of the dairy industry. Cows must be pregnant before they produce milk and male dairy cows are of little value to dairy farmers. Hence, they are raised for veal. But unlike conventional methods, organic veal calves cannot be raised in stalls or tethered, and they must be free to move around with access to fresh air and sunlight. They are fed a diet of organic milk and they may forage on open pasture. This is in stark contrast to veal raised on a nutrient-deficient diet in tight growing stalls, a common practice on conventional farms.

As one can see, organic standards not only provide basic animal welfare but also a much cleaner diet. Milk from happier, healthier cows is always preferable but for many of the dairies – organic or otherwise – Canadian milk is subject to a barrage of treatments before it hits the shelf. Let me explain.

Milk sold in Canada must be pasteurized; a practice Health Canada suggests dramatically decreases the risk of food-borne disease. This may be true for Canada’s massively centralized dairy industry, with just three companies processing 75% of the milk. Centralization, as we’ve come to understand, is a precursor to disease, making pasteurization a common sense solution. But raw milk advocates suggest that pasteurized milk is nutritionally inferior, “causing everything from allergies to heart disease to cancer.” Raw milk proponents suggest that the benefits of unprocessed, unadulterated milk may be realized and made safe if there is a “return to humane, non-toxic, pasture-based dairying and small-scale traditional processing”. Many Americans enjoy these benefits, with 10 states allowing the sale of raw milk in stores, and another 15 states permitting its sale from the farm. Cow-shares, similar to system Canadian farmer Michael Schmidt operated before having his farm raided by police, are allowed in 4 American states.

An added benefit of raw milk, as well as organic milk from farms like Vital Greens, is that is has not been subjected to the process of homogenization – a process some researchers link to heart disease. This process, which forces larger fat molecules through tiny holes, thereby suspending them in the milk, is an energy-intensive step that does little more than keep the milk from separating. If the trade-off of not having to shake the milk is potential heart disease, I’m happy to give my milk jug a couple shakes.

Now I’m not here to convince anyone that they should or shouldn’t drink raw milk but the truth is at this point in time Canadians do not have the freedom to choose. I know this might open a whole can of worms but if you want the right to choose you must demand it. In the meantime, organic milk, especially if non-homogenized, is the next best thing. Luckily for Albertans, Vital Greens is a home-grown farm which prides itself on minimal processing. Their products (milk, cream, yogurt, sour cream, etc) are available at Community Natural Foods, Sunnyside Market, the Calgary Farmers’ Market, and Amaranth Whole Foods Market. For cheese lovers, you’ll be happy to learn that raw milk is used in some Quebec cheeses such as L’Ancetre, available at the aforementioned natural food markets in Calgary.

There is obviously a lot of information to process on this topic of dairy. And though the answers are not cut and dry, we can infer that smaller, localized dairies committed to ecological farming principles and animal welfare are preferable to the contrary. Minimally processed milk - if not entirely free of processing – appears to be beneficial from a health perspective, but it is important to understand that centralization and minimal processing are at odds with one another. We cannot have minimally processed milk if we are not willing to deal with the larger issue of centralization. The good news is that we have local farmers dedicated to sustainability objectives and supporting these farmers will only help the movement gain momentum.

For those interested in learning more about Canada’s milk industry, I encourage you to listen to Deceivable Dairy – a two-part radio program produced by Deconstructing Dinner. For those interested in raw milk, visit the website, A Campaign for Real Milk.

Naturally,

Ashley

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