When you buy organic dairy, you are buying a promise.
You are buying a promise that animals will be treated better than the status quo, which includes organic feed, clean and dry bedding, natural remedies and access to pasture, among other things.
When you buy conventional dairy, whether that be milk at a grocery store or the cheese on fast food pizza, you are getting no promises.
As a result, you could very well be getting dairy from animals that are raised in the most cruel conditions imaginable, not to mention that they have been fed GMO, pesticide-laden feed and were pumped full of antibiotics because they have been living in cages, literally trapped in their own feces. Furthermore, factory dairy farms are often environmental disasters, making rural towns unlivable.
Seeking to tell us “the truth about organic milk,” The Atlantic just published a story about Alexandre Family Farm and its A2 regenerative organic farms in California. More specifically, the piece heavily relied on a report from Farm Forward, which said that Alexandre Family Farm engaged in systemic deception, cruelty and animal abuse.
For its part, Alexandre Family Farm has denied the allegations of systemic abuse and deception, and it released a statement, which included the following:
“We have been targeted as part of an ongoing campaign by an animal rights activist group that is questioning the validity of humane farming certifications. Tragically, it appears that a group of bad actors who have worked for or done business with us in the past did inhumane things on our farm and took pictures of their despicable actions to use against us. This is our farm, and we take full responsibility for everything that happens here.”
California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) told Organic Insider that “Alexandre Family Farm’s organic certification is currently valid” and that the certifier has “followed all applicable complaints, investigations, audits, inspections and other certification requirements. Alexandre Family Farm has cooperated with our certification actions, and we remain confident in the efficacy of organic animal welfare standards and the certification process.”
As per The Atlantic article, the California Department of Food and Agriculture sent a state special investigator to the Alexandre farm sites in May 2023, and a USDA document, which was obtained by a Freedom of Information Act request, showed that the investigation found no wrongdoing.
Regenerative Organic Alliance, which oversees the Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) label, emailed its members on April 16th and said that Alexandre Family Farm’s ROC certification had been temporarily suspended in February 2024 due to an audit report that indicated violations. Further investigations and inspections are being conducted, and this process is still under way.
A MOVE THAT WILL ONLY STRENGTHEN FACTORY FARM DAIRIES
Running an organic dairy is an incredibly difficult endeavor, with no days off, and these farmers make a voluntary commitment to embrace practices that aim to do better by the animals, for the benefit of both consumers and the planet.
According to Mordor Intelligence, the 2024 U.S. dairy industry is projected to be $107 billion, and according to the USDA, organic milk had $1.6 billion in sales in 2021.
So, this means that approximately 98% of the dairy farms in the U.S., in terms of output, make no such a commitment.
Despite the best of intentions, mistakes and lapses in judgment at organic dairies do happen. And to be clear, the allegations made in The Atlantic story against Alexandre Family Farm, the majority of which it denies, are completely unacceptable and cannot be justified at all.
But when organic dairies are being questioned or investigated, what do they do?
“We met the journalist in our home and showed her around our dairy farm, shared copies of humane audits and protocol documents, and answered all her questions. We have an open-door policy and actively invite anybody and everybody to come visit our farm at any time to meet us and see our animals,” said Stephanie Alexandre, co-owner of the farm.
On the other hand, industrial factory dairy farms pressure politicians to pass anti-spying laws to keep their operations secret from the public.
The Atlantic’s story didn’t merely aim to discredit Alexandre Family Farm. It was a blatant and pointed attack on 2% of the nation’s dairy farmers — the organic ones — who are attempting to fulfill a promise. And part of making this promise means volunteering to receive visitors at a moment’s notice, since organic certifiers must conduct unannounced inspections of 5% of the operations that they certify. However, this openness also serves as a double-edged sword, making organic dairies particularly vulnerable to journalists or operatives who have an agenda.
Even though The Atlantic and Farm Forward will never be able to take down Big Dairy, they may be able to make a real dent in the future viability of organic dairy, a group of people who are already in a massive struggle to stay afloat.
In its report, Farm Forward recommended that “for the foreseeable future, consumers who wish to avoid animal cruelty steer clear of products made from cows’ milk,” effectively condemning and impugning nearly every single organic dairy in the country.
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With gratitude, 
Max Goldberg, Founder |
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