Product Name | HEB/Cental Market | |
Rating | (1) | |
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Location | ||
Products | Fluid Milk Products | |
Market Area | Nationwide | |
Web Site | ||
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Private-label, or store-brand, dairy products rated
with one cow
are sold by grocers or distributors who have the obvious desire of
wanting to
grow their presence in the organic marketplace. Unfortunately, there is
an
inherent limitation in private-label organic products: organic
consumers tend
to want to know where their food is coming from and how it is produced,
and
private-label products are anonymous by their nature. As a case in
point,
although over 80% of the name-brand organic dairy marketers responded
to our
survey only a handful of private-labels were open enough to participate
in the
study. Even though none of the one cow–rated
brands responded to our
survey request, we were able to determine that these brands were, at
the time
of our research, buying some or all of their organic milk from
factory-farm
sources. We conducted our research in this area through interviews with
a
number of industry sources and through federally maintained records Many of these grocery chains have very little past
experience in marketing
organic food. Making organics more convenient and affordable to
consumers is a
laudable goal. We operate on the assumption that many of these
marketing
entities were unaware of the five-year-long controversy concerning
factory
farms producing "organic" milk, and that they entered into contractual
agreements in good faith. Some of the inaccurate and misleading claims
or
images made in their labeling are likely just rhetoric that the
factory-farm
suppliers of milk passed on to them. We hope that these organizations will make immediate
plans to switch milk
suppliers. Staff at The Cornucopia Institute will be happy to help them
connect
with potential family-farm producers and assist them in crafting a
message to
their customers. It would be unreasonable to expect that they could
instantly
change suppliers in a very tight supply market. But announcing a plan
to phase
out milk from ethically questionable sources would be an excellent
start. So the bottom line to private-label organic products,
whether a dairy item
or any other commodity, is "buyer beware." We encourage consumers to
be vigilant and contact stores to confirm who is supplying their
private-label
milk, or to just pay an extra quarter or two for name-brand milk from
farmers
and brands that are willing to be open with them and who share their
values. |
Criteria | Points | Comments |
Ownership Structure | 0 | No answer |
Milk Supply | 0 | Nation's largest "organic" industrial dairy |
Disclosure of Information for Verification | 0 | No answer |
Certifier farms | 0 | No answer |
Certifier processing | 0 | No answer |
Cows on pasture time/acreage provided | 0 | No answer |
Health and longevity of cows | 0 | No answer |
Replacement animals only from organic farms | 0 | No answer |
Antibiotics used on young cattle | 0 | No answer |
Reproductive hormones used | 0 | No answer |
Farm support oversight | 0 | No answer |
Outside dairy ingredients purchased | 0 | No answer |
TOTAL SCORE | 0 | ONE COW - PRIVATE-LABEL (Some or all
factory farm milk - or unknown source - better than conventional) Note:
information based on "industry sources." None of the one-cow
private-label brands participated in the study. |