Do you feed your toddler organic or regular milk?

[hello_kitty]

I know organic is the best, but its costing us so much money. Before, it was just ods on organic milk (he's 2.5 years) and just by himself, he drank 1/2 gallon in 2 days. ds 2 just turned 1 a few days ago, and he is now also on whole milk, and between the two of them, they finish 1/2 gallon in 1 day. Seriously, I just bought a 1/2 gallon yesterday, and now I only have enough for another bottle. 1/2 gallon is over 3.5, and 1 gallon is $6.

Is milk something that you feel should absolutely be consumed organic, or is regular whole milk acceptable too or what about half and half? I really want to give my kids organic milk since thats what they drink on a daily basis, but gosh organic milk is expensive!

 

[Teri7489]

I personally use just regular cows milk. I have a milk monster who guzzles it so like you would find organic expensive. If they are having a good balanced diet then regular milk is fine. Xxx

 

[StaceyKor]

Regular cows milk for us too. I've never even tried organic milk tbh x

 

[x__amour]

Just regular.

 

[Pearls18]

In the UK I use regular, if I was in the U.S. I would look into it as I'm always hearing a lot more hormones are used in U.S. dairy farming so I would do a bit of research and if it's ok compared to elsewhere I would use regular (I'm just going off hear say which is why I'd research, it could be a myth )

 

[Melly Belly]

We just use regular milk, all of the stores around us (central Ohio), including Aldi's which is the cheapest by far, have wording on their labels that the milk is from farmers that pledge to not use the rbST hormone (its an artificial boost to the bST that cows have naturally, so kinda like taking a medication to increase breastmilk production, i guess, but on a bigger scale) ...i actually looked it up to see what the difference is, and it has more to do with the farming methods, rather than the actual milk itself.. they use organic pesticides and fertilizers, etc. vs conventional methods. To me it doesn't seem worth so much more (i just bought milk for 1.99/gallon), but thats just me of course!

 

[Googiepie]

Regular

 

[Scout]

I only use organic, but I also only have one little one. She goes thru a gallon a week, sometimes a little more, so it's not that bad.

 

[justplay91]

Regular.

 

[Bella1185]

Organic - DD goes through almost a half gallon a day. It's a freaking fortune but there are coupons sometimes. Or if we buy in bulk from Costco it's just a few cents more expensive than regular. However - I've noticed on the regular milk they put a statement on it saying research has shown there's no notable difference between regular and organic cows milk. ? Who knows

 

[CaptainMummy]

Normal

 

[Beanonorder]

Normal. Milk is already pretty expensive here and 'organic' doesn't necessarily mean anything so no point in paying extra anyway.
Like pp posters said, I would do a bit of research first and check what's written in the boxes/bottles.

 

[Tattoo]

Just ordinary whole milk. I don't buy anything organic, I'm too tight for that!

 

[Kristalebear1]

In the UK I use regular, if I was in the U.S. I would look into it as I'm always hearing a lot more hormones are used in U.S. dairy farming so I would do a bit of research and if it's ok compared to elsewhere I would use regular (I'm just going off hear say which is why I'd research, it could be a myth )

Most milk in the U.S is labeled hormone free, even the store brands (which we use Albertsons store brand for everyone, and its hormone free)

Since everything else we eat is non organic, when my DD is 1 she will be on regular milk, ours is labeled on the side that its free of growth hormones.

The only thing we buy organic is our leafy greens, spinach and such. And I try to stay away from what's on the "dirty" lists each year.

 

[dinkery]

We give him organic milk only which you are right is so expensive - BUT - we don't go through so much of it! Our doctor told us the new guidelines are that toddlers only need 16-20oz of milk per day, and any other fluid intake should be water. He says after that amount they receive no further benefit from it and they are just getting too much sugar. So for his milk he gets 9oz in the morning and 9oz in the evening, totaling 18oz a day, and the rest of the time he just has water from a sippy cup. He only goes through about a gallon per week.

 

[sue_88]

In the UK I use regular, if I was in the U.S. I would look into it as I'm always hearing a lot more hormones are used in U.S. dairy farming so I would do a bit of research and if it's ok compared to elsewhere I would use regular (I'm just going off hear say which is why I'd research, it could be a myth )

You're right, the cattle industry in the UK is a lot tighter regulated than the U.S. and Growth hormones in dairy cattle has been banned in the EU for years. Antibiotics are administered when necessary (e.g mastitis) and during treatment the cows milk from the sick cow is not allowed to go into production.

UK, I buy and will only buy regular milk (I personally don't support most organic farming methods).

US, I'd buy organic only. There are cattle in the US that are administered growth hormone, and the figure I believe is about 10% of all cattle. So whilst this figure is not zero I'd not risk buying regular milk regardless of labelling.

 

[Pearls18]

In the UK I use regular, if I was in the U.S. I would look into it as I'm always hearing a lot more hormones are used in U.S. dairy farming so I would do a bit of research and if it's ok compared to elsewhere I would use regular (I'm just going off hear say which is why I'd research, it could be a myth )

You're right, the cattle industry in the UK is a lot tighter regulated than the U.S. and Growth hormones in dairy cattle has been banned in the EU for years. Antibiotics are administered when necessary (e.g mastitis) and during treatment the cows milk from the sick cow is not allowed to go into production.

UK, I buy and will only buy regular milk (I personally don't support most organic farming methods).

US, I'd buy organic only. There are cattle in the US that are administered growth hormone, and the figure I believe is about 10% of all cattle. So whilst this figure is not zero I'd not risk buying regular milk regardless of labelling.

When I lived in the states I was concerned and perplexed by just how long food lasted compared to ours, I didn't live there long enough to get my head around how to eat cleanly (was really hard without a car and not knowing the type of shops in a relatively quiet area) but I heard an awful lot about hormones in meat and milk in particular but didn't really look into it, so I'm glad I wasn't just making it up lol.

 

[gigglebox]

We feed organic whenever we can for all types of food, including milk. We actually organically farm (duck eggs soon...) in the US, so I can shed a little light

To be labeled organic, the animals producing food must have access to the outdoors, so they automatically have more humane living conditions,which I choose to support. Being in a less confined space also, in theory, reduces illness among livestock.

The animals must be fed only organic food that has also been checked to follow the organic guidelines. If grazing, the fields must be free of any pesticides for 3 years (grain that is bagged and fed, also labeled organic,must follow this guideline as well). With conventional methods, feed is not regulated, and in fact i have read reports where farmers were feeding their cows things like candy as a way to cut feed costs. Conventional cows may graze, but are allowed to eat grass sprayed with pesticides, or grains that were sprayed, etc. They pass this through milk (and store it in their muscles and especially in fat cells,which is why we also eat organic meat).

The "research" says there is no immediate difference on consuming one over the other, however long term studies have not been done. With the increase in diseases and things like obesity over the years, and kids maturing quicker and girls getting periods sooner....I think the evidence speaks for itself. Our conventional farming methods aren't all that ideal.

THAT SAID, I encourage everyone to do their own research! Many people spend more time researching which TV has the best reviews than what food they're ingesting. Just look into it and go with your gut.

In the end, just do what you feel is best for your kiddo(s).

 

[MindUtopia]

We've only ever used regular whole milk. I think if you normally drink organic and that's what you buy as a family anyway, then great. But we don't drink organic milk normally (though maybe I would in the U.S., we don't use antibiotics and growth hormones as standard here really, and dairy cows are grass fed on mostly small farms). So our daughter has what we have as a family, not something special. Also, it has to do with just accessibility. We can't buy organic milk locally, only at the big supermarket, which is about 30 minutes from here, and I don't always have time to drive all the way there just for some milk when we could get some at the local shop that's 5 minutes away.

 

[staceymxxx]

my 9 month old has regular with his cereal