February 4th, 2011

Organic milk, which has won strong consumer support in recent years, is being put at risk by the government’s recent decision to deregulate genetically engineered alfalfa, says the president of one of the nation’s most successful organic dairies.
Albert Straus, president of the Straus Family Creamery in California, says that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ruling allowing genetically modified alfalfa to be planted anywhere “will deprive consumers of their right to be certain that they are feeding organic food to their families.”

Alfalfa is a key food for dairy cows, and unless cows are fed an organic diet, their milk cannot qualify to be Organically certified. Alfalfa, the fourth most-planted crop in the nation, could be changed forever if GE varieties are planted across the U.S., Straus says in a statement today.

[Read more →]