Organic vs. Conventional Agriculture and Fear-Based Marketing in Agriculture

Female Diary farmer posed in front of her dairy herd. Diary is located in New Mexico. New Mexico Milkmaid

I try to support all agriculture, not bashing anyone type or another, and share the facts while having fun with it. My goal is never to put down anyone, including organic or conventional farms. So many people fall victim to fear-based marketing or articles written to create division. I wanted to share some thoughts on organic vs. conventional farming and fear-based marketing we are exposed to every day.

I would guess most of us have seen the commercial for an organic milk company (I won’t name names) that somewhat vilifies conventional milk. It shows what is supposed to be a cartoon animation of a conventional dairy, and everything is very dark with stanchions and corrals. Then it moves to an organic dairy where everything is light and bright. They explain how their organic milk is a part of a farmer-owned co-op and that their cows wear “Fitbits” (or activity monitors) while roaming out in the pasture.

My bet is that if you are a conventional dairy farmer, this commercial makes your blood boil a little bit. I feel constantly attacked by organic marketing, anti-GMO, activists, etc. There have been countless misleading “reports,” negative commercials, marketing labels, etc. bought and paid for by farmer-owned coops. Organic dairies use stanchions too. Some conventional dairies are also pasture-based, and lots of dairies use activity monitors. Most dairies are a part of farmer-owned co-ops, whether conventional or not.

It makes us all so mad. But then we often turn around and do the same thing to almond milk. On Facebook a few months ago, there was a post going around about how almond milk was killing bee populations. It was being shared far and wide by every dairy farmer I know. It was easy to jump on board and share that post after all the attacks against cows’ milk and misinformation about the treatment of our cows and our impact on the environment. You know who was behind that post about bees and almonds – an activist group. And I can promise you almost anything that what comes from an extremist group hell-bent on destroying animal ag is not a positive for us.

Buy the milk you like the most. Seriously. Whether that’s organic, conventional, or an alternative. Choices are amazing! They are all great options for different reasons! I just want you to know that if you choose conventional cow’s milk, you can feel great about your decision knowing that it’s healthy, safe, affordable, sustainable, and produced with the highest level of cow care.

We are all so busy attacking each other that we miss the bigger picture. We are all in this together. When I say “all,” I mean all agriculture animal ag, row crop farmer, vegetable farmer, berry farmer, rancher, etc. We all have the common goal of providing people with food.