New York Times – September 16, 2006:

Many organic foods have been popping up on the shelves of Wal-Mart in recent years, but none have been as popular as organic milk. For many shoppers, particularly mothers with small children, it is the first organic product they try.

Now organic milk is about to become much more widely available, as Wal-Mart rolls out its own organic brand, which will be cheaper than similar milk on the market. But critics worry that what consumers will be getting is a diluted form of organic milk.

Activist groups, as well as some organic food retailers and dairies, contend that the company where Wal-Mart and the other big retailers get their milk operates large factory farms that are diluting the principles of organic agriculture and delivering customers a substandard product. They argue that Aurora’s cows do not spend any significant time roaming pastures and eating fresh grass; instead they live on a diet high in grains.

“They are trying to cut corners in the interest of producing milk as cheaply as possible,” said Mark Kastel, senior farm analyst at the Cornucopia Institute, which represents organic family farmers.

Wal-Mart and its supplier say that those allegations are misleading and that Aurora’s two farms in Colorado and Texas are in full compliance with Agriculture Department standards for organic dairy.