What does organic milk mean? How is organic milk produced? What is regular milk

"Real milk, No. 1, always 100% natural, specially selected, high-quality, without powdered milk, without additives and preservatives, made according to GOST R, made from" tops "milk." So many epithets and enticingly catchy names are drawn on a package of milk under a well-known brand, which can be stored for as long as half a year!

Many of the adults are already indifferent to what is in the package. Drinking and drinking. The main thing is that it be cold, and who is number one or number two is all the same. Everyone knows that this is advertising, which usually lies.

But children are sometimes very picky. And not because of any advertising preferences, but because their body protests. The most common reason is allergies.

Field, Russian field ... You are my youth, you are my will

Real milk, and not this, in my opinion, half-percent surrogate, I drank the last time as a child when I was in my grandmother's village in the Spassky district of the Ryazan region. Then, at the daily milking, the housewives poured fresh milk into large cans, which were taken to the farm on horseback. Of course - you go in a cart, and you drink a mug or two. No one is sorry. Let the child drink a pair of something, fresh. And in the evening, a neighbor will bring a three-liter jar of milk.

It was a long time ago - at the very beginning of the 90s. Since then, the Democrats, as they called themselves, have changed the vector of development of the whole country, more precisely, they have destroyed a huge country with its powerful economy. This also affected our collective-farm system, built in Soviet times based on the traditional way of life of the rural population of Russia and based on the need to modernize rural production. The new masters of Russia destroyed large enterprises, in addition, depriving the village of support, and the farming class, which they counted on very much, was never created.

Now, many years later, when I arrived in the village, I found that the trees had grown, the roads along which people went for milking were overgrown with nettles, and there were practically no cows themselves. Like everything else - farms, stables, shops. Only the fields remained. Huge flood fields, right up to the horizon! They just don't have a harvest. Resourceful Muscovites, by hook or by crook, bought their shares from the collective farmers, privatized, mortgaged, resold - and nothing more is sown there.

But what about farmers, you ask? Indeed, how did the farmers get settled in market Russia, on whom the reformers, referring to Stolypin and the Americans, placed their hopes?

The famous Russian scientist Sergei Georgievich Kara-Murza in the book “Manipulation continues. The strategy of destruction" writes the following: "An attempt at the beginning of the 20th century to forcibly destroy the peasant community in Russia and turn the peasants into "free farmers" and agricultural workers served as a catalyst for the revolution of 1917." And when "collective farms and state farms were destroyed, people were convinced that the main type of farming in the countryside in the future market system would be farms ...".

“... What did we have after 17 years of “farmerization of the whole country”? In 2006, the number of farms amounted to 255.4 thousand, and the total land area of ​​their agricultural land - 21.6 million hectares. Of these lands, arable land accounted for 15 million hectares. This is about 15% of all arable land in Russia. On this land, farmers produced in 2006 6.5% of all agricultural products in Russia. The labour-intensive part of agriculture, animal husbandry, lags far behind them. Here they give only 3.3% of the total production. Thus, farmers give the Russians a very small share of the products, and the arable land is used much worse than half-strangled collective farms. In addition, it turned out that half of the farmers, having received land, do not farm on it themselves, the scientist concludes.

“Why did the farmers stop plowing and sowing? What's the matter? The fact that a small farm cannot manage and compete with a large enterprise without very large budget subsidies. This is reliably established both in the Stolypin reform and by the wise Americans. But the promised subsidies were not given to the farmers and, apparently, they will not be given - enough time has passed to be convinced of this,” Sergey Kara-Murza notes.

Of course, one cannot return to the old collective farms, but the mistake must be corrected, new forms of combining working peasant farms with large enterprises should be sought, and jointly modernized, the Russian scientist concludes.

Field, Coal Field ... Never forget you heart forever

The second time I tried real milk in Uglich, Yaroslavl region, on a modern farm of AgriVolga agricultural holding. It began to be produced almost a year ago, in July 2012. Milk, of course, tastes different from the usual drinks that are littered with store shelves, and my little daughter really likes it, whose body is very picky due to allergies. Milk is expensive because it is organic. In simple words, it is very, very high quality.

First, the farm is robotic. Milk is milked by robots: they scan the udder with a laser, wash it and quickly milk it; at the same time, the computer diagnoses the animal and analyzes the milk. If the analysis is doubtful for some reason, then the milk is disposed of. Then the robot washes and another cow comes up.

Behind the hermetic wall, just twenty meters from the cows, there is a dairy shop. Milk is processed in a pasteurization-cooling plant and bottled. Thanks to modern high-tech equipment, milk does not come into contact with air at any stage of its production, up to packaging in bags, and therefore does not become contaminated. Moreover, each batch of products is taken to Yaroslavl for testing.

Currently, preparations are underway for the launch of a plant for deep processing of milk, which will produce an assortment united by a common brand - sour cream, cottage cheese, kefir, fermented baked milk, butter. The holding, together with the All-Russian Institute of Cheese and Butter Making (VNIIMS) in Uglich, has already begun the production of small batches of organic cheese. Yuri Yakovlevich Sviridenko, the head of VNIIMS, suggested making cheese from this milk.

“He tried our milk at the competition of dairy products in Sochi in September 2012, where it received a gold medal, and said: I wish we could make the same perfect cheese from your ideal milk,” recalls Sergei Klyuchnikov, commercial director of the agricultural holding.

The cheese is made by hand and matures for 45-60 days. The capabilities of the institute allow producing no more than 800 kilograms of cheese per month. “All products have been tested by the Yaroslavl State Institute for the Quality of Raw Materials and Food Products and comply with the Technical Regulations for Milk and Dairy Products,” Sergey Klyuchnikov continues.

AgriVolga, operating in the Uglich district of the Yaroslavl region and uniting 15 former collective farms and state farms (and this is about 800 people), is a unique production of its kind, based on a powerful base with thousands of cattle. Can an ordinary farmer afford such investments? Can he repay loans on time and provide a large city (or at least not a very large one) with milk?

Fortunately, we are gradually realizing the futility and absurdity of attempts by small farms to provide Russian megacities with food. Our country can be provided with food only by large mechanized farms, such as, for example, this Yaroslavl agricultural holding. It is engaged not only in the production of high-quality natural milk and meat, but also in breeding sheep, meat and dairy cattle.

Most importantly, the holding is engaged in organic production. The essence of such production is that the animals live in natural conditions, graze in the meadows, and their fodder fields do not use GMOs, pesticides, growth regulators and other agricultural chemistry. The economy is carried out on ecologically clean lands far from industrial production. On farms, such conditions for keeping animals are created and maintained that ensure their health and natural behavior.

The health of ecosystems and organisms is one of the principles of organic agriculture. Of course, now many of us are already indifferent to what kind of milk is under the lid of the package with a dozen wonderful epithets. We often rely on the conscience of the manufacturer, which can not always be relied upon. And it is good that in our country there are modern companies that have begun to revive Russian agriculture, which give people jobs, who care not only about their profits, but also about our health. If we, adults, do not care about our health, then let's think about our children. They still live and live.

Opponents of organic products often say that the benefits of organic products are not proven, because. organic foods have as many vitamins and minerals as conventional foods. Indeed, there are no studies that categorically prove the superiority of organic products over traditional ones. But not about milk - there are already convincing facts.

A team of scientists led by a Washington State University researcher found that organic milk contains significantly higher concentrations of cardiovascular-healthy fatty acids compared to milk from traditionally managed dairy cows. Although all types of milk fat improve the balance of fatty acids in the human body, the group concluded that organic whole milk is more effective in this regard.

This is the first study of its size in the US comparing regular and organic milk, reviewing nearly 400 samples over 18 months. In regular milk, the average ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids was 5.8:1, more than double the same ratio in organic milk of 2.3:1. Researchers say the second ratio is much healthier for the human body. It is achieved by the fact that on organic dairy farms they pay special attention to the quality of pastures and use natural plant foods.

A large body of research has shown that legume and grass-based diets help keep cows healthy and improve the fatty acid profile of the dairy products they produce. “We knew about this, but we were still surprised by the magnitude of the qualitative differences in nutritional properties between regular and organic milk that we saw in the results of the study,” says Dr. lead author of the study.

Consumption of omega-6 fatty acids in excess of omega-3 is a known risk factor for various diseases. including cancer, inflammation, cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases. The higher the ratio between omega-6 and omega-3 intake, the higher the risk.

Standard Western diets typically have an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of 10:1 to 15:1, with a ratio of 2.3:1 considered the healthiest for the heart. The team modeled a young women's diet with a baseline omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of 11.3:1 and studied how certain interventions could lower the ratio to 2.3:1.

It has been found that the closest you can get to the ideal omega-6/omega-3 ratio is to go from three meals a day to 4.5 meals a day of saturated omega-3 fats. organic dairy products. “Surprisingly, simple food choices can lead to significant improvements in the levels of good fats that we see in organic milk,” Benbrook says.

The team of scientists also compared the fatty acid content of dairy products and fish. “It was surprising to find that the recommended intake of high-fat dairy provided significantly more of the essential omega-3 fatty acid aminolevulinic acid (ALA) than the recommended intake of fish,” says Donald R., co-author and GUV research fellow. Davis (Donald R. Davis). - Wherein regular milk had about 9 times more ALA than fish, while organic milk had 14 times more ALA“.

Organic milk is also a significant source of other omega-3 fatty acids such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosapentaenoic acid (DPA), but not docosahexaenoic acid (DHA),” he says. So organic milk is healthier than regular milk. And it has already been proven.

In Russia, unfortunately, there are very few Russian producers of certified organic dairy products. On the other hand, five years ago they did not exist at all, so there is an improvement.

Milk EtoLeto (for 750 ml: 99 rubles for 1% MJ and 113 rubles for 3.4-4%)

EtoLeto is a brand owned by the Organic corporation and produced at the Spartak ecological farm. We know this brand, we love it, we eat it with pleasure, and we also write about it. EtoLeto products are certified organic by Euroleaf.

Ugleche Pole milk (122 rubles for 1 liter, 65 rubles for 500 ml - all MJ 3.6% -5.2%)

Ugleche Pole is a brand of the Agrivolga company, about which we have also repeatedly talked about and even. Milk (and other products) are certified organic by the NAAIE. There is also baked milk with MJ 4%, we are also talking about it. We tried not only milk, but also sour cream, and kefir, and we can say with confidence that all lovers of dairy products should try them.

Many consumers also like other brands that do not position themselves as organic, such as Izbenka, Ruzskoye Moloko, or Dmitrov Dairy Plant products, which are popular due to their low price. However, we cannot say anything about their origin.

Research Source: Translation of Researchers see added nutritional benefits in organic milk, based on material provided by Washington State University.

organic milk , that is, the milk that cows grazing exclusively in meadows with herbs give people is an incredibly healthy product for humans. University staff came to the same conclusion. Washington. Scientists conducted studies during which they proved that organic milk has a number of undeniable advantages when compared with other types of cow's milk.

Experts conducted a thorough analysis of the content 400 milk samples and compared their fat content. As a result, it turned out that it is organic milk that contains a much higher ratio polyunsaturated fatty acids . That is why such “herbal” milk brings great benefits to the human body. Scientists explained the difference in the composition of different types of milk by a noticeable difference in the composition of the feed that cows receive. After all, if animals are fed mainly with corn, grain, dry food, then the quality of milk deteriorates noticeably.

In organic milk, scientists have found the optimal ratio and omega 6 fatty acids. In order for the effect on the human body to be optimal, it is the ratio of these acids that is important. After all, if omega 3 have a positive effect on the functioning of blood vessels and the heart, then omega 6 can provoke inflammatory processes in the body, autoimmune and oncological ailments. Compared to organic milk, the ratio of these fats in other types of milk is far from ideal.

By the way, American scientists also managed to compare the content of fatty acids in fish, which is a well-known " treasure trove» omega 3 and in organic milk. Oddly enough, but the daily dose of organic milk contained much more omega 3 fatty acids than in a daily dose of a fish dish.

Therefore, doctors from USA it is strongly recommended to regularly drink milk for those people who are prone to the development of cardiovascular diseases, as well as for pregnant women and the smallest children.

Previously, researchers from U.S.A already " persuaded» women to drink as much milk as possible, citing the results of a study of the diet of approximately 30,000 women in middle age. As a result of the study, doctors determined that the body of women who are accustomed to drinking skim milk often contains more calcium And . Well, this, in turn, helps to reduce the risk of hypertension . To reduce the risk of heart disease by 10% and stabilize the level of pressure, you need to drink two glasses of skim milk daily. Based on recent research, ideally such milk should be organic.

We, city dwellers, go shopping, buy food, but we have a rather superficial idea of ​​\u200b\u200bhow it all works out. For a long time I wanted to make a popular science report on the production of dairy products, and finally I realized this idea.

One hundred and eighty kilometers from the capital, in the Shatursky district of the Moscow region, there is an ecological farm "Spartak". I will now tell you in detail about how this farm lives, how natural products differ from organic products, and how products that can be found in stores under the brand name “This Summer” are produced.

1. Natural and organic

In everyday life, there are many designations for “healthy” production, healthy food, cosmetics: natural, farm, bio, ecological, organic. But under the word “natural” or “farm” there can be something really healthy, or it can be exactly the same that in those who do not hide the chemical origin. He does not bear any responsibility for the fact that the manufacturer writes “natural”. There are a huge number of examples of allegedly natural dairy products in green packaging, which are stored for six months without a refrigerator in Tetra-Pak packages. It is clear that there is only one color left from naturalness. And even if the milk is actually natural, not from powder, no one can guarantee how the cow was treated, what she ate and what was added to the milk so that it would not sour a little longer, and that as a result, along with her milk, it would enter the body.

Another thing is certified organic products. To meet the requirements of the certifying body and be able to claim that the product is organic, the manufacturer must fulfill a huge number of requirements. For example, for dairy products:

– fields where cows graze should not be fertilized with any chemicals for more than five years
- the farm should be located in an ecologically clean area, far from factories and plants
– production should not harm the environment
– cows should receive only healthy clean nutrition grown in the same organic fields
- cows cannot be treated with any chemistry, only homeopathy, but it is better to take care of them so that they do not get sick

And a few hundred more different requirements, from barn lighting with natural light to packaging (environmentally friendly, only glass for drinks, only paper for potatoes, and so on).

Certification

In order to rightfully be called an organic farm, it is necessary to confirm a special certificate annually. The investors of this farm have opted for a strict Swiss bio.inspecta commission. This is one of the most highly valued and difficult to obtain certificates. But it's worth it - there are not many consumers, but they are demanding and treat everything they eat with special fanaticism. By the way, only products under the brand name “This Summer” have a similar European certificate in Russia.

The inspector collects samples of soil, food, products and takes them to his Swiss laboratory. Observes the behavior of cows and various little things. All in order to check whether everything fits, whether “bio.inspecta” can vouch that “This Summer” really meets their requirements.

If a person bothers about what products he consumes, then he should study all this. There are many certification bodies. Here are the main logos of certificates that can be found in Russia, in European countries, several dozen. There is one unifying European one - “Eurolist”, it will stand next to each logo of European certifying bodies.

barn

Came here at the moment when the cows were returning from the pasture. They are such smart animals that they go to their place without the help of a shepherd. True, there is a hierarchy in the herd, and those cows that are higher in it can easily afford to chew first from the neighbor's feeder, and only then go to their place.

This room contains about two hundred heads. It must be well lit, so that in any place where the animal stands, one could read without straining.

I love the smell of cows. Here it is not poisonous at all, and even more smells of ground corn.

2. But cows still do not remain unattended.

3. Each cow has such a passport. With the name, breed, age, date of insemination and calving, and other additions of farm workers. All cows here of the Kholmogory breed are dairy cows. Due to the fact that the Kholmogory breed was formed in the harsh conditions of the Russian North, this cattle is less susceptible to colds. In the case of organic farming, this is very important because cows cannot be treated with antibiotics.

4. At the entrance for people, there are mats soaked in a disinfectant solution.

5. New barn under construction. Should be completed by November.

6. Nutrition

Cows graze in the fields every day. Chemical fertilizers began to be actively used after the war all over the world, including in Russia, to guarantee the harvest, thereby ensuring food security. But still, it is even possible to find land suitable for organic farming. There are not many such districts in the Moscow region. Of these, the Shatursky and Volokolamsky districts are the two most environmentally friendly. The farm chose Shatursky based on a combination of various factors.

7.

8. After grazing, the cows feed on more substantial food - freshly harvested corn - succulent feed from ground haulm and cobs.

A drinker is visible in the frame on the right. To get water into this small reservoir, the cow presses a plastic button with her nose.

9. Corn is ground in such an animal machine.

10. About the horns

A new barn for 600 cows is being built - the largest loose barn in Europe. The loose keeping of cows is a requirement of the certification commission, and simply the philosophy of running such farms.

A cow is a horned animal. Without a leash, it can easily injure a neighbor. So, so that they do not gore each other, on purpose or by accident, the horns of the cows are gradually taken out. Cutting is prohibited, because the cow is uncomfortable from this. It is allowed to cauterize at a young age with an injection of lidocaine or smear with a special ointment. True, cows can wipe off the ointment by scratching against the wall. I met a couple of unicorns (-:

11.

12. The emergence of new generations

Cows in position are in a separate room. They are milked only for milk to calves, they stand without a leash on soft straw, eat and walk. Happy motherhood, so to speak.

13.

14. Another bonus for cows is an automatic comber. In order for the mega-ruff to start spinning, it is enough to swing it. The cows know this. I knew too, so I was extremely careful (-:

15. The most colorful shot, could not resist.

16. As I wrote above, nothing is done with the material from the bull, so the calves are born equally of both sexes. Gobies in the dairy business are not suitable, so they are sold to the public. And they raise heifers. A young dairy cow is now worth 200,000 rubles on the market.

These calves have just been born. They have already been licked by the mother cow, so they are dry. The next day after birth, they are transferred to the “nursery”.

17. Here is the “nursery”. Here the calves grow stronger for two weeks.

18. Everything that comes under their hand, the calves suck their noses. For example, my finger.

19. Of the five tons of milk that one cow gives a year, the calf gets 300-400 liters. They are also fed with whey and skimmed milk. And of course, hay and corn, as soon as they catch up to the “kindergarten”.

20. Two weeks later they are transferred to the “kindergarten” from the “nursery” for joint maintenance.

21. Calves are shy and curious companions at the same time.

22. And then I could not resist to hooligan. The cap could be removed.

23.

24. From the “kindergarten” the cow does not get into the general herd. Until insemination, it is kept separately, in the “school”. In the 15th month, the first insemination occurs, and the first calving occurs at the 24th month of life. Like humans, cows carry calves for 9 months. Only they are born more independent, unlike human children (-:

And it is after calving that the cow becomes dairy. Like this!

25. Milking

The cows are milked automatically. Special milking machines are brought into the barn and connected to the udder (on the top right photo of the collage, the things that are put on the udder are just shown). Directly from there, the milk flows through the pipeline into the milk collection tank. At each stage, the milk is filtered (mechanically). Milk does not see white light until the very release of products - everything goes in a closed circuit.

After collecting the milk, the milking equipment is taken to the washing room. It is connected to this system and water is driven away.

26. Reservoir for collecting milk. From here it is pumped out by a milk truck and transported to a factory for processing.

27. Plant

The plant is located five minutes drive from the cowshed. The milk truck pumps milk into processing tanks, and then it is thoroughly washed from the inside.

28. Here it is, the reverse side of the flushing system.

29. Incoming milk and finished products are checked in a simple laboratory. A cunning laboratory is needed where there is chemistry.

30. Processing shop. Here milk is pasteurized, kefir or baked milk is made. The latter did not drink for a million years, imbued and became a fan.

31. And this is a curd shop. Baths in which cottage cheese remains.

32. In these drum machines, excess liquid is extracted from the curd. Ice water flows through the tubes to help the process. Ice water is also used to quickly cool milk after pasteurization.

33. Packing of cottage cheese.

34. A dispenser-dispenser, but each package is additionally weighed. The superfluous is removed, the missing is reported.

35. After cooking, sour cream is still kept in the cold for some time. Only after that the label is glued.

36. “This Summer” is sold in retail at Globus Gourmet, Azbuka Vkusa, Bakhetle, Spare, Scarlet Sails and Metro. Some people prefer to order home delivery.

See the green leaf icon? Here is the same certificate.

37. Glass containers are produced at a factory in Gus-Khrustalny. It can be returned to the courier for processing (if you regularly order it in the online store), or you can bring it to the Bio-Market offline store at the address: Rublevskoye sh., 30, bldg. 1. For each bottle or jar they give 8 rubles (-:

38. An ice water generator was discovered.

39. So we have reached the end of this story. Products are packaged and taken to stores.

40. The life span of milk from the moment of milking to the end of the term is only five days. Therefore, it is sold only in Moscow and the Moscow region. To sell products in other regions, it is necessary to build an organic farm there. A purely local matter.

Become an adherent of organic products (and organic can be not only food, but also cosmetics, perfumes, home care products, diapers and even clothes) or not is a matter of immersion, very personal. Decide how much everyone is ready to take care of themselves and the health of future generations.

41. Passed the post, your Dashechka.