Eat Ethically Pricing organic - a cup of tea and a biscuit

Date Published:

10/09/2008

Britain loves a brew and a biscuit but how much will we pay for a purer pot? Hannah Williams looks into the production process of organic milk, tea and biscuits to find out where our extra pennies are being spent

Britain is a nation of milk-lovers. Not only does it make our bones stronger and our cereal taste better but it facilitates our national obsession with drinking tea. So it's unsurprising that one of the most popular organic products sold in supermarkets is a bottle of the white stuff. According to The Organic Milk Cooperative (OMSCO), 6 per cent of milk currently sold in supermarkets has been certified organic – far outstripping other everyday, organic consumables. So what exactly makes milk organic? With the help of Richard Hampton, commercial director of OMSCO, I set forth to find out.

Room to manoeuvre

The Soil Association requires organic farmers to keep animals in natural, free-range conditions, so the lovely heifers producing organic milk have a bit more room to stretch their legs. As the grass is not fertilised artificially, organic grazing generally supports around three cows per acre as opposed to four cows per acre in non-organic farming.

Quality nosh

Cows have traditionally been fed imported, genetically modified crops, which are currently cheaper to produce than the organic feed given to cows on organic farms. However, this could change as rising fuel prices see the cost of imported feed creep upwards.

Going steady

Organic cattle are not as hard-pushed to produce such high quantities of milk so the laid-back heifer will typically produce 80 per cent of what a non-organic cow churns out. The organic cow is no dithering daisy though; she'll still produce approximately 6000 litres of milk every year, as oppose to 7500 litres from a non-organic cow.

Carrying the cream

As organic farms produce less milk the collections between different suppliers is typically more spread out leading to higher transport costs. While this has a relatively minor affect on the overall price it does add a few pennies.

The end result

According to OMSCO the average retail price of organic milk is just 9p more for a 4l bottle than a none organic bottle of the same size. And the good news is that pretty much all this goes back to the farmer. So 9p more for happy cows on a natural diet – is it worth it? Let us know what you think in our forum.