milk bottles

[cer35]

May I seek some opinions on my latest dilemma on my journey to becoming self-sufficientish?
Which do you think is more important:
To get organic milk or to get milk in glass bottle which are returnable to be re-used?
Of course ideally I would get organic milk in glass returnable bottles, but the only place I can get these is in the next town which would mean making 2 or 3 extra car-journeys a week.
For what it's worth, glass bottles delivered are more expensive than buying organic.
Thoughts please...

Clare

[ina]

What a dilemma! I take it the milkman doesn't do organic?

I have heard occasionally that re-using bottles for drinks actually uses up an awful lot of water and chemicals for cleaning them, as you never know what people had in them before they return them - and they all have to be cleaned as if somebody had stored toxic substances in them. I don't have exact figures for the environmental impact of re-using versus re-cyclingm though.
On the other hand, it is also nice to support the local milkman - I used to do that, before they packed it in. They didn't do organic, either; I now get that from a local shop, but of course it's in plastic. Well, the milkman delivered plastic, too.

Do they recycle the milk cartons in your area? They do, here; I think that has made it a bit easier for me to decide to take the organic milk.

[Goodlife1970]

You have a milkman??? Im jealous! I think I would go the organic route,less messed about with and cheaper!

[*stuffed*]

I go for organic milk in plastic bottles because:
a) it's cheaper
b) I can either send the plastic to be recylced or use for plants (pots or cloches)
c) I'd rather have organic.

[Millymollymandy]

We have neither milkmen nor organic. Not that I actually know what organic milk is anyway. Round my way the cows are outside eating nice green grass or hay. Not quite the same as intensive pig and chicken rearing.

[ina]

Well, if you do get local, extensively produced milk, that's fine! But milk production is just as intensive as pig rearing or battery egg production.

Organic is not only the feed they get (which is, for organic dairy cows, generally less concentrate and more "natural" feed, i.e. a certain percentage of roughage). There are differences in the rearing of calves (they get whole milk rather than milk replacer, and are weaned later than in conventional production); most (if not all by now) of the feed has to be produced organically (no pesticides, no artificial fertilizers - i.e. less chance for pollution of the countryside); less antibiotics are used (none prophylactically), and if they have to be used, the withdrawal period is much longer (i.e. the milk has to be discarded for longer, because of residues in it); mostly homeopathic or herbal remedies are used; the space requirements for cows in sheds are higher...

Sorry, I'm riding my hobby horse again!

[Millymollymandy]

Cheers Ina, I've never really thought about it before. One (or perhaps just me!) usually thinks of organic as regards vegetables or meat production.

Anyway I only buy long life milk because there is something very strange about the fresh milk in Brittany that I never came across anywhere else either in France or other countries. It is horribly rich and makes us feel sick. And that's the semi skimmed!

[cer35]

Hmmm, so general opinion seems to be organic on the grounds that the plastic can be recycled (easy for us as we have a second wheelie bin for all recylables). Wish I'd figured this out before placing a trial order with the milkman
I have to say I too hadn't realised how different organic milk was from ordinary and so hadn't given it much importance.

[LSP]

I get organic milk in bottles. But we still have to supplement with organic milk in plastic because the fridge does not have room for a whole week's supply. Milk comes with my weekly fruit bag.

Why not ask your milkman if he's able to get organic milk for you? Supply and demand. If he meets 50 (would-be) customers demanding organic milk, he would do something about supplying it, I think.