I had initially "thought" that OP raw cream was not organic after I photographed the bottle and looked closely at the label; as you can see from the comments above, we stood happily corrected shortly thereafter. After I surmised (correctly, this time) that perhaps Organic Pastures simply had not updated its labels, we contacted your dairy and were told that that was indeed the case, and we were happy to say so here. Our apologies for the confusion, as we love your products.

In fact, George later posted his article Organic Pastures Raw Milk, Colostrum and Cream are above Organic standards — which also references the RAW-USA organization and the most excellent RAW-USA Comparison Chart.

I can understand your position on the subject of "organic" — unfortunately, that's the term most people are familiar with and the labeling they'll look for, if they're aware of the meaning of the labeling at all.

At any rate, thanks for stopping by. We're real fans of Organic Pastures products, and use them on a daily basis. They are delicious as well as nutritious.

Thanks for the data; we had already clarified your organic standing through your dairy. It couldn't be more direct information. Grass fed cows make the best milk products!

I find it fantastic that the term "organic" isn't always what people think it means.

As for Organic Pastures, we are customers. We make some of the creamiest organic ice cream that can be made — and it's actually good for us. Not like the store bought stuff.

Again, thank you for your post and clarification.

George Vigil

FYI, we are certified organic by the USDA and COFA. We are now placing the cerified organic label on our products. For about a year we did not do this even though we are certified. Being organic has virtually nothing to do with being safe and raw and grass fed. Organic is sold out and bastardized so badly that I was actually ashamed to be considered in the same dairy crowd.

We are certified organic and we have placed our certificates at our website to prove it. http://www.rawusa.org is a much more sustainable set of standards however.

If anyone would like a copy of our organic certificate please call 1-877 RAW MILK and we will fax it to you.

All the best,

Mark McAfee
Founder OPDC

You can add me to the raw milk groupies. We're tending toward being a raw cream groupie too. We are purposefully eating a lot of ice cream to see if we are putting on weight. So far, we're not. Every thursday, we're picking up six pints of raw cream from Organic Pastures. So far, we've found we like the organic strawberry icecream best, of the various flavors we make.

We don't have your expertise in the field of complementary health, but we can tell when something is good for us: we feel better, have more energy, don't get hungry as much, don't put on weight, don't get some wild cravings.

By the way, I called Organic Pastures and asked about the organic label not being on their raw milk and raw cream and I was told that this is a labeling issue. They already have it in the works to place the organic label on upcoming milk and cream products.

It's so, so worth the effort to find raw dairy and use it in all manner of healthful ways from kefir (cultured milk like yogurt) to cream soups/sauces to ice cream.

I, too, got raw milk in the 70's – from a friend's Idaho farm. The sad part is that I was into my no-fat phase back then, and I skimmed off the cream and gave it away! I've been wised up since then, though, by studying Sally Fallon's and Mary Enig's excellent manual, NOURISHING TRADITIONS – The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats. It's widely available these days, and if you buy only one cookbook this decade, choose that one.

These days, I use about 10 gallons of raw milk a month for just my husband and myself. I get it from a USDA Organic dairy about a 90 minute drive away. I'm learning a lot about dairying from the nice young farmer who takes special care of our growing number raw milk groupies.

Regards,
Lynn

We're currently looking into why Organic Pastures has the USDA Organic label on the Colostrum but not on the raw cream or milk. I talked with a representative of Organic Pastures and she told me that their milk, colostrum and cream are all organic. She also told me that Organic Pastures' milk, colostrum and cream are above USDA Organic and so the words Raw USA was coined by the owner. So there is a bit of confusion as to the labeling on the milk and cream not having USDA Organic there somewhere, like the colostrum does.

Still, I like the products very much and from what I've been reading about raw dairy, I sure am glad to go back. Back in the early 70's, I used to buy raw milk and cream from a dairy down the road from where I used to live in Utah. There were times when I would watch the cows report back to the milking bays from the green pastures.

Best,
George Vigil

The links you give above provide a perspective not often thought about by those searching out, acquiring and consuming safe raw dairy products. Keep up the good detective work.

It's always heartening to see the support of Organic Pastures who have done and continue to do so much to support the Campaign for Real Milk (realmilk.com) that Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts instituted. Their information is available in 14 languages.

Californians are fortunate to be able to buy certified raw dairy in retail stores. Here in New York state, we are able to purchase farm fresh milk directly from the few farms that have been certified to sell it, and it is not a popular law with officialdom. Folks who live elsewhere can find out what the law allows in their own states at realmilk.com/where1.html.

Happily sipping the real thing,
Lynn