conscious consumption 207
Since reading Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappé
in 1971, I have become increasingly aware of many dangers in
our excessive consumption of animal products. Now, almost four
decades later, the hazards of eating animals have grown exponen-
tially. The worst animal husbandry practices include the variety
of unnatural, unhealthful, and exploitative agents that are used in
the production of meat, such as antibiotics and growth - promoting
hormones, and the inherent cruelty of raising animals in unnatu-
rally restrictive environments and forcing them to eat foods they
would never naturally choose, given their innate preference for
green grass over GM corn.
Safety issues about using growth - promoting hormones in animal
production have multiplied over the years. Once again, Europeans
have exhibited a more conscious response to agribusiness ’ s and
The good news for consumers is that the vast majority of
all dairy brands are made by companies of true integrity and
with milk from farms that respect the spirit and the letter of
the organic law.
As consumers, we have a unique opportunity to vote with
our dollars in the marketplace for a different kind of environ-
mental ethic, using more humane animal husbandry practices.
And by purchasing organic foods and paying a little bit more by
choosing reputable brands, we ’ re ensuring that the hardworking
farm families who produce our food are fairly compensated.
The Cornucopia Institute has a comprehensive report on
organic dairy foods that is available on its Web site. It includes
a scorecard rating the country ’ s approximately 115 organic dairy
brands, based on their ethical approach to milk production. In
2009, Cornucopia also released a similar report and scorecard
rating organic soy food products. This will help discerning con-
sumers choose organic soy products made from organic American
soybeans, which are getting more scarce by the day, rather
than food items made from soybeans imported from China.