Milk: It does the body good.

Milk.
Yesterday I stood cross-eyed in the dairy section of the store under pressure because my son was out of milk.  Voices in my head muttering messages read and heard "cows milk is not digestible to humans, cows milk is essential, plastic causes cancer, paper is healthier".  The conversation in my head was loud and confrontational.  I pondered back on my parents generation.  I thought of my mother standing in the milk isle with perhaps 2-3 choices, all from the cow.  I had no less than a dozen choices.  Rice, soy, cow, almond, organic cow, non-organic cow, organic paper, plastic, DHA added..."

I decided on the Horizon Organic Whole DHA added.  I reasoned with my husband that the extra 2 dollars was worth my peace of mind.  He joked that the fancy milk, then, was for my benefit as much as baby's.

Society runs us on fear much of the time.  I wonder if Horizon Organic DHA added banks on moms like me that are laden with guilt and fear.  They write little things on the carton like: "DHA - Gotta Have It!" with a picture of a little boy writing with a pencil.  Also, because it is "Organic" there are no hormones or antibiotics used for the cows that produce it.  Sounds great! Right?

I have some very close friends who have a dairy.  They are milk suppliers for Publix brand milk.  He told me that cows that are not treated with antibiotics cannot be treated when they are sick.  Therefore they are basically ostracized and left to die.  He told me that when they treat their cows with antibiotics there is a regiment that must be followed such as not milking the cow for X amount of time until the antibiotics are no longer in their system.  He serves his family the gallon size Publix brand plain old wallet friendly milk.

Even though I know, and trust, this information, the messages on the carton persuade me that my child needs the DHA fortified.  It's a whole new take on reduced-guilt marketing.

Do we really need to buy organic milk?  Does mine need DHA fortified milk to be a cute little boy writing with a pencil?  My receipt said so.  What does yours say?