5 June 2007

4 minute read

Europe

A family of four can now switch to organic milk for under £1 a week – but most people think it will cost far more. A survey undertaken for the farmers’ cooperative, OMSCo, found that over 8 out of 10 people think organic milk costs more than it actually does. In fact, 30% are so far off the mark that they believe an organic pint costs at least 20 pence more than its ordinary equivalent, rather than the actual figure of just 8 pence.*

The survey, released to coincide with National Organic Dairy Week (4–10 June), quizzed over 1,700 consumers about their perceptions of price and organic premiums.

“People are still under the impression that organic products cost far more than their non-organic equivalents – but this isn’t the case with milk” says Rosie Palmer, Marketing Manager for OMSCo. “Organic milk sales have grown by around 25% a year over the past two years, but it’s clear that there are even more consumers out there who would buy organic milk if they knew how little extra it costs. An average family of four buys 12 pints of milk a week so the additional cost of switching to organic is only 96 pence.”

Peter Melchett, Soil Association policy director, said, “A pint of organic milk is a really great deal at just 8p more then it’s non-organic equivalent. It’s an even better deal if you take into account all the benefits of organic milk. These include lots more wildlife on organic farms, a fairer price for farmers, better animal welfare, and milk that is proven to be naturally higher in Omega 3 fatty acids. If families, schools or hospitals want to have more organic food then organic milk is a brilliant place to start.”

Key findings of the survey were:

• Women are more likely to over-estimate the cost of organic milk than men, with over a third (35%) thinking it was at least 20p more, compared to just 26% of men
• More than half of 16-24 year olds said they would buy organic milk if it cost less than £2 a week more – but they were way off the mark when it came to guessing the right price, with 55% thinking it would cost a family of four more than £2.40 a week, rather than the actual £1 a week
• Across the UK almost 9% of people are now buying organic milk all the time, but the North/South divide rings true when it comes to organic milk sales: 1 in 7 Londoners say they buy it all the time, while less than 1 in 20 people in the North East make the same claim

When asked what would convince them to pay more for organic milk, 52% said it would be knowing that organic milk was produced to the highest level of animal welfare, closely followed by 46% who felt that the greater environmental benefits of organic dairy farming were the biggest motivator. Milk that was locally produced ticked the box for 50% of those in Yorkshire, whereas for Londoners good health is a priority – 45% would pay more for organic milk if they knew it was naturally higherin Omega 3 fatty acids than non-organic milk.

Organic milk costs slightly more than non-organic as it is more time intensive to produce, organic feed costs are considerably higher, the yields are smaller as the organic system supports fewer cows per hectare and organic cows eat much more grass and fresh forage than their non-organic equivalents. The collection costs are also higher, however these have been coming down as organic milk grows in popularity and more farmers convert to organic farming.

Organic dairy cows are fed a natural diet of grass, hay, silage which has not been sprayed with synthetic chemical pesticides, they are never allowed to be fed GM cattle feed and are only given antibiotics when they are actually ill.

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