Annie Lowrey

The farm is just impossibly beautiful in this kind of, you know, there's like wild elk roaming around and flocks of wild birds. And the cows are really out there on pasture. They really, really are. This is Northern California, so it's really mild, wet weather. And they're kept out in these kind of like beautiful fields all by the ocean. Lots of space.

The farm is just impossibly beautiful in this kind of, you know, there's like wild elk roaming around and flocks of wild birds. And the cows are really out there on pasture. They really, really are. This is Northern California, so it's really mild, wet weather. And they're kept out in these kind of like beautiful fields all by the ocean. Lots of space.

I would rather be a beef cow than a dairy cow, but this is, it is physically beautiful, and I think that there's a lot of things about the farm where they're doing it well.

I would rather be a beef cow than a dairy cow, but this is, it is physically beautiful, and I think that there's a lot of things about the farm where they're doing it well.

I would rather be a beef cow than a dairy cow, but this is, it is physically beautiful, and I think that there's a lot of things about the farm where they're doing it well.

Yeah, I'm really grateful that they sat down with me and answered all of my questions. And it was awkward and it was tense. But I appreciated getting their perspective. And I also came away from my meeting with them thinking that I'm not sure that... I'm not sure, especially with dairy specifically, I don't know how much better you could do than how they're doing. Wait, really?

Yeah, I'm really grateful that they sat down with me and answered all of my questions. And it was awkward and it was tense. But I appreciated getting their perspective. And I also came away from my meeting with them thinking that I'm not sure that... I'm not sure, especially with dairy specifically, I don't know how much better you could do than how they're doing. Wait, really?

Yeah, I'm really grateful that they sat down with me and answered all of my questions. And it was awkward and it was tense. But I appreciated getting their perspective. And I also came away from my meeting with them thinking that I'm not sure that... I'm not sure, especially with dairy specifically, I don't know how much better you could do than how they're doing. Wait, really?

I think that one thing that I took away was that— They were just so big. There were so many cows. The whole operation was so enormous. And so it did have that kind of element of industrialization. Second thing is that the organic prohibition on the use of antibiotics, it just creates terrible incentives and results in a lot of animal cruelty.

I think that one thing that I took away was that— They were just so big. There were so many cows. The whole operation was so enormous. And so it did have that kind of element of industrialization. Second thing is that the organic prohibition on the use of antibiotics, it just creates terrible incentives and results in a lot of animal cruelty.

I think that one thing that I took away was that— They were just so big. There were so many cows. The whole operation was so enormous. And so it did have that kind of element of industrialization. Second thing is that the organic prohibition on the use of antibiotics, it just creates terrible incentives and results in a lot of animal cruelty.

The United States has an extraordinarily rigid rule in its organic program that any animal who's given an antibiotic at any point in its life is no longer organic. So if you had an organic dairy cow who was given a course of antibiotics for, like, you know, pneumonia at week seven of its life, it's a conventional cow for the rest of time. Five years later, it still can't be an organic cow.

The United States has an extraordinarily rigid rule in its organic program that any animal who's given an antibiotic at any point in its life is no longer organic. So if you had an organic dairy cow who was given a course of antibiotics for, like, you know, pneumonia at week seven of its life, it's a conventional cow for the rest of time. Five years later, it still can't be an organic cow.

The United States has an extraordinarily rigid rule in its organic program that any animal who's given an antibiotic at any point in its life is no longer organic. So if you had an organic dairy cow who was given a course of antibiotics for, like, you know, pneumonia at week seven of its life, it's a conventional cow for the rest of time. Five years later, it still can't be an organic cow.

But this is problematic because it incentivizes farmers not to give organic cows antibiotics even when they really need them.

But this is problematic because it incentivizes farmers not to give organic cows antibiotics even when they really need them.

But this is problematic because it incentivizes farmers not to give organic cows antibiotics even when they really need them.

Totally. And it means that if a cow is not going to die from an infection, the math suggests that you should withhold the antibiotic. There's a rule also in the organic program that you cannot withhold antibiotics in order to maintain a cow's organic status. But talking to folks in the industry, it happens all the time.

Totally. And it means that if a cow is not going to die from an infection, the math suggests that you should withhold the antibiotic. There's a rule also in the organic program that you cannot withhold antibiotics in order to maintain a cow's organic status. But talking to folks in the industry, it happens all the time.

Totally. And it means that if a cow is not going to die from an infection, the math suggests that you should withhold the antibiotic. There's a rule also in the organic program that you cannot withhold antibiotics in order to maintain a cow's organic status. But talking to folks in the industry, it happens all the time.