Milk is a significant source of iodine in our diet but it appears that organic milk contains less iodine than that produced under more conventional management. Since organic milk is superior in many other nutritional components and considered to offer health benefit, its lower supply of iodine (and other trace elements?) is disappointing and could discourage consumption, especially by pregnant and nursing mothers or young children – the very people to potentially benefit most from higher omega-3 fatty acid consumption. As well as producing milk with sub-optimum levels of trace elements for consumers, could organic management also be detrimental for our cows, possibly reducing fertility and/or calf viability. This talk plans to explores the trace element content of organic milk, how it might be enhanced and can we have too much of these good things.
