Wal-Mart rolling out private label organic milk quietly

After announcing earlier this year that it was going to offer more organic products, Wal-Mart has quietly introduced its private label organic milk in about 1,200 supercenters and Neighborhood Markets so far.

According to an article in the New York Times, half gallons of the Wal-Mart brand of organic milk, called Great Value, is priced about 8 percent to 35 percent less than other brands sold in Denver area stores. And in the Wal-Mart stores ithe Great Value organic milk is priced about 10 percent lower than the Horizon Organic milk.

The supplier of Wal-Mart’s organic milk is Aurora Organic Dairy. Aurora, which has two organic dairies in Colorado and one organic dairy in Texas, also supplies private-label organic milk to Safeway, Costco, Target, and Wild Oats. Aurora's newest organic dairy is a 3,200-cow dairy near Kersey, Colo. that has been designed to provide cows with year-round daily access to pasture.

Critics, such as the Cornucopia Institutute, say that large organic farms are "diluting the principles of organic agriculture." And that Wal-Mart should do more to support organic agriculture, as opposed to just seeking out the largest and cheapest producer.

For more from the New York Times, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/16/business/16milk.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=business (The New York Times requires you to complete a short registration page. )

 The New York Times

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