Wal-Mart can't catch a break from the Times. The discount giant even gets criticized over its seemingly bulletproof, politically correct quest to sell more organic milk. Melanie Warner, the Times' business reporter [1]who is ever suspicious of the motivations of the corporate world, takes dictation from left-wing agricultural groups in Saturday's "A Milk War Over More Than Price [2]."
"Activist groups, as well as some organic food retailers and dairies, contend that the company where Wal-Mart and the other big retailers get their milk operates large factory farms that are diluting the principles of organic agriculture and delivering customers a substandard product. They argue that Aurora's cows do not spend any significant time roaming pastures and eating fresh grass; instead they live on a diet high in grains.
"'They are trying to cut corners in the interest of producing milk as cheaply as possible,' said Mark Kastel, senior farm analyst at the Cornucopia Institute, which represents organic family farmers....Mr. Kastel of Cornucopia calls Aurora's efforts 'greenwashing.' He says the farm's acreage per cow will still be low and that the company is overtaxing its animals by milking them three times a day instead of twice, which is the norm at organic farms."
Question: Did Warner get this story idea from a recent similar article in the left-wing Nation magazine [3], which also quoted Cornucopia?
The Nation actually did a more accurate job of labeling Cornucopia than did the Times, calling it "a progressive research group that advocates for small farmers."