Milk Quality and Antimicrobial Resistance Against Mastitis Pathogens After Changing from a Conventional to an Experimentally Organic Dairy Farm (Report‪)‬

INTRODUCTION Organic food has been accepted by consumers concerned about their health, for its quality. In addition, the popularity of natural and organic foods is increasing as many consumers seek what they perceive as safer and more nutritious food produced under sustainable and ethical conditions, especially as regards animal welfare. The principles of organic livestock production have been formulated by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) and were included in EU regulation 2092/91 in the year 2000. Organic farming is based on principles which explicitly state that animal welfare is a high priority (Lund, 2006). "Organic foods" in the USA have been defined in the Code of Federal Regulations (7CFR205) with standards set as to which processes and synthetic substances are acceptable for production and handling in order for foods to be certified as organic. Thus "organic" is a production claim and not a food safety claim. In the UK, organic farming standards include the feeding of a minimum of 60% of the dry matter intake as forage, and aim to provide a basis for optimal dairy cow comfort and health (Anon, 2005). Recent years have seen an increase in the number of dairy farms that have converted to organic farming. Organically farmed cows are fed with foodstuffs grown without pesticides and are subject to different EU regulations on housing standards and the use of veterinary medicines (CEC, 2004). The principles behind organic production and many organic producer groups suggest that more attention is paid to animal welfare on organic farms than on non-organic farms (Sundrum, 2001).