Aurora Dairy Scores High with Independent Auditor
In hopes of quelling some consumer concerns about Aurora's treatment of their dairy cows, the company announced that it has received an Animal Welfare Review Certification from an independent auditor, Validus Services, LLC. Such a certification is awarded after a throrough inspection of the animals takes place on site by a Validus employee and recommendations have been made. Dairy herds are assessed for the their body condition, locomotion, "parlor behavior" (how they bevave during milking), and slips and falls. Health facilities are also looked at.
This is all fine and good but the attacks on Aurora have not been about the physical health of the cows but rather, the factory farm manner in which they are raised. Aurora operates five massive organic dairy farms in Colorado and Texas. The company has been under fire from groups like The Cornicopia Institue who lists them as "ethically deficient" and gives them "zero cows" on their Organic Dairy Brand Ratings Scorecard. Aurora has been accused of restricting their cattle to feedlots and giving them very little (if any) acess to pasture. The company has even been targeted in lawsuites claiming that their farms do not meet federal organic standards.
Aurora supplies organic milk to retail giants like Target and WalMart.
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