No, this is not stock photography. My yogurt actually comes from here!

Once upon a time, I blogged about a new organic, lactose-free yogurt that had just hit the market.  I loved that it was organic.  I loved the flavors it came in, I loved the choice of no-sugar added and less-sugar added flavors they offered, and I loved that their products did not contain highly-processed additives, fillers and preservatives.  I loved that the family-owned dairy farm which produced this yogurt was Certified Humane, that their cows were pastured (grass-fed) for most of the year when the seasons permitted, and that their creamery was solar powered.  I believed then, as I do now, that if every food company in America operated with this level of commitment to food integrity, environmental sustainability and animal welfare, our food supply and our environmental resource stock would be far healthier and safer.  I hoarded their yogurt on my shopping trips to Whole Foods, and requested that my local food co-op start stocking the brand as well.

Since I first discovered Green Valley Organic lactose-free yogurts, two more national brands have launched their own versions of lactose-free yogurts–Lactaid® and La Yogurt®.  Initially, I was excited about this development… more choices for me and my lactose-intolerant comrades *had* to be a good thing, right?  A quick scan of these other yogurt labels deflated my high hopes.  Both were loaded with added sugar– with the La Yogurt fruit flavors containing 26g of total sugar!  (With all the additives their products contain, I estimate that no more than 10g–and possibly less– could actually be from naturally-occurring milk sugar… which suggests a full 4 teaspoons of added sugar per modest 6oz cup!)  Neither brand offered plain, no-added sugar flavors.  Neither brand used organic milk.  And both were loaded with highly-processed additives like corn starches and preservatives.  Thanks, but no thanks.  I wouldn’t eat these products myself, and I certainly wouldn’t recommend them to a patient.

Fast-forward a year and a half from my initial blog post: Green Valley Organics contacted me to see if I’d be interested in formally teaming up to spread the good word about their products.  Since  I was already buying their products on my own, and recommending the brand to my patients and friends, I figured that I might as well make this one-sided love affair an official courtship.

So there you have it: I’m going out with the country’s best dairy farm.

Can't wait to introduce my kids to these kids!