Dear Betty: Reader Question 3/29/2019 Milk Microplastic

Dear Betty,

You talk about microplastics being in salt and in bottled water.  Are plastic particles in milk that we get from the store?

Thanks,

Anonymous

Dear Anonymous,

Thank you for your question and thanks for reading!  Good question.  I tried really hard to find studies regarding microplastic particles in cow's milk but came up empty-handed.  There are a few things to consider but I think it's probably safe to assume that there is some amount of plastic particles in the milk you buy at the store.  I have two reasons why.

Reason number one:  Microplastics are in everything.  Plastic particles have been found in table salt, honey, beer, tap water, bottled water, sugar, shellfish, fish, even the air.  Plastic particles have also been found in human feces, plastic bio-accumulates in our systems and therefore, plastic has been present in human urine, human blood, and human breast milk.

Reason number two:  Bio-accumulation results in contaminated milk.  If you recall from Cannibalistic Cows Demand an Appetizer of Plastic, some cows are fed plastic.  Sometimes the ingestion of plastic is somewhat unintentional.  Depending on what is legal in a particular area, feed suppliers are allowed to have a certain amount of plastic contained in their product, to which the farmer may not be aware of. Sometimes it is intentional ingestion at the hand of the farmer.  Cows can be fed plastic pellets to act as a crude fiber substitute.  Much of the plastic would be passed through the cow but not all of it.  Some will break down and be stored in the animal's tissues and can be passed through the milk.

I like my milk the way I like my bottled water...chewy.

Want to read more about plastic in cow feed?  Click here.

A happy cow being offered nutritious feed with plenty of plastic. 

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