As of February 26th Starbucks Corporation plans to remove organic milk from its store shelves.  They say they have been offering the product in the U.S. since 2001 to cater to customers who wanted milk from cows who were not given bovine growth hormone, but since they’ve switched to only serving milk from cows that were not given the hormone, they’re stopping with organic milk altogether.

According to the company’s Senior Vice President of Global Strategy, Michelle Gas: “the number one reason people are purchasing organic milk is because [it lacks] the growth hormone.”  The sale of drinks made with organic milk account for less than 1% of Starbucks’ beverage sales and will be recovered by the introduction of new exciting products. 

According to the Organic Trade Association, in 2006 the sales of organic dairy products became the second fastest-growing organic food category in the U.S. behind meat, growing 25% to $2.67 billion.  Other restaurants including Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., are adding organic ingredients to their menus.  The Agriculture Department defines an organic product as being grown without synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, hormones or antibiotics.