I bought the half gallon of milk, pictured above, the week before Christmas. Since I didn't have the guests I thought I would during the holidays, it's still unopened.  But look at the expiration.  I still have 18 more days to drink it!

I started buying organic milk back when my girls were young, not wanting to add the antibiodics given to regular dairy cows to my children's diet. It was higher in price and with the amount of milk we drank, it could add up. But I thought the health benefit was worth the expense.

Now that I'm drinking the milk mostly by myself, I wondered if it was still worth the extra expense. Then I noticed the expiration dates. Organic milk has almost a month longer expiration date than regular (non-organic) milk does. Suddenly the expense of the organic stuff, given my ability to drink the whole carton by myself  before it goes bad, seemed like a benfit again.

But I wondered why organic milk (with less stuff in it) would last longer. Seems counterintuitive, doesn't it?

According to a Consumer Reports online magazine report, organic milk undergoes a higher temperature pasteurization treatment called Ultra-Pasteurization, killing "more bacteria," hence the longer shelf life.

But according to the Consumer Reports story, " It's not clear whether organic-milk producers ultra-pasteurize as an additional safeguard against bacteria, since organic cows consume no antibiotics, or simply to extend shelf life."

So is it for me or for them? For my health benefit or for their bottom line?

Oh well, right now, not throwing away a quart of milk because I haven't consumed it before it expires is still a good enough reason to buy organic. Shelf-life saves money.

What do you think?