1. I dont have my own cow.
2. It tastes SO GOOD... think about the best milk you have ever had... then times it by 100... that is how good raw milk is... I didn't even really like milk until I had raw milk.
3. I know where the milk comes from. I know how the cows are treated. They are family cows, they eat in the pasture every day. Their milk feeds me AND their babies. I know when the cows were milked... the milk I just picked up yesterday was milked literally that morning.
Something more important to me than even pesticides and chemicals (which I care a good deal about) is animal welfare. The reason I am trying to buy as much locally as I can (or hunt or raise my own) is I want to know where my food is coming from, and not feed into a system that treats animals inhumanly and by the very nature of the system is unhealthy, contaminated and just disgusting.
If you want more information on the benefits of raw (unpasteurized and unprocessed) milk just google it... or go HERE
And if you want info on why raw milk is super dangerous just google it... the CDC and FDA all warn of the dangers... but they are already on my shit list so I don't actually care what they say.
If you want the benefit of knowing your farmer, knowing your cow, knowing where your milk comes from but are to scared to try raw milk I have great news for you! You can just pasteurize that raw milk from your local farmer in your own home. This is also recommended for kids drinking milk. Mother Earth News has a home pasteurization method that can be found HERE. I just subscribed to this magazine and am super excited to get my first issue! There is a faster method but uses higher temperatures as outlined by Oregon State University HERE.
Now that I have covered the scary parts lets cover the part that is even scarier to some people...$$$. Raw milk is more expensive then factory farm industrial milk... more expensive for us, but its the cows paying the price.
"Dairy cows have it a lot rougher than beef cattle. They truly are production machinery and have a much longer, more miserable life than beef cattle. Being a dairy cow is no escape from the slaughter house, it just forestalls it until the milk stops flowing."
If you dont think its worth a few extra bucks to know where your food comes from go to HERE and read and watch... if it doesn't make you sad then you might not be human. And don't claim that ignorance is bliss... open your eyes, make an educated choice.
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| This is the gallon of milk I pick up every week from my farm |
Anyways back to the $$$... the milk I buy from my farmer is $8 a gallon. The milk from "pastured cows" in my grocery store is also $8 a gallon... so if I am spending $8 a gallon I would rather buy it from the farmer I know and the happy cows I can see. But really thats not all... I get about two cups of cream off each gallon of milk... cream is about $2 a cup (thats the factory farm stuff too) so right there is $4 I am saving each week... so its really $4 a gallon... not that expensive! AND if you dont know what to do with two cups of cream in a week you need to get your butt into gear! I CONSTANTLY try to save some of my cream to make butter but each week I use all two cups... Here are some ideas for cream:
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| My milk after I separate the cream and put it into my fridge containers |
Vichyssoise- a traditional cold potato soup... don't nock it till you try it! AMAZING! Sometimes I make a sweet potato version that is a little spicy and sometimes I add carrots to the regular version.
Strawberry Shortcake- I mean come on! I even make the shortcakes whole wheat!
Homemade whipped Cream- on a little fruit... heavenly! I use honey to sweeten mine!
Quiche- Here is a basic recipe... and I add all kinds of stuff... my fav is spinach and feta
So yeah... I think that about covers why I drink raw milk... from my local farmer... if you want resources for raw milk in your area here are a couple sites to help with your search...
Good Luck
Love and Light
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