Russ and I have already had to deal with the depressing knowledge that when the Farmer's Market season ends, we'll have to go back to buying our dairy products from the grocery store. We were looking forward to just two more weeks of real, raw, farm fresh milk and butter though. Seriously, if you haven't had raw (meaning unpasteurized) milk before, it's like sex without a condom... there's just so much more enjoyable about it. There's none of that gummy milky after-taste at the back of your throat. The flavor seems both fuller and more delicate. We liked it so much we were discussing the possibility of doing regular pickups somewhere nearby after the market ended, so we could keep the milk-love going.
Trust The Man™ to spoil the fun, though. Russ and I showed up at the Archwood Green barns yesterday, rubbing our hands in anticipation of our next batch of fresh milk and butter, only to find our milk vendor had only a supply of baked goods, some canned vegetables, and this article from the Washington Post sitting out on a shelf, to explain why there would be no more raw milk or butter forthcoming.
I already knew half the stuff I was buying at the farmer's market existed in a legal gray area at best. I figured it was somewhat like illegal fireworks though... as long as no one was complaining, the cops would leave you alone. I should have known that the state that tried to starve out the homeless by outlawing private food donations and thought the hopsicle was a danger worthy of regulation wouldn't be able to resist sticking their nose in the farmer's market business though. The Post devotes most of the article's space to a Charlottesville farm that we hadn't dealt with before, but Mark Nolt was responsible for the fantastic milk we were drinking, and Satyrfield farms are regular vendors at Archwood Green barns.
Russ and I have endured food-poisoning from the 'inspected' kitchens in Warrenton's restaurants enough times that we're leery of eating out in general. We've never had so much as an upset tummy from something we've picked up at the farmer's market. We know from experience that inspection and certification means very little in terms of actually making you safe. We'll continue doing what we can - even if it means clandestine sales to avoid the feds - to continue supporting local growers and producers. That white gold - and knowing my food money is going to my neighbor, not Venezuela - is worth it to me.
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9 comments:
Or you can secretly keep a milk cow in your back yard- hehehe Talk about 'hiding out' from the feds...you won't know what livin' is until then! :O
Well bummer- I hope you can find a 'dealer' in your area!
My husband, Warren, was raised on a ranch in northern Arizona. Every morning and night he'd milk their cow and squeeze the warm, fresh milk from the cows' tit right into his mouth. He absolutely LOVED it.
Me, on the other hand, find fresh milk to be scary. I had fresh milk as a child ONE time. I remember not liking it- and ever since then I've been way too chicken to try it! I guess it's time I gave it a shot...if it's as half as good as you and Warren say...
Controlling the food supply is a very powerful thing. I can see where it would be to the advantage of the government to have total control over a nation's food supply. It will be interesting (and telling) to see if the local farmers are able to move that legislation through. Good luck with your milk hunt, Celeste. Maybe when you move to TX you can get yourself a cow!
mom
As it turns out, I did a little investigating, and local farmers are getting around the law saying you can't sell raw milk by selling 'cow-shares' instead. It's illegal to sell the milk, but it's not illegal to drink milk from your own cow. ;) So, much like a CSA, you can buy a portion of a cow and receive a share of their milk production in exchange. I'll be looking for sources around Austin when I get down to Texas....
Ick...raw milk sounds gross. Here's why:
Milk doesn't taste that great anyways. So, why go out of your way to get it illegally?
As humans, we have to develop the antibodies to drink cow's milk in the first place, so drinking it raw just doesn't sound right. In fact, other than babies, who drink their mother's milk, we are the only species on the planet who consume milk as adults. And I'm pretty sure the only reason we do it is because we couldn't think of a better way to get calcium.
You can get calcium now from OJ, which IS delicious!
I think the reasons for pasteurizing milk are valid and if you are buying it raw then you should be boiling it yourself at the very least. Although, that would probably make it taste even more yucky!
It's basically akin to eating raw meat, which I also would not consume without cooking first.
There are no benefits to drinking raw milk, so why the fuss?
Also, I bet if you looked hard enough you could easily find *pasteurized* milk for sale from local farms and their cows.
Actually, there are benefits to drinking raw milk. The pasteurization process kills enzymes, proteins and a lot of the flavor that make milk taste good.
But if you're one of the ones who doesn't like the taste of milk, that's all you. We do. We like it even better as fresh and as unaltered as we can get it.
And I think a more likely answer to why we're only species that consume milk as adults is because we're also the only species that has ever domesticated animals!
I mean really.... if you're going to say something is non-sensical for us, just because we're the only species that does it, then: clothes, electricity, the written word, food additives (like the calcium in your oj), and hell - cooking or otherwise preparing your food - are all things we shouldn't do, since we're the only species doing them.
Actually many people have taken it one step further. The raw food movement purports that any food exposed to temperatures in excess of 116 degrees is pretty much nutritionally worthless. I'm with Livvy though, I think raw milk is gross, but we all know how finicky I can be about food.
Ok. But why stop at raw milk then? If you are going to drink raw milk because "The pasteurization process kills enzymes, proteins and a lot of the flavor that makes milk taste good" then I think you should go all the way and stop cooking your food entirely. Because cooking, like pasteurization, also "kills enzymes, proteins, and a lot of the flavor" that makes food taste good. What's the point in half-assing it? Could it be that like cooking, pasteurization also kills harmful bacterias that make people ill?
Also, drinking raw milk was how a number of people got sick and started dying in the 1800s...because farmer's weren't providing their cows with the best living conditions. Hence wide-spread pasteurization. How well do you know the cow you are getting your milk from? Or the farmer that is too proud to go out and get a permit to sell un-pasteurized milk? I wouldn't trust that...I'd rather take the easily obtained precautionary measures and drink it pre-cooked.
Also, believe it or not, before pasteurization lots of people from warmer climates would boil their milk before consuming it or simply not drink it at all. The idea that milk should be cooked before consumption is not new...it's been around for hundreds of years. And there is no evidence to prove that people from a region whose climate is not appropriate to storing and drinking milk raw are any less healthy than people from colder regions who do. So, your claim that milk is better for you raw isn't really held up.
But, like I said before, I don't particularly like milk anyways. If you do, and you like it better raw, then good for you. But, I wouldn't delude yourself into thinking you aren't taking health risks from drinking it that way. Because you are.
They didn't have refrigeration or the same sterilization methods in the 1800s that we do today, which is why pasteurization became wide-spread. And it's not a case of a farmer being too proud to go out and get a permit to sell unpasteurized milk, in most states, it's illegal to sell it. In many others the certification process is so onerous and expensive, that a farmer will decline for that reason - the cost makes it impossible for him to sell at a profit. Modern sterilization and refrigeration makes pasteurization not nearly as necessary as it was when people tried to extend the life of their food by putting it in the cellar. You're letting your dislike of milk cloud your reasoning here.
You're also being contentious. Just because I like my milk raw doesn't mean that I have to like everything I eat raw. That's like saying that if you like ice cream, you should only eat your food frozen. I think milk tastes better if it isn't pasteurized, and with modern refrigeration on my side, I'm willing to take the additional risk.
I don't know why it bothers you so much. If your fear of uncertified, un-inspected food is so great, you should definitely stop eating at my house; most of my produce comes from the farmers market. And I'd rather not cook for someone who is going to think what they're eating is yucky anyway.
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