The Bittersweet Taste of Raw Milk

The much anticipated day has come and gone, and with it, I can add drinking raw milk to the list of things I've done in my life. Don't let me saying that come off as though it is some exotic thing that I only wanted to do for the craziness of it all. That interpretation of my text and consequent perspective would be incorrect. The simple and nearly entire reason for this new adventure has come out of a personal quest for health and truth.

The raw milk atmosphere is so polarized. It's hot and cold. Mainstream public is strung around by fear. Pro raw milkers are discouraged by laws making it a hard business (especially if you consider that only the small farmers are producing and selling raw milk, which we all know how we hear about the difficulties of the small farmer -without considering milk-). Like I've said in previous posts, who wants to drive an hour away to pick up only a small portion of their groceries? Not only that, but who also wants to do a few hours of research online trying to find the nearest location that will sell that raw milk to you? The farmers aren't allowed to advertise, and it's a very limited supply. So the laws are pretty effective in discouraging your average mildly curious person from access.

If nothing else, all the weird legalities around raw milk only frustrated me to the point of motivation.

So, let's get to it...what happened?

Well. I first had to call to arrange an appointment. Then today, I borrowed a car (since I usually bike, and don't have one). I guess I could have biked, but it was super cold today (time of posting, now yesterday). I also would need to get a couple bike racks to be able to transport it back. So I drove to the farm, a little more than an hour north of here.

As I pulled up to the farm, I noticed a 'For Sale' sign. Confusion and disappointment set in, but I was still mostly excited. I was also nervous that in the hour drive, I still couldn't decide how much milk I actually wanted to buy. It was a long driveway up to the estate, like you'd expect on a farm. On my left, I notice a bunch of pigs seemingly not disturbed by the cold, eating to contentment.

I didn't know where to go. The house, the barn, the other barn? Where to park? I was greeted by the farmer (I'll assign him the name Don for future reference) and then given better instructions. It was quiet there. I must have been there almost an hour, but I was the only customer.

Don lead me from their farm store to the milk tank in another building. He let me try a cup. I was expecting something heavier, thicker, and tasting like cow. Instead, it tasted very similar to the organic milk that I get from Strawberry Fields in town (organic, but as a retail milk...pasteurized). Just because the taste is so close, doesn't mean I'm ready to believe there are no differences and that I should just go back to the pasteurized organic milk. The next couple of weeks will be very important weeks for experimenting with dairy. Hopefully my willpower will improve. I have a bunch of Noosa yogurt that I cannot seem to resist.

I was then introduced to the cows. They were all different types of breeds, which seems to be a slightly different approach than some other dairy farms choose. I guess there is something about Jersey cows that gets bragging rights. I don't know. Anyways, they were so cute! The floor was not as attractive. I advise never looking down while near animals on a farm.

I ended up buying three gallons in six half-gallon jars. I froze one of those gallons. It's a bit more milk than I usually drink, but I'm guessing my experimentation may require a bit more milk than I usually drink. I also bought some of their grass-fed beef and organic pork. I bought a lot; their prices were exceptionally low for organic. Seeing their operation lends itself to believing that these animals have the best lives one can hope for as an animal in today's society.

While I was burning a hole in my pocket, I was also slightly sad [not because I was buying a bunch of food]. I know part of the reason I was willing to buy so much was the good prices, but I felt really bad that such a condition exists that people who do good, quality work are undermined by big business farming. As poor consumers, we want the cheapest we can get. If we're uneducated, or indifferent, we don't care about the behind-the-scenes. It's similar in other aspects of life. Issues that we have personal experience, we tend to have stronger opinions on. For example, someone who is not in a minority group and doesn't have any connections to somebody who is may be completely oblivious to racism. They may think it's only a thing of the past blown out of proportion by over-sensitive individuals. When it comes to food, if you're in a city disconnected from the source of your food (since you are buying all your food in the grocery store), then there's a good chance you also cannot relate to the issues of the small farmer.

Capitalism says that private industry under control of supply and demand should drive everything. I think there is an inherent problem with it when access to information is tainted. The American public needs access to information that presents issues as unbiasedly as possible. Without that, we cannot make properly informed decisions on what to demand in a product. That's not to say that I agree with all government intervention either. Dairy farmers with raw milk sales would be in a much better position if government agencies stopped interfering and trying to tell the American public what they should and shouldn't eat. Who knows, maybe the American public would have better health (not necessarily from drinking raw milk, but from simply saying screw the food guidelines).

So the fact that this farm I visited is and has been trying to sale for about two years paired with believing that the small farmers are hurting was slightly depressing. They are looking for somebody to continue their farm in the manner that they've been maintaining it. I truly hope that when that somebody comes along to buy their farm, it'll be the perfect fitting. I feel the cause is just. I wish the route could be easier and the rewards greater.

I even felt like it'd be cool to be that person, but there are way too many reasons I couldn't be (especially at this point in time). Money, knowledge in farming, and desire to travel being the most significant reasons.

I finally tried raw milk. It wasn't anything too different in taste, but all the thoughts and efforts behind obtaining it were more than you could ever envision when picking up a regular gallon of milk at the grocery store. It hasn't made me sick either.