What do you prefer fresh milk directly from cow or from supermarket

What does that tell you?

When I was a kid about five lifetimes ago, I used to visit our friends who lived on a farm, and they gave me fresh cow's milk. It was rich and tasty! I also remember a time when we bought milk, and the cream would settle on the top. But that was about six lifetimes ago.

When I was a kid, we used to visit a farm where one could buy real buttermilk, that is, milk that was a by-product of churning. It was served icy cold along with a shaker of salt. You were supposed to salt the cold milk but I preferred mine unsalted. There were tiny yellow flecks of butter in the milk. It was nothing like today's so-called buttermilk which is cultured and, therefore, akin to yogurt.

I wanted to contact a local farmer for manure and hay for the garden and found this:


The Robinson Family Farm is a 4th-generation diversified farm with a certified organic, grass-based dairy, milking 40 cows. Our organic certifier is Baystate Organic Certifiers. The farm is located in the rolling hills of Central MA, near the Quabbin Reservoir, in Hardwick, MA.

We have a farmstand open every day and offer certified organic raw milk, vegetables, flowers, and eggs, also humanely raised "rose" veal, beef, hay, and local cheese.

We have five milk groups that purchase raw milk from our farm.They are the Worcester Raw Milk Co-op (Worcester), Raw Milk Rebels (Sturbridge), Green Pastures (Tewksbury/Andover), and Just Dairy in the Boston Area and Waltham. Check our website or contact us for more information, there are also new groups forming. We hope to begin building our own creamery this winter and to make cheese later in 2010.

http://www.eatwild.com/animals.html

From the above site:

New term you need to know: “by-product feedstuffs”

Fresh pasture and dried grasses are the natural diet of all ruminant animals. In factory farms, animals are switched to an unnatural diet based on corn and soy. But corn and soy are not the only ingredients in their “balanced rations.” Many large-scale dairy farmers and feedlot operators save money by feeding the cows “by-product feedstuffs” as well. In general, this means waste products from the manufacture of human food. In particular, it can mean sterilized city garbage, candy, bubble gum, floor sweepings from plants that manufacture animal food, bakery, potato wastes or a scientific blend of pasta and candy.

Here are some of the “by-product feedstuffs commonly used in dairy cattle diets in the Upper Midwest.”*

Candy. Candy products are available through a number of distributors and sometimes directly from smaller plants… They are sometimes fed in their wrappers…. Candies, such as cull gummy bears, lemon drops or gum drops are high in sugar content.
Bakery Wastes. Stale bread and other pastry products from stores or bakeries can be fed to dairy cattle in limited amounts. These products are sometimes fed as received without drying or even removal of the wrappers.
Potato Waste is available in potato processing areas, and includes cull potatoes, French fries and potato chips. Cull fresh potatoes that are not frozen, rotten, or sprouted can be fed to cows either whole or chopped. Potato waste straight from a processing plant may contain varying amounts of inedible or rotten potatoes. French fries and chips contain fats or oils from frying operations.
Starch. Unheated starch is available from some candy manufacturers and sometimes may contain pieces of candy.
Pasta is available from pasta plants and some ingredient distributors as straight pasta or in blends with other ingredients, such as candy.
*This list is excerpted from “By-Product Feedstuffs in Dairy Cattle Diets in the Upper Midwest,” published in 2008 by the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

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Feedlot diets are a recipe for animal discomfort and disease

Consumers are beginning to realize that taking ruminants off their natural diet of pasture and fattening them on grain or other feedstuff diminishes the nutritional value of the meat and milk. But what does a feedlot diet do to the health and well-being of the animals?

1) The first negative consequence of a feedlot diet is a condition called "acidosis." During the normal digestive process, bacteria in the rumen of cattle, bison, or sheep produce a variety of acids. When animals are kept on pasture, they produce copious amounts of saliva that neutralize the acidity. A feedlot diet is low in roughage, so the animals do not ruminate as long nor produce as much saliva. The net result is "acid indigestion."

2) Over time, acidosis can lead to a condition called "rumenitis," which is an inflammation of the wall of the rumen. The inflammation is caused by too much acid and too little roughage. Eventually, the wall of the rumen becomes ulcerated and no longer absorbs nutrients as efficiently.

3) Liver abscesses are a direct consequence of rumenitis. As the rumen wall becomes ulcerated, bacteria are able to pass through the walls and enter the bloodstream. Ultimately, the bacteria are transported to the liver where they cause abscesses. From 15 to 30 percent of feedlot cattle have liver abscesses.

4) Bloat is a fourth consequence of a feedlot diet. All ruminants produce gas as a by-product of digestion. When they are on pasture, they belch up the gas without any difficulty. When they are switched to an artificial diet of grain, the gasses can become trapped by a dense mat of foam. In serious cases of bloat, the rumen becomes so distended with gas that the animal is unable to breathe and dies from asphyxiation.

5) Feedlot polio is yet another direct consequence of switching animals from pasture to grain. When the rumen becomes too acidic, an enzyme called "thiaminase" is produced which destroys thiamin or vitamin B-1. The lack of vitamin B-1 starves the brain of energy and creates paralysis. Cattle that are suffering from feedlot polio are referred to as "brainers."

Typically, feedlot managers try to manage these grain-caused problems with a medicine chest of drugs, including ionophores (to buffer acidity) and antibiotics (to reduce liver abscesses). A more sensible and humane approach is to feed animals their natural diet of pasture, to which they are superbly adapted.

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And now—pot scrubbers!

In the "what will they think of next" category, feedlot nutritionists have been experimenting with substituting kitchen pot scrubbers for hay. Feedlot cattle need some roughage in their diet in addition to the grain concentrate or they will become sick and gain weight more slowly. But why bring in all that bulky hay, reasoned investigators, when pot scrubbers might do the trick? To test this novel idea, the scientists fed a group of steers a high-grain diet and then inserted either zero, four, or eight plastic scrubbers into each animal's rumen (stomach). The experiment appeared to work. "From day 113 to 152, steers provided with pot scrubbers had 16% greater average daily gain than those fed the 100% concentrate diet without pot scrubbers."

Wouldn't it be gratifying if the money spent on this questionable study had been spent on exploring the health benefits of raising animals on pasture?

(Loerch, S. C. (1991). "Efficacy of plastic pot scrubbers as a replacement for roughage in high- concentrate cattle diets." J Anim Sci 69(6): 2321-8.)

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Sickness rampant in feedlots

In a 1999 study, Oklahoma State University researchers scrutinized the health of 222 calves that were raised in South Dakota and then shipped to Kansas to be fattened in a typical feedlot. The main focus of the study was a common feedlot disease called bovine respiratory disease or BRD. During the 150-day stay at the feedlot, half of the cattle were treated for BRD, some of them more than once. Even more troubling, examination of the animals at slaughter revealed that 37 percent of the animals that had not been treated for BRD had lung lesions characteristic of the disease. In total, 87 percent of the cattle had been either treated for BRD or had suffered from the disease and escaped diagnosis.

(Gardner, B.A., et al, "Health of Finishing Steers: Effects on Performance, Carcass Traits, and Meat Tenderness." J. Animal Science, 1999. 77:3168-75.)



A novel way to recycle your phone books

Animal researchers have discovered an efficient way to recycle paper: feed it to cows! In a dubious feeding experiment, scientists ground up telephone books, glossy magazines, computer cards, computer printout sheets, newspapers, cardboard boxes, feed sacks, brown bags, and coasters. Then they soaked the paper in whey to make a sort of paper mache. "Based on in vitro digestibilities," they reported in the Journal of Dairy Science, "we conclude that it is possible to recycle selected paper/whey combinations through ruminants."

Possible, yes. But desirable??

(Becker, B. A., J. R. Campbell, et al. "Paper and whey as a feedstuff for ruminants." J Dairy Sci 58(11): 1677-81.)

man was I stupid, I had 200 acres of irrigated alfalfa/grass mixed hay and corn fields to produce ensilage enough to feed 110 diarr cows. 16 hours a day of work 365 days a year. I drank nothing but fresh raw milk for over 50 years. All that time I could have fed them "by-product feedstuffs" I feel like such a fool.

I'd like to milk a supermarket.

I bet you have a huge pile of "packing peanuts" that could have filled the bellies of many cows.

I participate in a forum called The Family Cow and found a link to this story today, although the story itself is a month old.

Family Farm Ordered to Destroy 50,000 Pounds of Cheese
Food Politics | October 11, 2010


Nah, We’ve got Regulatory Authority!
by Guest Blogger, ©Doreen Hannes 2010

Morningland Dairy is the latest attempt by the FDA to fulfill the Healthy People 2020 objective to kill raw dairy. Morningland is owned by Joseph and Denise Dixon, who operate the cheese plant and make raw cheese from cows kept right on the property and managed by one of their eldest daughters. They have 12 children, 4 who still live at home, and they have been actively engaged in real food for decades. They were caught up in the Rawesome Raid dragnet and many believe the questionable California Dept of Food and Agriculture tests on their cheese are the legal justification for the multi-agency guns drawn raid at Rawesome.

Farm’s Perfect Safety Record Matters Not to Authorities

In the thirty years of Morningland Dairy operations NO ONE has become ill from consuming their products. Yet they have been ordered by the Missouri Milk Board to destroy ALL of their cheese without actual tests being performed on the cheese stock. This is nearly 50,000 pounds of cheese, or approximately $250,000.

Since the Milk Board and the FDA showed up at Morningland on August 26th, they have been “embargoed” from shipping or making any product. They dumped their milk for nearly six weeks before being approved to send it into homogenized, pasteurized distribution. All the while, they have had to pay the bill to keep the dairy and cheese plant operable.

On September 24th, the Milk Board verbally ordered Morningland to destroy their product. Morningland asked that this order be put in writing. One week later the order was hand delivered to General Manager/owner, Joseph Dixon. The order states that in three business days the Milk Board would contact them with when and how the cheese was to be destroyed.

Morningland Rebuts the Destroy Order and Offers a Solution

Morningland dared to publish a written objection to committing suicide, a rebuttal and proposed remedy. They rebutted many of the stated “facts” in the 10-page order, Destroy Orders: Morningland Dairy. The Morningland Dairy then offered a reasonable, logical, scientifically sound remedy to destruction on the afternoon of October 6th.

Gov’t Pushes Forward to Destroy Cheese, and Farm
The next morning, they were served with a restraining order and preliminary injunction by the Attorney General’s office of Missouri. They were to be in court the very next day. In sum, they were ordered to destroy their wealth on Friday, asked for logic and justice on Wednesday, notified they were being sued on Thursday and ordered to be in court on Friday.

At 4:50pm on Thursday, the Attorney General’s office called and canceled court because one or two of their witnesses couldn’t attend. Never mind that a family run dairy and cheese plant with 9 families making a living through it should mount a legal defense against destruction in one day. It’s another raid using Gestapo legal tactics that fit the MO of the FDA and their minions….or sub agents, if you prefer.

As readers of this blog and those in the real food movement know, the FDA has a mission. They have blatantly stated that you have no right to consume foods of your choice, and the FDA Plant and Dairy head has a documented Howard Hughes like fear of raw dairy. They are happy to use their resources to “protect” you from consuming things that don’t make any one ill. They’ve reduced science to superstition. If they get more power through S.510, they will regulate the family farm and real food to death and give you Cheez Whiz and Twinkies as government approved food.



What You Can Do to Help
To fight for your right to choose what you want to eat, Morningland must be able to go on the offense. They are willing to sacrifice everything they have worked for to stand for your ability to eat real food.

Friends of Morningland have put up a website, The Uncheese Party. They are asking supporters to sponsor a cheese to help the family out financially.

For as little as $5 you can tell the FDA and their minions that you are smart enough to decide what you want to eat and don’t need their permission or “help” to figure out what is “good for us”. This battle must be won.