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MommyD
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| Posted: May 22 2007 at 5:18pm | IP Logged
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Does anyone know anything about "hormone free" milk? My parents were dairy farmers for years and they swear that this is a marketing scam. I would love to hear more information.
Melissa
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juststartn
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| Posted: May 22 2007 at 5:46pm | IP Logged
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Well, from what research I have done, the hormones used to increase milk production do pass into the milk...it is suspected to be one cause of the upswing in earlier onset of puberty, among other things.
Personally, I prefer hormone free milk, as well as close to the cow as I can get it (it is illegal in NC to sell raw milk for human consumption, so I don't get THAT close to the cow...)...lol. Pasture fed/raised, antibiotic and hormone free...basically, just give me milk, not any of the added "stuff".
Rachel
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organiclilac
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| Posted: May 22 2007 at 9:30pm | IP Logged
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We also avoid buying milk with rBGH (Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone).
It is technically illegal to buy raw milk here in Illinois as well, but since the Amish family we buy from has their milk marked "for animal consumption only" they can sell it... what we do with it is our business! (It's delicious!)
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Tracy, wife to Shawn, mama to Samuel (4/01) and Joseph (11/11), and Thomas (2/15)
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J.Anne
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| Posted: May 22 2007 at 9:55pm | IP Logged
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I am curious too. I have asked my pediatrician about such things. He insists that ingested hormones are destroyed in the stomach acids etc. and don't cause any problems. But the birth control pill is a hormone, right? And that is taken orally (not that I have any personal experience  )
I have heard very icky things about how rBGH effects on the cattle and was so grossed out that I am currently not able to comsume any dairy products. Ick.
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knowloveserve
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| Posted: May 22 2007 at 10:54pm | IP Logged
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There aren't any conclusive studies on that particular hormone affecting much of a difference in the milk itself.
But people consider it to be "organic-lite" since it's still affordable but makes people think they are buying something healthier.
I figure, even if not much difference is found in the milk itself, the less hormones the better.
We drink organic milk when possible. People balk at the price tag. "How can you afford it?"
It's simply a lifestyle choice. We make cuts in other areas that are "normal" for most Americans (cable, cell phones, etc.) in order to buy the things that are important to us.
Now everyone has there own finicky traits with SOMETHING, so by no means are we eating 100% organic stuff... can't afford it! So, with that organic milk we love good old, trans-fatty Oreos when they go on sale!
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Ellie
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saintanneshs
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| Posted: May 24 2007 at 5:51pm | IP Logged
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Okay, I'm going to go out on a limb here, realizing that as a dairy farmer's wife I'm definitely in the minority, but I'd like to share a bit about "hormone-free" milk.
"Hormone-Free" milk, beef, eggs, etc. is a misnomer.
First of all, if you are a carnivore and you eat any animals or any animal by-products, you are consuming hormones. As mammals we all produce hormones. It's what gives us our male and female-ness. Female mammals produce hormones so we can give birth and make milk. So do cows, so do pigs, and so on and so on.
So what does "hormone-free" milk really mean?
It means "no hormones added." As mentioned above dairy farmers sometimes use additional amounts of hormones already occurring in a cow's system to boost her milk supply, remedy health problems, or enable conception. The key to this practice is responsibility. Just as a human mom might need to seek all-natural hormone supplementation (as opposed to synthetic, man-made supplementation) to maintain a pregnancy after previous miscarriage, hormones are not a bad thing. How many of us have had to exhaust every avenue to increase our own milk supply so we could breastfeed our babies?
*******It's a MYTH that farmers pump their dairy cows, beef cows, etc. full of hormones to increase production and therefore flood the market with drug-filled milk and beef.********
Why?
Because milk and dairy products are among the most highly regulated foods available in the United States. Milk and dairy products are subject to up to 17 government-required or voluntary industry safety checks from farm to table. Milk is tested before it even leaves the farm and yet my husband and I have customers at our market who march through the door and proclaim to us that milk is what caused an early puberty in their daughters.
"It can be unfortunate that some consumers base their buying decisions more upon perception than science...The difference in the amount of estrogen in a 3-oz. portion of non-implanted beef and a 3oz. portion of implanted beef is, on the average six tenths of one nanogram. A nanogram is one billionth of a gram. Some folks have related a billionth of a gram as one blade of grass on the average football field." (The Virginia Cattleman, April 2007) The graph below illustrates the relative levels of estrogen in beef vs. the human body.
3 oz. non-implanted beef= 1.3 nanograms of estrogen
3oz. implanted beef = 1.9 nanograms of estrogen
8 oz. milk =567.4 nanograms of estrogen
Birth Control Pill =35,000 nanograms of estrogen
Adult Male =136,000 nanograms of estrogen
Adult Female =480,000 nanograms of estrogen
(Info from The Virginia Cattleman April 2007)
So who's responsible for ensuring consumer safety when it comes to hormones that occur naturally and as a supplement within our animal products?
First, the farmer. Get to know your local farmer. Ask about practices and procedures and write down what he or she says. If you don't trust their word (and I don't blame you) go and do a little research. Farmers have to maintain a license to farm which includes regular planned and unplanned inspections upon every aspect of animal health. Second, remember that large animal vets have to have a license also. They are responsible for herd health issues and are great resources. Third, the seller of the farm product, who is actually the one being paid top dollar for farm products in the marketplace (farmers don't get the big bucks). The marketer is responsible for following safety standards enforced by the US government, which is the fourth responsible party. Don't trust the government's USDA and FDA? Check out the hoops farmers have to go through as far as testing and inspections go on the local, state, and federal levels.
So why isn't there better, more accurate information
about dairy industry standards?
There is, but you aren't going to find it in your local paper. Most pieces you'll read there are "opinion pieces" but aren't necessarily labeled as such. You have to consider the source. These days we can find information and studies to back up just about everything we have an opinion about. That's not such a bad thing. But sometimes we forget to check the source. You want to know about healthy milk, ask dairy farmers. Read their publications. Read the dairy scientists latest findings. You wouldn't ask a public school teacher questions about homeschooling just because she has a teaching degree, right? You'd ask the veteran homeschooling mom.
A few places to google for source-appropriate information: Hoard's Dairyman, The Virginia Cattleman, and Farm Bureau...all organizations dedicated to speaking up on issues near and dear to American farmers, who are usually too busy in their fields and milking parlors to speak up for themselves.
Good luck on your search in finding the best for your family. Thanks for allowing me to throw my very long-winded two cents into the pot!
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Kristine
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J.Anne
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| Posted: May 24 2007 at 6:03pm | IP Logged
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Thank you Kristine for your far more informed opinion. I base mine on what my nutty cousin finds on the internet - certainly not a reliable source.
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Jennifer
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wifemommy
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| Posted: May 24 2007 at 9:10pm | IP Logged
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Thank you Kristine. Annie
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Maturemomg
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| Posted: May 24 2007 at 10:26pm | IP Logged
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Okay, as a non-dairy consumer, here are my thoughts.
First off, Kristine, I think you have provided accuarte info.
We choose not to consiume dairy for a variety of reasons, but basically we do not feel it is a good food for human consumption (we don't eat much meat either).
Part of that reason is what Kristine said. If you drink milk (or eat lost of meat) YOU are consuming hormones. Even if you grew it yourself totally oragnically, free range and all that. There ARE the naturally occurring hormones in these products. Cow milk is designed to grow baby cows (turning a 35 pound? newborn into a thousand pound animal in a year? Or two? whatever....)
My children ALL start puberty MUCH later than most children. (At 17, my sons have yet to shave.) They do grow, and grow just fine, tall and healthy (3 adult kids so far), but have that adolescent growth spurt later than most. My current 15 ds is the smallest 15 he or we currently know. I TOTALLY believe this is due to consumption of fewer hormones than most (not just dairy, Kristine, but partly dairy). Most moms say, "Drink your milk!" I say, "No, you can't have milk!"
My ds worked for a while for a dairy farmer locally. They DID use quite a bit of added "things" to the milk. I am unsure what all, but about 90% sure at least some of it was hormones, and some of it was antibiotics. I think his practices were pretty normal, at least for around here. I could be wrong (about it being normal, I KNOW they used drugs, I'm just not positive exactly what).
Another thing to consider is that I have heard and read and researched and believe that while many things may not actually contain hormones, they contain things that our bodies CHANGE into unwanted hormones. Many cosmetics, lotions, etc. The terms is xenoestrogen. A web search on that yields lots of info.
Another question for Kristine. I have read and been shocked by some things I really wonder about being true. In regards to bacteria count in milk. That it can be really high (I don't recall the numbers, but HIGH.) I would imagine bacteria count would be one of the most regulated things. Do you have any knowledge on this?
Anyway, I think there are two sides to it. Some feel dairy is good/okay. Some feel only raw or goats' milk or "hormone-free" or whatever is okay. And some believe no dairy is best. I'm in the last group (for 25 years), and simply want to say it IS a viable option, and not hard. I have, as I said, 3 adult children, all tall and healthy. Never had broken bones, teeth probably better than average. Never worried much about getting enough calcium, but we do try to eat a highly nutritious balanced diet and limit sugar and junk food. (We do have a BIT of dairy- they can have ice cream on birthdays, and I never make a big deal out of things like helping themselves to cheesy dishes like lasagne at potlucks or whatever.) I know there are many out there who agree with me.
Yours in Christ,
Kathy
ETA: One argument you make, Kristine, makes no sense. You are right, I would not ask the public school teacher about hsing. Then it follows, doesn't it, that I would NOT ask the typical dairy farmer (NO offense meant by that) about hormone-free milk?
Again, I repeat, that I think you provided accurate info. It would be interesting to hear how a hormone-free or organic or whatever dairy farmer might reply....
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saintanneshs
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| Posted: May 25 2007 at 9:31am | IP Logged
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Maturemomg wrote:
| ETA: One argument you make, Kristine, makes no sense. You are right, I would not ask the public school teacher about hsing. Then it follows, doesn't it, that I would NOT ask the typical dairy farmer (NO offense meant by that) about hormone-free milk? .... |
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I disagree. My logic reflects my statement that you have to consider the source. As mentioned above, a public school teacher would not have any data to back up a family's decision to homeschool their children. She wouldn't know the studies done that support homeschooling. She wouldn't know the issues near and dear to homeschoolers and she wouldn't have any homeschooling experience to reflect upon. She would have a teaching degree though and might think that it entitles her to tout her opinions about homeschooling as fact.
In comparison to homeschooling, the dairy industry often gets an unfairly bad rap. How many of us are disheartened to read articles or web postings about how homeschooling fosters ignorant, ill-behaved, unsocialized children? How many of us have encountered the public sentiment that as homeschooling parents we must be trying to hide something. Are we? No. But we feel forced to defend, to prove ourselves when confronted, even though we don't have to prove anything to anyone. With dairying, we do have to prove it because unlike homeschooling we're trying to sell something. So what would be the best way to "sell" our healthy product? Much the same as St. Francis advocated with our Catholic faith..."Evangelize always and when necessary, use words." The same can be said for American Farmers. We live quiet lives doing God's work to feed His people. As with homeschooling, we don't ask for thanks or even respect, but it would be nice, when we attempt to show our side of the issues, if the misinformed public would research their questions within our sources. Don't we wish that everyone who has attacked our decision to homeschool would spend some time reading about homeschooling at the HSLDA's website?
...Another analogy of unfounded "research" would be all of the information you can find on the net about our Catholic faith. Is everything you read that has "studies" to back it up truth? Want the true answers? Go to Catholic websites. You can get lots of "facts" about the Catholic faith on any Jehova's Witness websites, but are they fact? NO! They are just someone's unresearched, non source-appropriate opinion being touted as "fact" in order to support their greater agendas (no offense to any Jehova's Witnesses). This thinking can be easily applied to radical anti-farming, anti-animal and anti-animal product consumption websites or organizations that support such thinking.
Also, I didn't say to ONLY ask a dairy farmer, but to start there. He would DEFINITELY be the first person to ask since he knows the ins and outs of dairying and dairy regulations, compliance, laws, inspections, ordinances, processing, environmental & conservation issues and laws, herd health, animal physiology, etc, etc, etc. Dairy farmers have a vested interest in providing only the best product to consumers. Today's dairy farmers are college-educated and want to share the beauty of dairying as well as point mislead consumers in the right direction for answers to their questions. We don't have anything to hide. It makes sense that if we mistreated our cows, our land, or our product in any way, we'd be jeopardizing our livelihood and our heritage. We aim to meet the desires of the consumer within the boundaries of the law, preserving our integrity and trustworthiness along the way.
I repeat, we can find information to back up just about anything we have an opinion on these days, but we must consider the source. As for your questions about bacteria levels and antibiotics in milk, I do have the answers. However, since the facts as I relate them do not influence you as much as the research you've already done, I encourage you to Google the organizations I mentioned above and do your own homework. 
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saintanneshs
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| Posted: May 25 2007 at 11:34am | IP Logged
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I'm happy to answer questions from anyone who is interested in "straight talk" about milk or the dairy industry. Please feel free to me ask any questions you have. If I don't have the answers, I'll do my best to find them for you. Questions only...no attacks, please. And try to find the answers for yourself first, using the following websites... (my time for this crusade is limited )! NO, of course I'm not an authority, just a mom & a wife who has asked her farmer husband every question about dairy safety you can think of and done a good bit of source-appropriate research to check up on what I've heard.
Here's 2 source-appropriate websites with more information about milk and the dairy industry than could possibly be digested in one day.
Dairy Farming Today
Dairy Farmers of America
And...
Here's a copy of a very short article published in the April 2005 issue of Dairy Herd Management which illustrates exactly what I was referring to as far as "considering the source" above. (And I do have many more current articles on hand, but this is one of my favorites because it has to do with the medical field and agriculture.):
Report Attacks Milk's Role in Building Strong Bones
According to an article in the February issue of Pediatrics (magazine), milk may not be the best calcium source to help kids build strong bones. And, unless you know the lead researcher is a member of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine--an animal-rights group with just 5 percent of the membership being physicians--you may be inclined to believe his message.
A statement by the National Dairy Council and the International Foods Association calls the article an "opinion piece" and that the authors "chose to ignore decades of comprehensive research endorsing dairy's role in bone health."
I wonder how many moms read this article or ones similar to it and believed it was gospel truth because a "doctor said so?"
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Kristine
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Celeste
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Kristine, this information is so interesting! I had resigned myself to paying double for the organic milk--yes, guilty, didn't do the research. It's nice to hear the other side.
On a related topic (hope it's not off-topic), what can you tell us about homogenization? At my local grocery store I can buy non-homogenized milk, and it's kind of cool to see the cream on the top (although the kids hate to get chunks of cream in their cereal).
Celeste
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saintanneshs
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| Posted: May 25 2007 at 1:40pm | IP Logged
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Celeste, homogenization is the process by which particles of two or more insoluble substances, as in the fat in milk, are reduced to such a small size that they will form a stable emulsion with one another. (Webster's Dictionary)
Basically, non-homogenized milk is spun at very high speeds at the milk processing plant which allows the molecules to break up throughout the milk. We sell both homogenized and non-homogenized milk at our farm market. I think it's really just a preference thing. Most of the old-timers and former dairy families like the cream on top of fresh milk. Me? I don't like the chunks of cream falling into my cereal so my kids and I drink homogenized. Dh goes either way.
The more important issue is pasteurization. I know lots of families here like raw milk and it can be sold on a local level in some states, if it is labeled "animal-consumption only" or your family chooses to buy a "share" of a cow in a dairy herd, thereby allowing said family to do what they will with "their" animal and animal products. If it's someone's cup of tea, that's fine. I drank unpasteurized milk for years. It's good, but no better than the pasteurized farm-fresh, all-natural milk we sell now. And the two are equally healthy if we look at the science behind them. Dh grew up on raw milk and so did his father and grandfather and so on and so on. Lots of families drink it...But to be fair, I've also seen what happens sometimes when individuals who haven't been raised on dairy farms and don't have any level of resistance to certain bacteria (which are always present in organic material like milk), consume raw milk. Just this past fall, three local teenagers and 1 adult tried raw milk for the first time and were hospitalized because their bodies couldn't fight off the resulting infections. How often does this happen? Rarely, but it does happen. It wasn't our milk, (raw milk sale is illegal in our state) but I know the kids who drank it and I saw just how sick they got and how quickly it happened. In fact, my dh had some of the same milk and only had diarrhea, but those kids were in the hospital fighting for their lives. That's just how much difference there is between the immunity and resistance of someone who has been raised on raw mik and someone who has not. I'm not saying anyone should fear raw milk, just be aware of all sides of the issue of pasteurization. As with any risk, we should all know what the possibilities are before we determine what's best for our families.
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Kristine
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saintanneshs
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| Posted: May 25 2007 at 1:45pm | IP Logged
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Here's a link to a pdf file from Dairy Farming Today with FAQs about milk (including organic milk)...
Got Questions?
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Kristine
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mary theresa
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Kristine (and others,)
i am nowhere near as knowledgable as you are about milk! We drink raw milk in our household and I know MANY lastose-intolerant people who can completely digest raw milk, as the proper enzymes for digesting the milk haven't been destroyed by the heating process.
So, I just wanted to mention that MOST people who choose raw milk, as far as I know, do NOT in fact see homegenization and pastuerization as a "preference thing."
Here is an interesting website about the "campaign" for raw milk. And it's not just about the taste or cream top, that's for sure!!
(BTW, I'm definitely not trying to contradict anyone, just wanted to provide this link for anyone interested and trying to gather info!)
Real Milk
Here's a quote from the website about pasteurization:
Pasteurization destroys enzymes, diminishes vitamin content, denatures fragile milk proteins, destroys vitamins C, B12 and B6, kills beneficial bacteria, promotes pathogens and is associated with allergies, increased tooth decay, colic in infants, growth problems in children, osteoporosis, arthritis, heart disease and cancer. Calves fed pasteurized milk do poorly and many die before maturity. Raw milk sours naturally but pasteurized milk turns putrid; processors must remove slime and pus from pasteurized milk by a process of centrifugal clarification. Inspection of dairy herds for disease is not required for pasteurized milk. Pasteurization was instituted in the 1920s to combat TB, infant diarrhea, undulant fever and other diseases caused by poor animal nutrition and dirty production methods. But times have changed and modern stainless steel tanks, milking machines, refrigerated trucks and inspection methods make pasteurization absolutely unnecessary for public protection. And pasteurization does not always kill the bacteria for Johne’s disease suspected of causing Crohn's disease in humans with which most confinement cows are infected. Much commercial milk is now ultra-pasteurized to get rid of heat-resistant bacteria and give it a longer shelf life. Ultra-pasteurization is a violent process that takes milk from a chilled temperature to above the boiling point in less than two seconds. Clean raw milk from certified healthy cows is available commercially in several states and may be bought directly from the farm in many more. (Sources are listed on www.realmilk.com.)
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Mary Theresa
mother to 3 little girls --March '06, Dec '07 and Jan '10
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J.Anne
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| Posted: May 25 2007 at 3:00pm | IP Logged
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I bet Melissa didn't think she would get so many passionate responses to a question about milk! I'm enjoying reading everyone's opinions on this topic - and learning quite a bit as well.
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Jennifer
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saintanneshs
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| Posted: May 25 2007 at 4:18pm | IP Logged
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mary theresa wrote:
| So, I just wanted to mention that MOST people who choose raw milk, as far as I know, do NOT in fact see homegenization and pastuerization as a "preference thing." |
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To clarify, I said homogenization was a "preference thing." I did not say this about pasteurization and instead said that it was a "more important issue."
mary theresa wrote:
Here's a quote from the website about pasteurization:
Pasteurization destroys enzymes, diminishes vitamin content, denatures fragile milk proteins, destroys vitamins C, B12 and B6, kills beneficial bacteria, promotes pathogens and is associated with allergies, increased tooth decay, colic in infants, growth problems in children, osteoporosis, arthritis, heart disease and cancer. |
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I'd like to see the research backing up these "studies" and find out who the researchers are and who financed the studies (tax dollars? formost authorities and scientists in the dairy industry? the foundation who published the studies? raw milk marketers? etc. etc.)
And I'm sorry but I have to address a little bit of "reading between the lines" necessary for deciphering these next few statements. I admire your enthusiasm but I'd like to clarify. 
mary theresa wrote:
| Calves fed pasteurized milk do poorly and many die before maturity. |
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...Okay, that might be right BUT calves aren't fed pasteurized milk. Standard practice is to feed calves initial feedings of raw cow's milk because it has colostrum in it and we all know the benefits of colostrum. Calves who do not get colostrum in the early feedings do very, very poorly. Shortly after the initial feedings of cow's milk, calves are fed nutrient-dense grain and vitamins allowing them to grow strong and healthy very quickly.
mary theresa wrote:
| Raw milk sours naturally but pasteurized milk turns putrid; processors must remove slime and pus from pasteurized milk by a process of centrifugal clarification. |
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...All organic material deteriorates.
The definition of "sour": having a rank or rancid odor.
The definition of "putrid" : Being in a decayed, foul-smelling state.
Hmmm...sounds pretty similar to me.
There's no slime and pus in pasteurized milk. This statement is purely a scare-tactic. The standards for
milk handling and processing in the US are the strictist and most overwhelming in the world. If you don't wanna take my word for it, check out this sample of just the standards for milk handling alone. When I get a chance, I'll find out where the standards for milk processing are (I've already been on this computer for too long today).
mary theresa wrote:
| Inspection of dairy herds for disease is not required for pasteurized milk. |
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That's right, if you count half-truths as right. It's required for EVERYONE with an operating license in the country who wishes to sell their product in the marketplace, either through direct-marketing or via a processor and marketer team, irregardless of whether the product is pasteurized.
mary theresa wrote:
| Pasteurization was instituted in the 1920s to combat TB, infant diarrhea, undulant fever and other diseases caused by poor animal nutrition and dirty production methods. But times have changed and modern stainless steel tanks, milking machines, refrigerated trucks and inspection methods make pasteurization absolutely unnecessary for public protection. |
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I'm sure that's what the mothers of those teenagers I mentioned above believed, until they got sick. Bottom line is bacteria is bacteria. As long as there's an earth, there will be bacteria. And as long as there is cow poop somewhere in a field, cows will find it and lay in it and we'll have to do our best to get the manure off of those teats before the milkers go on her. Yes, production methods, technology, standards, laws, the education of participants in the dairying process, etc. has all improved with time. But bacteria is still bacteria. Cows are still cows and humans still make mistakes. The difference is, while bacteria is still going to exist, in raw milk it goes unchecked and unregulated. You never know how much bacteria is in there. So you take a chance and rely on the dairy management practices of the farm from whom you are buying raw milk. That's everyone's decision to make. I'm really not pro or con until the health and nutrition of non-raw milk is challenged. I don't mind people buying raw milk or supporting causes that endorse or encourage raw milk purchasing and distribution. What I do mind is sideways talk. I'm just trying to share some of the oft-unknown aspects surrounding the decision to be made, which are often clouded at best.
Back to the bacteria issue...With pasteurized milk, there's an enforced limit of bacteria within the milk. When you ship grade A milk to a processing plant, before it even leaves your farm it's tested. Upon arrival at the processing plant, if your levels exceed government safety standards that tanker of milk is dumped before it even reaches pasteurization. And if, from the sample taken from YOUR milk tank on YOUR farm, it is determined that YOUR cows had the high bacteria level that caused the tanker of milk to be flushed, you are not only out the $2,760.00 you would have been paid for YOUR load of milk (approx. 200 cows' worth of milk), you'd also be responsible for cutting a check for $5,521.00 to the co-op, reimbursing the other farmers whose milk you just ruined. That's a pretty hefty fine encouraging a pretty serious committment to milk quality standards, going hand-in-hand with regular inspections, herd health monitoring, environmental regulations, etc. etc.
mary theresa wrote:
| And pasteurization does not always kill the bacteria for Johne’s disease suspected of causing Crohn's disease in humans with which most confinement cows are infected. |
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Most dairy operations are not confinement operations.
mary theresa wrote:
| Much commercial milk is now ultra-pasteurized to get rid of heat-resistant bacteria and give it a longer shelf life. Ultra-pasteurization is a violent process that takes milk from a chilled temperature to above the boiling point in less than two seconds. |
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"Violent?" Well I guess frying up a salmon in my frying pan could be considered violent...if the fish was still alive...but boiling milk? Okaaaay.
The facts: The milk sold in grocery stores in the dairy section is not ultra-pasteurized. Check the label. Ultra-pasteurized milk is in the juice aisle and usually comes in small non-refrigerated juicebox form. If you don't look carefully for it, you'll walk right by...that's how "much" is in your grocery store. Additionally, ultra pasteurized milk is usually sold internationally, and not for distribution in the US. I agree, it has a very yucky taste.
mary theresa wrote:
| Clean raw milk from certified healthy cows is available commercially in several states and may be bought directly from the farm in many more. |
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Ahhh...some truth.
Please don't throw cyber tomatoes. My intent is to inform, not offend. I don't believe God would want me to allow misinformation to damage His stewards of His earth or His children who inhabit it, if I can help it. That's why I've spent WAAAAY more time here today than I should have. Mary, I'm not attacking you at all. I admire your enthusiasm and energy. And I'm not against raw milk in the marketplace. Raw milk sellers are NOT competition for non-raw milk sellers at all. In fact, we could possibly make more money selling raw milk (via selling shares of a cow) than otherwise, but have made a different decision based upon what we feel is best for our family and business.
I'm NOT anti-raw milk.
I AM anti- the propagation of misinformation.
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Kristine
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msclavel
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Kristine-
Thank you so very much for all the great information. And God bless your farm and work. If you don't mind saying, where in VA are you?
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saintanneshs
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msclavel wrote:
Kristine-
Thank you so very much for all the great information. And God bless your farm and work. If you don't mind saying, where in VA are you?
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You're welcome & I pm'ed you! 
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Kristine
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mary theresa
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saintanneshs wrote:
Please don't throw cyber tomatoes. |
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Oh goodness! I totally wasn't ! I was just pointing out a website that I had found that might be informative for others who were wondering!
The quote I included is not necc. something I was agreeing with I was simply giving an example of some stuff on the website. However, you can find the sources for all the claims on the website, as the quote did say at the bottom -- the paragraph was a summary of the points they were making in a larger article.
The Weston Price Foundation in my experience doesn't make unfounded claims, but every article I have read has been meticulously researched and studies clearly referenced. That being said, I have not read much on their Real Milk site, just on their main site about other things.
Anyways, you seem to know so much about milk and that's awesome. I myself am not researching this subject but I just wanted to point out the other side of the debute for any looking to gather more info.
BTW, I do know that some people have a problem with homogenized milk too -- beyond the preference thing. My mom is one of those people. She told me about her research that substatiates that but I don't remember much details. I do know that some claim that it is worse than pastuerization. . . . I don't really know.
Thanks Kristine for all your information. Very interesting.
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Mary Theresa
mother to 3 little girls --March '06, Dec '07 and Jan '10
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Tell me about 'hormone free' milk
