I had the good fortune Friday evening of meeting personally a number of individuals who regularly add to this blog via their incisive comments. The meeting came about thanks to Linda Diane Feldt, an Ann Arbor, MI, holistic practitioner, who organized a community dinner I was able to attend because I was in the area on other business.
Most of the 30 or so people in attendance are members either of the Family Farms Cooperative (FFC), which was hit by the Michigan Department of Agriculture’s (MDA) sting operation of last October 13, and a second, smaller raw-milk co-op. Not surprisingly, there was lots of discussion about the fine points, and not-so-fine points, of raw milk consumption, including:
–Remembering the first time you consumed raw milk. A few people recalled with amazement their fear about drinking raw milk for the first time. "I thought I would get terribly sick," said one man. I know I had the same feeling–that I might be poisoned by all the terrible bacteria lurking in this "illegal" drink. Then government regulators could claim, "See, we told you so." Not surprisingly, no one in the room has ever gotten the least bit sick from raw milk, and many have consumed it for many years.
–Whose raw milk tastes best? It seems that some raw milk tastes sweeter than other raw milk. The general consensus was that purely grass-fed cows, such as those at Organic Pastures in California, produce less sweet milk than cows fed some grain to supplement their grass and hay. The grain seems to make for sweeter tasting milk.
–Why I could never go back to pasteurized milk. One of the big topics of conversation, not surprisingly, was the legal case hanging over FFC, and in particular the warning letter issued raw-milk supplier David Hochstetler by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA). FFC members fear the action could lead to a disruption of their supply. "I’ve become dependent on raw milk," said one man. "My whole family has. I feel my children are healthier since they’ve been drinking it the last year or so. I know we couldn’t drink the pasteurized stuff any more than we could drink Coke or Pepsi."
A special guest of honor at the dinner was Richard Hebron, the farmer who was at the center of the October 13 sting operation. He reported that he delivered more milk Friday to Michigan dropoff points than at any time since last October, when the sting operation led to a decline of up to 25% and more in demand for raw milk. Based on Friday’s deliveries, consumption was down only about 10% from October. A second farmer, who serves the smaller co-op, was also on hand, expressing the hope additional dairy farmers will take the risk associated with distributing raw milk.
Special thanks to Linda for being a wonderful host, and for serving up some delicious soups and breads (several of which she describes ongoing on her blog).
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