The Possibility of Cheaper Milk 7/28/17
posted on
July 28, 2017
Howdy fellow foodies,
We have been on the trail to producing A-2 milk for over 10 years now.
In the last year, 60% of our milk business was A-2 milk. We are pleased
that our well informed customers want this but some of our folks have
also expressed concern about us going 100% A-2 and no longer selling non
A-2 milk. In one customer's own words, “we are stretching to pay $12 a
gallon for milk but are willing to do so because your milk is the best
nutrient dense milk we can find, but we don’t think we can stretch
anymore to pay $14 a gallon”. So this got me thinking, how many folks
are out there, that want grass fed raw milk, but have a hard time with
price? I can tell myself all day long that my milk is cheap because it
has so many more nutrients in it than the junk milk in the stores. But I
still remember a time when I myself could not afford $12 a gallon milk,
let alone $14. It is not cheap to produce nutrient dense foods and food
in America is dirt cheap. I do not even want to go there. I grew up on
a commodity production farm, I am not going back. I want to move
forward, I want to produce the very best of the best but I also have a
heart for those who cannot afford it, I have been there. So I have been
watching several friends (fellow farmers) line up for the “certified
organic” market thru the local milk coop and now most of them are
getting tired of the game of lies played by the whole coop and its
allies. So now we have convinced one of these to sell 100% grass fed
milk thru us to our customers. Only $8 per gallon, probably go to $9 in
about one year's time. We hope to influence them further, in time, to
come our way in their production methods like: no vaccines and offering
Free Choice Minerals and kelp, but for now this is a milk I would drink
if I were economically challenged but still wanted good quality, 100%
grass-fed milk. This will allow us to continue on our transition to 100%
A-2 and thus all yogurt, cream, kefir etc would be A-2 which is what
some of you want. At the same time we open up a whole new market to
those facing more difficult financial times.
I really enjoyed reading Dr Mercola’s Take Control of Your Health
book and highly recommend it. I have tweaked a couple things and am
immediately seeing some good changes. I especially liked what he says
about listening to your body and doing what it says. I call it getting
on speaking terms with your body and letting it tell you what works and
what does not.
The blind leading the blind. Its just a shame the
industry acts so blatantly as if most Americans will not see right thru
it. Sadly most will not, and go headlong straight for the cliff before
them. Please forward widely to open blind eyes
WOW!! A whole new way to think for most of us. Is this true in animals as well and how do we strike a balance?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RePJ3rJa1Wg
Pork Update
I just enjoyed this article about pastured pork, and the health of fat in truly pastured pork: https://paleoleap.com/just-cows-pastured-pork-poultry/
As discussed in the article the diet of the modern American is full of
too much Omega-6 fats and not enough Omega-3. Omega-6 encourages
inflammation, while Omega-3 reduces inflammation. Many diseases that
Americans struggle with are caused by inflammation. Our bodies need a
proper healthy ratio of these 2 types of polyunsaturated fats. A good
ratio is between 4:1 and 1:1 of Omega-6 to Omega-3. Whereas most
Americans have a ratio between 20:1 and 10:1. Grain and seed oils are
high in Omega-6, while growing green grass, and algae are high in
Omega-3.
What is the problem with pork?
Most hogs in America are raised in CAFOs (Confined Animal Feeding
Operation). Indoors, without fresh air and sunlight, packed together
with little room to move, these pigs are left without any access to soil
and plants. They are fed a high grain diet to fatten them quickly, and
as mentioned above, grain packs them full of Omega-6 and the lack of
fresh forage keeps them from balancing it with Omega-3. These unbalanced
animals are kept alive until slaughter with antibiotics.
What is the alternative?
We present to you the pastured and forest-raised hog... proudly raised
here at Full Circle Farm. Being omnivores pigs don't eat only grass. We
feed them a non-GMO feed ration, and move them weekly into large
paddocks with green succulent grass and forage. The pig gets to choose a
balance of green material and grain that is appropriate... and thus the
anti-inflammatory proper balance of Omega-6 to Omega-3 has been
restored (to the pig... and to those that eat it).
May we all find proper balance in life... and enjoy lots of forest-raised pork, because after all, its the same thing ;)
See our website for pork products.
-Ben
Thanks for supporting a small, family farm and contributing to a more REGENERATIVE future,
Dennis and Alicia
