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Raw Milk that is unorganic

750 views 14 replies 11 participants last post by  WuWei 
#1 ·
I finally found a local farmer to buy raw milk from but the grain that he feeds the cows is not organic. He says that he does not feed them much grain but the stuff he does feed is unorgainc because it costs him too much to buy organic feed. Also, he does not use pesticides but spot sprays herbicides on the land. This is my only option for raw cows milk and I am confused if I should stick with Organic Valley whole pastuerized, homogenized milk I buy at the store or try the raw unorganic local milk.

Any opinions?
 
#3 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by gardenmommy View Post
I would do it. Organic grain is very expensive. If the cows are not getting that much grain, if they are mostly pastured, I think it is fine. It isn't perfect, but I think it is a lot better than pasteurized.
Thank you for your input. I am new to TF and I would like to know WHY raw milk is so much better than pasteurized milk
 
#4 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by gardenmommy View Post
I would do it. Organic grain is very expensive. If the cows are not getting that much grain, if they are mostly pastured, I think it is fine. It isn't perfect, but I think it is a lot better than pasteurized.


nak I agree, raw unorganic is a better option than organic and pasteurized.
 
#7 ·
That is what we drink, raw, not organic. Organic grain is about twice as expensive. My concern was if they graze mostly; our source of raw milk only does little grain, when it is dry.

All grain-fed is not as healthy of a cow. And pasteurized, organic would not be as healthy of a cow, imo. Pasteruized milk is sterilized of beneficial enzymes, probiotics and prebiotic microbials with the heat destruction. And the fats are artificially homogenized (generally).

Homogenization is a process that involves breaking apart cells - releasing organelles and cytoplasm. When the purpose is to extract organelles, it is frequently done in two steps; first using a blender to break the tissue up, and then with an ultrasonic or mechanical tissue disruptor. (quick wiki definition)

Pat
 
#8 ·
I'd take the raw in a heartbeat. Organic Valley, especially, I don't even drink because it's ultrapasteurized so I have to make the choice between that and regular pasteurized nonorganic milk. I choose the latter (rBST free though at least).

Pasteurization and homogenization both alter the structure of the milk, and many people feel that this alteration interferes with the nutritional benefits of the milk. In other words, some people (myself included) feel that your body just can't absorb nutrients from pasteurized/homogenized milk in the way that it can from raw milk.

Also, raw milk contains beneficial bacteria, which obviously pasteurized does not.

I'm not a traditional food person, by the way, at least not in the Weston Price way (I think a lot of his beliefs are (were) highly suspect to say the least).
 
#9 ·
I'd choose the non-organic raw over the pasteurized, if I was comfortable with the health of the cows and the cleanliness of the milking procedures. (Although I'm at a point that I don't think I'd trust very many people to produce raw milk I'd buy.)

I keep a milk cow, and can't get 100% organic feed for her. Our pastures aren't good enough to provide much of her nutrition most of the year, so we have to feed hay. Half of her hay is organic, the other half, which is alfalfa, is not organic, because it simply isn't available to me for any price, and she needs alfalfa in addition to the other hay (it's higher protein, higher calcium and more calorie-dense). At milking time, she gets organic alfalfa pellets, a little organic grain and non-organic sunflower seeds, all of which are quite expensive. I'd be fine buying milk from someone else who feeds their cow similarly.

SevenVeils, I'm curious, have you read Price's work itself (Nutrition and Physical Degeneration), or are you basing your opinion of his beliefs on the interpretation of the Weston A. Price Foundation?
 
#11 ·
SevenVeils, IMO, a lot of the interpretation of Price's work that's found on the WAPF website is a stretch, to put it mildly. Price himself had nothing whatsoever to do with the WAPF, he died decades before it was founded. His actual work is fascinating, and not bombastic or exclusionary like a lot of the WAPF stuff comes across. What Price did, studying the groups that he did in the manner that he did and at that particular point in history, provides a very powerful perspective, and I urge anyone who rolls their eyes at a lot of the WAPFoundation info to not dismiss the value of Price's findings and conclusions because of it. Read his book. I've read virtually everything put out by the WAPF, and when reading Price's book, I notice a lot of inconsistencies between what the Foundation recommends and what Price actually said.

No, Mercola and the WAPF aren't the same thing, although apparently Mercola agrees with them on a lot of things and puts some of their stuff on his site (I think he might be an honorary board member of the WAPF or something like that, too). I used to read Mercola and thought he put out some valuable stuff, but over the last few years, he's turned into such a snake-oil salesman (or should I say krill oil?) that I'm totally turned off.
 
#12 ·
There are some big questions here!
Does he feed silage?
Does he use RBGH?
Does he use routine antibiotic?
Are his cows on pasture all day?
How often does he test for TB and jhonnes(a wasting disease linked to chrones).
What are his sematic(sp?) cell counts(mastitis bateria)?

I would not touch unpasturized conventional milk with a ten foot pole. Please do some research. Call some of the raw organic dairys even if they aren't in your area and ask them what to look for and what you should avoid.
Good luck with your milk hunt
 
#13 ·
I agree with the previous posters. I keep our own cow. In my state raw milk is legal. I still couldn't find raw milk that was organic. I did find local organic dairies that was pasturized and homogenized. Both were cost prohibitize for us. Our cow is on pasure all day, not grat pasture but green and outside and plenty of sunshine. Now that it's Oct. we supp. hay. We give a haylige mix. At milking she gets none organic grain and alfalfa pellets and some better quality hay. This is the best I can do for now. All the other options cost too much. She is happy and gives us sweet milk twice a day. Dh even sings to her on the days she is a bit antsy. So I think it is also important that the cow is treated well and thanked for what she gives. I know it sounds goofy,but we love our milk cow
 
#14 ·
I have a ? about the feed/grain given at milking time.

We used to get milk right down the road - that we loved! Sadly, he had to sell his cows


He was a dairy farmer up north for 20 years, and besides the grass they roamed free in ALL the time, he gave them just a scoop of cotton seed with mollasas (so they would eat the cotton seed) at milking time.

Has anyone ever heard of this? He said cattle feeds were either hiigh in protein but low in (something else important, but I don't remember what it was) Or low in protein and high in the other thing. He said cotton seed is high in both, and also has a compound that passes to the milk that kills cancer cells.

We are trying to buy our farm at the moment, so we can have our own cow or goats....so I haven't hunted down another sourse of milk yet. But my kids LOVED his big pile of cotton seed to play in, and are hoping we'll have some at our farm!
 
#15 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by 5gifts View Post
he gave them just a scoop of cotton seed with mollasas (so they would eat the cotton seed) at milking time.

I remembered reading that cotton is high in pesticides.

Just 2.4% of the world's arable land is planted with cotton yet it accounts for 24% of the world's insecticide market and 11% of sale of global pesticides, making it the most pesticide-intensive crop grown on the planet.

The seed and various ginning by-products are used for animal feed and human food. The pesticide residues from these cottonseeds concentrate in the fatty tissues of these animals, and end up in meat and dairy products.

Cottonseed, which is rich in oil and high in protein, is also a common ingredient in cookies, potato chips, salad dressings, baked goods, and other processed foods. Herbicide-resistant or Bt-spliced genetically engineered cotton plants--and their oil and seed derivatives--also contain foreign proteins, bacteria, viral promoters, and antibiotic resistant genes; food ingredients which humans have never eaten before.
  • Milk and beef cattle eat about 6 to 8 pounds of cottonseed per day.
  • In 1994, Australian beef was contaminated with the insecticide chlorfluazaron as a result of cows being fed contaminated straw. The following year scientists discovered that newborn calves also have high levels of the insecticide, which had been passed on from their mother's milk.
  • In California, it is illegal to feed the leaves, stems and short fibers of cotton plants known as "gin trash" to livestock because levels of pesticide residues are so high.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/clothes/background.cfm

Pat
 
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