Monica, you have given me quite an education. When my daughter turned one, I latched on to the “local vs. organic” debate without really considering other options, like raw milk or goat milk. VERY interesting!

I question a lot of what our institutions say is “healthy” for us. I’ve know for years that milk and milk products are related to so many illnesses (allergies, insensitivities, asthma, colon disorders, skin issues etc) and that many people receive relief as soon as they cut them out of their diet. I certainly saw an improvement.

I spoke with a local raw milk supplier and she said that pasturization is only necessary due to the massive industry that exists and the filthy environment the cows live in. The cows are milked at such a rate that it is unprofitable for each cow’s teats to be washed before milking to remove feces. Her cows live on grass and are individually washed before milking.

Also on a side note, the pasturization and germ theories that dominate our society go hand in hand thanks to Louis Pasteur. Many believe this is where we lost our way when understanding how the body works and how we can be independently healthy, and why we allow big pharma to dominate our health system.

Big topics for a little old bottle of milk! Thanks for your question.

Monica–thanks for writing your first comment! What are the advantages of raw dairy products? I imagine they are packed with more vitamins and minerals and are closer to their natural state, but you always hear about the importance of pasturization. (And pregnant women are advised not to eat unpasturized dairy products, so I thought it would be the same for small children.) I’d be interested in hearing more about that!

La Mama Naturale–I did not know that goat milk was naturally homogenized, and the health benefits seem great. Four hours away sounds pretty good from an environmental standpoint . . . like I said, much of the organic milk I was finding came from way across the country.

Angel Funk–I was careful to look for RBST-free milk, but I hadn’t even thought of cows getting anti-biotics. I will have to look into that!

Eileen, my daughter is a picky eater, too, so I would never give up milk, which she does love. As far as organic milk being better than conventional, I guess I was looking at that as an environmental issue. Organic cows would be eating grass not treated with pesticides, wouldn’t have chemicals or hormones injected into them, etc. From an environmental standpoint, I have decided that hormone-free is important but that local milk is better for the planet than faraway organic milk. Of course, this was just my own rationalization for not buying organic milk. Like you, I didn’t want to pay twice as much for it.

Joie, I also felt like regular milk offered more nutrition than its substitutes. Most soy milk has sugar added, and there is that estrogen thing to worry about. Almond milk seems like a better choice, although I believe it has sugar in it, too. Has anyone tried making almond milk? It’s supposed to be pretty easy. I have tried Pacific Village, which wasn’t available when I was first looking for organic + local milk. Now it is for us Oregonians.

Thanks for all the comments–keep them coming!

We’ve been buying Pacific Village organic milk. http://www.newseasonsmarket.com/dynamicContent.aspx?loc=1001&subloc=1&menuId=1003
It is local and a lot more affordable than other brands. I’m not sure if it is available anywhere besides New Seasons Markets.

The dairy farm we get milk from is next to the organic farm we get our CSA from and I’ve spoken to the owners of both farms about the fact that Hatcher milk is not organic. Their position is that their cows are like part of their family, and sometimes homeopathic or naturopathic methods do not work for things like mastitis, so they will administer anti-biotics in those cases. At an organic dairy farm the cows would have to be “put down” otherwise b/c under no circumstances can anti-biotics be administered. This makes sense to me, and I know that the cows are in the pasture most of the day and are healthy and happy. That’s good enough for me!