Think they are feeling a little defensive? I know that there are a couple of Canadians who read the blog. Is this true in your area?
I know that even if the government "certified" the milk, I would still rather buy it directly from a farmer any day.
What do you think?
I think it's great that they pride themselves on not using hormones in their milk but I wouldn't entirely trust that they don't. I used to work at a hog CAFO which was labeled as organic but they did exactly the same things as the non-organic CAFOs. I think the only way to know for sure is to visit a few of the farms and ask the right questions.
ReplyDeleteWell, we're dairy farmers in Ontario. Not "feeling defensive" at all. Just stating the facts. And the facts are, the ad is true!
ReplyDeleteWe milk 60 cows. Remove all sick cows from production. Do not use rBST.
So, no antibiotics in milk, no rBST in milk, very few "factory farms".
Our hockey and our milk is second to none! Go Canada Go!!!
Cheers!
Debbie
Just want to add, it's illegal to use rBST in Canada, thanks to the rank and file dairy farmers who fought valliantly against the powerful pharmaceutical companies who were pushing their agenda.
ReplyDeleteAlso, almost all milk in Canada is consumed locally. Our milk is shipped to a plant in the nearest city - 20 minutes from our farm - with the bulk of it being consumed by our "next door neighbours". Of course, some is sent for export, but typically in products such as chocolate and cheese.
The dairy system we have in Canada is vastly different than that of our American counterparts. It's not by any means a perfect system, but it does provide for a fair income for the farmer and a healthy and safe product for the consumer. Dairy farmers in Canada receive a fair and equitable return on their investment, both capital and labour, due to the marketing system we have, so are not subsidized by the taxpayer, which is the case with American dairymen.
Truthfully, as a consumer, my biggest concern would be homogenization. It's our belief that the practice of homgenization of milk has led to many people being milk intolerant. Of course, we, personally, don't have to worry about that, as we drink our own raw milk.
Just one more thing and I'll stop filling your blog with Canadian content .
Our milk is tested at pick-up, which takes place every second day. Were we to inadvertently milk a cow whose milk oughtn't go into the tank, we'd have to dump our entire tankload - something we've had to do periodically - at a financial loss to us of upwards of $2,000.00. If we failed to do so, and we permitted the milk to get loaded into the tanker for transport to the plant, we would also have to pay for the entire tanker load, which would include all the milk from the farms where the milkman had previously picked up.
In addition, we'd face a stiff fine, and repeat offenders lose their license to produce. So, as you can see, it's in our best interest to produce a clean and healthy product.
Care for a glass?
Debbie
I am seriously considering moving to canada. Is it legal to sell raw un-homogenized milk there?
ReplyDeleteSo far in Iowa it is still illegal for us to sell raw milk, even to our friends :(
Debbie -- where do you farm? :) I'd love a glass of your own raw milk!
ReplyDeleteAs one of "Field to Foodie's" Canadian readers, I can attest to the claim that the milk here (any brand from the grocery store) is pretty yummy. In fact, I noticed a difference in the milk here vs. the generic milk I grew up with (in northern DE/southeastern PA and more recently in southern VT). It's better!
Not knowing exactly how the milk has been produced, though, and agreeing that pasteurization and homogenization take away from the benefits of milk, I'm still interested in finding a local raw source (maybe Debbie or another Ontario reader could help me out??).
The best I've been able to find in stores is Harmony's organic, non-homogenized milk -- whole, of course (http://www.harmonyorganic.on.ca/). It's rather pricey, though (about $10.00 for 4L) and I have bought it mostly to make homemade yogurt.
Would anyone be willing to pass along information about where I can find locally produced raw milk?
Thanks!!
p.s. As a correction to one of my recent comments regarding a post of yours about health care: Midwifery here in Ontario is actually free! What a blessing because my permanent resident status hasn't been obtained, yet. (Of course we pay for it via taxes... but at least there aren't any additional fees.) So, unless there are emergencies that arise requiring hospitalization, prenatal and postnatal (for 6 weeks) care and delivery are offered free of charge when seeing a midwife.
Did you hear about the Amish farmer a few years back who got arrested for selling raw milk without a...PERMIT!!?
ReplyDeleteAndy Romanowitz
A little more on that, he's a Wenger (horse-and-buggy) Mennonite. He says that "They swooped in on Friday morning like a bunch of Vikings, handcuffed me and stole $30,000 worth of my milk, cheese and butter. (Source: New York Daily News)
ReplyDeleteAndy Romanowitz
Defensive? Nah. Reasonably proud? I'd say so, yah, sure! Thanks for posting it. Reminds me of how much I miss the Maritimes. 8-)
ReplyDeleteI agree with the hormones - I don't want my milk to have hormones...but there is a reason why they invented pasteurization. Un-homogenized milk can make you dangerously sick.
ReplyDelete