Dateline: 6 May 2006
The current issue of Acres U.S.A. magazine has an interview with Sally Fallon about raw milk and small-farm dairies. I thought the following excerpt was particularly insightful:
Acres U.S.A.What is this stuff we buy in the grocery store? Is it still milk?
Fallon You know, that’s a good question! Is it really milk? I think you could make a very good case that it’s an adulterated product. The process of pasteurization deforms, denatures, and breaks up the proteins in such a way that the body thinks they are foreign and mounts an immune response. All your energy, then, is going into fighting these foreign proteins rather than getting any nourishment from the milk. Another big concern of mine is what they’re feeding the cows and what comes out in the milk. Any mother who’s breastfeeding knows that what she eats will affect her baby. If she is eating allergens, the baby will have a rash or something. And it is just incredible what we’re giving to these cows in the confinement dairies.
Acres U.S.A. Is this the reason we hear about children who are lactose intolerant when they get grocery store milk, but when theymove over to fresh milk all of a sudden they aren’t lactose intolerant anymore?
Fallon “Lactose intolerant” is kind of a catch-all phrase which means they don’t do well or they get sick from drinking this milk. It could be lactose that they’re reacting to, it could be the casein, but it’s just as likely to be some kind of allergen or poison coming in the milk because of hormones, antibiotics and the feed given to the cows—starting with soy, which can introduce a lot of allergenic proteins, GMO grains, which are more succeptible to mold and hence aflatoxins, and citrus peel cake—dried citrus peel that’s left over after they make juice. They use some of the most potent neurotoxic pesticides on citrus, and this is in the peel and it comes out in the milk.
Acres U.S.A. And there’s estrogen from the soy feeds, I suppose?
Fallon Yes, absolutely estrogen from the soy. So you can really make a good case that commercial milk is an adulterated product.
Very interesting...Christian Agrarian. I've always thought of myself as a Christian and what I do is farming and shepherding but I like "Christian Agrarian" too. I'm tempted to say labels don't matter but I know better.
ReplyDeleteGod's blessings on you, yours and the work of your hands,
Sandra
Another Q/A from the same article:
ReplyDeleteAcres USA: Going back to grocery store milk, we note that there's no butterfat listed on the package or carton. Is there any butterfat in that milk?
Fallon: It depends. If it's whole milk, there'll be about 3 1/2 percent butterfat, which is definitely less than you would get from real milk.
Acres USA: But who ever sees whole milk in the grocery store anymore?
Fallon: I know, it's kind of disappeared. And the industry would much rather you bought your butterfat in ice cream than in the milk because they make a lot more on it when it's in ice cream. So you drink the skim milk or low-fat milk, then you have cravings for ice cream and get your butterfat that way. [...]
This is so true. I've started drinking a glass of unskimmed real milk at every meal, and I will usually save half the glass until the end so I can enjoy it like dessert—it is very satisfying. I was talking with Jerome about this, and he agreed, saying that when he drinks a glass of real milk during the work day it boosts his energy and makes it easy for him to get back to work.
I don't mean to suggest that real milk is some magic elixir, but I do think it must satisfy some critical basic needs, and that a lot of our bad eating habits are due to the cravings that come from not drinking it.
Herrick;
ReplyDeleteExcellent article. Thanks for sharing. I really was trying to resist commenting, but hey, you posted on a topic I am passionate about. I promise not to hog the comment box too much.
"I don't mean to suggest that real milk is some magic elixir, but I do think it must satisfy some critical basic needs, and that a lot of our bad eating habits are due to the cravings that come from not drinking it. "
Ah but Rick it is magic. This is only coming from a Milkmaid so please know that I am NOT biased at all. Often we hear first hand reports of those who feed infants who are failing to thrive formulas made with raw milk and they gain weight well. We hear of those who suffer from arthritic pain have lessened or no pain after changing to real milk. (Store milk destroys the calcium/magnesium blend making people unable to absorb the calcium. Anyone notice the docs are now marketing calcium supplements?) We also have a customer testimony that is fascinating. She would vomit before she completely drank processed milk. However, she was able to drink fresh milk with no problems at all. At Brian's work there is a gal from Korea who reports she is unable to drink American store milk, but can only drink fresh milk as she drank in her own country. The reports are really exciting to us. And, again I am NOT biased. We not only drink fresh milk but we will soon be bathing in it. You gotta love that fresh milk!
Thanks for posting this, Herrick. I went onto the campaign for real milk's website and found a farm
ReplyDeletesupplier that is less than an hour away from us so I'm excited.
Rick has informed me that the entire Acres USA interview with Sally Fallon is available online. Thanks Rick. Here's the link:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.acresusa.com/toolbox/reprints/May2006_FallonInterview.pdf
Awwww, the link doesn't work! Why does that not surprise me. Rick, if you read this would you please post a link here that does work? Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThe Sally Fallon interview should be here.
ReplyDeleteDisappointing and discouraging, but good to know. Thank you for posting about this, Herrick.
ReplyDelete