Growing up on a dairy farm and intimately knowing the process by which milk, beef (by way of neighboring beef cattle farmers), and grains get from the barn/pasture/field to the dinner table; the recent news stories about Wisconsin’s raw milk ban have caused me to say those three words that grace the title of this post: “Know your food”.
I was reading the post by Heavy Table titled “The USDA Challenge to Fischer Family Farms” where because of all the recent outbreaks of E. Coli, etc. in the food supply that the USDA feels the need to do something to further establish a way to verify that the food supply will be safe. Read the post, it’s very informative and contains pictures that take the reader from the field to the table.
With the recent news story about the farm in Gibbon that ended up selling tainted milk (the farm denies that its milk is to blame) to consumers and Wisconsin’s ban on raw milk sales I’m somewhat driven to comment.
I enjoy immensely the milk from my dad’s farm which is fresh from cow to filter to bulk cooler to fridge milk that I have enjoyed since I was born. It’s creamy, delicious, and yes, raw.
There are benefits to drinking raw milk. I did a magnet school project my sophomore year in high school that brought me to the Minnesota Health Department office to interview the then state epidemiologist, Mike Olsterholm. After the interview I was given a tour of the office and labs by one of the lab technicians when he asked me the question: “Have you always drank raw milk?”. When I told him yes he replied back “Do you ever get colds?” When I told him not often his response was “Lucky guy”.
I fully support the ability to get fresh, local farm grown/produced food, but you need to know what you’re getting. Get to know the farmer by having a conversation with them about food safety and what they do to promote it. Most, if not all, will be glad to talk about it with you. They won’t see it as you questioning their policies but rather as a chance to build trust and a new customer. Don’t be a passive consumer, be an informed one.
I’ll leave you with a quote that I always remember seeing on my Mom and Dad’s checks growing up: “If you eat, you are involved in agriculture”.
Photo Credit:Â kthread on Flickr