The Gozé Family Adventures: Got Milk?

Sam: What's the big deal about milk?

Keena: Isn't pasteurization necessary? Trins: Yeah, plus who needs all that pesky milk fat? (Standing outside of our favorite dairy's milking parlor).

Actually many things are not as they appear, and this certainly is one. The need to pasteurize milk is perpetuated by Big Dairy and gubmit agencies that ostensibly keep us safe but in reality protect Big Dairy's interests (note: I don't think that big companies are bad, companies that collude with the gubmit are bad, this is also known as "crony capitalism'). In many areas of the country there used to be hundreds of small dairies but now only a few exist thanks to health departments that restrict and punish small dairies in ways that benefit large corporations (Morningland Dairy is one of many examples: http://uncheeseparty.wordpress.com/2013/01/18/morningland-dairy-the-final-solution/). How did this happen? Pasteurization and regulation has become a tool to marginalize and destroy small producers. Those who do not heat their milk and can't build expensive concrete and stainless steel shrines as a tribute to bureaucrats are subjected to severe health department scrutiny. This protects the market for big producers and distributors.

Pasteurization was introduced when refrigeration did not exist. The heating of milk mitigated the effects of dirty large dairies in a nascent industry. Cleanliness was usually a misnomer and when dealing with unrefrigerated milk that had to be transported long distances it created significant problems. Today even large dairies are considerably cleaner and refrigeration is utilized so pasteurization is not necessary with the exception of CAFOs (confined animal feeding operations), where cows are crowded and don't have easy means to put enough space between them and their excrement.

What about nutritional value? Is overheated milk denuded of its fat good for you? Which is better, skim or whole natural milk? The problem with pasteurization is that it destroys or damages some of the enzymes, proteins and vitamins in milk and ironically also eliminates milk's natural ability to kill bacteria (by destroying some of the protein peptide segments and enzymes with anti-bacterial properties). In addition, the destruction of a particular enzyme (lactase) inhibits our ability to digest the lactose in milk. In relation to fat, almost 2/3rds of the fat content in milk from grass fed cows is saturated (the most soluble fat, as compared to monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) which helps construct cell membranes, hormones and enables us to assimilate fat soluble vitamins among other things. Milk fat from grass fed cows also contains significantly more Omega-6 fatty acid.

Guernsey milk: look closely, half way up this jar you can see a line where the fat starts - this jar is at least 1/2 milk fat. Veritable sticks of butter are squeezed out of the utter of this cow - that's amazing.

Guernsey compared to Holstein on the right, Holsteins are known for volume, the trade off is less butter fat and some would argue less nutritional value but certainly more than what you would buy in the store. Note the fat is settling out only a few inches from the top in the jar on the right. Both are natural / raw. Our family goes thru a few gallons per day.

It is necessary to dry cows off a few months before they "poop out" (in Sammy parlance) little cows. In the time being Blaise is filling up at a friend's farm (from the utter into the chiller and into our bottles).

I even take it to work (I recently accepted a short term WAN migration gig).

Now on to other unrelated activities:

Caleb grew potatoes this year.

Three types: Blue, Yukon Gold and Pontiac Red.

The girls cut and fried them in coconut oil, delicious (the chicken & milk by TJ, the bread by Tonya and the flowers from our friend Amy).

Calvin's geese, they warn of predators by making a lot of noise when unfamiliar animals (or humans) show up, we've lost fewer chickens since they've been around.