Since some of you may not be ready or able to make the switch to raw milk yet (the most healthy milk), I thought I’d try to help you find the next-best choice when choosing which milk to buy for your family. Keep in mind that milk is a healthy food! But as with all things, there is a big difference between the various options available.
I told you I was a freak
I can be a real crazy-woman on this topic, in case you haven’t figured that out already. I was checking out at Meijer one day and saw a woman in front of me buying 4 half gallons ($3.29 each) of Meijer organic ultra-pasteurized milk. It was burning inside of me and I wanted to tell her that she was paying more for something that is not even nutritious! To top it off, she had FAT FREE milk! It took everything in me to keep my mouth shut (no big surprise to those of you who know me), but I pulled it off.
The “organic” part was great, but there were two main issues with what she was buying:
- The date on the milk was ALMOST TWO MONTHS FROM NOW!! An obvious hint that this is very UNNATURAL milk! When the date is that far out, that means the milk is “ultra-pasteurized” (which is also stated on the label), whereas most milk you get at the store is only “pasteurized” and the date is about a week or two out. Ultra-pasteurized basically means that they kill the milk at an even higher heat than with normal pasteurization, so it no longer even resembles milk! (They later add synthetic ingredients back in, like vitamin A & D.) The milk is so dead, it doesn’t even need refrigeration, but stores sell it in the refrigerated section or else no one would buy it, they’d be so turned off. This processing technique for milk is ONLY to lengthen the shelf life and therefore increase profits for the milk companies. Especially watch for this on those little one-cup cartons of whipping cream, which I use to make whipped cream when I don’t have enough raw cream from the top of our milk – never use “Cool Whip”! Real whipped cream is so easy to make, it only takes a few minutes and is much healthier! Thankfully, Meijer still sells it just pasteurized, not ultra-pasteurized, but most companies don’t now. (I called Meijer and asked them to continue this, and you might want to do the same so it remains available.)
- The other screaming issue was that she was buying the fat-free milk! I shudder at the thought that she may have children she was buying it for. I know, I know, your doctor told you to drink low fat milk, and he even told you that once your child is a certain age, they should drink low fat milk, too. I will not tell you to go against your doctor’s advice, however I will BEG YOU to please do your own research on this and see if there might be another side to the story that they aren’t aware of! We all, especially our children, need healthy fats in our diet, and dairy fats the way God designed them are healthy fats! It’s common sense: God didn’t make whole milk cows and skim milk cows! For centuries people would drink their milk whole, unless they were taking the cream off the top to make butter, to stir into their coffee, or to put on their oatmeal or strawberries. Try to let go of the “low fat” mentality that has been beat into us. I know this is difficult since we’re still being bombarded by that rhetoric, but just think in terms of common sense. What is more natural? How did God design it? (Here is a great article on that topic, and in doing research for this post, I also found this article showing that intake of high-fat dairy products is linked with a lower risk for infertility!)
photo by Conor Lawless
“But it tastes too thick!”
Some people tell me they just don’t like the consistency of whole milk, I used to be the same way, I loved my skim milk! This shows how not just our thinking, but even our taste buds have become warped. If I can get over this, believe me, you can too. At first it might taste a little heavier, but it wasn’t difficult at all to get used to it (give it a couple days, tops), especially once I realized how much healthier it is. (By the way, whole raw milk tastes much lighter than store-bought whole milk.) Another idea I haven’t tried, but I’d love to hear from someone who has (leave a comment below please!): add a little water to your whole milk to make it taste lighter.
Here’s more information on why to avoid low fat dairy, the following information in quotes below is from Nina Planck in her book, “Real Food: What to Eat and Why” (anything not in quotes are my words):
- Q: But won’t I gain weight drinking whole milk? A: No! “Unlike polyunsaturated fats, which the body tends to store, the saturated fats in milk are rapidly burned for energy.” Not only that, we absorb more calcium from whole milk, which helps us lose weight: “The butter fat found in milk helps the body digest the protein, and bones require saturated fats in particular to lay down calcium.” “The cream on the milk contains the vital fat-soluble vitamins A and D. Without vitamin D, less than 10% of dietary calcium is absorbed.” (Nina Planck also explains that calcium absorption may be the key to why recent studies show that people who consume more milk, yogurt, and cheese lose fat, especially belly fat, and gain lean muscle. She quotes a nutrition professor, Michael Zemel, who found that calcium from dairy foods is “strikingly more effective than calcium from fortified foods or supplements” for stimulating weight loss.)
- Q: Won’t drinking whole milk give me heart disease? A: If that were true, then why in the first half of the twentieth century did the incidence of heart disease rise, as consumption of saturated fats fell? (Dairy fat, butter, coconut oil, etc.) In recent years, the more “they” convinced us that low fat was where it was at, the unhealthier we have become! And get this: reduced fat or fat-free milks lose their milky consistency when the fat is removed, so to give the consistency back that everyone expects in their milk, dry milk powder is added. This contains oxidized (damaged) cholesterol, so the milk you thought you were drinking because it was better for your heart, turns the milk into a BAD FAT after all!
- “Skim and 2% milk must, by law, be fortified with synthetic vitamin A and synthetic vitamin D. There is some evidence that both synthetic vitamins are toxic in excess.”
- “Whole milk contains glycosphingolipids, fats that protect against gastrointestinal infection. Children who drink skim milk have diarrhea at rates 3-5 times higher than children who drink whole milk.”
Why is milk (and meat) from “grass-fed” animals so important?
If you can find grass-fed dairy products, you’ll be getting even closer to healthy raw milk. From “Real Food: What to Eat and Why” (I love that book, can you tell?): “Cows on grass contain more omega-3 fats, more vitamin A, and more beta-carotene and other antioxidants. Butter and cream from grass-fed cows are a rare source of the unique and beneficial fat CLA…CLA prevents heart disease, fights cancer, and builds lean muscle. It aids weight loss in several ways: by decreasing the amount of fat stored after eating, increasing the rate at which fat cells are broken down, and reducing the number of fat cells. (More on grass-fed meat benefits.)
Avoid milk with synthetic growth hormones: rBGH (or rBST)
Most store-bought milk comes from cows given synthetic growth hormones to increase milk production and profits for the dairy industry. Don’t worry, the FDA claims it is safe for us to drink, and we all trust them, right? (Wrong.) Not only is it uncomfortable, inhumane and unhealthy for the cows, it has also been linked to cancer, and early puberty in girls – this is highly debated, but it’s a no-brainer as far as I’m concerned. If it makes cows more prone to illness (and shortens their lifespan by half), can it be good for us to drink? So whether or not the claims of increased cancer and early puberty are true, why risk it by ingesting something unnatural?
Non-homogenized milk
My friend, Debi, recently told me where she found non-homogenized milk that is from grass-fed cows, it is local (from nearby in Michigan), contains no growth hormones, and it is only $4/gallon! (For local readers: get it at Heffron Farms by MC Sports on Plainfield. “Mooville Creamline” Milk.) It is still pasteurized (obviously, or else we couldn’t buy it at a store, but don’t forget the cigarettes while you’re there), but that is the only difference from our farm-fresh milk. When I can buy milk at a store that is only one step away from the best, I’m thrilled! You’re wondering why it matters, since we drink raw milk. The answer is because we usually run out of our raw milk each week and need some store-bought milk to hold us over a day or two until we get more from the farm. (And I also need store-bought milk to give to my day care kids.) OH, and some who think whole milk is too thick, really like this whole milk.
WHAT TO BUY
I’ll list them in order of the healthiest milk to the least healthy milk. I won’t add raw milk or low fat milk to this list, but just know that raw milk is the healthiest choice and low fat milks are the least healthy as explained above. Also, remember local is always best, and NEVER buy ultra-pasteurized anything! To find information about the milk you’re thinking about buying, you’ll probably need to go to their website and/or call the company, I’ve done this often!
- Organic, hormone-free (all organic is), grass fed. Two brands to look for: Organic Valley or Natural By Nature. (I can’t find those brands by us.)
- Non-organic but non-homogenized, grass fed, hormone-free. (To find milk like Mooville’s Creamline, mentioned above, in your area, try asking around at health food stores or maybe at meat markets that you know sell more natural meats. Another idea, you may even want to contact Mooville and ask if they know of other grass-fed dairies around the country – hopefully they’ll also offer non-homogenized milk, too.)
- Non-organic, homogenized, grass fed, hormone-free.
- Non-organic, not grass fed, hormone-free. Country Dairy brand or Meijer’s new milk is in this category.
- Non-organic, not grass fed, growth hormones given to cows – this is typical “conventional” milk, and I recommend it the least.
As always, if you have any good information to add, please leave a comment. (Or if I’ve confused you more than before, let me know and I’ll try to clarify for you.)
- Do fats make us fat? Read more about the myths surrounding saturated fats
- I came across this good post on milk substitutes
- Here’s a link to more info on oxidized cholesterol in dairy powders.
- Eating healthy on a budget
- My Dark Secrets
- A report on which dairies are healthiest. (If you click on “full report” at the bottom of this site and go to pg. 35, it explains the criteria used.)
- Easy chicken recipe: better than chicken nuggets!
- Healthy school lunch alternatives
- Meatless/Lenten/Vegetarian meal ideas
- An article by Nina Planck on homogenized milk
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Nicole 02.13.08 at 4:43 am
Both Meijer brand milk and Family Fare’s milk started labeling their gallons “rBST” free. This new label prb appeared a week or so ago. Found that interesting.
Natalie 02.13.08 at 9:17 am
While I’m very pleased that Meijer and Family Fare have changed their store brand milk to “rBST”, I’m concerned that Meijer will now stop carrying Country Dairy. I know that Family Fare used to carry Land O’Lakes milk as that was “rBST” but have since stopped carrying that brand since the store brand went “rBST” free.
I like supporting a local, West Michigan farmer such as Country Dairy or independent grocers such as Heffron Farms or Story’s Deli and Market rather than the big stores as much as I can.
I’m anxious to try the Mooville brand milk that was mentioned at the Heffron Farm store.
I also believe that milk from a local farm such as Country Dairy or Mooville probably has a much shorter timeframe from milking to bottling.
Kelly 02.13.08 at 10:22 am
Country Dairy is better than Meijer milk, because it’s local, like you said (and I have no idea where Meijer’s milk comes from, I never asked since they weren’t hormone free until recently), but Mooville is a huge step above that because it’s grass fed.
Also, just an FYI: I called Storey’s Meat once to inquire about where their meat comes from. The owner was a very nice guy, but I was so surprised when he told me it comes from distributors in Grand Rapids, but he didn’t know where THEY get it from! He asked why I wanted to know, I told him I wanted local meat and also wanted to find out what the animals were fed. He said, “Well I can get all natural meat from Indiana.” I told him thanks anyway. I love that Creswick (or sometimes Hefferan for chicken) sell local meats (as in, within a half-hour away) and I know what they’re fed.
Natalie & Nicole, thanks for the comments and keep ‘em coming!
Kelly
Natalie 02.13.08 at 12:00 pm
Is the grass that the “grass-fed” cows are eating treated with pesticides and fertilizers which could eventually get into the meat and dairy products we derive from these cows?
Kelly 02.13.08 at 5:23 pm
Natalie,
That’s a valid debate: organic vs. grass fed, but if you can’t have both (which I haven’t found around here, except in our raw milk that is), my vote is still for grass fed. I’d love to hear what others think on that though!
Kelly
Holly 02.13.08 at 8:14 pm
YEAH!!! An excuse to drink whole milk. I am one of those people that think whole milk tastes GREAT and fat free tastes like water.
Natalie 02.18.08 at 1:30 pm
The Kirkland brand milk at Costco is now made without added growth hormones.
Nicole 02.21.08 at 12:12 pm
Every non-organic store bought milk I’ve seen these last few weeks now has been relabeled to include “without growth hormones”. Very odd…did they ever include them? Or did the companies realize people were looking to purchase only those without?
Kelly 02.21.08 at 12:17 pm
Hi Nicole,
I think the reason is because Dean Foods is such a huge milk supplier (factory raised cows by the way), and they recently went hormone-free. All those places must get their milk from them.
Kelly
Natalie 03.10.08 at 11:58 am
I have seen Organic Valley milk at both Family Fare and D&W, but it is ultra-pasturized.
Kelly 03.10.08 at 12:47 pm
Bummer! It’s probably expensive, too, and I wouldn’t drink ultra-pasteurized if it was free! It’s even more of a shame because Organic Valley have grass-fed cows. I wish I could find Organic Valley sour cream, cottage cheese, etc. around here that is made from whole milk that hasn’t been ultra-pasteurized…
I should make all that (along with butter, cheese, etc.) from our raw milk, but we run out of it each week as it is. We bought another 1/2 share once, but we’re usually gone more in the summer and ended up not using it all then…if only we could just go get however much raw milk we needed as easily as I could go buy a pack of cigarettes!
Thanks for your comment, Nicole!
Natalie 03.30.08 at 4:50 am
Harvest Health Food stores has advertised in their March sales flier that they carry Organic Valley milk in gallon containers that is NOT ultra-pastuerized. Every day low price is advertised as $5.49 per gallon.
Natalie 03.30.08 at 4:54 am
Forgot to mention in my previous post that Harvest Health Foods advertises that they carry Organic Valley Cream Cheese. Regular price is $3.49 for 8 oz bars. Perhaps they carry other Organic Valley products as well.
Kelly 04.03.08 at 3:10 am
I had a friend ask me a couple questions yesterday that I thought everyone might be wondering about:
1. “If I know I’m not going to add another trip to another store into my life, what’s the best choice if I’m just getting my milk at Meijer?”
The answer is to buy Meijer brand (or another kind that is hormone-free) WHOLE milk.
2. “The half & half that I put in my coffee is ultra-pasteurized, what should I use instead?”
Use Meijer brand (NOT ultra-pasteurized) whipping cream.
Bamboo 05.06.08 at 9:18 am
If your choices are:
Oranic whole milk that’s ultra-pasteurized or
Not organic whole milk that’s just pasteurized
which would be the better choice? Neither? I’m still scouting around but that’s what I keep running into for the choices so far.
Sure enough, on the Horizons organic milk, uht, it said that it can be stored without refridgeration. Ugh.
All of the cream or whipping cream (both organic or non-organic) I’ve found so far around here are ultra-pasteurized.
I started looking for a raw milk source this weekend but would like to have some to buy at the store as well, like Kelly mentioned.
Thanks!
Beth
Kelly the Kitchen Kop 05.06.08 at 6:45 pm
Hi Beth,
Sorry it took me all day to answer your question, I get most things done after the kids are in bed!
Which milk if those are your only two options? In my opinion I’d go with the regular pasteurized not organic WHOLE milk. The ultra-pasteurized milk is just SO dead (which you could tell by those dates 2 months out and the fact that it doesn’t need refrigeration), that I’d avoid it. Others may disagree with me and say to avoid the pesticides in the non-organic milk…
It’s great that you’re looking into raw milk, that would be the milk with the most nutrition, for sure!
For the cream, hopefully you’ll find raw milk (www.realmilk.com) and can use your cream from that, but if not, call all over and maybe you’ll find just regular pasteurized whipping cream.
Good luck!
Kelly
Bamboo 05.07.08 at 9:15 am
Kelly,
Thanks for your input.
I just found a source for raw milk products (and raw milk). I’ll be ordering some raw cream, yogurt, and whey for sure. Maybe some cheese if I can. Yeah! I really doubt dh will go for raw milk to drink; although I’m right on the edge and about to take the plunge. Give me another week for it to sink in and I’ll be ready.
Right now my mind is spinning with all of the changes I want to make. My babysteps are hurrying out of control so I need to take it slow, whoa! The sizzle sound you hear is my brain overloading.
Thanks for your idea of calling around. It made me think…I’m considering e-mailing the companies directly and asking them where I can buy their organic whole milk that is NOT ultra-pasteurized or UHT at our local stores. If it’s not sold here then I’ll put in a request. I can remember Horizon, and I think Organic Valley and Naturally Preferred. I’ve looked so much that it’s a blur now.
Thanks again for your input… that will help be in the meantime.
Beth
Kelly the Kitchen Kop 05.07.08 at 10:27 am
There wasn’t a good spot to add this to the post above, so I’ll just add it here.
We still love the Mooville milk, except for one problem: if it’s getting closer to the “use by” date, the cream will get clumpy and won’t shake up easily into the milk. (I love knowing the healthy cream is in my milk, but drinking clumps of it are where I draw the line!)
So I found a perfect solution: I bought a small little strainer with a handle for a buck or two at the store and just hold it over my glass as I pour. Works perfect and isn’t difficult at all!
And this is only an issue when it’s close to the use-by date – before that it shakes up into the milk fine.
This is an easy fix so that we can continue to drink the more nutritional milk (local, non-homogenized, grass-fed, no hormones, etc.) after we run out of our raw milk each week.
Bamboo 05.07.08 at 11:55 am
Kelly,
I’ve been obessessing about milk all day, lol. Regarding which to choose if you only have organic ultra-pasteurized or non-organic pasteurized… I may look at Borden’s. It’s hormone-free although not organic. Here is their main site:
http://www.bordenonline.com/
They have an organic line with a separate site. I’ll see if it’s ultra-pasteurized as well. I can’t really read the label in the pictures:
http://www.bordenorganic.com/
Just thought I’d share that about Borden (common brand in the stores here – you may not see it up North though).
Beth
Kelly the Kitchen Kop 05.07.08 at 6:13 pm
Hi Beth,
Thanks for the info on Borden milk. I hope you’re done thinking about the milk issue for one day – these kind of things really can wear us out, can’t they?! We all just so badly want to do the right thing for our families and our own bodies! That’s a great reason to fret, just not too much!
Margaret 05.28.08 at 9:35 am
My husband Tom and I bought a share of a cow at Lubbers Farm around my sixth month of pregnancy for my daughter. I drink at two to three glasses of raw milk a day and eat the butter from the milk. I have way more breast milk than I had for my first baby – my son Luke. I couldn’t pasturized milk because I could not digest it. I love this stuff – my 21/2 year old son is very healthy and my baby is a beautiful chucky sweety. I would never go back to pasturized milk again.
Kelly the Kitchen Kop 05.28.08 at 9:51 am
Hi Margaret,
I love personal stories, thanks for sharing!!
Our milk farmer is phasing out his cow share program, so in the fall we’ll probably be getting our milk at Lubbers, too. Maybe I’ll run into you there sometime!
By the way, have you seen this post about baby care: http://www.kellythekitchenkop.com/2008/03/parenting-babies.html
(you’ll have to cut and paste it) – also be sure to check out the related posts at the bottom – there’s a good one on feeding babies.
Kelly
szilagyic 06.03.08 at 1:19 pm
Thank you, Kelly!
I have been struggling with making the “correct” milk decision for my 1 and 3 year olds. We visited “Our Farm & Dairy” in St. Johns to see about buying a share in their organic, pastured herd. The gift of milk they sent home with us was delicious, and they are very nice people. But, in my efforts to convince myself and my husband that raw milk is the way to go, I became even more conflicted.
You present the information in a very nice, straight-forward, not-the-least-bit-pushy manner. And, I really appreciate that.
Every article I’ve come across espousing the benefits of raw milk is somehow linked with the Weston A. Price foundation and Sally Fallon. While I do agree with the ideas they present about getting back to natural foods and eating from the earth, there are other things I don’t agree with. I have been knocking myself out to try to find information supporting the consumption of raw milk that is not linked with WAP and Ms. Fallon, just to have a different opinion. All of the people I’ve talked with about it are huge supporters of WAP and Ms. Fallon (and I did notice your link to Nourish Traditions!) But a great deal of them (almost all!) seemed really pushy about their ideas about pasteurized milk (i.e. completely non-nutritional/non-food/poison). Your information was most helpful, as are most of the comments by other posters.
I am going to give the Mooville or Organic Valley brands a try. My husband and I are not big milk drinkers, but my 1 year old (still nursing) will be giving it a try soon for some additional healthy fats and proteins. My 3 year old has had a dairy allergy since he was weaned at 16 months. That was actually another reason we had looked into raw dairy as an option for him, but his numbers have come down so much by just avoiding dairy that he’s just about cleared to drink milk, too.
Again, thanks for the helpful info on what the next best thing really is, as well as brands and where to buy them.
Michelle & Chris Szilagyi
Kelly the Kitchen Kop 06.04.08 at 4:30 am
Hi Michelle!
I’m so glad the posts were helpful to you. And I totally know where you’re coming from, all the information can be so overwhelming!
Your comment on how all info about raw milk seems to be tied back to the Weston Price people is a very good argument. (And I know that puts the credibility radar up.) But what I wonder is which came first? I think it’s possible that SOME people came to their conclusions based on other’s experiences and testimonies, then they naturally came across the WAPF sites since they’re so supportive, and because they strongly fight for raw milk rights at the government level.
The other thing that continues to reassure me is just thinking about how “raw” milk is all people drank until about 100 years ago, but it was only called “milk” then!
If you have any other questions I can help you with, please comment again, or e-mail me if you’d rather.
Kellythekitchenkop@charter.net
Kara 06.16.08 at 6:03 pm
Well, my oh so wise cousin Kelly and her impressive website challenged me to go the extra mile for better milk for my kids! (My newly 1 year old daughter is just switching to milk so she’s starting out right from the get-go with the best possible for her!)
I live in Petoskey and there’s a farm out of Kalkaska called Shetler’s. They deliver to our local organic co-op market. Their website is shetlermilk.com.
They are great –grass fed cows, creating non-pasturized, non-homogenized milk. They aren’t certified organic, but they are. Their slogan is “our cows aren’t on drugs, but they are on grass.” Their milk comes in glass bottles too. There’s a $1.50 deposit on the bottles, but other than that the milk is not very expensive.
Their chocolate milk is SO good. Almost tastes like a milk shake. And I am not a big fan of milk in general. They also have fruit “smoothie” milk too but I haven’t tried that yet.
Hope that helps some of you out that live further North than Kelly…
Kara 06.16.08 at 6:07 pm
OOPS, I just said that Shetler’s milk is not pasteurized. Of course that is not true. It’s low temperature pasteurized, not ultra pasteurized (at high heat) like the ogranic milk they sell at the big chain stores. (that Kelly explains is so bad for the nutrients of the milk.)
Kelly the Kitchen Kop 06.16.08 at 6:20 pm
Hey Kara,
Thanks for hunting down that AWESOME milk for everyone in Northern Michigan! On their site it tells you where you can buy it.
Kelly
sincere 07.28.08 at 8:40 pm
great post. I tell my clients, readers, and friends the benefits of drinking raw milk or organic whole milk almost daily.
I don’t know if you have a Whole foods in your area, but you can buy Organic Valley there. Also, there is Horizon Organic whole milk at Kroger.
Kelly the Kitchen Kop 07.28.08 at 9:06 pm
Hi Sincere,
The only problem with Organic Valley and Horizon organic milks, though, is that I believe they’re both ULTRA-pasteurized…NOT good…
Thanks for the comment!
Kelly
Bamboo 07.29.08 at 4:18 am
Braums milk does NOT have hormones. They don’t claim to be antibiotic free but here is a quote from their website:
“We believe in natural. It’s a big part of what we do. That’s why we don’t inject our cows with hormones to increase milk production. We have never fed them antibiotics in any form nor have we ever fed them meat and bone meal which have been linked to BSE (mad cow disease).”
Here is an interesting quote from their site: “When processing our reduced fat milks we have a huge mechanical vapor re-compressor evaporator (known as an MVR) capable of removing 40,000 pounds of water directly from the milk. This is almost unheard of in a fluid milk plant where normally fat free milk is fortified with powder, or condensed milk, or often not fortified at all. At Braum’s we take the fresh fat free milk and run it through our evaporator which removes a large amount of the natural water in the milk. The resulting product is greatly improved with up to fifty percent more calcium and protein, better body and a much better taste.”
Also, somewhere it said that they cool their milk before packaging.
It’s not organic but may be an option for some to at least get away from the hormones and high amounts of antibiotics. Oh! It’s also about HALF the price of organic (or even non-organic) in the grocery stores here at about $3 a gallon (I can’t remember exactly) for whole milk instead of $6.
They’re not perfect but they do a lot of things right. Here is their store locator:
http://www.braums.com/StoreLocator.asp
Beth
Kelly the Kitchen Kop 07.29.08 at 6:51 pm
Thanks for all that great scoop, Beth!
Robin Plan 07.30.08 at 9:24 am
This is the best article I’ve found on raw milk. You covered everything. I am a raw dairy eater and know it’s the only way to keep my family healthy. Excellent article.
Robin
Kelly the Kitchen Kop 07.30.08 at 10:16 am
Thanks, Robin!
Debs 07.30.08 at 11:29 am
Nice piece on milk. I’m also an advocate of consuming the best quality, highest fat, grass-fed, raw dairy you can find, especially butter. More and more evidence suggests dairy fat contains essential fat-soluble vitamins (like K2 MK-4, the vitamin first identified as “Activator X” by Weston Price).
I’ll also add that lactose-intolerant people can frequently drink raw milk just fine – myself included. Pasteurization destroys the natural lactase (and lipase) enzymes in milk.
Debs
Food Is Love
Kelly the Kitchen Kop 07.30.08 at 7:01 pm
Hi Debs,
It’s amazing how often I hear that from people. They’re allergic to pasteurized dairy, but are fine with raw dairy. Makes perfect sense, really!
Kelly
Rachel 07.31.08 at 10:56 am
Wow this is a great blog post. I must say I never really thought that much about milk. I always bought Horizon’s because I thought it is organic so it must be better right? Guess I was wrong! Thanks for opening my eyes. I will be out looking for a better milk option for my family now.
Kelly the Kitchen Kop 07.31.08 at 1:10 pm
Hi Rachel,
All comments are fun, but yours made my day and it is the whole reason I do this blog – to get the truth out. Thank you!
Kelly
Kym 08.16.08 at 10:53 am
Hi Kelly, I really enjoyed reading your article. I was raised on non-fat milk (couldn’t stand the taste, would never drink it) and moved to low-fat milk when I grew up. Now I’m back to non-fat milk as I’d been hearing that it was the healthiest way to get the calcium and vitamins from milk without worrying about the amount of fat I’d be consuming. Your quote about whole milk having saturated fats that the body burns for energy confuses me. How are whole milk saturated fats different from other saturated fats? Wouldn’t the body store those kinds of fats, rather than the polyunsaturated kind, which your quote mentions is the kind that is stored? This directly conflicts with everything else I’ve heard about the different kinds of fats, so I would love to hear more about it.
Also I’m curious, how much whole milk should a person drink in a day? Should I drink as much as I might drink of non-fat milk, or should I cut down the quantity because it is high in fat? Right now I drink maybe 1 or 2 tall glasses of milk a day (or their equivalent by using it on cereal and coffee).
Thanks!!
Kelly the Kitchen Kop 08.17.08 at 8:37 am
Hi Kym (love how your name is spelled),
Great questions!
First of all, how much whole milk should you drink each day? The answer is, however much you want to!
Believe me, I know this is all hard to swallow because, like you said, much of it directly contradicts what we’ve been told for years and years. But we’ve been told saturated fats are bad for us, and have been convinced to switch to skim milk and fat-free everything, but look at us! Are we any healthier?
At the bottom of this post click on “Do fats make us fat” and read more about this, then let me know what you think.
Kelly
Kym 08.18.08 at 8:49 pm
Hi Kelly,
I took the plunge today and got some raw milk. Go California, with raw milk at the store! But boo to $9 for half a gallon…
I must say, it was quite delicious. I had a small bowl of cereal with it, and I was very satiated at the end (I’m not usually satiated off cereal, and this was a very small bowl! Much smaller than usual). I’m a total convert! But I’ll have to find a lower price if I’m to drink it regularly.
Kelly the Kitchen Kop 08.19.08 at 2:12 am
Kym,
Woohooooo!! That’s awesome! Geesh, I hope you can find a better price though…ouch.
Kelly
Anonymous 09.26.08 at 10:08 am
Whole Foods & Trader Joes carry non-UHT (non-ultra-pasteurized) Organic Valley & Horizon organic milk. These companies make UHT & non-UHT and they are labelled as such. Kroger has the UHT kind. We are half an hour away from Whole Foods, but fortunately hubby works down the street from one, so he gets our non-UHT organic milk there. The main problem with UHT for me is that it causes way more endocrine-disrupting toxins like pthalates & bpa to be released from the container into the milk.
Jen in MI
Tabitha 01.01.09 at 12:55 pm
I’m so with you on what is healthy and what is not. My problem is availability where I live. (El Paso, TX). There is NO raw milk around here. I’ve been buying organic, but ONLY ultra-pasteurized is available at the grocery or health food stores.
So, which is worse? I can buy hormone free conventional milk (that doesn’t taste as good as the organic) that is “only” pasteurized. Or I can buy organic milk that is ultra-pasteurized. I’ve been unable to figure out which of these is better for my family (6 daughters ages 10 and under).
Thanks for any help you can give me. I got here by way of Jen F’s Conversion Diary blog.
Tabitha
Kelly 01.01.09 at 3:56 pm
Hi Tabitha,
Are you SURE there’s no source for raw milk nearby? Did you try http://www.realmilk.com? If my only choices were the ones you mentioned, I’d probably go with the conventional. The ultra-pasteurized is just SO unnatural, the way it doesn’t even need refrigeration.
Don’t you love Jen’s ConversionDiary.com blog? She always seems to be writing just for me!
Kelly
Lisa 01.09.09 at 11:45 am
Just wanted to let people living in SW Grand Rapids/Wyoming know that the Heffron Farms in the strip mall at 54th & Clyde Park also carries the Cream Line Moo-ville milk (so you needn’t travel to Plainfield to get it!)
Jenny 01.10.09 at 12:53 pm
I just wanted to caution to be careful with Organic Valley milk. Their milk in the gallon is fine- however the smaller carton of milk is ultra-pasteurized. I’m not sure why they make it different, but it is a reminder that we need to be continuously vigilant about reading labels, even if they come from brands that we have used for many years.
Kelly 01.10.09 at 1:26 pm
Jenny, isn’t that so sad? Here they have beautiful milk from grass-fed cows, then they ULTRA-pasteurize it! That should be against the law!! That’s crazy that the gallons aren’t, but the smaller cartons are……..?
Jason 01.19.09 at 8:47 pm
Hi Kelly
WHat about those milk that ahve added extra calcium and vitamins with reduced fat aren’t those better?
Kelly 01.19.09 at 11:26 pm
Hi Jason, anything reduced fat isn’t better because it’s so unnatural – however it comes *naturally* is best – not with anything added (like vitamins – probably synthetic) or taken away (like fats or cream that sets at the top).
Thanks,
Kelly
Brook 01.27.09 at 2:17 pm
Hi Kelly,
I am too struggling with doing the right thing with milk. Recently, I read on Sue Gregg’s website that her son created a milk recipe when raw milk became unavailable. This recipe makes the equivalent fat content of whole milk. And it eliminates the homogenization process. He mixed together:
3 1/2 C organic, pasturized (not uht), fat-free milk
5 T pasturized heavy cream
I’ve been doing this for a couple weeks when I can’t get raw milk. Do you see any issues with this as an alternative? FYI, here is the link to Sue Gregg’s recipe:
http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:v3iCN2MwSAAJ:www.suegregg.com/about/The%2520Wonder%2520of%2520Raw%2520Milk.pdf+sue+gregg+dan%27s+milk&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us
Kelly 01.27.09 at 6:48 pm
Hi Brook,
Adding the fats in the cream back in is good, but why not just buy organic (not UHT) *whole* milk? See the Q&A in the post above about how fat-free milks have powdered milk added back in – and this has oxidized cholesterol.
Kelly
Brook 01.27.09 at 6:56 pm
The idea behind it is that by using fat free milk (the one I use doesn’t have powdered milk added) and adding cream, you eliminate homogenization which has been linked to heart disease. I haven’t been able to find a whole milk that isn’t homogenized in my area. From what I’ve read, homogenization is worse than pasteurization but, there is a lot of contradictory information out there…thanks for your input. I enjoyed your post.
Natalie 01.28.09 at 8:35 am
Hi Kelly,
I just wanted to let your readers know that if they live in the Grand Rapids area, Kingma’s Market on Plainfield is now carrying a new brand of milk from Hilhof Dairy in Hersey, MI.
The milk is certified organic, non-homogenized, comes in a glass bottle, and comes from cows that are grass-fed without added growth hormones or antibiotics.
The milk is sold in 1/2 gallons or quarts. The cost is $4.99 for a half gallon with a $2 bottle deposit. I have heard that it is selling well.
Yeah to Kingma’s for providing such a healthy milk option!
Joyce 02.01.09 at 10:06 pm
Is there any business north of GR besides kingma’s and harvest health that sell this milk. Have tried it and is the best thing since Qaulity Creamery on West River Dr , Comstock Park closed. i live Cedar Springs and don’t get to GR very much.I have tried Hilhof and Moo ville from herrfon on Plainfield also.
Last I knew Farm Country Cheese bought their milk from Amish. F.C.C. distributes their cheese to the smaller stores now. If you care to take a trip to the cheese factory it is east of 5 corners and M91. They have butter, milk etc. There is also Mary’s bakery on your way to the cheese factory. Yum. Or you can purchase it @ Trufant Flea market on Thursdays in the summer.
Louise 02.03.09 at 11:36 am
I’m in South Africa. Although I drink very little milk, I’d like to know if it is quite safe to drink unpasteurised milk? I have concerns about bacteria and ecoli that might be present in the milk and has been pointed out as being harmful. Advice?
Kelly 02.04.09 at 10:42 am
Natalie & Joyce, thanks for the scoop!
Hi Louise, great questions – go to the link below and read over the raw milk posts, and then if you have any more questions, be sure to let me know!
http://kellythekitchenkop.com/2008/12/raw-milk-posts.html
Anita 02.14.09 at 1:53 pm
Are humans supposed to drink animal milk in the first place?
Kelly 02.14.09 at 10:25 pm
Anita, this is a good question that comes up now and then. Check out this link: http://www.realmilk.com/healthbenefits.html and scroll down about half way to where it says, “Milk in History and Evolution”. Read over that section and see what you think.
Christine 02.22.09 at 4:20 pm
Hi Kelly – we live in the suburbs of north Detroit (one hour north) and Calder offers vat pasturized UNhomogonized natural milk.
Look for the white cap (not red, pink or blue) for whole UNhomogonized (‘natural’) milk – you’ll notice a one week exp. date and cream at the top. : ) It runs about $4 a half gallon. Their other products (whole, 1/2%, 2%, chocolate) are vat pasturized and homogonized.
There is another brand (I forget the name) that is also UNhomogonized vat pasturized (low temp) sold in Whole Foods, Trader Joes & Bushes, and also Nino Salvagios (both Calder and the 2nd brand are.) Calder comes in a deposit bottle for $1.25 (the old fashioned super thick glass jar).
The brand I ‘forget’ the name of is sold in plastic bottles by the 1/2 gallon, with a red logo of a horse & cart, I believe. The cream also rises to the top (which it doesn’t in homogonized milk).
Kelly 02.22.09 at 9:56 pm
Great info for those in your area, thank you!
terri deal 02.28.09 at 2:13 pm
OMG Ever since I read that milk has blood and pus in it I got grossed out and I have been drinking store brand fat free organic milk for 3 1/2 yrs now. I was thinking I a was doing something wonderfully healthy for myself and my family!!! The milk is also ultr-pasteurized! No wonder I have had diahrea for the past year! (even went has far as to have a Colonoscopy, it showed nothing wrong, thankfully) Today I will be going out to look for non-pasteurized or even pasteurized organic whole milk. I live in Southern New Jersey. Any suggestions on what brands to look for in this area? Thanks for your site and all the time you obviously devote to it. Terri and family
terri 02.28.09 at 2:34 pm
P.S. I forgot to mention this. When I first bought fat free organic I was amazed at how rich and creamy it tasted. Prior to that I hated fat free milk, thought it tasted like water. NOW I know why!! Its the fact that they add powder milk to it! What prompted me to explore and find this site is that Shop rite, a chain super market here in Jersey, added organic that is only pastuerized to their line. I bought it and thought it didn’t taste as good as the ultra-pasteurized. And that is how I discovered your site
Kelly 03.01.09 at 12:21 am
Hi Terri, I’m glad you found your way here.
Try http://www.realmilk.org to find raw milk in your area. Hopefully you won’t need to look further, but if for some reason you’re unable to find raw milk, then start calling around looking for pasteurized but non-homogenized milk. That is becoming much more available, in our area anyway. I think that if you call around maybe to local farm stores, local farms, health food stores, etc., someone ought to be able to direct you to a place that carries it.
Good luck!
Diana 03.23.09 at 4:25 pm
Woo-hoo! I found organic, non-homogenized, grass fed, hormone-free (pasteurized) cream in the store. Yummy! It only came in a quart-sized container, which is more than we can use in the time before it goes sour. So, we made homemade butter as a weekend project with daughter. Great fun – and tasty too.
Diana’s last blog post..Solemnity of St. Joseph
Kelly 03.23.09 at 9:26 pm
Diana,
Wow!!! What company makes it???? Where did you find it?
Lauren 03.24.09 at 7:59 am
Diana, I would love to know too what company makes that!
Kelly, my husband was reading an article in Popular Science last night that was about organic milk. The article was titled, “Is organic milk really that much better?” (or something like that). It went on to say that since the majority of organic milk was coming from thousands of miles away, it was heated to a much higher temperature (around 200 degrees) than non-organic milk (around 161 degrees). I was shocked! Here I am buying the Organic Valley organic milk and it could possibly be worse than regular milk. It also said that all organic milks have a much longer expiration date due to this. Unfortunately, there are no farms in my area where I can get raw milk. There is one market that sells raw milk, but I would rather go to a farm and see where the milk is coming from. So I have to get my milk from the supermarket. And then my husband reads this. Egad! Have you heard anything about this before?
Lauren 03.24.09 at 8:05 am
And could someone please tell me what exactly “non-homogenized” is? I know that pasteurization is the heating of the milk to get rid of bacteria, but I’m not sure about non-homogenized.
Kelly 03.24.09 at 2:48 pm
Lauren, what you were talking about with the longer dates and higher temps is called ULTRA-pasteurization, and MOST organic milks are ultra-pasteurized, but not all. It would say on the label AND you’d notice the date that is waaaaaaay out.
Homogenization is when they shake the milk SO hard (so it is further denatured) that the fat globules stay mixed in and don’t rise to the top. I’ve heard some say this is even “worse” than pasteurization (even more unnatural and unhealthy), but I love my raw milk that has neither of those done to it.
Kelly
Diana 03.24.09 at 3:52 pm
Kelly and Lauren,
You are assuming that I was smart and wrote down or remembered the name. When I have a chance to go back to the store, I’ll come back and post the name of the company.
The store is Natural Grocers (technically Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage). They are relatively new to the Dallas area and have good prices on some of the packaged organic foods that I like. Not much of a selection on produce, but not bad on the meats and dairy.
Diana’s last blog post..Solemnity of St. Joseph
Lauren 03.25.09 at 7:55 am
Kelly,
I wish I had the luxuary of going to a local farm and picking up raw milk. But here in south FL, I don’t know of any organic farms that sell raw milk (and I really don’t want to buy raw milk from a store). I just want to do the next best thing to raw milk and my thinking on that would be to buy organic, grass-fed, pasteurized and non-homogenized (whole milk of course). I read on your post where you mentioned organic valley as your #1 pick if you couldn’t get raw milk, and organic valley products are all we buy. However, I have never seen the words “grass-fed” on any of their products. Is it just assumed that organic valley products are all grass-fed?
Diana,
I look forward to hearing what brand you bought! Unfortunately, Natural Grocers is not in my area.
Kelly 03.28.09 at 3:55 pm
Lauren,
Organic Valley is great, as long as you’re not buying their ULTRA-pasteurized products (they carry both pasteurized AND ultra-past.).
Funny you ask about whether or not they use all grass-fed dairy – I just called them yesterday to ask that, because I spend a lot more to buy their butter vs. my organic store-brand of butter.
She told me that most of their cows are from, I think she said the mid-west, so that means they’re on pasture weather-permitting (and it’s a requirement from OV), but obviously not in the winter. During the winter she said they get stored hay, and some other things (I forget), but I do know that when you put their butter up to Meijer brand, for example, or the stuff I get cheaper at Cosco, OV is much more yellow (which means it’s more nutritious.)
Lauren 03.30.09 at 8:17 am
Thanks Kelly! Yes, it is funny that you called them! And I didn’t know that little tidbit regarding the color of butter. I wonder why that is???
My Boys' Teacher 03.30.09 at 5:11 pm
Help!
My husband and I are really, really trying to work out this milk issue. He is NOT ready to go to raw milk. We are currently drinking pasteurized skim. After spending several hours reading your posts and making a small dent in some of my own research I spent an hour discussing it all with my husband. I explained that we should not drink skim, 1%, or 2% due to the oxidized cholesterol. I also explained that pasteurizing was “killing” the milk, so that we should remain open to changing to raw milk in the future. My husband suggested that if all the good things were being killed in any pasteurized milk, that drinking whole wasn’t going to be any better for us either. This is somewhat backed up by what I read today here
http://www.full-health.com/partoneFprint.htm
that stated that one of the main sources in the American diet for oxidized cholesterol is pasteurized, heated milk protein.
So now I’m confused. Doesn’t this mean that ALL pasteurized milks contain oxidized cholesterol and the only difference is that whole milk keeps has its oxidized cholesterol from beginning to end and the lower fat milks have their oxidized cholesterol back in?
And, if that’s the case isn’t the real decision whether to drink raw milk or NO milk? My husband said “if everything in it is dead and you can’t absorb the calcium without the vitamin D being alive, and the artificial vitamin D doesn’t let you absorb the calcium properly either is there ANY reason to drink milk?”
He stumped me. I have a PhD, I’ve read for hours and I’m even more confused. I thought maybe you could help me out.
My Boys’ Teacher’s last blog post..Spring is NOT here
Diana 03.31.09 at 11:56 am
Lauren and Kelly,
Made it to the store this weekend to pick up more cream. They were out due to the blizzards in CO. I did pick up some milk (with cream on top!) by the same company: Farmers’ All Natural Creamery in Kalona, IA.
Diana’s last blog post..Solemnity of St. Joseph
Kelly 03.31.09 at 2:34 pm
GREAT! Thanks, Diana.
My Boys’ Teacher,
Great question and you’ve got me in “sleuth mode”, I’ll either reply here or post on this as soon as I get some answers.
(Thought I’d better put this reply here as well as at the other post where you asked about eggs oxidizing…)
Lauren 03.31.09 at 3:36 pm
Diana,
I checked out the Farmers’ All Natural Creamery website and boy did it all look yummy! I loved how they had a form that you could fill out and give to your local grocer asking them to offer their products! I printed one off already and am taking it today!
Tiffany 04.15.09 at 4:26 pm
Has anyone heard about Oberweis Milk and dairy products? Is this a healthy milk? Thanks
Kelly 04.16.09 at 2:08 am
Hi Tiffany, I checked their website and would say that it’s just “OK”. The glass bottles are nice and their milk doesn’t have any hormones, but there’s no mention of the cows being grass fed, and their milk is pasteurized AND homogenized. If you can get raw milk, is there somewhere by you to find milk that is at least unhomogenized?
JK 04.23.09 at 1:50 am
Is it OK if we use the Organic Valley UHT milk to make yoghurt?
Is there a difference.
Tks!
Kelly 04.25.09 at 9:01 am
JK,
You’re all over my blog today – thanks for reading!
Try not to use the ultra-pasteurized milk for ANYTHING! Info is in this post to tell you why – it’s heated so much it’s DEAD, doesn’t even require refrigeration and has a loooooooooong shelf-life. Very unnatural.
Kyle 05.02.09 at 6:40 pm
I had to congratulate you today Kelly. I sent my parents this article, and I thought they ignored it. But apparently not, because they bought whole milk today! Yay! The next step is raw
So thank you!
Kyle’s last blog post..Where to find real eggs
Kelly 05.03.09 at 12:00 pm
Kyle, woooooo-hooooooooooooooooo!!!
Carrie 05.03.09 at 11:43 pm
I have purchased raw milk twice from a local farm about an hour’s drive from my home. While I get super excited about buying it due to all the health benefits (I love milk in my oatmeal and *occasional* cup of coffee), I’ve found that the raw milk has a “grassy finish” to it that I’ve had a hard time getting used to. AND all the cultured milk products made with this milk (butter, creme fraiche, cream, cheese) have the same taste, only magnified. It has made it difficult for me to truly enjoy the products the same way I enjoy my organic whole milk and other organic dairy from the grocery store. Has anyone else had this experience – and do you have any words of advice?? Thanks.
Kelly 05.04.09 at 12:10 am
Hi Carrie, will you do me a favor and post this question over at a raw milk post? That way we have a better chance of more raw milk drinkers chiming in with their thoughts on this. I’ll share more there too after you have a chance to cut and paste it over.
Here’s where you could put it:
http://www.kellythekitchenkop.com/2008/01/raw-milk-benefits-1-in-raw-milk-series.html
Thanks!
Kelly
sassy pritchard 05.13.09 at 12:20 pm
Kelly,
I may have asked you this before but…if raw milk is illegal in Georgia what can I buy? I was rather confused because you said no ultra-pasturized but then listed Organic Valley which is. I want to make my own yogurt and have using Horizon. Is that okay? I buy whole milk. If neither of these are okay is it possible to buy on-line? Too many questions I know!
Sassy
NicSin 05.14.09 at 1:42 pm
Hello! I have just started embarking on the journey of finding the “right” milk for my family. We have long been on the organic path, especially for milk, but I was disheartened to learn that the Organic Valley milk in my neck of the woods is ultra-pasteurized. So, I started doing my research and found the Mooville milk mentioned in previous posts, as well as milk from Hilhof Dairy in Hersey, Michigan. Hilhof milk is organic, pasteurized, non-homogonized milk and comes in those delightful glass, half gallon bottles. I purchased a half gallon of skim (obviously, before reading this blog) and a half-gallon of whole milk with the cream on top.
Taste test time! As I had been on the hunt for “good” milk, I had a few different kinds in my refrigerator when I got home with the Hilhof Dairy product. So I put my two year old and my husband to a blind taste test of three kinds of milk – all were fat-free. The taste test results were a little surprising, but the one I thought would turn out on top was the clear winner. Here were the results:
1) Hilhof Dairy Organic, Fat-Free, Pasteurized, Non-Homogenized Milk
2) Country Dairy Conventional, Fat-Free, Pasteurized, Homogenized Milk
3) Organic Valley Organic, Fat-Free, Ultra-Pasteurized, Homogenized Milk
Needless to say, after the fat-free milk taste test was over the Hilhof Dairy Whole Milk with the cream on top stole the show.
So, while the Hilhof Dairy milk is the most expensive ($4.69/half gallon) it is the best option for us as we have no plans to move to raw milk at any time (personal preference). While it is a bit expensive, Nature’s Market in Holland will do a 10% discount for buying a case (6 half gallons) at a time and that little bit brings the price down to almost the same as the big name organics (Organic Valley and Horizon) at the store. Since my family of five (hubs, three toddlers, and myself) generally goes through a gallon of milk per day, buying and using six at a time shouldn’t be a problem. 
Plus the added health benefits of getting local AND organic AND non-homogenized milk creates a win-win-win situation!
Thanks to everyone for all of the great posts! I love it!
Kelly 05.14.09 at 9:58 pm
Sassy, Organic Valley makes past. AND ultra-past. – depends on where you buy it. I know I told you this in an email, but for the other readers in GA – you can buy raw milk there but it’s sold as “pet food” – stupid hoops that we have to jump through for real food. Anything pasteurized is better than anything ultra-past.
NicSin – thanks for sharing the results of your taste-test with us!
Kelly 05.24.09 at 11:24 pm
My Boys Teacher, FYI: I’m posting about your oxidized cholesterol question this week- sorry it took a while!
Kelly
My Boy's Teacher 05.25.09 at 10:17 pm
Thanks Kelly! I’m really looking forward to reading what you have to say.
Michelle the new MOO! 06.13.09 at 10:17 am
KELLY!!!! OMG! I can’t believe I found this site! SOOOOO refreshing to see someone posting some awesome eyeopening information! I am switching my family over to all organic and grass fed meat, milk etc. I was reading about the milk and just saying yes, yes Absolutely! We need to get milk back to MILK the way God intended! Big business and BIG GOVERNMENT are destroying our food and our bodies and those of our CHILDREN! What kind of future can we hope for if we are breeding a generation of obese and unhealthy diabetes ridden children into adults that die at the age of 40! UGHHHH! Ignorance is not BLISS it is DEATH! WAKE UP AMERICA!!!! GOD BLESS YOU KELLY THE KITCHEN KOP you are a blessing and you rock!
I went to Organic Valley’s website and signed up for their newsletter. I also joined MOO (Mothers of Organic) the website is http://www.organicvalley.coop I highly recommend it!
Stay informed and never bury your head in the sand! TAKE A STAND and we can change the face of our nation!
Michelle Tan 06.13.09 at 11:37 am
I am wondering which raw milk is better? Goats milk or cows milk. I am thinking of switching from cows milk to goats milk. Please advice.
Kelly 06.14.09 at 1:26 am
Michelle…Moo, you’re so funny and sweet, too. I’m glad you found your way here and you’d better comment a lot because I love anyone who uses exclamation points as much as I do!!!
Michelle Tan, I’ve never researched raw goats milk, but can only tell you that everything I’ve ever heard about it has said it is more nutritious than cows milk. I’ve also heard the the taste is “different”, though.
Kelly
Jeramie 07.19.09 at 9:40 pm
To Lauren in Florida, you might check for “Pet” Milk. It is the only way they can legally sell raw dairy in Florida. They put a sticker on it that says for pet consumption only. We get ours from a co-op, we all meet in a church parking lot every other week but it is well worth it. My husband teases me about our “pet” milk but my family loves it!
Jeramie 07.19.09 at 9:56 pm
I have also found in my experience that Chiropractors are sometimes a great local information source. They usually promote more homeopathic medicine and Raw dairy has many benefits. My chiropractor has been very helpful in pointing us to the raw and natural diet. I know that several states cannot legally sell Raw dairy, and the dairies have gotten creative and are selling the milk and other products under the “pet” products. Our dairy is in North west Florida and is growing all the time.
Lanise 07.21.09 at 5:06 pm
Hello
Thanks for the great info. My local trader joes sells non-ultra-pasturerized non-homogenized organic whole milk. However, I don’t know if it is grass-fed. Would it be better to go with one that is homogenized but grass-fed, like Organic Valley? Also, I have been buying Kerry Gold butter (I think that’s the name of it) because I heard it was also grass-fed. Do you know anything about that brand? Thanks so much.
Kelly 07.21.09 at 10:40 pm
Lanise,
Ann Marie (Cheeseslave.com) uses Kerry Gold butter, so it must be great!
Homog. but grass-fed vs. non homog.not grass-fed – THAT is a tough one. I can’t pick! Does anyone else have a good suggestion to share? Hopefully you’ll find out that the non-homog. one IS grass fed.
Sorry I’m not more help!
Kelly
KIP 08.16.09 at 6:28 pm
Why isn’t Smart Balance Milk mentioned as another healthy alternative they seem to have lots of advertising to promote a healthier product than Ultra pasteurized….??? Im not in A/2 Mi anymore… to go to Meijers or for that matter, any milk producing farms either….
So is the Smart Balance healthy at all ??
KitchenKop 08.16.09 at 9:04 pm
Kip, that stuff looks and sounds disgusting. Here’s what part of their description on their site says, “Introducing Smart Balance™ Milk with Omega-3s and Vitamin E: a delicious and convenient way to get more taste, and less fat from your milk. Plus Omega-3s and more calcium, protein and Vitamin E. Try all four. Our Fat-Free Milk tastes rich and creamy like 2%, and our 1% Lowfat Milk tastes rich and creamy like whole milk. Also try our Lactose-Free and Lowfat Milk with HeartRight™ varieties.”
It sounds like another super-processed product to me, and they don’t even offer it in whole milk, only low-fat junk. Comments at one site said it tasted sick – like “salmon milk”.
If the best you can find is plain whole milk, go with that. (But did you look at http://www.realmilk.com to see if there are any farms near you?)
Kelly
Kim Allen 09.13.09 at 10:02 pm
Kelly,
What a great website/blog! I was just looking for an organic brownie recipe to feed my fam now that we are trying to eat much more naturally (so I’m making everything from scratch, including breads). I think I have now browsed your articles for an hour!! I am somewhat interested in the GAP diet, since I have a son with Asperger’s. I will say that since we have tried eating only what God has made, he has been calmer and communicated more effectively, which is a big deal to us. And so thankful that there is someone else out there communicating about the gift of chastity. Have you seen “Theology of the Body for Teens”? It is a DVD course for teenagers, and I think the best thing out there for having discussion with teenagers on the love and dignity with which they were created. We viewed it with our 15 year-old daughter, and we will most definitely use it with our son.
Please continue your blog, it was such an encouragement to me this evening!
Grace and peace,
Kim
Lisa Sargese 09.17.09 at 9:09 pm
Excellent article! You should consider being a WAPF Chapter leader! Or are you already?
KitchenKop 09.17.09 at 9:15 pm
Kim, I’m so glad you found your way here! We have the TOTB book, but need to look for the DVD.
Lisa, I love going to the meetings and being involved when I can, but if I add anything else on my “to-do” list I’ll go crazy! I’d love to be a chapter leader someday, though.
Lisa Imerman 09.17.09 at 10:08 pm
I didn’t get a chance to read all the comments, but a few I can address. I understand the skepticism with all raw milk info leading to WAPF info. I am involved with the Metro Detroit Chapter of WAPF and I do agree with much of what they stand for as an organization, but they are a non-profit with a very small staff and a pretty small budget considering all they do, so there are times when WAPF doesn’t get the message out in the best way possible but I think overall their “heart” is in the right place. My advice to those on the fence is look at the science, history and where the money trail leads. WAPF isn’t leading the money trail, but the info you find from other sources probably is leading right to the milk industry (FDA, etc. all get a lot of financial backing and employees that have ties to big business).
The book that convinced my husband was “The Untold Story of Milk”
It give you a lot of the historical background of milk and pasteurization and also a lot of the science. It probably isn’t perfect and this is controversial topic, but it is a good resource and starting point to get the arguments and questions formed and somewhat answered for at least on side of the equation.
If you choose to do raw milk the most important things are to know your source. Really get to know what issues are important in good milk production and consumerism. Things like what the cows eat, how they are raised, what if any “drugs” are they given, is their feed organic, does it have soy, is the pasture rotated, is it fertilized, GMO grasses, etc. How does the farmer milk, clean the equipment, cool the milk, store the milk, etc. Also, when you get raw milk, you really need to keep the cold chain.
I know the Warnke’s at Our Farm and Dairy personally and they are amazing farmers, so do your research, ask them questions and feel confident that they are a good fit for your family. I will tell you that they love what they do and they care about the animals and their members!!
Also, Peg Beals wrote a great book for Raw Milk consumers about handling milk. You can get it right from Peg. She is part of the MI Fresh Milk Council, so you can probably find her contact info online.
Also, check out David Gumpert’s Blog http://www.thecompletepatient.com as he writes extensively about raw milk and you will get a good view of all the issues and there are readers who leave comments from both sides of the arguments for and against raw milk, so it is a good resource.
Calder’s which was mentioned above is a good brand, they aren’t organic but they do pasture and low-vat pasteurize their milk . Read labels on their other products as many have artificial ingredients, but their cream and whole milk are great.
Stay away from Horizon or many store brand organic milk. They are really factory farmed and Horizon and Aurora (many store brands like Costco and Walmart are Aurora milk) are being sued by the Organic Consumers Association and have been cited numerous times for violations. You can read more on this at the Organic Consumers Association’s website.
Dry Milk Powder, not only is it oxidized cholesterol but it also is processed in such a way to form free radicals which is the equivelant of MSG. I react to it with migraines and am very allergic to MSG, so beware of it in many items, including a lot of meat products (even from reputable farmers, always read labels).
In Clarkston, MI there is also Cook’s farm Dairy and it isn’t organic but is pastured and better than store milk!!
Lisa Imerman 09.17.09 at 10:12 pm
Forgot to mention, WAPF does put out a pocket shopping guide that is very valuable. It lists brands in order of best, better and good for many items including dairy. Most brands listed are national brands although some are regional, but often are things you can get shipped, etc.
Kerry Gold butter is listed as a good brand of butter. Costco sells it for a good price too.
You can get the shopping guide from a local chapter usually or directly from WAPF. I think they cost $2.
Lisa
KitchenKop 09.17.09 at 11:11 pm
Lisa I. – such great info, thanks so much!
Kelly
Valerie 10.13.09 at 7:54 pm
I’ve gone over and over in my mind about whether or not to use dry milk powder. I keep a moderate amount of food storage at home to use in case of emergency (and it’s economical to buy in bulk). One of the foods recommended for storage is dry milk. If I buy any I’ll have to use it slowly to rotate it, but have read about oxidized cholesterol, so don’t necessarily want to store any at all. So if I were in a position only use only the food we have at home for an extended period (several months) would we suffer from not having any milk? What would be a storable item we could use to replace the nutrition from our raw milk?
KitchenKop 10.14.09 at 8:17 pm
Would you suffer from not having any milk for an extended period? That’s hard to say, but a well-rounded diet would be smart, as always. And it would take a while to go through all the nutrients in milk and what foods would be good alternatives, but if you’re thinking specifically about calcium, bone broths are a great source!
Sarah W 12.30.09 at 9:29 am
I could not quite read through all the comments, so I hope this hasn’t already been asked… but I’ve been considering the UHT half n half I buy as just “nutrient neutral…” I know that it doesn’t have any health benefits really b/c it is dead, and that’s not why I drink it, but I was hoping that it isn’t detrimental to my health either… (although I suppose the homogenization isn’t too great.) I don’t think it has any vitamins added back in – at least it is not labeled as such.
I’ve been following NT and WAPF principles for about 8 months now and I’m definitely a believer in nutrient dense foods. I do buy raw milk, but not cream or half n half b/c it is so much more expensive and we drink it with our morning coffee. Plus I’ll use it in the occasional recipe where it’s going to get heated up anyways.
Sometimes I wonder if there is something I eat a lot of, can I not afford to get the natural/organic version? or can I not afford NOT to get it?
(Do you know what I mean? 
)
I guess UHT half n half is one of my compromises…. is it a reasonable one? (just curious of your opinion!)
KitchenKop 12.31.09 at 8:20 am
Hi Sarah, I understand what you’re saying, but personally I couldn’t buy UHT anything. It is just SO denatured. I know cream is expensive, what about using diluted cream or even just whole milk?
Kelly