Organic Milk or Not?

[Loves Vintage]

So, this is a question that puzzles me regularly. For a while, I was buying organic milk for myself, because organic must be better, right? Then, a guy I worked with knew a bovine vet who was adamantly anti-organic because he said the organic cow farms are not allowed to treat even sick cows with antibiotics, and they suffer because of it. Sooooooo, then I switched back to conventional milk because I felt bad for all of the sick cows, and all of the milk cartons say that the farmers make a pledge not to use growth hormones (whatever that is worth .) Now, I have a daughter who is drinking whole milk, so we switched to organic again, because organic must be better, right?

So, curious what others are using and why. Is there anything else about organic that is really better other than the lack of growth hormones? Oh, also, how much is a gallon of organic milk where you are? It is 6.29 here, which is annoying. Conventional is $3 less.

Oh, and then, there is cheese! I buy organic sliced american cheese for DD's grilled cheese sandwiches; however, I also buy a variety or other block cheeses for her snacks, and none of those even have organic options or the growth hormone free label for that matter!

 

[lknvrb4]

I was buying organic milk as well and now I buy all my milk at Aldis. I pay $2.79 a gallon for their milk and even though it is not organic it is hormone free. I am also very lucky because we have a local farmers market and there is a farm who sells a variety of really good cheeses that are all hormone free. Another place I get my cheese is online at Cedar Grove cheese in Wisconsin. It is cheaper to just buy a la carte than to buy a prepackaged bundle. The cheese is really good and priced pretty well.

 

[justginger]

I find all this crap so confusing and alarming - I have no doubt that a good portion of what we consume is full of things we a) don't know about and b) would NOT consent to having.

I have almost completely stopped consuming milk. I have it with cereal, but no other time. I am starting to agree with the anti-milk movement and think that the dairy industry is misleading, and at times worse. My husband grew up vegetarian and is the only member of his family that is not still strict veggie, with one brother/sister-in-law fully vegan. They have an enormous amount of literature regarding the health of heavy meat/milk diets that is hard to ignore. Specifically high protein diets actually result in the leeching of calcium from bones, so that can be a concern for those who really love meat. However...collards and greens give you the same level of calcium as milk, but with Vitamin K as well.

So, I guess I don't really have an opinion on what is healthiest...because I think none of it is best. I HATE the additives, the preservatives (in the States it is especially bad...the milk 'consume by' date in Australia is generally only 5-7 days), the hormones, the antibiotics, the practices of the dairy industry in general. And I don't think cow milk is a necessary part of the human diet. I would vote to stop giving your child milk altogether, but that's just me.

 

[Lottie]

I remember when I was pregnant reading something about children's bodies retaining more of the pesticides in Dairy products than adults (it was nearly 5 years ago so I am hazy on the specifics). I switched all of our dairy products over to organic and I haven't read anything to suggest it was a bad idea, so that's the way it's stayed.

 

[makemepretty]

I don't buy organic anything(on purpose). Sometimes an organic item might be on sale and that's why I've purchased it but other than that, I don't choose to buy those products. High fructose corn syrup is also NOT my enemy either. I believe in everything in moderation so a bit of HFCS isn't going to be the end of the world. I buy whole milk because my husband is the milk drinker and that's what he loves.

I know someone who buys organic but then feeds her kids fast food. I know people who buy organic just so they can say "I buy organic". I think buying organic or non organic milk isn't going to make that much difference.

 

[LtlFirecracker]

I buy organic milk. I do it more for the hormones. I have a little paranoia about the hormones as my mother died of an estrogen sensitive breast cancer. I still have not figured out if the hormones make it through the pasteurization process, but in humans, estrogen crosses into breast milk, so I am assuming hormones can cross into cows milk as well.

I am not against using antibiotics if an animal is ill, but I am against general antibiotic use. There are already bugs that are resistant to every antibiotic we have as a result in regular antibiotic use in our livestock, and if someone gets infected, it is going to be very difficult to treat them. I am concerned that is going to be a very big public health problem for us in the future. As much as I would advocate for a sick animal being treated and have something still labeled organic as I am not against proper antibiotic use in animals, this information would not make me stop buying organic milk. I am more worried about a sick human that can't be treated with antibiotics.

 

[movie zombie]

organic.

i'm sure that organic dairies do not allow their cows to suffer with illness. why not contact a local organic dairy and ask them before believing some guy that says organic cows suffer? if you don't have a local organic dairy, you can get in touch with whatever group you buy from. you can also contact an organic association.

for the record: i don't even like milk. but if i'm using it, its organic.....well, i should state that i do like egg nog and i buy that during the holidays....ORGANIC.

given the info coming out re formaldyhde in baby shampoo and other disclosures i surely do hope people with children are looking at what their $ is purchasing. the long term effects of chemical exposure on such young bodies are not known.

 

[vc10um]

We purchase organic everything if we can get our hands on it, mostly because pesticide-free farming is leaps and bounds better, not only for you, but for the environment. Organic farming actually helps pull CO2 out of the air and into the soil (called sequestering), reducing greenhouse gases, but pesticide-laden farming prevents soil from doing that and actually releases more greenhouse gases into the air. A ton of research has been done on that topic, especially in Europe. Cows producing organic milk must be fed organic feeds, which is why DH and I choose them.

 

[iLander]

As a teenager, my DH had a job at a milk company. His entire job was to slit open expired milk cartons that were returned from the stores, and dump the milk into a big vat for reprocessing.

The dairy company simply pasteurized the milk again, and it was sold. Perfectly legal in a non-organic dairy, BTW. This particular supplier was a big school milk (lowest bidder) supplier.

Also, bovine growth hormone has gotten to the point of making a calf market ready in two years. It used to be five. That is some powerful hormone.

With all the cautions that human mothers are given about passing chemicals through their breast milk, you can't tell me that the growth hormone doesn't go through that cow.

We were on regular milk for the first few years of my DD's life. She drank the school milk. She was bit chubby. When we switched to organic milk, and she stopped drinking school milk, she slimmed right down (in sixth grade). It's my personal theory that school milk (full of hormones) is the cause of an awful lot of childhood obesity.

So we only use organic. And we've found that it doesn't go sour as quickly. Compare the expiration date of an organic versus non-organic milk.

I think organic dairy, and reverse osmosis water for a home, are the most important things you can do for your health.

 

[monarch64]

I buy cow's milk once in a great while, to bake with or to add to dry cereal when I get a craving for it. I don't bother with organic. We are both vegetarians and once I begin breastfeeding I plan to cut out all dairy from my diet anyway. We will not be giving our child cow's milk or dairy products.

 

[zoebartlett]

Interesting story, iLander! I never knew they could do that with milk. I've never thought about it actually.

I try to buy free range and hormone free products but I don't usually buy organic. It's so expensive and I've heard so much conflicting information on whether organic things are truly better for you. I did buy organic milk a number of years ago and kept it up for about a year or so. I didn't notice much difference, if any, so I switched back to regular skim milk (the only milk I like).

 

[radiantquest]

I have never liked milk. I pour only a couple tbsp onto my cereal so it isn't as dry. I use it in cooking too, but never for drinking.

I believe that I am an old curmudgeon before my time. For instance the "Greek" yogurt thing that is so hip right now. I thought yogurt was already supposed to be good for you. Greek yogurt came out and was all the rage and now Yoplait is Greek?? No its not. Its still Yopliat with the word "Greek" on the container!!

 

[makemepretty]

For those of you who don't really like milk but use it for cereal, almond milk is wonderful in cereal and is good for you.

 

[Haven]

I buy organic milk only. It isn't because I've done my own Internet "research" into which is better, it's because it just plain tastes a thousand times better. I drink a lot of milk. I love it.

Before anyone starts telling me how it's so horrible for humans to drink cow's milk, let me save you some time: I'm not planning on stopping any time soon. I've loved it for 30 years, and I'm just fine. And I really crave and love milk. Don't worry, I don't smoke or drink much alcohol, or soda for that matter. I'm very happy sticking to my milk habit.

 

[february2003bride]

Organic milk and fruits/veggies if possible, for us.

My kids prefer the taste of Wegmans 1% organic milk over any other milk. My youngest DS detests milk (he's a big ice water drinker), my DD drinks about 1 glass a day, my oldest DS loves milk. DH drinks chai tea everyday so we do go through about 2 gallons a week of milk. Organic is just something we prefer.

We try to buy organic produce as well, but if there aren't any organic strawberries I'll buy non-organic.

For the most part its about moderation for us. Yes, we buy organic milk and yes we eat at ChickFila and McDonalds. My kids are big fruit eaters but also eat Rice Krispie Treats. Plus, I like my chocolate (although I've switched to dark chocolate).

 

[slg47]

I buy organic milk only. It isn't because I've done my own Internet "research" into which is better, it's because it just plain tastes a thousand times better. I drink a lot of milk. I love it.

Before anyone starts telling me how it's so horrible for humans to drink cow's milk, let me save you some time: I'm not planning on stopping any time soon. I've loved it for 30 years, and I'm just fine. And I really crave and love milk. Don't worry, I don't smoke or drink much alcohol, or soda for that matter. I'm very happy sticking to my milk habit.

 

[monarch64]

I buy organic milk only. It isn't because I've done my own Internet "research" into which is better, it's because it just plain tastes a thousand times better. I drink a lot of milk. I love it.

Before anyone starts telling me how it's so horrible for humans to drink cow's milk, let me save you some time: I'm not planning on stopping any time soon. I've loved it for 30 years, and I'm just fine. And I really crave and love milk. Don't worry, I don't smoke or drink much alcohol, or soda for that matter. I'm very happy sticking to my milk habit.

I couldn't care less what other people eat or drink. Not every person who makes certain health or lifestyle choices is out to convert others. I will share one thing with you, though: since cows may live to the ripe old age of 30+ years, and you love your milk so, you might look into investing in your own dairy cow. Your suburb may not allow livestock, but if you are actually interested there are ways to go about getting that sort of thing implemented. Oberweiss must be making a fortune off you.

 

[Pandora II]

I use milk for baking and we eat cheese, butter and cream but not for drinking.

It's very high in sugar and humans can't readily absorb the calcium - you get more from broccoli.

Milk is also very high in oestrogen - in the west we stop milking cows very late in pregnacy compared with countries like Mongolia that consume a lot of milk but stop milking at 3 months gestation.

Research points to the dramatic change in the age of girls reaching puberty in Japan being directly linked to introduction of cow's milk into the diet post-WWII/

I also worked in bovine veterinary research for several years (specifically bovine TB but colleagues worked on other diseases in cows) - very few of us drank milk who worked there.

(I also don't use soya milk).

De Beers and the Milk Marketing Board have probably run the most successful advertising campaigns in history.

 

[stardust97]

I buy organic milk only. It isn't because I've done my own Internet "research" into which is better, it's because it just plain tastes a thousand times better. I drink a lot of milk. I love it.

Before anyone starts telling me how it's so horrible for humans to drink cow's milk, let me save you some time: I'm not planning on stopping any time soon. I've loved it for 30 years, and I'm just fine. And I really crave and love milk. Don't worry, I don't smoke or drink much alcohol, or soda for that matter. I'm very happy sticking to my milk habit.

Ditto this...I love milk! I mostly buy organic bc I have heard it is much better for you and it tastes so much better. I get mine from a small local farm and it comes in the old-fashioned bottles which makes it taste even better I get intense cravings for milk too, and I drink a lot in tea. I feel like my body needs it, so I don't worry.

 

[Laila619]

I will only drink organic milk. For one thing, it truly tastes and smells better. Also, it lasts much longer before spoiling! I wonder why that's the case, but it's definitely true. And I just feel it's a better choice, both for me since I'm pregnant, and also for my son. I worry about the hormones and pesticides and other junk in regular milk.

 

[Bliss]

Me, too! Loves Vintage, I swear - you and I are on the same wavelength so often I feel like you're reading my mind! How is your sweet beautiful baby girl? She is sooooo gorgeous!!!!!! What a beautiful child!

We eat almost 100% organic in our household and it's pretty tough to do these days - lots of trips to Whole Foods is what helps!!! We switched from organic milk (mainly for tea/coffee) to organic almond milk and feel a tremendous difference cutting dairy out of our diets. M drinks organic milk (2%) sometimes but mostly water. She drinks organic goat's milk (closest to human milk apparently) but gets plenty of calcium from dark leafy greens and almond milk as well. We do give her organic mozzarella sometimes as well.

The main reason we choose organic over commercial milk is because of the pesticides and herbicides used in all the feed that cows eat. Animals (including humans) store all the toxins in their body fat where it is concentrated and it comes out in their fatty milk since kids usually drink whole milk. Commercial dairy cows also eat food loaded with pesticides and all the corn and crud they ingest is genetically modified as well. Frankenfood = frankenmilk in my book. We think it's worth whatever it costs when it comes to our health, though it is expensive! I believe, like most of the research and doctors are saying now, that food is medicine. What we ingest really matters.

With all the toxins in the environment we cannot control, I'd rather minimize my family's exposure by controlling what we can and that's our food. We also feel really great and are full of energy every day. My friend is a dietician and she tells her overweight clients first and foremost to only eat organic. There are "obesogens" in commercial food and so many hormones, pesticides, herbicides and frankencrap in our food that it really taxes the body from all the toxins. It's frustrating to think that the food we are eating is killing us. That's why we eat only organic.

Also, they do use antibiotics on "organic" cows if they need it - the difference is that they take those cows out of the dairy production line for a year, I believe. Also, the "organic" cows aren't pumped full of hormones to grow faster and also to produce more milk - therefore, they get fewer infections anyway. Can you imagine if breastfeeding moms were given hormones to produce 4-5 times the milk our breasts are naturally meant to produce? No wonder they all have infections/mastitis! The horrors commercial cows go through - huge udders swollen and often infected while being forced to produce an unholy amount of pus filled milk while connected to steel suction tubes...all the while being drugged to produce more more more...very very sad and very gross, too. Thank goodness they pasteurize it otherwise...

I think organic cows are usually grass fed or at least have *some* time in the pasture. Not saying organic farms are angelic, either. It's a business and sometimes the term "organic" can be the bare minimum of things to meet the standard but at least there is a standard, right?

 

[pandabee]

that is a very interesting story iLander! I never thought of that as a possibility but that is pretty crazy.

For those of you who don't really like milk but use it for cereal, almond milk is wonderful in cereal and is good for you.

I was just going to say this! I don't drink milk anymore except for in cereal, so I'll usually splurge for the almond milk (or occasionally soy milk, but I find that almond doesn't settle as chunky as some of the soy milk).

(I also don't use soya milk).

De Beers and the Milk Marketing Board have probably run the most successful advertising campaigns in history.

why don't you use soy milk, out of curiosity?

I would agree with the majority of posters and say that organic does tend to taste better for whatever reason. I used to drink milk like crazy when I was younger but now when I have a little bit (like when I have to steal a bit of my roommate's when I run out of almond milk) it just tastes blech to me. especially skim!

 

[Haven]

I buy organic milk only. It isn't because I've done my own Internet "research" into which is better, it's because it just plain tastes a thousand times better. I drink a lot of milk. I love it.

Before anyone starts telling me how it's so horrible for humans to drink cow's milk, let me save you some time: I'm not planning on stopping any time soon. I've loved it for 30 years, and I'm just fine. And I really crave and love milk. Don't worry, I don't smoke or drink much alcohol, or soda for that matter. I'm very happy sticking to my milk habit.

I couldn't care less what other people eat or drink. Not every person who makes certain health or lifestyle choices is out to convert others. I will share one thing with you, though: since cows may live to the ripe old age of 30+ years, and you love your milk so, you might look into investing in your own dairy cow. Your suburb may not allow livestock, but if you are actually interested there are ways to go about getting that sort of thing implemented. Oberweiss must be making a fortune off you.

My own dairy cow--that's not a bad idea!

Off to go research dairy cow ownership . . .

P.S. Of course I understand that people who make lifestyle choices aren't out to convert others! We ALL make lifestyle choices. (I was raised vegetarian, and my parents would have died before they tried to convert anyone else into their lifestyle.) I only wrote that disclaimer because I've gotten a lot of "You really shouldn't be drinking cow's milk regularly" lectures from PSers in the past. I just wanted to save the proselytizers their time this time around. There's always *someone* who cares enough to try to convert me. It just gets old after a while.

Don't forget--I have my own very strong beliefs about health and wellness. As does everyone, I'm sure.

ETA: No Oberweis in this house. Not after Jim Oberweis's anti-immigration ad campaign here in IL.

 

[Bliss]

Haven, now I want my own cow as well! All this talk of drinking milk makes me want to go get some ice cold milk and dunk Oreos in it!!!!!!!!!! Organic milk and Newman's Own organic Oreos, though. LOL

 

[Pandora II]

(I also don't use soya milk).

De Beers and the Milk Marketing Board have probably run the most successful advertising campaigns in history.

why don't you use soy milk, out of curiosity?

Soya contains large numbers of phyto-oestrogens - enough that a woman drinking 2 glasses of soya milk a day will see an alteration in her menstrual cycle. Babies on soya-based formula are receiving the same amount as oestrogen a day as if they were taking 5 BCPs/day.

It can have a big effect on male fertility - reducing sperm motility to a significant degree. Effects on fertility in animals grazing on phyto-oestrogen rich foods was noted back in the 1940's.

Research is also indicating that it may increase the risk of certain cancers, especially oestrogen-sensitive breast cancers.

Most consumption of soya is through 'hidden soy' in other foods - around 70% of processed foods in the average supermarket will contain soy in one form or another.

Add to that the huge environmental damage that has been the result of the increase in soya production in countries like Brazil and Argentina.

I don't avoid all soya products - I use soy sauce and drink miso soup (although the manufacturing methods for these remove most of the phyto-oestrogens) and I eat edamame beans occasionally - but I check packets in supermarkets and I don't ever use soya milk.


In general I'm in favour of everything in moderation. I also research products I'm not sure about - but rely on solid scientific research for my information not pseudo-science.

I'm militantly pro-vaccine and get very annoyed when newspapers freak parents out about the use of formaldehyde... which is essential for human metabolism and present in far larger quantities in a babies body than exist in a vaccination. And if people want to get upset about aluminium then they should check the levels in infant formula (soy based formulas contain even higher levels) - even human breastmilk contains aluminium.

I have strong carnivorous tendencies, but always buy free-range and if possible from small local farms where the animals are raised in fields with lots of space and big happy smiles on their faces. I don't buy or eat factory-farmed.

I like heritage varieties of fruit, tomatoes, potatoes etc and taste is more important to me than organic. I don't have particular issues with GM. My husband works for one of the world's largest chemical conpanies that is involved in all these things so I get my information from the horses mouth (and not just press-releases either).

I don't worry about what to give my daughter in the way of milk as she is still breastfed at 3, so I'm probably considered a bit odd in my choices by a lot of people!

 

[Bliss]

(I also don't use soya milk).

De Beers and the Milk Marketing Board have probably run the most successful advertising campaigns in history.

why don't you use soy milk, out of curiosity?

Soya contains large numbers of phyto-oestrogens - enough that a woman drinking 2 glasses of soya milk a day will see an alteration in her menstrual cycle. Babies on soya-based formula are receiving the same amount as oestrogen a day as if they were taking 5 BCPs/day.

It can have a big effect on male fertility - reducing sperm motility to a significant degree. Effects on fertility in animals grazing on phyto-oestrogen rich foods was noted back in the 1940's.

Research is also indicating that it may increase the risk of certain cancers, especially oestrogen-sensitive breast cancers.

Most consumption of soya is through 'hidden soy' in other foods - around 70% of processed foods in the average supermarket will contain soy in one form or another.

Add to that the huge environmental damage that has been the result of the increase in soya production in countries like Brazil and Argentina.

I don't avoid all soya products - I use soy sauce and drink miso soup (although the manufacturing methods for these remove most of the phyto-oestrogens) and I eat edamame beans occasionally - but I check packets in supermarkets and I don't ever use soya milk.

Why, oh why do I nod at everything you write, Pandora? Mine is breastfeeding still as well. Ha ha! Anyway, thanks for the research!

Also, non-organic soy is almost always genetically modified and also heavily laced with pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. Corn and soy - a couple of the worst offenders when it comes to frankenfoods. Unfortunately, it's also in everything! Anything you buy that is packaged - is sure to have soy lecithin (an emulsifier) in it. Since everything has it, I daresay that the cumulative effect is pretty significant. Any corn or soy products - it's best to go organic if choosing these foods.

And I'm not even a paranoid person, usually! But when I was pregnant, there was a bunch of new research out saying that even the food I ate while pregnant would affect my daughter's risks of getting cancer later in life. It just struck me as how powerful what we ingest is to our overall health. So now, I am pretty vigilant about my family's diet and always interested in information coming out about making the best choices out there. I think having a kid changed it all for me.

Shoot, I used to be a granola person who would just peel an orange and eat it. Do you guys wash the orange first before peeling it? I do now, but it never occurred to me before. DH enlightened me on that one. I thought he was nuts and OCD until I asked our friends and it turned out that everyone we know did this but me! Sigh.

 

[pandabee]

Soya contains large numbers of phyto-oestrogens - enough that a woman drinking 2 glasses of soya milk a day will see an alteration in her menstrual cycle. Babies on soya-based formula are receiving the same amount as oestrogen a day as if they were taking 5 BCPs/day.

It can have a big effect on male fertility - reducing sperm motility to a significant degree. Effects on fertility in animals grazing on phyto-oestrogen rich foods was noted back in the 1940's.

Research is also indicating that it may increase the risk of certain cancers, especially oestrogen-sensitive breast cancers.

Most consumption of soya is through 'hidden soy' in other foods - around 70% of processed foods in the average supermarket will contain soy in one form or another.

Add to that the huge environmental damage that has been the result of the increase in soya production in countries like Brazil and Argentina.

I don't avoid all soya products - I use soy sauce and drink miso soup (although the manufacturing methods for these remove most of the phyto-oestrogens) and I eat edamame beans occasionally - but I check packets in supermarkets and I don't ever use soya milk.

In general I'm in favour of everything in moderation. I also research products I'm not sure about - but rely on solid scientific research for my information not pseudo-science.

I'm militantly pro-vaccine and get very annoyed when newspapers freak parents out about the use of formaldehyde... which is essential for human metabolism and present in far larger quantities in a babies body than exist in a vaccination. And if people want to get upset about aluminium then they should check the levels in infant formula (soy based formulas contain even higher levels) - even human breastmilk contains aluminium.

I have strong carnivorous tendencies, but always buy free-range and if possible from small local farms where the animals are raised in fields with lots of space and big happy smiles on their faces. I don't buy or eat factory-farmed.

I like heritage varieties of fruit, tomatoes, potatoes etc and taste is more important to me than organic. I don't have particular issues with GM. My husband works for one of the world's largest chemical conpanies that is involved in all these things so I get my information from the horses mouth (and not just press-releases either).

I don't worry about what to give my daughter in the way of milk as she is still breastfed at 3, so I'm probably considered a bit odd in my choices by a lot of people!

oh wow that is all extremely interesting. I know that soy products do have phytoestrogens (I remember learning that in school when they talked about alternative sources of estrogen for women undergoing menopause, so it definitely makes sense that it contributes to estrogen-positive breast cancer) but I didn't realize that the estrogen content was so high in soy formulas. good to know. I'm also a fan of the "everything in moderation" mantra, and definitely all for vaccines as well so I find myself also nodding at all the points you made. I don't have strong carnivorous tendencies but I will definitely move to buying only range-free for my future family but it is hard to do so on a grad student budget .

 

[Skippy123]

I don't drink milk but if I were to, we only buy organic. I read that the hormones do a lot to boys and girls so my boys will only be getting organic milk

 

[Haven]

This thread made me think of a very old memory that I haven't recalled in over a decade . . .

I had a friend in HS whose brother ONLY drank organic (or was it Vitamin D?) milk because he read that regular milk led to breast growth in men. This guy was a genius, literally, so he was always doing a lot of research and making unusual life choices based off of it. This one was something I had forgotten all these years! We used to tease him and tell him that we thought we saw little perks popping up . . .

 

[monarch64]

I buy organic milk only. It isn't because I've done my own Internet "research" into which is better, it's because it just plain tastes a thousand times better. I drink a lot of milk. I love it.

Before anyone starts telling me how it's so horrible for humans to drink cow's milk, let me save you some time: I'm not planning on stopping any time soon. I've loved it for 30 years, and I'm just fine. And I really crave and love milk. Don't worry, I don't smoke or drink much alcohol, or soda for that matter. I'm very happy sticking to my milk habit.

I couldn't care less what other people eat or drink. Not every person who makes certain health or lifestyle choices is out to convert others. I will share one thing with you, though: since cows may live to the ripe old age of 30+ years, and you love your milk so, you might look into investing in your own dairy cow. Your suburb may not allow livestock, but if you are actually interested there are ways to go about getting that sort of thing implemented. Oberweiss must be making a fortune off you.

My own dairy cow--that's not a bad idea!

Off to go research dairy cow ownership . . .

P.S. Of course I understand that people who make lifestyle choices aren't out to convert others! We ALL make lifestyle choices. (I was raised vegetarian, and my parents would have died before they tried to convert anyone else into their lifestyle.) I only wrote that disclaimer because I've gotten a lot of "You really shouldn't be drinking cow's milk regularly" lectures from PSers in the past. I just wanted to save the proselytizers their time this time around. There's always *someone* who cares enough to try to convert me. It just gets old after a while.

Don't forget--I have my own very strong beliefs about health and wellness. As does everyone, I'm sure.

ETA: No Oberweis in this house. Not after Jim Oberweis's anti-immigration ad campaign here in IL.

Google "Illinois cow share." Another option for the dairy enthusiast. If you did buy a cow you have to calve her so she keeps producing milk, plus you get 8-10 gallons of milk a day from a healthy cow for 10 months of the year, and you can't legally sell the raw milk for human consumption (if you do prepare to be sued if anyone gets sick). Cows are kind of a pain in the ass...we had two Holsteins (Millie and Molly) and a Brown Swiss (called Brown Swiss--I came up with that one) when I was little and although they are sweet and docile they do not have a lot of respect for fences. You would, however, have amazing content from which to draw should you choose to write about the experience. And you'd make a cute milkmaid. LOL