photo: Sue Fearon
Occasionally one tastes something so amazing that it connects with both the subliminal and sublime. On one level, it feels as natural as sunshine; on another, as if you've somehow broken the law. In the case of a gallon of raw milk that was given to me by a friend, I came to learn that something delicious and nutritious can, indeed, be illegal.
My gifted gallon was milked from Arabella's udders, a Jersey Brown Swiss cow living in central Utah. Arabella's milk was sweet with a faint grassy flavor and somehow connected with a memory, or perhaps a collective one; of a time when agro-business was a family farm, not a multi-national corporation. I asked my friend if she knew where I could get raw milk in Tucson and she told me it was illegal to buy it unless it came from a certified dairy.
"Illegal! But why?"
I was educated on the battle between consumers who would like to make it easy to obtain raw milk and the status quo that prefers large producers who pasteurize the product to ship it far and wide.
The former group is a loose coalition of folks looking to bring back whole milk to the nation's palate. The latter is a well-financed industry that is controlled by a few corporations. Closely look in your local dairy case to see who these corporations are and scrutinize the "Got Milk" media campaign.
Pasteurization came about in the late 19th century when certain pathogenic bacteria in the milk were making people sick. This was caused by a combination of poor handling techniques, the demand levied by population increases, coupled with the movement of people moving from rural to urban settings. The main success of pasteurization came for mass producers whose product enjoyed a much longer shelf life; thereby increasing profit.
Today's system is set up for mass producers and distributors of milk. What we've lost is the ability to obtain raw whole milk, along with all the benefits this natural nectar can offer. It would be illegal for me to milk a cow I've raised and cared for and then sell the milk to my neighbor. The rationale cited is health concerns. My cow's milk might make you sick if it is handled improperly. The exact statement is true of pasteurized milk; the risk nowadays is the same.
However, consumers who really want raw milk do have a few options. You can buy shares in a cow with a neighbor or a ranch. In Tucson, Hoofs 'n' Horns Farm (HoofsnHorns.com) will sell you milk if you buy a share of their farm. You can also purchase raw milk from the Food Conspiracy Co-Op and Agua Vita that is produced by a dairy in Queen Creek called Save Your Dairy (SaveYourDairy.com).
