Got milk?
I was totally offended by my public speaking professor when I was in my Freshman year in College in 1991 when said milk is bad for you. What? I come from a rural part of New York where there are loads of dairy farms. I can't imagine how it could be bad for you. So I took on that argument for this blog post. I read a few articles and with exception of the antibiotics and the RGBH hormones I don't see what's so bad about Milk.
Heck, I've drunk unpasturized milk and lived to tell about it! Yes! When I was married to my first husband we'd go see his folks in Vermont, they had a dairy farm. They always had unpasturized milk in the fridge. It was all they had in the fridge for milk. I loved it! I actually miss that! Granted, there were times when you'd see stuff floating in the milk, but I drank it and lived to tell about it. There's nothing like fresh milk practically from the cow itself.
I used to work for Stewart's, it's a New York and Vermont Chain of gas stations/conveience stores/ice cream shops. Not to be confused with the Stewart's soda company or Stewart's drive ins that are very popular in New Jersey. Our Stewart's gets milk from local cows, they're based in Saratoga NY. According to their site's FAQs they test their milk for antibiotics. I didn't know that when I worked there. Then again I didn't work there very long. However, it's good to know. I like to support local before I support big conglomerations anyway. One thing I did learn working there is that they add non-fat milk solids to their skim milk so it looks and tastes more like higher fat milks. That would be why their skim milk is so awesome.
Speaking of supporting local businesses, there's a legendary smokehouse in Warrensburg, NY. You could almost consider them in the capital region. They're just barely north of Lake George. They use nothing but New York milk. People drive from miles around just to get their cheese and meat. I haven't had their meat, but then again this is a post about milk. The cheese is amazing. Hubby and I love cheese and Oscar's is among the best. I recommend the smoked gouda. You can order online from their site here.
Ben & Jerry's only use Vermont milk that is not treated with RGBH. They also only use fair trade ingredients and cage free eggs. Good to know that even though they are owned by a huge corporation now they still cary on the same traditions as the original founders Ben and Jerry themselves. As a side note I once saw Ben Cohen in Burlington Vermont on the Church Street Marketplace. I saw him walk into a bookstore. I had to meet him so went in the bookstore. I approached him and said "I love your Ice cream" and he totally didn't even acknowledge me. He walked right past me. Don't think Jerry Greenfield would have done that. Regardless. I still ate their ice cream and I still do to this day. My favorite flavor is Mood Theraphy which, thank god, is only available in scoop shops.
For those of you who are lactose intolerant, there are many alternatives to cow's milk:
- Almond Milk
- Hemp Milk
- Oat Milk
- Rice Milk
- Soy Milk
So there you have it. A little about Milk.
