Raw milk

We visited the local milk producer and came home with a bucket of raw milk. We find several positive sides to this:

• Raw milk is a whole food and healthier than the pasturized alternative we get in the stores. 
• We get to visit our neighbours.
• We support local produce.
• The milk does not travel far: It's just a stroll away from our home.
• It is exciting for the kids to visit the cows.
• The kids love raw milk, it just tastes so much better!
• Visiting the farm and pouring milk into bottles is an event for the entire family, which gives the kids a better understanding and respect for where food comes from.

We get to use milk in glass bottles that we wash and recycle ourselves, rather than toxic plastic bottles. Note that the retail milk cartons in the stores are in fact covered by a thin layer of plastic, so you should consider it a very thin plastic bottle so weak it requires the strength of the cardboard not to tear.

So this exercise is not about religiously returning to a pre-industrialized world. It is about health, sustainability, education, neighbourhood and, of course, good taste. Our children will not grow up asking why farmers don't buy milk from the store like everyone else. Instead, they will be asking why they do. (That will be for a future article)

See the Real Milk campaign for more information about drinking raw milk. We are blessed to have a milk producer as one of our neighbours.