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I have seen a lot of milk bashing online lately. People and silly little facebook info graphics going on about how milk is unhealthy, all the cows are mistreated, all cows are full of anti-biotics, chemicals and that cows are 'bad' for the environment. They say it's all 'big food' and processed.....
So here is a reality check.
Do you know who benefits from Dairy Industry bashing? Stick with me here and I will walk you through this. The number one dairy replacement in the US and globally is..... (drum roll please) SOY. So let's follow the money shall we? Because if you want to find out who is really behind something you have to follow the money honey.
Do you know who benefits from Dairy Industry bashing? Stick with me here and I will walk you through this. The number one dairy replacement in the US and globally is..... (drum roll please) SOY. So let's follow the money shall we? Because if you want to find out who is really behind something you have to follow the money honey.
Do you know how much soy it takes to produce soy milk? Let me help you out - its ALOT. Now, who could possibly benefit from a substantial rise in soy demand?? Hmmm...... why Monsanto (and the other mega seed companies) would, that's who!
Almost all Soy Milk on the market unless otherwise marked as 'organic' is from GMO soy. Rice Milk, you ask? GMO rice milk and products are coming to a store near you in 2014. Rice grown in the USA and China is already subjected to mutation breeding - what's that? One step below GMO if you ask me. Click here and read about Mutagenic Seed. And there flat out just isn't enough almonds, coconuts or oats being produced to fill the gap on a national scale, so don't even go there.
That being said, riddle me this:
How are GMO crops better for the environment than cows? How is RoundUp Ready Soy milk and products more healthy for people than milk? Is the RoundUp and other chemicals they dump on the crop fields, because they can with the GMO technology BETTER for the environment and our health than cow manure which can be composted and otherwise reused?? Shoot if you want to you can even harvest the methane gas coming off the manure and use it for cooking and all kinds of things. Can you say anything like that about RoundUp and chemicals? Nope.
Cows use too much water you say?
And growing GMO soy doesn't use any water at all huh? Wrong. If you are farmer and shooting for a yield of about 85 bushels you are going to want around 19 INCHES of water on that soy (source). Soy prefers a temperate climate so if you grow it somewhere where it's warm and dry you will have to irrigate that almost completely.
When dairies are located in temperate climates, which are ideal for dairy cows, the water use is negligible. When dairies are located out in the middle of the desert YES they use a lot more water. That's why I say "Happy Cows do NOT come from California, really dang hot and miserable cows out in the dang desert come from California. Dairy cows like to be cool, they do not do well in extreme heat at all, that is why Wisconsin, Michigan, and Washington. PLEASE NOTE: While I understand there are many other responsible and temperate dairy locations in California, I have to say the ones out in the desert are not very responsible and a lot of our nations milk comes from them.
How are GMO crops better for the environment than cows? How is RoundUp Ready Soy milk and products more healthy for people than milk? Is the RoundUp and other chemicals they dump on the crop fields, because they can with the GMO technology BETTER for the environment and our health than cow manure which can be composted and otherwise reused?? Shoot if you want to you can even harvest the methane gas coming off the manure and use it for cooking and all kinds of things. Can you say anything like that about RoundUp and chemicals? Nope.
Cows use too much water you say?
And growing GMO soy doesn't use any water at all huh? Wrong. If you are farmer and shooting for a yield of about 85 bushels you are going to want around 19 INCHES of water on that soy (source). Soy prefers a temperate climate so if you grow it somewhere where it's warm and dry you will have to irrigate that almost completely.
When dairies are located in temperate climates, which are ideal for dairy cows, the water use is negligible. When dairies are located out in the middle of the desert YES they use a lot more water. That's why I say "Happy Cows do NOT come from California, really dang hot and miserable cows out in the dang desert come from California. Dairy cows like to be cool, they do not do well in extreme heat at all, that is why Wisconsin, Michigan, and Washington. PLEASE NOTE: While I understand there are many other responsible and temperate dairy locations in California, I have to say the ones out in the desert are not very responsible and a lot of our nations milk comes from them.
It's also VERY important to understand that not all dairy companies are run poorly like what is commonly described in those silly memes and graphics. There are PLENTY of dairies, even large ones, which treat their cows like loved pets, and have very high quality standards which do not allow for massive antibiotic use. There will always be some companies that have bad practices - but don't let uninformed internet graphics convince you that it is the standard. It is not the standard. It is the exception.
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| Photo Credit: Joseph Tylczak |
Consolidation (Big Farm)
It is true that the dairy industry is consolidating but not because the "evil big dairy companies" are maliciously buying the smaller ones up, it's because no one wants to be a dairy farmer anymore! It's too much work! It's too dirty! Cows smell! Farmer's children have no interest at all in coming home from college to run the family dairy. We are nation of nearly helpless babies without our technology, and our own laziness is going to bring us down. The demand for dairy products has not decreased so since their is less small dairy farms someone has to pick up the slack. This is not a conspiracy, its math!
It is true that the dairy industry is consolidating but not because the "evil big dairy companies" are maliciously buying the smaller ones up, it's because no one wants to be a dairy farmer anymore! It's too much work! It's too dirty! Cows smell! Farmer's children have no interest at all in coming home from college to run the family dairy. We are nation of nearly helpless babies without our technology, and our own laziness is going to bring us down. The demand for dairy products has not decreased so since their is less small dairy farms someone has to pick up the slack. This is not a conspiracy, its math!
Which dairy companies have high standards?
Try Darigold products, there are others also. Tilamook is another good company with high dairy standards. Darigold is a cooperative of Dairy Farmers based out of the Northwest headquartered out of Seattle. So the farmers are owners too. They have exceedingly high standards, test their milk constantly, have strict limits and rules on what medication can be used on the cows, AND they have no problem booting someone out of the cooperative if their milk isn't up to par (I have seen this happen myself. A neighbor of ours lost his membership to Darigold because his milk wasn't testing clean enough and the antibiotic levels were too high. As a result he joined up almost immediately with a different company that had lower standards - I cannot name them in this article but let me say this -- when it comes to milk, cheaper is not always best. If you really want to know email me).
Try Darigold products, there are others also. Tilamook is another good company with high dairy standards. Darigold is a cooperative of Dairy Farmers based out of the Northwest headquartered out of Seattle. So the farmers are owners too. They have exceedingly high standards, test their milk constantly, have strict limits and rules on what medication can be used on the cows, AND they have no problem booting someone out of the cooperative if their milk isn't up to par (I have seen this happen myself. A neighbor of ours lost his membership to Darigold because his milk wasn't testing clean enough and the antibiotic levels were too high. As a result he joined up almost immediately with a different company that had lower standards - I cannot name them in this article but let me say this -- when it comes to milk, cheaper is not always best. If you really want to know email me).
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To be a Darigold dairy producer your cows have a full time dietitian - that's right, a dietitian. I can't even afford to see a dietitian but I am glad the cows that make my milk do. Happy cows make good milk, and cows that eat only the best, produce the best milk. In my never humble opinion Darigold milk and products are one step below organic, the only way you could do better is to buy pasture fed organic.
I start my morning out everyday with a glass of raw milk (better than anything that is pasteurized). Raw milk is not dangerous or poisonous and contains a lot of good stuff that is killed and removed in the pasteurization process. I believe everyone over the age of two should be drinking raw milk every day, we'd all have healthier guts and less allergies, but that's just my opinion.
Always Question What you Share
Dairy farmers in general are self reliant, God fearing, hard working people, the only reason why they aren't online defending themselves is because they are too dang busy running their dairies. So when you see misinformation like that on the internet from now on - ALWAYS question "who benefits from this message?" And stop following that page or blog, they don't know what they talking about and merely pushing an agenda that is NOT helping anyone.
The "food conspiracy" propaganda is full of misinformation, and untruths and people accept it as fact and spread it around because it's easy to believe. No one is saying that there aren't problems with our nations food supply, but what these conspiracies present is not always the truth. To fix things decisions need to be made on facts and real world experience NOT conspiracy theories and food marketing propaganda.
I don't have all the answers - but I do know one good step is to start growing and producing your own food.
Dairy farmers in general are self reliant, God fearing, hard working people, the only reason why they aren't online defending themselves is because they are too dang busy running their dairies. So when you see misinformation like that on the internet from now on - ALWAYS question "who benefits from this message?" And stop following that page or blog, they don't know what they talking about and merely pushing an agenda that is NOT helping anyone.
The "food conspiracy" propaganda is full of misinformation, and untruths and people accept it as fact and spread it around because it's easy to believe. No one is saying that there aren't problems with our nations food supply, but what these conspiracies present is not always the truth. To fix things decisions need to be made on facts and real world experience NOT conspiracy theories and food marketing propaganda.
I don't have all the answers - but I do know one good step is to start growing and producing your own food.
Wow, tell it like it is: I like your firm stand. This may be an older post i am working my way through all your blogs and couldn't find a date.
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