Milk was the first step in our transition to organic foods, as I first learned about bovine growth hormones (rBGH) shortly after getting knocked up way back in 2006. As I had given up soda and all but the bare minimum of caffeine (1 small coffee), I was drinking a lot of milk and it didn’t take much to convince me to switch to organic milk. At first, the husband objected to paying twice as much, and challenged me to tell the difference in a blind taste test. When I correctly identified the organic by looks alone, and then by taste, he started to believe there may be a difference.
Soon after the toddler’s first birthday, and transition to cow’s milk, someone sent a message on our neighborhood listserv that a Maryland dairy would consider starting home delivery to our area if 72 families signed up. Apparently I was not the only one to jump at the chance, as they surpassed that number in two days! In October, the milkman made his first delivery to our front porch, and we couldn’t be more in love. Coming from free-ranging, grass-eating cows, bottled on site in real glass bottles, and appearing on our porch every Monday - could we be any luckier? The toddler is addicted to their milk, and checks the cooler nearly every day to see if the new bottles have been delivered. A few weeks ago, we headed up to the dairy for their Spring Cow Caper Festival. The toddler was mesmerized by the “mooo!” cows, talked to and fed the baby calves, and played for hours on the farm. They had barbecue, made from their beef and local pork, milk and cheese samples, and tasty ice cream.
While the farm is not certified organic, they allow their cows to eat grass or a corn/soy feed that is grown on the farm, are antibiotic and growth hormone free, and use no pesticides on their fields. (I inspected some bags of grain seed in the barn and was pleased to see not a Monsanto label in sight!) Watching the cows graze peacefully in the bright green hollows, it was hard to imagine that most dairy cows live very differently.
Perhaps the most exciting part of our experience is seeing my husband converted into a Creamery disciple - frequently pouring glasses of milk for friends and visitors. Almost without fail, their first reaction is “Wow, that tastes like milk.” I also get a kick out of seeing new customers gush over their rediscovery of what milk really tastes like. Here are some other new customers’ reactions:
Local? South Mountain delivers all over Northern Virginia, DC, Baltimore and Western Maryland. Check it out!
Updated 7.16.08 to add Baltimore, per Mike’s comment below. Thanks, Mike!
I’ve written before about our quest for artificial growth hormone-free milk that led us to sign up for milk delivery from our local creamery. Why hormone free? Artificial growth hormones (rBGH) have been linked to type II diabetes and cancer. While many of the major retailers have since banned rBGH milk from their shelves (kudos to Wal-Mart, Kroger/Fred Meyer, Chipotle), it is still being produced and distributed to our public schools. I am fortunate to be able to afford organic milk, but the majority of kids who rely on school meal programs don’t have that option. The USDA is about to reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act (CNA) so write today to urge them to give the schools the option of offering artificial hormone-free milk to our schoolkids. Visit the Food & Water Watch action site RIGHT NOW to send an email. The comment period ends October 15, so comment and forward the link to your friends today!
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