New Cow Share Program in Haida Gwaii

Big Bear Ranch sent me a link to an article in The Tyee called: Did you Want your Milk Raw? (The Tyee was started by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon the minds behind the Hundred Mile Diet). Lisa Graham-Knight has two Jerseys which are supplying Haida Gwaii with raw milk. I read through the postings after the article and was saddened by all the fear the general population has around raw milk. I wrote a posting on The Tyee site about why I like raw milk and consider it safer than pasteurized milk. Below is my posting:

I am the Chapter Leader for the Weston A Price Foundation in Kamloops. My family and I have been drinking raw milk for about three years now. This summer I decided to buy my own Jersey cow so I could ensure a supply of this nutritious traditional food.

It is important that raw milk comes from healthy grassfed cows. The raw milk is of better quality if the cows are on fresh pasture, so it is a common practice to milk only on a seasonal basis. It is better for the cow’s long term health not to be milked while pregnant.

We drink fresh whole raw milk daily. I make raw butter, kefir and yogurt. I freeze raw milk for winter consumption. My family has not become sick from drinking raw milk. In fact, I did not drink milk for nearly ten years because of “lactose intolerance”. It turned out I had “pasteurization homogenization intolerance”. Industrial milk is dangerous for me.

I would recommend interested people reading Ron Schmid’s book The Untold Story of Milk. It gives historical background about how we have found ourselves fearful of a nutritious traditional food that has nourished generations of people.

In the name of “safety” we have seen our rights to choose healthy foods reduced. Farmers and ranchers in my area are being regulated out of business. It’s really all about choice. Does the government have the right to choose what is right for me? Unfortunately, they have the power to do so. The farmer becomes a criminal just by selling me this traditional food.

I want the government out of my business so I can get nourishing foods directly from the farmer at a reasonable price. Even at this reasonable price, the farmer gets paid more than what they would receive from the Industrial Food System. (I won’t get into government run dairy quota.) Legal raw milk sales would save the small family farm. Legal farm gate sales regarding meats is another issue that would save the family farm.

I will try to connect with the people involved in this new cow share program.