Most non-organic milk is now sourced from enormous confinement dairies that can keep up to 30,000 cows in huge contained barns. In order to these keep animals alive and producing milk in such crowded conditions, they are generally pumped full of antibiotics, fed a cocktail of hormones, and stuffed with pesticide-laden feed.
Moreover, the longer the distance any food product must travel, the longer the shelf-life it must require. In the case of milk, to control spoilage during transport an Ultra High Temperature process is used that compromises both the taste and quality of most commercially produced milk.
Therefore, to the degree that one is able, the only real way to support local organic dairies is to spend what is necessary for a humane and healthy product. Sadly, due to years of unchecked consolidation, fewer and fewer small dairies with this authentic ethic even exist.
One of Northern California’s best choices is Sonoma County’s Straus Family Creamery. A leader in the movement for food transparency and against genetic modification, Straus is exemplary in their sustainable methods, integrating them into very aspect of their production and distribution. Their practices include growing much of their own feed, using recycled glass bottles, and generating power from a methane digester located on the farm.
A Straus Holstein Cow