Efforts to Crush Raw Milk Availability

Not sure if this would be of any help... (4.00 / 5)

But have you looked here?

It seems that here in the Portland area there are places in Eagle Creek, Gresham, Colton, 2 in Molalla, Sandy, Yamhill and one in Portland ('Abita Springs Farm' - I've never heard of them and can't find anything about them on the web.  there's a contact number on that list, though...).

Also, another suggestion might be to try asking around at some of the farmers markets?  There are at least 3 small artisan cheese vendors at the Saturday PSU Market, and it's a good bet they might know something.

BTW -

I've been searching for several weeks now to find a local source (Portland, Oregon)

Hello, neighbor!

:)

"The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks." - Christopher Hitchens

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by: JayinPortland @ Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 22:57:11 PM UTC

Super resource, thanks! (4.00 / 4)

I'm planning to hit the PSU market this coming weekend and will ask around.

And, hey back, neighbor. Go, Stumptown.

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." --Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food

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by: Anne Hawley @ Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 23:28:31 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Also local health food stores (0.00 / 0)

may not be able to sell raw dairy, but can often point you to the nearest producers.

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by: mataliandy @ Thu Jul 24, 2008 at 15:49:11 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Anne have you been following what's gone on (4.00 / 2)

with raw milk in CA this year? I'm not totally sure of the specifics but they were doing something on it, and not something good.

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by: OrangeClouds115 @ Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 02:31:32 AM UTC

No, I haven't been following the CA side. (4.00 / 2)

There was a child's death here in the PNW (Vancouver Washington) a couple of years ago attributed to raw milk, and since then it's been really dodgy here.

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." --Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food

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by: Anne Hawley @ Wed Jul 09, 2008 at 22:58:55 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

The California fight is in full gear (4.00 / 3)

The issue is a bill passed last year that requires raw milk to test for no more than 10 coliforms per millileter in the bottle.  In practical terms, this is a serious problems because milk picks up coliforms every time it is transferred, so it is incredibly difficult to meet the standard (other states that have a 10 coliform limit test at the bulk tank, not the final bottle, which is a LOT easier to manage).  In health terms, it's complete nonsense.  Even the state's health experts testified that coliforms in general pose no health threat. The real issue is fecal coliforms, which they are NOT testing for!

There's a lawsuit by the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund to overturn the law (check out www.farmtoconsumer.org) and SB 201, to replace the coliform standard with HACCP plans, is in the works.

Protect our farms - Stop NAIS!  Go to http://FarmAndRanchFreedom.org for more information.

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by: JudithM @ Thu Jul 10, 2008 at 12:20:31 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

My understanding is that here in Montana (4.00 / 3)

You are not allowed to buy raw milk; you have to get it from your own animal.  This causes farmers to have to basically sell shares in their cows so that the part-"owners" may buy milk from them.

I myself remain a little squeamish about raw milk, but nevertheless I don't think it should be illegal!

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by: cherryriver @ Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 03:53:27 AM UTC

I don't anyone in their right mind would drink (4.00 / 3)

raw milk that hadn't been tested for harmful bacteria. I wouldn't mind if the law was that the farmer (or whoever) had to test the milk before selling it.

I'd love to buy a cow share if I could so I could get raw milk. I haven't heard of anything like that around here. I look forward to a yummy week of raw milk chugging once I get to TX for Netroots Nation :)

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by: OrangeClouds115 @ Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 03:58:10 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Well, I just happen to know one individual who (4.00 / 3)

does the share thing (she brought her cows and calves to my daughter's school so all the kids could try milking!)-- it may not be that common, I dunno.

I do know that when she offered us some milk to take home (for free-- I guess gifts of raw milk are legal), it was with the caveat that we should "go slowly, and watch for any signs that your body's having trouble getting used to it, diarrhea, vomiting, things like that."  Maybe I am a bad foodie, but my honest reaction was: I don't have time for diarrhea and vomiting right now!  I'm a busy person!

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by: cherryriver @ Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 04:08:12 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Correct... (4.00 / 3)

for free-- I guess gifts of raw milk are legal

That's how it used to be done back in New Jersey.  Raw milk was 'given away' from farmers to those who'd come to the farm to pick it up.  But a 'donation to the farm' was mandatory...

Outright sale back there was illegal; and still is, as in most states.  But there's long been a movement of consumers to legalize the sale back there...

Oregon made the sale of raw milk illegal for the first time back in 1997 following an outbreak of E. Coli from same in California that year, and they legally do the 'goat / cow share' thing here, as well.  As a matter of fact, the link I provided to Anne above has on their front page a warning that farmers should provide their information at their own risk, as federal and state agencies have begun to use their website to aid them in their crackdowns on illegal sales of raw milk.

From what I understand though, laws in many states are rarely enforced to the letter; unless complaints are received or there's a rare outbreak of disease.

I wouldn't drink raw milk myself either, but I certainly don't think it should be banned.  On the same principle that I don't eat rare beef (or meat of any kind, for that matter...), but I don't think government agents should be raiding restaurants that serve undercooked meat.

"The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks." - Christopher Hitchens

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by: JayinPortland @ Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 04:46:05 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

That's a bit much (4.00 / 3)

I have never heard of people vomiting from too much raw milk.  Diarrhea is a possibility if you drink a lot of it very quickly, the same way you'd get diarrhea is you ate a ton of yogurt or drank a lot of probiotics when your body wasn't used to it.  

And the quantity is the key.  A couple of glasses is not going to be a problem.  Where we've seen a problem is people who take a drink, go "This is incredible!" and then drinking glass after glass.

Protect our farms - Stop NAIS!  Go to http://FarmAndRanchFreedom.org for more information.

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by: JudithM @ Thu Jul 10, 2008 at 12:24:27 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

hey now, haven't you heard of (4.00 / 1)

"the milk challenge"? This was a big deal in college and I DON'T KNOW WHY. The challenge is to drink an entire gallon of milk in an hour. I promise, you will throw up. Knowing this, a few people I knew tried it - and then barfed right off their balcony.

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by: OrangeClouds115 @ Thu Jul 10, 2008 at 16:09:41 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

We had beer challenges, not milk (4.00 / 2)

And if I bring raw milk to the party at Netroots, it is not for challenge chugging!  

Protect our farms - Stop NAIS!  Go to http://FarmAndRanchFreedom.org for more information.

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by: JudithM @ Sun Jul 13, 2008 at 02:52:48 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

you're not a bad foodie (4.00 / 3)

If someone warned me that I might vomit after eating a new food, I probably wouldn't try it either! ;)

Protect our farms - Stop NAIS!  Go to http://FarmAndRanchFreedom.org for more information.

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by: JudithM @ Thu Jul 10, 2008 at 12:25:59 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Thanks, this is reassuring (4.00 / 2)

I mean about the milk, not about me.  :)  I kind of think this farmer is shooting herself in the foot, the way she talks about the milk.  I suppose she is worried about liability, but.  Another of her lines I've heard a lot is: "It's just like drinking water in a new country, you aren't used to it and have to go carefully and take it slow."  Well, many of us have had rather extreme experiences with travelling sicknesses and it isn't something you'd deliberately expose yourself to.  Doesn't she know that most people choose bottled water in those circumstances?  This is not good marketing!

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by: cherryriver @ Thu Jul 10, 2008 at 13:01:01 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Raw milk marketing is tricky (4.00 / 3)

The liability issue is a real problem, especially given the FDA's increased focus on raw milk.  But that's a terrible comparison.  The reason a lot of people get sick on foreign water is because of pathogens in it.  As much as I love raw milk, I would not be drinking it from a farm that thinks they are likely to have pathogens in their milk!  If the cow is healthy, raised on an appropriate diet (pasture-based), and proper sanitation measures are taken, there should be no pathogens in the milk, period.  Our farmer tests every month, for both pathogens and overall bacteria load.

Protect our farms - Stop NAIS!  Go to http://FarmAndRanchFreedom.org for more information.

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by: JudithM @ Sun Jul 13, 2008 at 02:58:25 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

here in SC i can buy (4.00 / 3)

milk from a 'vend-a-moo'....you bring your own container & fill it up at the place....
i can also buy pasteurized but not homoginized milk from 'Happy Cow Creamery' (Greenville, SC) in glass bottles that i pay a deposit for....this makes the. best. yogurt!

come firefly-dreaming with me....

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by: RiaD @ Wed Jul 09, 2008 at 12:34:57 PM UTC