Read Back to Butter: A Traditional Foods Cookbook - Nourishing Recipes Inspired by Our Ancestors for Free Online
Authors: Molly Chester, Sally Schrecengost
conclusions. Although I now eat animal fats and proteins, I look back on my time as a vegetarian with respect because it ultimately led me to understanding more about the quality farming and animal husbandry I practice today.
DAIRY DECISIONS
Regardless of whether or not we choose to eat animals, we should know the quality of the soil in which our vegetables, grains, and legumes were grown. And folks, it will take the assistance of animals and their manure to maintain it. If we eat animals, we need to understand how that animal was raised and with what diet. We must be careful not to force our personal choices on Mother Nature and her plants and animals.
Animals are naturally carnivores, omnivores, or herbivores, and to change their diet based on personal human beliefs is cruel. Which brings us to dairy cows. My friends—cows are vegans. They can’t subsist on sugar (grain)—they need greens (grass). Let’s take a minute to understand what grass-fed means, along with a few other important farming and milk-processing buzzwords.
GRASS-FED
As mentioned, cows are naturally grass-eating herbivores, and we must allow our animals the space to roam and forage. Honoring these natural instincts results in nutrient-dense milk products, such as the ones described by Dr. Weston A. Price ( page 11 –12). This same rule applies to all milked animals, including sheep and goats, who also prefer a side of weeds and brush with their grass. To sustain the energy that cows need to consistently produce milk, however, all dairy cows receive supplemental grain—the key word being
supplemental
.
There are reputable organizations regulating the certification of grass-based farming, including the American Grassfed Association and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). However, at this point, these regulations are still relatively new and evolving. Therefore, it is our opinion that the best grass-fed “certification” is getting to know your farmers and their practices.
“The fat within dairy aids digestion of the vitamins and minerals in the milk, which is why it’s important to choose whole milk over its lower-fat counterparts.”
ORGANIC
Under the USDA definition of organic agriculture, farmers with this certification do not use preventive hormones or antibiotics to maintain herd health. Many quality grass-based farmers, however, do not take on the added expense and paperwork to achieve organic certification. In this understandable circumstance, it is simply important to ask your farmers about their perspective on chemical use, in order to ensure their philosophy mirrors your own.
WHOLE FAT
I can remember back when my mom began buying skim milk. My brother and I hated it, and honestly, I think we were on to something. The low-fat and nonfat trend has pervaded every inch of our culture, and it is thankfully
beginning
to retreat. The fat within dairy aids digestion of the vitamins and minerals in the milk, which is why it’s important to choose whole milk over its lower-fat counterparts. Plus, fat fills us up, rendering between-meal snacking virtually unnecessary. Case in point: In 2005, the Harvard School of Public Health published a study examining weight and milk consumption of more than 12,000 U.S. children aged nine to fourteen years old. Researchers found that “contrary to our hypotheses, dietary calcium and skim and 1 percent milk were associated with weight gain, but dairy fat was not.”
PASTEURIZATION
Pasteurization is the controversial method of heating milk to a minimum of 162°F (72°C) for 15 seconds in the attempt to kill pathogens. Ultra-pasteurization goes even further, and is a process that heats milk almost instantaneously to 280°F (138°C), which seems extreme. In the process of heating milk, many of the milk enzymes (lactase) that actually help the body digest milk sugar (lactose) are destroyed. As a result, it is fairly common for a lactose-intolerant person to be able to digest grass-fed, untreated
DAIRY DECISIONS
Regardless of whether or not we choose to eat animals, we should know the quality of the soil in which our vegetables, grains, and legumes were grown. And folks, it will take the assistance of animals and their manure to maintain it. If we eat animals, we need to understand how that animal was raised and with what diet. We must be careful not to force our personal choices on Mother Nature and her plants and animals.
Animals are naturally carnivores, omnivores, or herbivores, and to change their diet based on personal human beliefs is cruel. Which brings us to dairy cows. My friends—cows are vegans. They can’t subsist on sugar (grain)—they need greens (grass). Let’s take a minute to understand what grass-fed means, along with a few other important farming and milk-processing buzzwords.
GRASS-FED
As mentioned, cows are naturally grass-eating herbivores, and we must allow our animals the space to roam and forage. Honoring these natural instincts results in nutrient-dense milk products, such as the ones described by Dr. Weston A. Price ( page 11 –12). This same rule applies to all milked animals, including sheep and goats, who also prefer a side of weeds and brush with their grass. To sustain the energy that cows need to consistently produce milk, however, all dairy cows receive supplemental grain—the key word being
supplemental
.
There are reputable organizations regulating the certification of grass-based farming, including the American Grassfed Association and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). However, at this point, these regulations are still relatively new and evolving. Therefore, it is our opinion that the best grass-fed “certification” is getting to know your farmers and their practices.
“The fat within dairy aids digestion of the vitamins and minerals in the milk, which is why it’s important to choose whole milk over its lower-fat counterparts.”
ORGANIC
Under the USDA definition of organic agriculture, farmers with this certification do not use preventive hormones or antibiotics to maintain herd health. Many quality grass-based farmers, however, do not take on the added expense and paperwork to achieve organic certification. In this understandable circumstance, it is simply important to ask your farmers about their perspective on chemical use, in order to ensure their philosophy mirrors your own.
WHOLE FAT
I can remember back when my mom began buying skim milk. My brother and I hated it, and honestly, I think we were on to something. The low-fat and nonfat trend has pervaded every inch of our culture, and it is thankfully
beginning
to retreat. The fat within dairy aids digestion of the vitamins and minerals in the milk, which is why it’s important to choose whole milk over its lower-fat counterparts. Plus, fat fills us up, rendering between-meal snacking virtually unnecessary. Case in point: In 2005, the Harvard School of Public Health published a study examining weight and milk consumption of more than 12,000 U.S. children aged nine to fourteen years old. Researchers found that “contrary to our hypotheses, dietary calcium and skim and 1 percent milk were associated with weight gain, but dairy fat was not.”
PASTEURIZATION
Pasteurization is the controversial method of heating milk to a minimum of 162°F (72°C) for 15 seconds in the attempt to kill pathogens. Ultra-pasteurization goes even further, and is a process that heats milk almost instantaneously to 280°F (138°C), which seems extreme. In the process of heating milk, many of the milk enzymes (lactase) that actually help the body digest milk sugar (lactose) are destroyed. As a result, it is fairly common for a lactose-intolerant person to be able to digest grass-fed, untreated
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