This isn’t an animal testing issue, but a few months ago I saw the little American Humane Association award on some Clover dairy products at the grocery store. I finally got around to doing some research on the award — according to the American Humane association, this award is given to farms that are certified to have a commitment to the well-being of farm animals — their farm animals are raised humanely in cage-free environments, live and grow in a humane environment under conditions and care that limit stress, enjoy a healthy life, benefit from disease and injury prevention and rapid diagnoses and treatment, have ready access to fresh water and a diet that maintains full health and vigor, and are free to “express normal behaviors and live in an appropriate and comfortable environment that includes sufficient space, proper facilities, shelter, a resting area, and company of the animals’ own kind.”
I think this is wonderful — I don’t really know much about farm animal conditions, but I’ve heard they can be horrendous. One of my heroes is Temple Grandin — an amazing woman who designed cattle farm conditions to be more humane to slaughtered cattle. I read a book by her a year ago — I think it was this one — and it’s one of the most interesting books I’ve ever read, and it made me very glad that someone is thinking about designing the kindest and most humane ways to design “livestock handling facilities.” Inasmuch as the meat industry in this country is huge, it’s great that Temple Grandin is there to keep it humane — I don’t think the U.S. is going to go vegan or even vegetarian anytime in the near future, (nice as that would be).
I realize some people feel that supporting any sort of animal-based farming like dairy or egg farming is unethical and inhumane and should be stopped. I completely understand people who have that viewpoint, and I admire and respect anyone who feels that way. I wish there were more of you! However, I do feel that animal farming is not going to stop in the near future, so if people are going to be eating animal products, I hope they are obtained in ways that cause the least amount of animal suffering possible, so I am definitely impressed by Clover milk. According to the Clover website, not only does Clover milk have the American Humane Association award, but it also has a North Coast Excellence Program: Products Certified Healthy award, which sounds nice. Clover milk comes from Sonoma, Marin, and Mendocino Counties, so if you buy Clover milk in the bay area it will be fresh. Clover standards are higher than State or Federal rules require, Clover cows are not treated with the growth hormone rBST (great!), they are raised on certified organic farms where they graze on open pasture, eat organic hay and grains (fantastic!), and their living conditions, feeds, and health treatments were reviewed by an independent inspector and approved by a third party as certified organic, not treated with hormones or antibiotics (again, I don’t know much about farming methods, but I’ve heard that’s good), and that they have open pasture, plenty of walking area, fresh air, clean bedding, and humane milking and feeding conditions (excellent!).
The Clover website doesn’t address the issues I’ve heard raised by people who are against dairy farms — that the calves are taken away from the cows too soon, or that the cows aren’t put out to pasture, but instead sold at auction to be slaughtered to become dog-meat, after they stop producing milk (I don’t know if everyone cares about these issues, but I certainly do) — but I suspect all commercial dairy farms are really horrible in that regard, along with having inhumane milking conditions, so I’m not going to attack Clover for that.
So what is this American Humane Association? I, personally, had never heard of it before I saw the logo on the Clover milk. Apparently, it is not the American Humane Society or the Humane Society of the United States, which are two entirely separate pro-animal-welfare societies — but, according to its website, it is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting both children and animals (I find this interesting because I’ve seen numerous situations where child-welfare-activists and animal-welfare-activists end up opposing each other). It’s been around since 1877 and is headquartered in Denver. Its focus is to develop policies, legislation, curricula, and training programs to protecting children and animals from cruelty, abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Many community humane societies, animal control agencies, and SPCAs are member organizations. The American Humane Association also raises awareness about animal abuse, the link between animal abuse and other forms of violence, and the benefits of animal-human interactions. The regional office in Los Angeles is the authority behind the “No Animals Were Harmed” End Credit Disclaimer in movies.
I learn something new every day by trying to buy cruelty-free products — the American Humane Association sounds admirable — I hope it creates more awards and more companies try to get them! (I’m going to make a disclaimer here — I know very little about farming standards — I hope that the American Humane Association awards are the “gold standard” of farm humaneness the way the CCIC certification is the gold standard of animal testing — but I . . . don’t really know if they are or not. The whole animal-testing doublespeak phenomenon has made me really paranoid.) I’m also psyched that I just learned who’s behind the “No Animals Were Harmed” in the making of the movie end credit line — I had no idea the American Humane Association was behind that.
The List of “American Humane Association: Free Farmed” Certified Farms/Producers:
American Grass Fed Beef (Doniphan, Missouri) (Beef)
Morris Grassfed Beef (San Juan Bautista, CA) (Beef)
Nature’s Premier Organic (Frankenmuth, MI) (Chicken)
Springer Mountain Farms (Baldwin, GA) (Chicken)
Clover Stornetta Farms (Petaluma, CA) (Dairy)
Kleinpeter Dairy (Baton Rouge, LA) (Dairy)
Humboldt Creamery (Fortuna, CA) (Dairy)
Rumiano Cheese Company (Crescent City, CA) (Dairy)
Loleta Cheese Company (Loleta, CA) (Dairy)
Gemperle Farms (Turlock, CA) (Eggs)
Leidy’s Nature’s Tradition (Souderton, PA) (Pork)
Pioneer Farms (Colorado) (Pork)
Plainville Farms (Plainville, NY) (Turkey)
Update: There’s a new addition to the list (courtesy of Pearl!)
Egglands’ Best (Eggs) (PA) (the organic and cage-free eggs, as this news release mentions)
I just recently turned vegan for the reason that many organic farms such as Horizon still continue to mistreat animals. I have also heard from various sources that the cows, after they lose their ability to produce milk, are sent to slaughterhouses. As a born vegetarian I would have a lot of trouble dealing with this issue.
In any event, my question to you is if you have found out whether Kleinpeter farm along with Clover are cruelty free. The issue with many organic farms is that while they don’t use many chemical hormones, they use several sex hormones still and also there are issues with branding and mutilation.
And the calf being taken away from the cow at a young age, I’m pretty sure that this is accurate as well. And the fact that they are sold to meat houses to be slaughtered…and served up as veal.
If you have additional information regarding Kleinpeter & Clover farms and if they do NOT take away the calf at a young age and there is no mutiliation, please let me know. I would be interested in knowing.
Comment by Dhaval Mehta — August 4, 2007 @ 2:10 pm
Hi Dhaval!
I think that’s wonderful that you’ve decided to turn vegan after seeing how many organic farms mistreat animals. It’s just appalling, and there should be legislation against it.
Unfortunately, I don’t actually know that much about cruelty to farm animals. I’m more knowledgeable about cruelty to laboratory animals. However, I suspect that all the claims you’ve made against Clover and Kleinpeter dairies are true (you’ll notice I did not write that Clover milk is “cruelty-free” — it’s not certified by anybody to be cruelty-free).
I haven’t heard anything in particular about Clover or Kleinpeter dairies, but I have heard that it’s standard practice in most dairies to send cows to the slaughterhouse when they can no longer produce milk, take the calves away from the cows at a very young age, and slaughter the calves fairly young as well (I haven’t read anything about mutilation or sex hormones, but again, I haven’t really done much reading in this area). I did a quick search of Clover and Kleinpeter dairies webpages, which mentioned nothing about not doing any of those things, which makes me suspect that Clover and Kleinpeter dairies are guilty of those things. In the animal cruelty world, it’s what companies don’t say that you have to watch out for.
Unfortunately, while Clover and Kleinpeter cows probably are sent to slaughterhouses as soon as they stop producing milk, and their calves taken away from them at too young an age, Clover and Kleinpeter are probably still better options than buying any other brands of milk. Supposedly Clover and Kleinpeter cows “live and grow in a humane environment under conditions and care that limit stress, enjoy a healthy life, benefit from disease and injury prevention and rapid diagnoses and treatment, have ready access to fresh water and a diet that maintains full health and vigor.”
That’s probably not much comfort to you, and I admire your dedication to give up milk for the sake of farm animal wellbeing. I hope more people do so in the future — or at least support legislation that mandates that cows are not slaughtered as soon as they stop producing milk, not taken away from their calves too soon, and not given any sort of hormones!
Comment by Emily — August 4, 2007 @ 11:35 pm
Thank you very much for the information. I suspect very much the same that they do slaughter the cows afterwards.
Le sigh. The only remaining solution is buying a cow for myself and then enjoying the milk supply through that method…like they do back in the old country (India).
Peace. Love. And More Peace. And even more LOVE.
Dhaval
Comment by Dhaval Mehta — August 5, 2007 @ 11:38 am
Yeah, that would be a great solution! It’s just . . . I have no room for a cow in my backyard. It’s too bad, really . . .
Comment by Emily — August 6, 2007 @ 12:57 am
just ran accross your website and thought it interesting.
This link is titled Springer Mountain Farms, a chicken producer in Georgia, but your message is about a dairy farm in, I believe, California.
just thought you might be interested.
Thanks
Dale
Comment by Dale — August 6, 2007 @ 10:54 pm
Hi Dale,
I’m glad you think my blog is interesting!
Well, um, I sort of have a reason for tagging the Clover post with Springer Mountain Farms. Basically, I mention Springer Mountain Farm at the bottom of the post (the post is about how Clover is a “Free Farmed” certified farm, and I list the rest of the Free Farmed certified farms just to show people what they are). I also tagged the post with all the other “Free Farmed” farms — it’s not just Springer Mountain Farms, it’s also Morris Grassfed Beef and Leidy’s Nature’s Tradition, etc.
Comment by Emily — August 6, 2007 @ 11:05 pm
Greetings.
Thank you for researching, consolidating, and presenting this information.
I live in Washington state. Optimally, I would like to find creameries/cheese makers who are not only organic and humane, but who importantly do not kill the animals or sell them to be killed after their “useful” lives.
These are the businesses to whom I will give my money. These are the businesses who I want to support.
Are there dairies and cheese makers in this country who retire older goats, cows, and sheep to pasture to simply graze and enjoy their golden years?
The issue you raise about calves being taken away too soon is also important.
Do you have a list of humane, organic, no-kill dairies and/or creameries?
I will pay more for such cheese to offset the additional production expense, and though I prefer to buy locally, I will pay for shipping to support farms, dairies, and creameries with such high standards.
Your research on Clover is very positive. If they can also certify no-kill and no-auction-for-slaughter, enough calf/cow time, they may be suitable for the list.
Looking foward to your comments.
Thank you again for your research.
Sheila
Comment by Sheila — August 26, 2007 @ 10:51 pm
Hi Sheila!
I would love to find even a few dairies/cheese making facilities that are organic, humane, put their livestock out to pasture after they stop producing milk, and don’t take the calves away too soon. Unfortunately I don’t have a list of dairies like that — I don’t think there are any dairies like that — though I would love to be proved wrong. I think that’s why a lot of people become vegan.
I did find one reference to a fairly humane dairy — at http://www.veggieboards.com/boards/showthread.php?t=23157 — unfortunately, it sounds like it’s a small dairy with no cheese production that would be impossible to buy from if you’re outside of Minnesota. But maybe there might be similar small humane dairies somewhere in your home state? I can only hope. If you do find any, please post them here in this blog! I’d really like to know about them. I’ll keep an eye open and see if there are any in the Bay Area as well.
Here is what was written about the humane dairy:
“There is a place in MN ( my state) that rotates their milk cows in and out of production, does not separate calf from mother, uses no injections, and grass feed the animals. Pasture is available and used by the animals. They process their own products so nothing is contaminated by “factory” dairies. they mostly sell in coops, farmers markets, and buying groups with home delivery.
Great people cuz, you can talk to them at the market, call them on the phone, and even go out to visit.
To me, this is humane farming, conscientious farming, respectful farming. That family really works hard, they are dedicated to proving that the small family run business can thrive and be kind to the animals that provide their lively-hood.”
Thanks for writing in to this blog!
Emily
Comment by Emily — August 26, 2007 @ 11:15 pm
Thank you SO much for this post. My wife and I are trying to be cruelty free vegetarians and have no intention of becoming vegan so this was a GREAT help in our quest!!!!
Comment by Michael D'Angelo — August 28, 2007 @ 3:21 pm
So glad to have been of help! Welcome to the cruelty-free lifestyle! I think it’s just wonderful that you and your wife are both becoming cruelty-free vegetarians.
Comment by Emily — August 28, 2007 @ 3:24 pm
I am interested in finding sources of cruelty free milk. By that I mean that the dairy farm not allow its cows to be slaughtered after they have reached the age where they can’t produce enough milk.
It does not sit right with me that someone who has provided milk the whole of their lives be killed when they are not as productive. To me, cows are like mothers, because they give milk…and they need to be treated with the same respect. One wouldn’t kill their mother when she is not as productive!
Most dairy farms auction off their cows as beef cattle after they have stopped producing enough milk to help them make a profit. Some farms slaughter the cows themselves.
I would appreciate any pointers in this direction.
Comment by Nitish Agrawal — September 16, 2007 @ 8:07 pm
I would LOVE to find a farm that doesn’t slaughter its cows (or sell them at auction for dog meat) after they stop producing milk! I’m actually surprised there are what, 3 other people who also want to do this — so that makes 4 of us all together? (And I thought I was all alone!) If we can find a few more, maybe some dairies will start catering to us . . .
I shall definitely keep researching this, and I’ll post anything I find about dairies with humane practices. If you find anything, please post it here it as well.
Comment by Emily — September 16, 2007 @ 8:13 pm
Hi all,
I read your article on Clover Stornetta and am about ready to start doing some digging on my own, as I live in Sonoma County. I’ve seen some of their farms, just driving by, and they look nice (the cows are out in the sun, eating grass and look healthy) but I am still VERY worried about whether they slaughter their animals. My husband and I are vegans since we found out about what dairy farms do to animals. I am extremely uncomfortable with the idea of an animal dying to feed me, or as a biproduct of feeding me (like dairy cows being slaughtered) but life without cheese, which I’ve eaten most my life, is difficult to adjust to (though I have only ONCE deliberately bought food with cheese on it since), especially since I love pizza and have been very unimpressed with no-cheese pizzas (though I REALLY want to try some soy-cheese pizzas). I’m going to email clover and ask them about their practices and I will let y’all know what I find out!
So, Emily, not just 4! Now there are 6 of us! LOL.
-Mek
Comment by Michaela Spangenburg — September 18, 2007 @ 7:09 pm
Hi Michaela!
Welcome to the blog! I can’t believe there are now six of us who want to buy cruelty-free milk. Our numbers are slowly growing . . .
That’s wonderful that the cows look good at the Clover Stornetta farms — it makes me much happier to buy their milk, anyway. I’m very interested to hear what Clover tells you about what they do with their cows when they stop producing milk.
Also I completely agree with you about it being difficult to give up cheese — I’ve tried a few different kinds of dairy-free cheese and I’ve always been disappointed.
Emily
Comment by Emily — September 20, 2007 @ 11:46 pm
There is a very good website at:
http://www.cornucopia.org/
which ranks organic dairy brands according to their humane methods of animal husbandry and organic practices.
Click on the link “Dairy Report and Scorecard” and there you will find several links explaining the ranking procedure, as well as the scorecard itself.
I am a cheese eater, and I eat mostly cheeses from countries such as Switzerland and France where I believe the cows are pasture-raised. If in Whole Foods, I see a description of a cheese such as “suggestions of lavender and (such-and-such) flowers”, I know that was one happy cow and I buy that kind of cheese. It means more money, but thank heavens I am able to do that.
I think if you are looking for the perfect humane dairy farmer who keeps his cows until death do them part, you might have to look for the hobby farmer or stick to goatherders, because it seems that making a living at farming is very tough and competitive nowadays, with too many agribusinesses getting in the way of organic practice.
~Deni
Comment by Deni — September 21, 2007 @ 3:31 pm
Hi Deni!
Thank you so much for the link to cornucopia.org! I was pleased to see that Clover milk actually puts its cows in pastures, has a low cull rate, doesn’t sell off its six months cows so it can buy 2-year-old cows that haven’t been raised on organic feed to save money, doesn’t use antibiotics on young cattle, doesn’t use reproductive hormones, and that the staff visit the dairies frequently. It makes me feel a lot better about buying it. And I shall certainly devote a whole post to cornucopia.org sometime in the future.
That’s also very clever of you to look for suggestions of lavender flowers in cheeses so you know the cows have some access to lavender. I am definitely going to do that! (And France and Switzerland are prone to pasture-raising cows? Interesting.)
I’d love to find a hobby farmer somewhere around here — that would be wonderful. Do such things exist?
I’ve tried the goat-milk thing before, but I really didn’t care for the goat milk. It’s too bad because I’d love to support goatherding — at least I’ve met some really friendly goats at historic-play-farms sorts of places before.
Regards,
Emily
Comment by Emily — September 25, 2007 @ 5:12 pm
I’m surprised that any dairy farmers would get an award. They are so cruel to animals. Anyone can just find out the horrific info online. There are many site that actually tell the truth about dairy. There’s no such thing as cruelty- free dairy.
Comment by Natasha — September 26, 2007 @ 11:02 am
Well, most dairies are pretty cruel. But don’t you think it’s good that some of them are less cruel?
Comment by Emily — September 26, 2007 @ 11:09 am
My best friend and I are tenaciously researching how to become crulety-free eaters. We are also very concerned about the environmental effects, and so there are 8 of us now out there somewhere in the world who want crulety-free dairy. We have stopped eating meat, but honestly the dairy is sooo much harder to cope with, and the more we learn, the less we seem to be able to eat. One of the most disturbing things is the issue of animal rennet. Rennet is an enzyme which is used in cheese making that separates the curds and whey. Many cheeses use vegetable or microbial rennet, but many still use animal rennet, especially in Europe, and the rennet comes from those little boy claves who are taken away to be veal. It comes from the fourth chamber of their stomachs from what I understand, and honestly, my friend has done most of the research thus far, but I’m just writing my understanding of the situation here, so yeah, it makes the whole supporting the dairy idustry thing at all, even by buying cheeses made with the vegetable and microbial rennet a very hard thing to do, because those cheeses still funnel money back to the people who are still also using animal rennet. And I love feta, don’t want to give it up, but I will if I have to, so bring on any info of the crulety-free dairies, especially around the Michigan area for us :), I am so glad to have stumbled on to this blog! Keep up all the great things you all are doing!
Comment by Elizabeth — November 14, 2007 @ 10:40 pm
Hi Elizabeth,
Welcome to my blog! I’m so glad that you and your friend are researching how to become cruelty-free eaters, and that there are now 8 (!) people who want cruelty-free dairy.
Wow, rennet sounds incredibly disgusting. Eeeeewww. Oh that’s gross. I shall definitely be on the lookout for cheeses made without animal rennet in the future. (I’ve been trying to buy French and Swiss cheeses lately since those apparently are more likely to be from pasture-raised and not factory-farmed cows — have you heard of any French or Swiss cheeses that use vegetable or microbial rennet?)
I’m so glad you appreciate my focus on cruelty-free dairies! I shall definitely keep a look out for anything in the Michigan area, and please feel free to contribute any information you find on cruelty-free dairies to this blog the way Pearl, Deni, and Mek have done — I’ve learned so much from all of them (especially Pearl
)
Regards,
Emily
Comment by Emily — November 16, 2007 @ 1:14 pm
(Pearl waves back.
)
Comment by PearlA — December 10, 2007 @ 12:07 pm
I’m glad to have found this blog! So far, I’ve been unable to find humanely made cheese that is made with vegetable rennet. At Whole Foods, I found eggs labeled with Certified Humane, and the website a list of standards that seem thorough:
http://www.certifiedhumane.com
Has anyone found a cheese that is Certified Humane and also made with vegetable rennet? The search continues…
Comment by Julia — December 19, 2007 @ 5:26 pm
Hi Julia,
Welcome to my blog! Glad you like it. Yes, the certified humane label is great, isn’t it? Sorry, I kind of forgot about looking for cheeses that are humanely-raised and animal-rennet-free.
I just did a quick google search and I think Organic Valley cheese might be — it’s listed by Cornucopia as being pretty animal-friendly — 100% of time possible spent in pasture, etc:
http://cornucopia.org/dairysurvey/FarmID_94.html
and it does not use animal rennet:
http://webdev.organicvalley.coop/utility/faq/cheddar_sharp_raw_milk_faq.html
Unfortunately I don’t think I’ve seen it in stores around here, though I should probably look again the next time I’m at the store. I hope it’s available in your area, anyway!
Regards,
Emily
Regards,
Emily
Comment by Emily — December 22, 2007 @ 4:06 am
Hi,
I found this site while trying to find dairy farms that don’t sell their “nonproductive” cows to slaughter (and separate calves from mothers, etc.). Too bad I haven’t found the answer. Anyway, I thought I would provide some input to those that are trying to be cruelty-free.
I have been a vegetarian all my life, and spent countless hours researching this type of thing. Insofar as cheeses, here is a list I have compiled of cheeses that use microbial or vegetable rennet. It has been a while since I have called to confirm whether these things are still the case, but if they haven’t changed their practices, it should remain true. I suspect more cheeses will be using non-animal rennet in the future because biotechnology of this sort is getting cheaper every year, and it is now probably cheaper to use microbial rennet than the fourth bovine rumen. Anyway…the list (and BTW, I love Land ‘O Lakes bulk mozzarella-check your supermarket deli):
Sargento
All Sargento Snacks natural cheese sticks and cubes
Don’t buy Asiago, Provolone, Jarlsberg, Romano.
Land O’Lakes
Can buy Cheddar, Mozzarella, Colby, and Monterey Jack
Cheddar-any cheddar - mild medium sharp and extra sharp yellow and white
mozzarella
colby and colby jack
munster
swiss
monterrey jack
pepper jack
Avoid provolone, processed cheese (like individually wrapped american cheese)
Per website and phone conversation on 12/29/2005
Cabot
All cheeses.
Organic Valley
We do use a lipase enzyme derived from calf stomach in creating the flavor profile for our Blue Cheese Crumbles, making this and the Romano in our Italian 4-Cheese Blend our two non-vegetarian cheeses.
Kraft
IF ENZYME IS LISTED IN THE INGREDIENT LINE: we will list microbial enzyme if microbial and/or lipase if derived from calf and/or kid and/or lamb. The product contains Chymosin which is a microbiologically produced coagulating enzyme. This enzyme (Chymosin) is not derived from any animal source.
Can buy Kraft Singles process cheese food (website)
Philadelphia Cream Cheese (third party website)
Neufchatel Cheese (third party website)
Natural Swiss (phone conversation with Kraft on 03/31/05 and email 03/31/05)
Grated Parmesan may have animal source-check label-lipase has animal source (phone conversation with Kraft on 03/31/05 and email 03/31/05)
Microbial enzymes are listed as such. (phone conversation with Kraft on 03/31/05)
Check the following:
Brunkow Cheese Cooperative http://www.thecheeseman.com 888-376-3430
All cheeses, I think, but should check again.
Stella 800-558-7315
Mozzarella
Provolone
Parmesan
Ricotta
String cheese
Frigo
Mozzarella
Giant
Cheese made by Pauly
County Line: Old World Swiss, Colby, Monterrey Jack
Cream Cheese
Natural Swiss Slices
Natural Muenster slices
Biery cheese
Chunk Cheese: New York Sharp, Wisconsin Cheddar, Longhorn, Swiss, Danish Havarti, Monterrey Jack, Pepper Jack
Sargento
Pepper
Muenster
Cheddar
Mid American Farms
Parmesan
Mozzarella
Cheddar
Boar’s Head: Phone conversation at 1635 on 21 May 2007
Don’t buy these: Peckerino Romano, Parmesan, Feta, Picante slicing Provolone, Aged Provolone (Precut), Asiago, Para-frier, Provolone, Smoked Gruyere, Parmesano Regiano, Grana Padano, Peckerino, Gouda, Edam, Fontina.
Can buy these: Colby Jack, Colby Longhorne, White and Yellow American, Canadian Cheddar, Baby Swiss, Bleu Cheese, Butter Kase, Cream Cheese, Double Gloucester, Gold Label Swiss, Gorgonzola, regular Greuyere, Havarti, Dill, Jalapeno, horseradish cheddar, muzzarela, muenster
Comment by Dinesh — January 21, 2008 @ 3:27 pm
Hi Dinesh,
Welcome to my blog and thank you so much for your list of rennet information on cheeses! It is invaluable.
Regards,
Emily
Comment by Emily — January 26, 2008 @ 11:43 pm
My friends, as long as people eat meat, dairy cows will be used for meat, at least as a general rule. Not only are there old cows to be disposed of after their dairy life is over, for every heifer there is a bullock who, obviously, cannot produce milk. They are sold, and sold for meat, either as veal or, allowing them to grow, as beef. It would be pretty hard to afford even the best milk if this was not done. Maybe some Clover producers give up ths source of revenue, but I’d be surprised to learn that it was at all common to do this. A non-vegetarian dairy family would hardly think it was a good thing to waste healthy calves, and an *organic* non-vegetarian grower might feel he was providing a benefit by helping to raise organic beef (though it is true that dairy cattle are not suitable, usually, for high-end steaks and the like.)
That said, as a Sonoma County resident, I really admire Clover farmers. You can see for yourself the animals are grazed outside,and seem to be healthy and happy, and indeed what you see is the very model for those California Cow commercials. I will only drink Clover milk, given the choice, and believe it is the healthiest in the country in both its organic and non-organic versions. I’d rather have Clover milk even though for probably most farmers the production of the milk adds to the meat supply, than have milk that might not be produced with pesticide-free cattle feed and might not be from hormone-free cows.
But after all, I am not a vegetarian. I wonder if, short of moving to India, there is any way not to participate in an economy that does produce beef as a kind of dairy byproduct.
Comment by Oz Childs — January 27, 2008 @ 8:25 pm
Hi Oz,
Welcome to my blog! I’m so glad to hear you’ll only ever drink Clover milk
It sounds like you’ve really thought about the issues quite a lot.
Regards,
Emily
Comment by Emily — January 28, 2008 @ 6:29 pm