You spoke (wrote) a little too soon Jim.

@deweeze and voices: I grew up in both urban and rural environments but visited my grandparents farm regularly. They were orchardists who also kept a cow or two, in a small pasture, pigs and chickens. Whenever I stayed with Grandma and Grandpa I got to eat and drink what they did, including raw milk. I even ran around the farm in my, gasp, bare feet! Never once got sick even though it was my habit to AVOID working with the cows every day. (I always preferred tormenting the poor chickens!)
Later in life I have had the privilege of raising a second family and nourishing them with raw milk. We have been shareholders in a farm and my children have had the opportunity to visit that farm on a regular basis but again, they never actually worked with the cows. None of us has ever gotten sick from our dairy products. Even friends who have come to visit and have chosen (because we always let them know up front that we only have RAW milk) to drink our milk and eat the eggs from our home-grown hens, have never gotten ill from it. We do eat traditionally prepared real foods, including naturally cultured and fermented foods like sauerkraut, yogurt and kombucha along with steak tartare (that would be RAW beef) and RAW eggs in our smoothies. Plus, we avoid like the plague: high-fructose corn syrup, any unfermented soy AND anti-bacterial products. My kids play in the dirt, drink water from a well, breathe fresh air and have robust immune systems from all the ABOVE, rather than from working with cows everyday.
@holsteindoctor: So you think researching our food knowledge should come from a more reliable source? Like maybe the FDA? From MY research I would have to say you'd be better nourished if you wrapped your corn-fed feedlot beef in FDA publications and ate it rather than read it. I have driven past and been repulsed by enough CAFOs to know nothing good can come out of those operations. "Modern" agricultural practices have caused significant damage to soils and waterways, so if you are really concerned about limited land for raising healthy livestock and feeding folks for continued health, you might want to get on the stick. Also, OUR pastured beef, pork, buffalo and elk are nothing short of succulent! You could try cooking lessons?

Quality raw milk is much safer than driving a car. Farmers have to learn how to make quality milk right, just like car makers have to make cars right. Rawmilk drinkers also have to learn how to drink it right. Please check out these resources:

RawUSA.org

realmilk.com

http://www.amazon.com/Untold-Story-Milk-...

I do so love the 'can't get there from here' and 'no use thinking any more about that' crowd in regards to raw milk. Heck, let's take that no-can-do attitude and...what? Go to the moon? Create anything? Guess not. Funny how they have the answers and it means more big business, more healthcare instead of less. You'd almost think they had an agenda...well WE will continue to work hard and make a fundamentally safe product - raw milk - even safer.

Scott Trautman, Proud Wisconsin Dairyman

Amen deweeze and holsteindoctor!

garyprimer -- I had the same experience in my youth (cows taking a trip to Milwaukee after they were bought by Jewish guys). It was fascinating to watch my grandpa 'negotiate' with the cattle buyer.

Jim - Having grown up on a farm, I thought you might not be so easily swayed by the likes of Food Inc. You're all concerned about food safety, but would drink raw milk? Go ahead... Just don't give the dairy industry a black eye when you get sick and write about it.

I don't think the article was about bashing the food industry as much as a story about growing up on a farm. Good job Jim, and thanks for straying past the safety net. We could use more up front discussion instead of always being so politically correct.

Why would you write a blog bashing the fast food industry when you make a living promoting their products on your billboards. I thought one of your blogs said you worked for Lamar Outdoor Advertising?

deweeze & holsteindoctor
Are both right on

Jim those of us that grew up on a diary farm did drink our own milk right from the tank. Yes no one got sick in our families from drinking. That is because we WERE IMMUNE to the "bugs" in the milk because of working with the cattle EVERYDAY.
Those of us that don't live on the farm now would get sick if we drank that same raw milk everyday!!!! RESPONSIBLE farmers will not be selling thier raw milk right from the farm. They know the chances and will not be taking them.

Here's a 3 minute trailer on Food, Inc. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqQVll-MP...
Our children are expected to live shorter lives than us. Something is definitely wrong.

This blog has some merit. However, I don't think "researching" your food knowledge should come from sources such as NPR or Food, Inc. It's no wonder that the majority of Americans can be so easily convinced that grass fed or organic is better for you than conventional food. With the growing population, how do you intend to feed everyone? Put a chicken and steer in your backyard? And feed it what in January? Snow? Where will all the land come from for grass? Everyone wants urban expansion and grass fed beef. Yeah, good luck with that one. Go ahead and eat your older than dirt grass fed steer. I'll stick to my young, fat, corn fed steer from a feedlot.

'this blog would be gone faster than cheese puffs at Oprah's house'

bravo!!

Soylent Green is people!

"King Corn" is also a great documentary explaining how messed up our food system is. For the past 30 years or so,the government has been subsidizing corn so we can have cheap meat(corn fed) and high fructose corn syrup (cheap junk food). Corn is now in almost every processed food we eat. No wonder obesity if epidemic, we are subsidizing it! There are no subsidies for healthy food, most of it goes to corn, cotton, rice, wheat, soybeans and tobacco(!!!). Nothing for the fruits and veggies we really should be eating. Not sure when the farm bill gets renewed, but we need a big push to change it to a focus on the HEALTH of our citizens rather than lining the pockets of big agribusiness!

I can remember asking who we were eating when I was a kid! I also thought all milk came directly from the bulk tank to the dinner table. A former employer of mine once bought the blue ribbon steer from a county fair. After processing, he gave each of us a laundry basket full of white packages and ground beef. There is absolutely no comparison between a primarily grass fed steer processed locally, vs. a hormone filled feed lot corn consumer.

Nice entry Jim, it makes me wonder if we've really progressed when it comes to food safety in this country. Whose best interest is being served?

And Pink Slime is the special shake flavor this month.

We always raised steers for selling and butchering. We would never have considered using a dairy cow for beef. Those were sold to men who happened to be Jewish who came from Milwaukee with a truck and bought cattle from local farmers for resale back in the city. I think that dad referred to the cows as "cutters and canners".

I have a real obvious question.....Why don't small-business food sellers that don't do this put ads in the papers explaining this stuff?????....and KEEP IT UP until everyone sees?????...Wouldn't that cause a huge increase in business for them?????...They wouldn't have to NAME anyone to avoid any possible libel but people would get the picture.

Are food places required to tell you if they have this stuff in the burger?..Does McDonalds do this for SURE?..I wonder if Culvers does, they seem to be a notch above, or maybe not?

Spent the first 18 years of my life drinking whole milk. We thought the school milk out of the carton was terrible. That milk straight from the teat is the purest, least contaminated form.

We never butchered dairy cows, we always bred the heifers to an Angus bull and raised steers for butchering. I still buy beef from back home to eat, no pink slime for me. Cheaper too.

"First, Dad would hold the chicken down on a cement block and – boom – off went its head with a hatchet." Wow! Your dad must have spent a lot of time resharpening his hatchet!

Self-correction: it's not legal to buy raw milk yet. The legislature passed the bill but Gov. Doyle hasn't signed it yet.

I wrote McDonald's a few months ago explaining to them that I didn't think I could eat any more of their hamburgers knowing they were using ammoniated beefs trimmings. I didn't bother to read their response, and I haven't had a McAttack since. I've been trying to stick to whole muscle meat now. If it's ground, I don't want it around!