Ann Marie's Blog View: Recent Entries. View: Archive. View: Friends. View: User Info. View: Website (My Website). You're looking at the latest 15 entries.

December 3rd, 2007

Tags: allergies, baby formula, california, eczema, food, immunity, kate, milk is milk, monsanto, nutrition, organic pastures, pasteurization, politics, probiotics, raw milk Subject: Help save raw milk in California! Time: 09:34 am Current Mood: determined

As it stands, there will be no more raw milk allowed in California next month. I'm really upset about this because I drink raw milk every day and use it to make Kate's homemade baby formula. More and more dairies are going by the wayside across the country due to pressure from lobbyists from big money dairy factory farms. We can't let this happen in California, where raw milk has always been legal and available in stores. I've posted before about Monsanto milk and their slimy "Milk is Milk" campaign. This is real, people. Freedoms are not taken away all at once. They are taken away one at a time. Here's what happened... a couple of months ago, they slipped a few sentences into an amendment of the California food code. It was signed by Gov. Schwarzenegger -- even though he probably didn't even know what he was signing. Here's the press release from Organic Pastures Dairy: http://www.organicpastures.com/pdfs/ab1735_press_release.pdf Sally Fallon says, "The legislation is obviously aimed at getting rid of raw milk in California using standards that are unnecessary or impossible to meet." If you live in California and you want the right to buy raw milk and dairy products, please read the following and do what you can to help. Even if you don't currently drink raw milk, please do what you can to fight for these organic dairy farms where the cows are allowed to be on pasture and eat grass all year long. If they get away with this, who knows what they will do next? In fact, it was just announced that the USDA wants to start doing the same thing -- imposing ridiculous unattainable federal regulations on small growers and family farms -- for all leafy greens!!! http://cornucopia.org/index.php/protect-fresh-leafy-greens-and-family-farms/ Pasteurization kills enzymes, folks. Enzymes are the building blocks for the absorption of nutrients. Without enzymes, we can't absorb vitamins and minerals. Furthermore, pasteurization kills probiotics, or good bacteria. We need this bacteria in our digestive tracts in order to build immunity. Why do you think so many kids are allergic to EVERYTHING these days? They've been raised on pasteurized foods, most notably pasteurized milk. The guy that sells us our milk at the Organic Pastures hub store said that his first-born son was sick all the time and had eczema for five years. His eczema cleared up in TWO weeks after they switched to raw milk. Here is the page on what you can do (I am writing a letter to Nicole Parra and sending photos of our family with Kate drinking raw milk): http://www.organicpastures.com/ab_1735_letter4.html Write or fax letters (no emails) to Nicole Parra, Chair of the Agriculture Committee in the Assembly. Make it personal and real by including a picture of you and your family holding raw milk containers. Tell her to introduce new legislation that will let raw milk continue to flow freely in California. Assemblymember Nicole Parra Capitol Office State Capitol P.O. Box 942849 Sacramento, CA 94249-0030 (916) 319 - 2030 (916) 319 - 2130 Fax Also write your assembly members or better yet make an appointment and plead your case directly. Please, please do what you can to help. Write a letter today. Not just for Kate, but for the cows! And for the right to continue to buy healthy food in California. Please forward this post via email or blog. (If you post on your blog, please send me the link so I can send it to Organic Pastures -- they will post it on their site.)

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December 1st, 2007

Tags: beatrix, books, cavities, cows, food, grass fed, immunity, nutrition, organic, pastured, probiotics, raw milk, tooth decay, weston price, whole wheat Subject: The Town Without a Toothache Time: 08:44 pm Current Mood: curious

Dr. George Heard was a dentist in the early part of the 20th century who first practiced in Alabama, where he had a majority of patients with tooth decay that required fillings and extractions -- ultimately resulting in false teeth. He later moved to a small town in Texas where he was stunned to find very few cavities (average of 1.2 decayed spots per child between the ages of 6-18). No, it wasn't fluoride. There were other Texas towns that had just as much or more fluoride in the water -- and their incidence of tooth decay was greater. Dr. Heard attributed the town's excellent dental health to diet. Particularly homegrown vegetables from beds rich in minerals, whole grain bread, and plenty of raw milk. And avoidance of white flour and refined sugar. I asked every patient who came to me: "How much milk do you drink every day. Do you drink raw milk? Do you drink buttermilk and clabber?" For years I made inquiry of my patients as to their milk habits. Almost invariably I found that the possessor of a mouth full of sound teeth had been a consistent milk drinker from early childhood. A surprisingly large number liked either buttermilk, clabber or both. The significant fact is that the milk those patients drank came from cows that had grazed on native grass in Deaf Smith County pastures. In winter, as a rule, the cows had grazed on green wheat. from "Man Versus Toothache" by Dr. George W. Heard, copyright 1952 Why in the world are we drinking skim milk from GRAIN-fed cows? Not to mention cows that are fed corn, soy, dead animals, day-old pastries, etc. Skim, pasteurized milk is completely devoid of nutrition. You may as well drink water. And cows that are forced to eat grain and other things are not healthy. Grain makes them sick. Which requires more antibiotics, etc. Which is why you don't want to drink pasteurized milk. Not only is it devoid of nutrition, it is from sick cows that are pumped to the gills with antibiotics (and hormones in many cases). And just what are all those antibiotics doing to the delicate balance of flora in your intestinal tract, the very seat of your immunity? Do you think the antibiotics are killed or inactivated by the pasteurization process? Does anyone know? I don't know -- I'm not a microbiologist, for godsakes. But I do know that it can't be good to drink milk from sick cows who are pumped with antibiotics. I don't know how you can dispute that logic. Cows are meant to eat grass in spring and summer, and hay in fall and winter. They are not meant to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in cramped factories eating grain and other abnormal things out of troughs. Where are you getting your milk? Do you know the dairy? Do you know what they feed the cows? If you like to drink milk (I hope you do, it's very good for you and delicious), not to mention eat cheese, ice cream, and butter, here are some good posts to read on my friend Beatrix's blog. These two posts illustrate the difference between real, healthy grass-fed-cow-produced raw milk and factory farm swill. Please educate yourself: The Sweet Sound of Cowbells Ringing Out in the Fields: http://constantstateofflux.wordpress.com/2007/10/24/the-sweet-tone-of-cowbells-ringing-out-in-the-fields/ STOP DOING IT NOW: http://constantstateofflux.wordpress.com/2007/09/21/stop-doing-it-now/ Think you can't get raw milk, pastured eggs, and grass-fed meat? Well you're probably right that you won't find it at Safeway. You might not even find it at Whole Foods (unless you live in California which does sell raw milk -- for now...). Here are some resources to help you find good real milk and grass-fed animal food: http://www.realmilk.com/ (click on WHERE to find sources for real raw milk) http://www.eatwild.com/

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Tags: christmas, kate, lyrics, music, raw milk, rita, seth Subject: It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas Time: 05:22 pm Current Mood: snuggly

"Sleigh Ride" J Mitchell Parish, Leroy Anderson, 1948 Just hear those sleigh bells jingling, ring ting tingling too Come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you, Outside the snow is falling and friends are calling "Yoo hoo," Come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you. Giddy yap, giddy yap, giddy yap, let's go, Let's look at the show, We're riding in a wonderland of snow. Giddy yap, giddy yap, giddy yap, it's grand just holding your hand, We're gliding along with a song of a wintry fairy land. Our cheeks are nice and rosy and comfy cozy are we We're snuggled up together like two birds of a feather would be Let's take that road before us and sing a chorus or two Come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you. There's a birthday party at the home of Farmer Gray It'll be the perfect ending a perfect day We'll be singing the songs we love to sing without a single stop, At the fireplace while we watch the chestnuts pop. Pop! pop! pop! There's a happy feeling nothing in the world can buy, When they pass around the chocolate and the pumpkin pie. It'll nearly be like a picture print by Currier and Ives These wonderful things are the things we remember all through our lives. Just hear those sleigh bells jingling, ring ting tingling too Come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you, Outside the snow is falling and friends are calling "Yoo hoo," Come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you. Giddy yap, giddy yap, giddy yap, let's go, Let's look at the show, We're riding in a wonderland of snow. Giddy yap, giddy yap, giddy yap, it's grand, Just holding your hand, We're gliding along with a song of a wintry fairy land Our cheeks are nice and rosy and comfy cozy are we We're snuggled up together like two birds of a feather would be Let's take that road before us and sing a chorus or two Come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you. Does anyone write lyrics like that anymore? Yes, I'm listening to Christmas music again. It was chilly and windy outside today. No snow -- this is Los Angeles. But it is starting to feel a little more like Christmas. Did you ever in your life go caroling? I did, once or twice. We went door to door in our neighborhood when we were kids. It was fun! I don't know if anyone does it anymore but it is so much fun. I guess pasting lyrics on my Live Journal is my way of doing virtual caroling. I went to the Organic Pastures store this afternoon to buy milk for the next two weeks. Six gallons! Yes, that's about what we go through: three gallons a week. Kate needs almost a gallon per week for her formula and I drink a quart a day since I'm nursing. When I came home, Seth and I got on the floor with Kate and let her practice crawling. She is really starting to crawl like a champ. Well okay it's more like dragging herself around like Porgy -- she just needs a little wheeled cart. She doesn't actually use her legs. She knows to move them but she doesn't use them -- she just pulls herself with her arms. Soon she'll figure out that she can use her legs and she'll double or triple her speed (although she's already really fast). Then I changed her (doubled up cloth diapers with two microfiber inserts) and put her in her jammies with snowmen and snowflakes and a pair of warm socks, gave her a bottle while I read to her from Mother Goose and "Runaway Bunny". She drank her milk and listened sweetly, then rubbed her eyes so I put her in bed and tucked her under the blankies with all her animals. She went right out. I was too tired to cook so Seth ordered Thai food. Now he is catching up on the Hollywood Reporter and we're having some wine and listening to classical music. The heater is on and Rita is sleeping on a pillow next to me. We're all going to bed early tonight. I wish there was a blanket of snow outside in the morning. We could build a fire and make popcorn and hot chocolate and watch movies under blankets on the couch. Maybe it will stay windy at least -- and it will feel somewhat wintry. I'll take Kate for a walk in her stroller and we'll pretend. PS: I just asked Seth if he would make a fire in the fireplace. He said, "Yes, baby." But I don't see him getting off the couch anytime soon. He's so cozy with his stack of magazines. I also asked him if he could make it snow. He said, "Tomorrow." PS2: Is it really only 6:30? Cripes. It feels like 10:30!

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November 25th, 2007

Tags: csa, food, food labeling, nutrition, organic, pastured eggs, raw milk, rawesome, trader joes, whole foods Subject: Open Letter to Trader Joe's Time: 08:13 am Current Mood: amused

This is a great post about egg packaging: http://www.homegrownrevolution.org/2007/10/open-letter-to-trader-joes.html I agree! That is very fraudulent packaging. I used to feel so good buying my "free range" eggs at TJ's. Felt like I was doing something good. Little did I know I was being had. I think it would be cool to make a t-shirt with both of the packages. Maybe I'll do that via Cafe Press. I used to spend all my grocery money at TJ's but no longer. They don't sell pastured eggs so now I go to Rawesome. While there, I end up buying all my wild-caught fish and grass-fed beef. MUCH better than the mystery fish, grain-, corn-, and soy-fed beef, and "cage free" eggs Trader Joe's offers. (This is a lot of money, BTW, that is now not going to TJ's). Trader Joe's also don't sell raw milk, raw butter, or raw cheese so now I get my dairy at Whole Foods and the Organic Pastures hub store. Although I will occasionally pick up a stick of KerryGold (pasteurized but cultured) at Trader Joe's in a pinch. They have a lot of organic produce, it's true, but most of it comes from far away. And they don't list the names of farms. I'm not interested in produce that is trucked for hundreds and thousands of miles. I want local produce because it is fresher. I want to support local farms. So of course, now we are getting most of our produce from JR Organics, a farm in Escondido that offers CSA subscriptions. Anything I don't get in my box I pick up at Whole Foods, Rawesome, or at the farmer's market. There is just no need to go to Trader Joe's anymore. I used to love Trader Joe's. Now not so much. They need to beef up their labeling practices and find better sources of food. How I'd love to have my own chickens! One day...

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November 21st, 2007

Tags: allergies, autism, cancer, health, immunity, lacto-fermentation, medicine, nutrition, probiotics, raw foods, raw milk, vaccines Subject: Termites don't eat healthy trees Time: 11:18 am Current Mood: curious

This is one of the most fascinating blog posts I have ever read: http://yoursacredself.blogspot.com/2007/10/termites-dont-eat-healthy-trees.html "The inner ecosystem of the body is the prime determinant in disease risk." This makes a lot of sense, doesn't it? I love the part about his trip to the Himalayas -- how the more sickly people were bitten by leeches and the healthier, sturdier people were not. I also really like his explanation of cancer. The toxins and waste matter in the body have nowhere else to go. So they try to localize -- into tumors. Gosh, doesn't that make sense to you? It does to me. Allopathic (Western medicine) has never made sense to me. OK, sure, having a C-section was helpful when my baby was breech. I do appreciate Western medicine during those times when surgery is required. It's just that the standard protocol of suppressing and covering up symptoms instead of treating the cause DOES NOT WORK. Which leads one to ask the question -- logically, how would injecting vaccines into nutritionally depleted, sickly kids with weak immune systems and very few helpful bacteria in their guts help make their immune systems stronger? It doesn't make any sense. Many parents with autistic kids have been speaking out about the lack of good bacteria in their kids' digestive tracts. These kids tend to be allergic to dairy and wheat (casein and gluten). Uh, for the most part that's pasteurized dairy and refined flour, by the way. I have read the testimony of some parents who say their autistic children tolerate raw milk just fine. I wonder it all of this relates to the phenomenon of all these kids being allergic to peanuts. I wonder if they had more good bacteria in their gut, they might not be allergic to everything.

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November 19th, 2007

Tags: cod liver oil, fluoride, food, kate, nutrition, raw milk, remineralization, seth, teeth, tooth soap, weight loss Time: 06:23 pm Current Mood: happy

This diet we are on is working. Seth weighed himself this morning -- first time in a month or two (which is how long we've been on the diet). He lost 7 pounds! He hasn't been working out or anything. And we haven't actually been following the diet plan in "Eat Fat, Lose Fat". I kept saying we would get around to following it strictly, but then I kept being busy with lots of other things so I couldn't put a meal plan together. Here's what we have been consuming a lot of: Raw milk Raw butter Raw milk cheese Pastured eggs Whole grain sprouted bread (Eziekel brand, available at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods) Whole grain rye bread (Mestemacher German bread) Whole grain crackers (Wasa and Finn Crisp) Organic free-range chicken and turkey Organic grass-fed beef and bison Organic nitrate-free pork sausage and bacon Wild-caught fish (mostly salmon, mahi mahi and tuna -- you want wild, not farm-raised) Lots of organic fruits and vegetables (we have a salad nearly every evening) Brown or white rice Oatmeal (unprocessed rolled oats, soaked to improve digestion) Coconut oil and butter for cooking Olive oil and apple cider vinegar for salad dressing Kombucha Kefir Chicken stock (homemade, organic) Some nuts and popcorn (popped in coconut oil and served with melted butter and sea salt) Sea salt Organic coffee Coconut milk in smoothies and sauces and curries Coconut juice Filtered water Sparkling water The only sweeteners we use are stevia, rapadura, and raw honey Wine -- I try to get organic (Seth still drinks a cocktail in the evening -- usually Scotch or Bourbon) What we have been avoiding: Processed foods Fast foods Restaurant foods (very little compared to what we used to eat) White sugar or anything made with it White flour or anything made with it Vegetable oil, canola, shortening, etc. Industrial corn Soy Aspartame or other laboratory sweeteners Sodas Juices (unless I squeeze it fresh) Tap water Things with MSG or other "mystery" ingredients I don't buy anything in a box or package unless it has VERY FEW ingredients (under ten) and I can pronounce them all and know what they are I don't buy anything that is advertised on television We have not been perfect. We had In & Out one night because we were too tired to cook. Seth eats out more than I do. But he is still losing weight. A typical day goes like this: Breakfast is coffee AND strawberry smoothie (raw milk or kefir, organic bananas, organic strawberries, egg yolks, stevia) OR eggs/bacon/toast OR oatmeal with raisins OR toast and homemade cream cheese Lunch is usually an apple and some cheese and crackers/bread OR a salad OR grilled cheese sandwich OR the like. If we are in meetings, we eat out. Dinner is wine (or Seth's cocktail) AND a big salad AND either fish or chicken or beef AND vegetables (butternut squash, artichoke, zucchini, what-have-you) AND/OR rice (usually only a couple of times a week) I'll expand to other grains like amaranth and quinoa and whatnot eventually. Tonight we are eating bratwurst (hormone- and antibiotic-free shipped from Sweet Briar Farms) and homemade sauerkraut and maybe some potoates. I have not lost any weight but I don't expect to. I think that as long as I'm nursing, I'll carry this extra 20 pounds. I've heard that happens to lots of women. I'm sure the weight will come off when Kate starts walking and I'm constantly running after her. My teeth are really clean, too, now that I'm using this Tooth Soap. Seriously, when I'm done brushing (and I'm not spending any extra time -- just doing it like I normally do), it feels like I just went to the dentist and had a professional cleaning. My teeth are SQUEAKY clean. They have never felt this way using toothpaste. They are also not sensitive like they used to be. I used to have a dull pain most of time. It's gone. After only two weeks! I think the diet is helping this too. Especially the raw milk and cod liver oil. I seriously think something good is happening with my teeth. I read that you can use Dr. Bronner's too. I read that Dr. Bronner's has a very small amount of glycerin (like 2-3%) so it should not inhibit remineralization of the teeth. Just squirt it on your toothbrush and use it in lieu of toothpaste. Anyway, I like the way the Tooth Soap tastes so I'm going to keep using it. They are having a 25% off sale right now, too. (http://www.perfect-prescription.com/special.htm) Time to stock up! Meanwhile I'm researching ways to filter our water to remove the fluoride. The more I read, the more I am convinced that fluoride CAUSES cavities. It's an aluminum waste product that they needed to get rid of. Why not put it in the drinking water and say it's good for you? They used to say cigarettes were good for you, too. And margarine. And vegetable oil. OK I have to go now and get dinner and render the leaf lard which I keep saying every day that I am going to do and I still haven't done it. I have to make the pies on Tuesday! Oops that is tomorrow. It MUST be done tonight! No more foolin' around.

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November 11th, 2007

Tags: food, nutrition, politics, raw milk Subject: Raw milk on the radio - "A Real Raw Deal?" Time: 09:04 pm Current Mood: energetic

Here's a radio broadcast of an interview with Mark McAfee of Organic Pastures and Ron Garthwaite of Claravale Dairy Farm -- the only two dairy farmers in California selling raw milk, talking about the future of raw milk, seeing how a bill was just signed to make it illegal to sell raw milk in California as of January 2008. Listen here: http://www.metrofarm.com/assets/podcasts/2007-11-11_564draw.mp3 Show #564: A REAL RAW DEAL? - 11-11-2007 (8.95 MB) Download Listen Now Guests: Mark McAfee, Founder, Organic Pastures Dairy; California Department of Food and Agriculture declined to appear, saying “We're reluctant to participate in a debate.” Subject: Along the food chain there are good bacteria and bad bacteria. But California AB 1735 suggests only dead bacteria should be allowed in dairy products. This leads us to ask, “Is raw milk toast?”. Topics include why some people prefer raw foods to sterilized foods; how AB 1735 may eliminate the production of raw dairy products; and what future, if any, will be left for those who wish to consume raw dairy foods. Here's more info about the anti-raw milk bill that was just passed -- and what you can do to take action to save raw milk in the state of California (yes, it involves writing a letter to the "Governator", Arnold Shwarzenegger -- I'm gonna do it too! And PS it is NOT his fault -- they tried to slip it past him -- he is actually pretty good in terms of issues like this.): http://www.organicpastures.com/ab1735_landing.html

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October 29th, 2007

Tags: food, julia child, kimchi, kombucha, politics, raw milk, weston price Subject: Shiny happy people eating butter Time: 11:10 pm Current Mood: jubilant

Tonight Sarah and I went to our first local chapter meeting for the Weston A. Price Foundation (http://www.westonaprice.org/). It was a "fermented foods potluck" in an upstairs room at the Wild Oats in Santa Monica. We ate homemade pickles and kimchi and drank kombucha and told stories and exchanged recipes and laughed more than I have laughed all month. These were possibly some of the most joyous people I have ever encountered. They were bubbling with life and laughter. I think it's all the raw butter and cheese they are eating. I've been thinking about it and (no offense to you vegetarians out there) but on the whole, vegans are such a serious and self-righteous lot. I think it's because they have to deprive themselves of so many delicious foods. And I think they are cranky because they are hungry. Not this group. Well-fed, well-researched, and more than anything -- I keep coming back to this word -- joyous. They reminded me of Julia Child -- laughing and telling people to eat more butter. ("If you are worried that there is too much butter in this recipe, don't worry, you can just leave out some of the butter and add more cream." -- JC) I ask you, how can you be unhappy eating butter? One of the women at the meeting tonight was probably in her fifties or sixties -- she said she has been eating this way for the past ten years. Said she hasn't seen a doctor in a decade. What if you found out that butter and bacon and whole milk and cheese and foie gras didn't give you heart disease and make you fat? Wouldn't you be happy? Well it's true. And I am happy to finally know this. Happy I can now eat what I always knew was good for me. It just needs to be processed correctly (unpasteurized, organic, not genetically modified or corn- or soy-fed). I have started reading Weston Price's book, "Nutrition and Physical Degradation". He was a dentist, and he traveled around the world in the 1920s and 30s, studying the healthiest people on the planet. People with almost no tooth decay or degenerative disease. The Eskimos, American Indians, Scottish fishermen, Alpine Swiss villagers, African tribes, etc. etc. What did they all have in common (other than their perfect health)? They were all eating lots of animal fat (60-80% of their diet), lots of organic, mineral-rich, nutrient dense foods, lots of fermented foods, only whole grains and no processed foods (no refined sugar or flours and no modern junk food). I just read the chapter about the villages in the Swiss Alps. None of the children needed braces -- and only a few out of hundreds of children ever had a cavity. They never got sick. There weren't even any doctors in any of the villages. They had no need for them. What did they eat? Whole rye bread and raw dairy products -- milk, cheese, butter, and yogurt -- as well as a smattering of vegetables, and once a week, meat. That's it. That is what they ate. And they were vibrantly healthy. What does that tell you about the nutritive quality of wholesome raw milk and raw dairy products? Speaking of raw milk, Sarah and I also went this weekend to the Organic Pastures dairy "store" -- a parking lot behind a chain link fence in South Central -- to buy our raw milk at rock bottom prices. We felt like we were going to buy drugs. It's not exactly the black market -- the sale of raw milk products is legal in California. But you definitely get the feeling that you are doing something criminal. We got the milk half price (it's normally $8/half gallon at Whole Foods -- we got it for $4). We also got raw cheese and butter and kefir. I'm such a believer in the healing and nutritive qualities of raw milk, I would do whatever it takes to get it. Even if it means moving to the country and buying a cow. Would that be so bad? I don't think so. I will need some chickens, too.

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October 20th, 2007

Tags: books, food, growth hormones, king corn, michael pollan, milk, movies, politics, raw milk Subject: King Corn and Milk is Milk Time: 10:29 pm

Picked up a copy of Michael Pollan's book, "The Omnivore's Dilemma" in the airport today. It's SO GOOD. Seriously, everyone in America should read this book. I've only read the first 50 pages or so, but it's all about how dramatically the agricultural landscape has changed in America in the past several decades. We went from a large number of small family-owned farms growing a wide variety of crops to the current situation of mono-cropping soy and corn. If you've been to the midwest lately, you've probably noticed that that is pretty much all that's growing there these days -- soy and corn. For corn and soy-based livestock feeds and other lovely things like high fructose corn syrup and soy lecithin (Soy lecithin is the sludge leftover from the processing of soy -- which I noticed is even added to my Alvarado St. sprouted whole grain bread!!! I won't be buying that product anymore.). Oh, and I should mention... corn is not a natural food of cows. Nor is soy. They are meant to eat GRASS. Cows that eat soy and corn feed (and most all cows in factory farms do) become very sick, require a lot more antibiotics, and, when slaughtered, produce meat that is nutritionally inferior to the meat from cows grazing on pasture. More on pastured animals: http://www.eatwild.com/basics.html There's a movie that just came out on this topic of the overgrowth of corn in America, "King Corn". http://www.kingcorn.net/ Looks very interesting -- I am going to go see it ASAP. Back to the topic of milk... I happened upon the Milk is Milk website again. I don't know why... I guess reading Pollan's book and thinking about the politics of food made me curious to check it out again. Just look at this page: http://www.milkismilk.com/take_action.html If that is not upsetting to you, it should be. They're basically providing you with a little kit to take to your local grocery store and petition them to stop putting "misleading" claims on milk products. They even give you a handy PDF poster to ask your grocer to hang up in the store: http://www.milkismilk.com/upload/PDF/MilkisMilkposter.pdf Read that poster and tell me if you think it is full of shit or not. Saying that "all milk is the same" and "all milk contains hormones". We know that's not true. Here's a cancer prevention website that discusses hormones in milk: http://www.preventcancer.com/consumers/general/milk.htm There are lots of other sites that talk about it. rBGH, Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone, is produced by Monsanto under the brand name Posilac. Google it. Anyway, isn't it interesting that this Milk is Milk website is asking consumers to campaign FOR hormones and pesticides in cows? Why would they do that? Well, gee, maybe it's because they are a tool of Monsanto and other corporate interests. It's a project of The Hudson Institute and The Center for Global Food Issues: http://www.cgfi.org/ The guy who runs the CGFI website, Dennis Avery, is the father of Alex Avery, who runs Milk is Milk. Dennis Avery wrote a book called "Saving the Planet with Plastics and Pesticides": http://www.cgfi.org/store/plastics_pesticides.htm According to GM Watch (http://www.gmwatch.org/profile1.asp?PrId=15): "The Hudson Institute is funded by many firms whose products are excluded from organic agriculture: eg, AgrEvo, Dow AgroSciences, Monsanto, Novartis Crop Protection, Zeneca, Du Pont, DowElanco, ConAgra, and Cargill. Before joining Hudson, Avery served from 1980-88 as the senior agricultural analyst for the U.S. State Department where he was involved in assessing the foreign policy implications of food and farming developments." Gee. He worked at the US State Department. And the Hudson Institute is funded by Monsanto. Makers of Agent Orange and Round Up. I know I talked about this Milk is Milk website before on my blog, but I'm just so stunned and amazed by it. I can't believe these people -- Dennis and his son -- actually make a living writing propaganda for these huge toxic chemical companies. Doesn't that make you question the milk you are drinking? Milk is milk. Yeah, right!

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October 19th, 2007

Tags: cloth diapers, crawling, formula, kate, milestones, photos, raw milk Current Location: Seattle Subject: Guess who's crawling already? Time: 10:49 am Current Mood: chipper

Just started today! She doesn't get very far yet (like a snail or slug) but Kate IS crawling! At 6 months! I put her down on the floor 15 minutes ago to play with her toys right next to my feet. She is now underneath the table four feet away. Guess I need to babyproof the house when we get home! I just ordered all my cloth diapers. They will arrive next week. You would be amazed at the innovations and variety in cloth diapers these days. I am spending under $200 for all the diapers (three dozen), covers, inserts (for nighttime), fasteners, and even a little sprayer that attaches to your toilet. We normally spend about $100 a month on diapers -- and these will last her for the next year and a half. That's a savings of $1600. More than pays for my new camera and lens and accessories. Did I mention that I got a new camera? It's a Canon Rebel XTI. I forget what kind of lens I got. Anyway, it's great. I'm going to be able to take some beautiful portraits. Here are some pix I snapped of Kate and her cousins: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ammichaels/sets/72157602441058448/ (the first two were taken with the Elph -- all the others with the Rebel) I also ordered all the ingredients to make homemade raw milk formula. I am suspicious about the commercial formula we have been using. They have done studies that show that pasteurized milk causes a variety of problems in children -- including congestion and skin irritations like eczema. That formula is made from pasteurized non-fat milk. And Kate has had cradle cap on the back of her head for the past few weeks. She also has nasal congestion. We'll see if the homemade formula helps. Studies show that these problems do not occur with raw milk.

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October 16th, 2007

Tags: enzymes, fermentation, health, kombucha, nutrition, raw milk Subject: Kombucha and raw milk Time: 08:08 am Current Mood: bouncy

Feeling really happy these days. I was happy before but lately -- in the past week or so -- I'm feeling beyond happy. Like a kid again. I'm thinking it might be either the raw milk or the kombucha I've been drinking. Or both. I tried kombucha for the first time last week. It's delicious! Doesn't taste like a health food at all. Tastes like ginger ale spiked with vinegar. An acquired taste for some -- although I loved it right away. The world has a long history of fermented foods and beverages... people around the world have been fermenting their food and drink since the dark ages. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Fermented_beverages http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Fermented_foods Throughout history and around the world, foods like pickles and sauerkraut and cheese were not pasteurized. Nor was wine or beer. And because they didn't cook them, they didn't kill off all the healthful enzymes and probiotics. By the way, did you know the royal family drinks their milk raw? So do all the dairy farmers with pastured cows. And what I've read is those dairy farmers' kids all have perfect straight teeth with no cavities and never need braces. However, many of the dairy farmers who have confinement cows (including organic dairy farms like Horizon Organics) do not drink their milk raw. That is how bad the milk is. Apparently pasteurization is a way to kill off all the bad stuff -- because the cows are sick and the milk is contaminated. Raw milk is healthy and clean and does not require pasteurization. I've been reading "The Untold Story of Milk" by Ron Schmid, ND. I challenge anyone to read this book and NOT switch to raw milk. For health reasons, the welfare of the animals, the future of our food and political freedom, and the continuation of our species.

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October 4th, 2007

Tags: cream cheese, food, probiotics, raw milk, recipes, whey Subject: Homemade cream cheese Time: 07:54 am Current Mood: happy

I'm so excited to report that I made my first batch of homemade cream cheese yesterday! It was astoundingly easy. And the best cream cheese I've ever tasted. (I haven't liked Philadelphia cream cheese and other commercial brands for a while now. So gummy and tastes artificial.) Here's how you make it... (recipe from "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon) 1. Buy a quart of plain yogurt with nothing added (I bought 2 500g/17 oz containers of this brand: http://www.fageusa.com/products.html). 2. Put a strainer over a glass or stainless steel bowl, a dish cloth or cheese cloth (that's why they call it cheese cloth!) over the strainer, and dump the yogurt onto the cloth. 3. Loosely put another cloth over the whole thing to keep it covered and clean, and let it sit overnight (8-10 hours). 4. In the morning, you will have some liquid at the bottom of the bowl. That's whey! Pour into a glass container or Mason jar, cover, and keep in the fridge for up to 6 months (you can use this for lots of things, which I will get into later). 5. Now take your cloth with the cheese in it, tie it onto a wooden spoon (being careful not to squeeze), and rest the spoon on a glass pitcher or a glass Pyrex measuring cup so more whey can drip out. When the bag stops dripping, the cheese is ready. The cream cheese will keep for a month in the fridge, and the whey will keep for up to 6 months. I'm going to have some right now on toast. Yum! Especially good with a little raw honey. Here's an article about the dairy, Organic Pastures, where we get our milk and butter (soon they are going to expand into cheeses!) http://www.newfarm.org/features/0103/california/mcafee/index.shtml If you live in California, you can probably get this milk at Whole Foods, Wild Oats, or other health food store. It's more expensive than regular pasteurized milk but it's totally worth it when you consider all the benefits: * Clean, healthy milk from clean, healthy (and happy) free-range cows * The milk is not boiled (pasteurized) so it still has enzymes (which help you assimilate nutrients and fight cancer-causing free radicals, as well as other things -- most foods we eat do not have enzymes) * The enzymes also help you digest your food -- so if you are lactose-intolerant, you would probably digest raw milk just fine * Because the milk is not heated, it also contains all the good microorganisms (probiotics) we need in our gut to keep us healthy. It is precisely these microorganisms that fight the bad germs (like the flu and viruses). * Support a farm that is doing things the right way, letting their cows roam freely and eat grass -- not a factory farm where cows live in cages, eat soy and other grains (which they are not meant to eat) and are treated like machines, overmilked to a ridiculous degree (not to mention sick and pumped full of antibiotics and growth hormones)

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September 24th, 2007

Tags: environment, food, organic, politics, raw milk Subject: Monsanto Milk Time: 11:58 pm Current Mood: tired

The use of rBST, or rBGH, was banned in both Europe and Canada. Dairy producers in the United States continue its use, and most likely is in the milk you drink everyday. Excerpt from the movie, "The Corporation." If you can't drink raw milk, at the very least make sure your milk is ORGANIC and does not contain rBGH.

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Tags: environment, food, organic, politics, raw milk Subject: Political Friendster! Time: 10:21 pm Current Mood: amused

I was googling around, as I am wont to do... researching raw milk... When I found a very heinous website: http://www.milkismilk.com/ It has all these scary articles about how children drank raw milk and got e coli and such. For a minute the stories about e coli got me worried. But then I read another article on the site about how you don't need to even buy organic milk -- because hormones in your milk don't really matter. Bovine growth hormones are fine. Just buy regular milk, it says. Here are some excerpts: "I don’t like to buy organic food products, and avoid them at all cost. It is a principled decision reached through careful consideration of effects of organic production practices on animal welfare and the environment. I buy regular food, rather than organic, for the benefit of my family." “Organic is not a term meaning that the content of the food is any different, just the way in which the manufacturer arrived at the end product.” “No distinctions should be made between organically and non-organically produced products in terms of quality, appearance, or safety.” OK so who is this douchebag writing this blog, I ask myself. Alex Avery, Director of Research and Education, Center for Global Food Issues at the Hudson Institute. Hmmmm... what are his credentials, I ask? It doesn't say. On the About Us page, it just gives the address for the Hudson Institute, some place in Virginia. So I google the Hudson Institute. And I find this: http://www.politicalfriendster.com/showPerson.php?id=565&name=Hudson-Institute And this: http://www.politicalfriendster.com/showPerson.php?id=4209&name=Center-for-Global-Food-Issues-CFGI And here is the Milk is Milk political friendster page: http://www.politicalfriendster.com/showPerson.php?id=4210&name=Milk-is-Milk And who are they friends with? Monsanto (http://www.politicalfriendster.com/showPerson.php?id=238&name=Monsanto) Pfizer (http://www.politicalfriendster.com/showPerson.php?id=116&name=Pfizer) George Bush (http://www.politicalfriendster.com/showPerson.php?id=1&name=George-W-Bush) And on and on and on... HA! Don't you love it!? What a great parody of Friendster. And how very useful! So anyway, then I googled the douchebag, Alex "Milk is Milk" Avery, straight out. He's on every left wing watch list known to Google. Here's a quote on one of them: "The Hudson Institute for whom Avery works has received funding from biotech companies Aventis, Dow, Monsanto, Novartis and Zeneca." If you aren't convinced yet that you should be drinking raw milk and eating organic food, you may want to think about the fact that companies like MONSANTO are funding companies like the "Hudson Institute" to discredit natural organic food. MONSANTO - Makers of the deadly toxins including Agent Orange, the bovine growth hormone, saccharin, aspartame, Roundup (alleged to cause cancer) and other pesticides and herbicides. According to Wikipedia: Monsanto has been identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as being the "potentially responsible party" for 56 contaminated sites (Superfund Sites) in the United States.[6] Monsanto has been sued, and settled, multiple times for damaging the health of its employees or residents near its Superfund Sites through pollution and poisoning. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto) AVENTIS - Pharmaceutical company. DOW CHEMICAL - Second largest chemical manufacturer in the world. Makers of the famous non-biodegradable Styrofoam. Dow Chemical is currently ranked as the tenth worst corporate air polluter in the United States, releasing more than 14 million pounds of toxins per year into American air. NOVARTIS - Multinational pharmaceutical company. ZENECA (ASTRAZENECA) - Multinational pharmaceutical company known for sexual harassment and other abuses. According to Wikipedia: Confronted by allegations in a May 13, 1996, Business Week cover story,[18][19] of widespread sexual harassment and other abuses at its Astra USA Inc. subsidiary, the company suspended three top executives and launched an internal probe.[20] OK let's just stop for a minute, take a deep breath, and think for a second... These multinational corporations -- makers of toxic pesticides, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals -- are funding an "institute" whose sole purpose is to advise people not to eat organic vegetables and drink raw milk? Do you really want to drink something that is in cahoots with big pesticide, chemical and pharmaceutical companies? Uh, I don't. Something is rotten in Denmark. And it isn't raw milk.

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Tags: environment, food, organic, politics, raw milk Subject: Raw milk Time: 08:01 pm Current Mood: excited

I started drinking raw milk today. Ha, you're probably like OH JESUS WHAT IS WITH ALL THIS TALK ABOUT ELECTRIC CARS AND RAW MILK? CAN WE GET OFF OF THIS POLITICAL TRAIN ALREADY? Sorry. I can't help myself. My uncle sent me some information about healthy diets for babies and nursing mothers and you know me -- I research things incessantly. So, after researching raw milk for a few days, I came to the conclusion that pasteurization is not necessary and is actually harmful and unhealthy. I've been drinking organic pasteurized milk for years now. But after having done the research, it's raw milk from now on. The thing is, back in the days of the Industrial Revolution, farms were absolutely filthy. Heck, homes were filthy. Women spent 10-12 hours per day, EVERY DAY, cleaning the soot from their homes. Plants did not grow in outdoor gardens due to the pollution. And farms were -- well, unclean. (If you can get your hands on it, watch the PBS show, 1900 House. Brilliant.) Today we are much more educated about bacteria and germs and such -- and we know that you have to sterilize and clean equipment. This is not to mention all the factory farms that are inherently unclean due to the way they keep the chickens and cows -- in cages packed to the gills, standing in feces and god knows what else. Then of course the animals have to be shot up with all sorts of antibiotics because they get so sick from the conditions. On organic farms where the chickens and cows are allowed to roam freely on the pasture, this sort of thing does not happen. The animals are clean and healthy and do not transmit disease via their flesh or their milk. That said, why must we continue to pasteurize milk? Why the ban against raw milk cheeses? They've been selling raw milk cheese in Europe for hundreds of years. Still do. And the people there are perfectly healthy. Why don't we produce it here in America? I understand why you need to continue to pasteurize if you are buying milk and cheese and eggs from a farm that practices unclean methods (ahem... factory farms). But if you buy milk and cheese from an organic farm that lets their chickens and cows roam free on the pasture -- chickens and cows that are healthy and free of disease -- what is the need for pasteurization? There is no need -- and it actually harms the milk and strips all the nutrients. (Look up enzymes and acidophilus -- both present in raw milk but killed in pasteurized milk.) Furthermore, it is so obvious to me that the government used pasteurization to drive out the small farm and bring in big agri-business. I could expound on this further (and relate it to the whole electric cars thing) but it's getting late and I have other things I need to do. Go ahead, research it for yourself. I think you will find that it is so much healthier and more delicious to drink raw milk. Don't miss: http://www.realmilk.com/ Also, here are some videos... The first two videos are from the dairy that I get my milk from! When Kate is old enough, I am going to take her there on a field trip. PS: California is the ONLY state in the nation where we can legally buy raw milk in stores. I got mine at Whole Foods.

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