Don't cry over spilt raw milk...

I didn't ever know about or try raw milk until we moved to Martha's Vineyard.  Here I was exposed to a healthy living lifestyle full of local foods fresh from gardens and farms.  Locally prepared foods from wonderful bakeries and farm stands also help nourish both my belly and my soul.

And then, there is Mermaid Farm - the magical place on Middle Road where I can buy raw cow's milk in a glass jug - just like those jugs they use to deliver milk to your doorstep.  I can return these jugs when I go for more delicious raw milk.  I am now feeding my belly, my soul AND the environment since I'm not wasting tons of plastic milk jugs or cardboard cartons by buying milk at the grocery store.

I return home with my prize.  When opened, I peer in and savor the view - a cream top.  What else can I say but "ahhhhhhh"?  (in a very sensual tone, of course).  I am tempted to spoon out some cream on a spoon and stuff it in my mouth before anyone sees - or maybe put some strawberries in a bowl and slather them with the fresh cream...  I don't.  I wait until the next morning when I have my cup of coffee.  There is nothing like this silky real cream in my coffee.  I carefully pour the milk from under the cream into a bowl of granola.  I will do this careful pouring of the milk each time I use it, so that I can continue to spoon the cream separately as needed,  until it is all gone... (maybe next time I should spoon the cream into a jar and set that aside, but I do get used to my little rituals)

So - okay.  What is going on here?  How could I be denied this amazing pleasure?  It is a simple one - harmless.

• Is this about the big milk companies (organic or not) wanting to keep their hold on the milk market?
• Is this about my right to choose what kind of milk I consume and buy for my family?
• Is anyone regulating the amount of unhealthy ingredients that are being used to prepare most of the fast foods consumed in this country?

I know I'm still beating this one up, but let me get this straight:  It is so okay for me to go to a fast food restaurant and eat greens washed in chlorine, meat from hormone-pumped animals, and preservative-filled shakes and other "goodies" AND feel sick from it.  But, it is NOT okay for me to purchase raw milk which contains all the good bacteria and probiotics that my body actual NEEDS and makes me feel great!?

I feel lucky to be able to drive to a farm and have access to a delicious, organic and totally-from-nature food source.  Others are not so close to these great farms and sources.  I would certainly hope that raw milk - even just the choice of raw milk - is accessible to all in Massachusetts - and the rest of the country.

Would I cry more over the loss of raw milk or the loss of the choice to have it?

Milk from the farm - right from the cow!  Where it is supposed to come from!

I just want to shout it.