Backwards

James recently lost his first two teeth!

Last summer when we were visiting Tennessee James had a dental problem. He was in a lot of pain. I visited the Weston A. Price Foundation to see if I could find a local dentist who did not advocate for the use of flouride and who would help us in our efforts to remineralize his teeth. We found a wonderful dentist in the area (who even accepted our insurance plan!) and paid him a visit. We absolutely loved him! He was very supportive of our desire to maintain our health through diet and natural methods and had great advice. He encouraged us to keep taking cod liver oil and suggested we visit a nearby grocery to purchase raw milk.

Look at that beautiful yellow milk! That's nutrition, folks!

We finally decided to make the 1 hour trip. In Florida, it was (and may still be, I am not sure) legal to sell raw milk to people as long it was/is labeled "pet milk", but never for human consumption. In Tennessee, it is not legal to label it as pet milk. The only way to legally purchase raw milk is to purchase a "cow share". You pay a certain amount to buy a portion of a cow. That money goes to care for the cow and feed it. I have seen this cost anywhere between $25 and $50 in our area. Then when you receive your milk there is a certain fee per gallon to cover the labor for bottling it and delivery charge.

Who doesn't love cream?

It took a lot of effort for me to not to laugh out loud when we entered the store to inquire about purchasing milk. Here is the scene that unfolded: Josh walked in holding Lydia with James and JoyAnna in tow. I came in afterwards with Gideon just as Josh cautiously leaned towards the lady behind the counter. He asked in a voice just barely above a whisper, "Do you have any raw milk?" The lady, perhaps playing along?, leaned forward and quietly asked, "Are you part of the program?" It was a little unnerving, like we were participating in a drug deal, but mostly hysterical for the same reason. How ridiculous we must have looked! She was such a sweet lady and explained the process, we signed up and brought back two gallons of milk. One is in the freezer for next week and the other is half empty already! We had some with our lunch, and Josh and I are sharing some fresh brownies and milk right now. It is creamier than pasteurized and homogenized milk, but otherwise tastes the same. Wonderful!

When talking about the herd share program, the lady behind the counter said,

"You can buy alcohol. 

You can buy drugs. 

You can buy cigarettes. 

But you can't buy milk. 

It's silly, isn't it?"

Yes, we totally agree. Our country is "udderly" backwards.