Paging Cindysmith - YouLookFab Forum

I really appreciate the wit and humor of your posts about your workplace. Even more, I appreciate and respect the choices you've made for your life, changing how food is produced and sold.

I try to find ethically produced foods when I can. Ironically, it is easier to find imported "fair trade" chocolate and coffee than to figure out what things in our country are produced in a way I want to support. Right now, the Ben and Jerry ice cream deal is in the news. I wanted to make a joke about how much "sweeter" their ice cream will be, but looking at the info on the deal is jaw dropping--the conditions it seeks are very, very basic.

I don't know anything about how the milk we drink is produced, which probably means the workers have horrid conditions. We drank Horizon milk for a while, until I heard that the animals aren't treated much better there than else where. Now I'm afraid that the workers are treated worse than the animals, because stressed out cows won't produce as much milk.

How can we find ethically produced dairy products? If they are produced in ways that are humane to the animals and don't damage the soil, that's even better, and if it's local, of course that'd be perfect. Any ideas?

“One of the biggest issues was housing conditions, the need for workers to be provided with basic amenities, like electricity, water, and housing that is free from pest infestations,” said Enrique Balcazar, a former dairy worker who has helped lead the organizing effort, speaking through a translator.

The workers tend to be undocumented, making it difficult for them to speak out.

Under the program, called Milk With Dignity, workers at dairy farms that supply Ben & Jerry’s will have the right to one day off a week and will earn at least the state minimum wage, currently $10 an hour. Workers will also be guaranteed at least eight consecutive hours of rest between shifts and housing accommodations that include a bed and access to electricity and clean running water.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/1.....m=Facebook

8 years ago

Anonymous

Nice post, Fashiontern.

Style Fan

Veteran

Great post.

kkards

fashiontern....generally a quick google search or a chat with locals will get you to a farmers market or local farm....at most farmers markets you can chat with the producers and get a sense of who they are and how they farm...and i know when i lived in CT their were local farms that sold milk direct to consumers....
and this might help
http://www.eatwild.com/products/

rachylou

People don't respect the fact that farming has become a specialised, technical skill. It's not the Middle Ages where we all scratch in the dirt.

That's an interesting question, about the idea of dairy farms in Florida...

UmmLila (Lisa)

I have tried to buy milk from local farms. I see and interact with the farmers. I have been successful there. Cheese and butter are more difficult because they are more widely sourced. I am mostly vegetarian. I would like to be vegan. I feel not very happy about the fact that calves are taken from their mothers in order to increase milk production, and that male calves are destined for meat.

cindysmith

Find the produce stand that's been in the same spot for a long time. That guy probably does like my boss does, and buys from farmers who specialize in specific foods. We buy tomatoes from one place, corn from another, squash from yet another, and peaches from a totally different one. That shop owner can probably tell you a story about each farmer he buys from (even when they're not local farmers). That shop owner is likely going to know about local producers of vegetables, eggs, milk, canned goods like honey or jams or pickles, and fruits. He may not be able to get locally made stuff year round because of climate, but he does know the local producers because he buys from them whenever he possibly can. Ask questions about the products. And ask for samples; my boss says you wouldn't buy a car without taking a test drive so you should never trust the produce stand guy who won't let you taste his products. My boss nags me to give every single person who walks into our shop a sample of cantaloupe and a sample of watermelon all freaking summer, and it irks me because sometimes I'm just too busy collecting money from people or showing them how to pick a good watermelon to stop what I'm doing to go cut chunks of fruit for people to try. Oops, rant over LOL

You can also Google search for small dairy farms in your area. Our goat's milk (and goat's milk soap) come from a small goat farm near our shop. They deliver milk and eggs and soap to us once a week (sometimes twice a week for milk). You can search for locally produced food and see what pops up. Texas is a farming state, so we have websites that maintain a kid of local producers so I don't have to search through a bunch

Also? Amish and Mennonite communities. There are Amish communities in Oklahoma, and they have stores where they sell all kinds of Amish made goods. All of the jar goods at our shop are Amish or Mennonite made.

You could Google search for intentional communities near you, because they might produce their own foods, or possibly know of a small dairy farm nearby.

It's probably going to feel like a rabbit hole at first, because it still does for me even after a year and a half working for my boss. Mostly, I just let my boss worry about finding stuff to sell and I concentrate on selling it. That's lazy of me, but I've also been working for him long enough to know he's most likely buying things that align with my concerns/values.

Stagiaire Fash

So many good ideas. Thank you! The weekly "farmers markets" here are shams. There are a couple of places that have gone through multiple owners, but remained open in the same spots for at least the eight years we've been here. The milk, unfortunately, is the same brands as the big grocery stores carry. They also have some things from small religious communities--many were formed in Florida at the turn to the 20th Century. I'll have to look into those.

Racheylou, I forget where in the Caribbean you grew up. There is a great documentary called Life and Debt that includes the story of how the Jamaican dairy sector was shut down. Were you questioning the ability of cattle to live in hot, humid climates? People in India and Texas, among other places, could tell you a bit about that.

Part 2 of this series addresses my allegations about the small food stands. http://www.tampabay.com/projec.....-to-fable/

Oh yeah, cows wander the streets in Jamaica.

No, I just never hear about dairy in Florida. And all the states are famous for particular ag products. And we do so much trucking of goods long distance. It occurred to me maybe even something like milk is shipped in... Jamaica doesn't grow it's own bananas, or it didn't awhile back, because of trade issues.

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