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Local dairy products (not)

Posted at 9:28 PM on November 20, 2008 by Cher Stuewe-Portnoff

Soon we'll no longer be reporting on our eating habits. We're looking back over the year, taking stock, food group by food group. Take dairy, for instance. In our past life, we kept dairy goats for milk (and 4H), and traded produce for Jersey milk and cream to make our own butter, cheese, and yogurt.

Now, whole milk or cream are out for other reasons, but 2% milk, low-fat yogurt, a little cheese - all in moderation except yogurt, about which we are immoderate - are still staples. Last December, we set out to find local dairy resources. We found two - one while we were in Oklahoma, and one across the border into Illinois after moving to St. Louis. "Local" in these cases meant within a 2-hour drive, coming and going. Dairy being perishable, we needed to be able to stock up at least a couple of times a month. Honestly? That did not pan out.

Not counting gas, local dairies' prices were about 50% or more higher than those at the grocery store. However, the products weren't even close to being comparable - the local dairies won hands down - absolutely superior in quality, taste, probably cleanliness of the facilities - could spoil you for anything else. Honestly? We couldn't afford it very often anyway. And then gas prices went up.

So what do we do? We've taken occasional journeys to get the real thing, but most often, we're buying from markets or Whole Foods, paying attention to origins. And then there are the conflicting values. Example: In summer, I got eggs at the market. When it closed, I found a brand of eggs at the grocery that originated within 100 miles of St. Louis; however, the facility was a conventional egg-laying facility. Being a locavore lost out to me needing chickens to be able to turn around in their cages - really, to run around some of each day on the ground with other chickens. If I were a better locavore, I'd simply have gone without dairy most of the year. That didn't happen. I was just more aware and did what I could in the right direction. (Next spring, we're conspiring to slip a few chickens into our backyard. Don't think we can get away with milk goats here, though.)

Guess I could say that this past year, for this food group, we've been all over the map, literally and figuratively. Here's where our commitments fall out, as we approach being entirely on our own again, in order of priority:

(1) Humane conditions are essential - no compromise. (2) We strongly prefer organic methods or less formal standards that support healthy animals and healthy products. (3) Of what's available that meets conditions #1 & #2, we'll buy closest to home. (4) We'll "pay" the higher cost by reducing dairy consumption, so that it fits into both our values and our budget. We can do this now. We have a much clearer focus on this particular food resource than we did a year ago.