Sullivan's Pond

I hope you have experienced the pleasure of Sullivan's Pond goat cheese.  I remember my first taste- Casey unwrapped a fig leaf to reveal a fresh, soft chèvre which was dusted with salt and pepper. That was three years ago- and I still remember it so clearly!  I had eaten goat cheese before, but never as fresh as that one.  This past Sunday, Slow Food board members Ashley, Amanda, and I had the great privilege of meeting the folks behind the cheese, Rona and Tim Sullivan, at their Wake,Va farm.

Rona and Tim with their fine pup Murphy*

 We came prepared to help with chores and projects on the farm.  Since it was a little dreary when we arrived, we sipped tea and got to know each other in the Sullivan's kitchen.  Other friends of the farm arrived, and we helped prepare the soap for next week's market.

Rona cuts soap for the market.*

We talked a lot about what farmers need in order to get their products to consumers through markets, restaurants and groceries. Small business considerations like health insurance and marketing are complicated by the demands of a farm and travel time.  It was eye- opening to hear a farmer's perspective.

Sullivan's Pond Micro Dairy includes an aging area for the blue cheese and Mill Creek.*

We did fit in a little bit of weeding once the sun came out.  We also learned what kind of things a goat will eat... Most green things, really!  The Sullivan's have several different breeds, each with their own dispositions and milk qualities.  The goats each had names- celestial or floral mostly.  Tim said he is not allowed to name them after Star Trek characters.  I have no idea how they keep track of them all!

Goats love vetch!!

One of my favorite parts of Sullivan's Pond cheese is the all natural packaging.  Fig leaves, chestnut leaves and corn husks are all an essential part of the experience. One of the jobs we took on was harvesting chestnut and fig leaves for future use.

Rona shows us how.*

My stash.*

The farm is an idyllic setting and the Sullivan's are the most wonderful people.  We hope you can join us on a workday there sometime soon. We are definitely going back.  If you want to try their cheese (as you should),  it is available at the South of the James market, as well as at Whole Foods and Ellwood Thompson.

The ladies on the farm.*

Sullivan's Pond Farm has the most beautiful chickens and goats ever!  Look at these sweet chicks*

and happy goats!*

*All photos by Ashley Cunningham

Farm To Family Now Offering Home Milk Delivery

Mark Lilly's Farm to Family Bus, Shop, and CSA enterprise have just added home milk delivery. You can visit the shop at 2817 Mechanicsville Turnpike, friend them on facebook or twitter for updates on the bus whereabouts, or sign up for their CSA. The CSA includes Polyface meats (including a thanksgiving turkey), and locally made bread. In addition it includes a half pound of Mountain View or Goats R Us Cheeses, as well as Mountain view milk, and yogurt. To just have milk and yogurt home delivery is $10 per week plus a $10 monthly service charge. Click Here for their website.

Local Milk 3 Very Different Ways

Here is a few quick bits on three very different approaches to local milk. First, on Homestead Creamery... Last year I did some online research to find out all that I could about the western Virginia company and it's practices. Details were a bit to vague for my taste really and Erin and I have been trying to plan a field trip out there all year. We still hope to check out the dairy, located near Smith Mountain Lake, sometime this spring. Meanwhile Whole Foods has an updated video about Homestead Creamery. It all look pretty good, pastured cows, no added hormones or antibiotics, low temp pasturization etc. They even grow most of the supplemental grains for the cows right there on the farm. Check it out Here. You can get Homestead Creamery milk, butter, cream, and ice cream at Kroger and at Whole Foods. I love the milk and the butter. The Ice cream contains high fructose corn syrup and would not be my top pick for a good ice cream. There is a two dollar deposit for each bottle. Simply return the bottles to customer service counter for a cash reimbursement.

If your interested in Raw Milk one option is Avery's Branch. Check out This post I did a while back. Avery's Branch Milk is available by purchasing a "Cow Share." Basically you become buy into the cow and in return you get milk. There are different pickup locations around town including several farmer's markets and shops like Olio on Meadow and Good Foods Grocery in the Westend at Gaskins and on Southside. The owner of Olio has enough room in his refrigerated case to store the milk until shareholders have the opportunity to come and pick it up. Check out their complete drop site list here.

Finally.... Breast Milk anyone??! Okay, this is one time when knowing your source might be a little awkward. Check out this unusual blogger story and Washington Post article about a respected restaurants dabbling with breast milk cheese! Warning... the comments on the Post site get a bit raunchy.

School Milk Campaign

Alex Beauchamp, of the Food and Water Watch School Milk Campaign sent us this information on a movement to take rBGH out of school milk. Read on to find out how you can help.

Join Food and Water Watch's Effort to Expel the Hormones from School Milk!

Our kids deserve the healthiest food possible, and parents deserve to have a say in what their kids eat. Milk is a staple for many of our nation’s youngsters, and it’s crucial that the milk served Richmond schools be safe, healthy and free of artificial hormones.

The artificial growth hormone rBGH, used to increase milk production, is unhealthy for cows and may be linked with some types of cancer in humans. RBGH is already banned in some countries, and US consumers are increasingly opting for milk produced without it. In fact, big retailers like Starbuck's, Wal-Mart, and Kroker have already decided not to serve milk with rBGH. Now, companies may be looking to school lunch programs as an outlet for milk consumers don’t want.

We can’t let pharmaceutical companies and corporate agribusiness dictate what’s best for our kids. That’s why Food & Water Watch’s School Milk Campaign is working to give all schools the option to choose milk that is free of rBGH. The Child Nutrition Act is up for renewal this year, giving us a great chance to give schools the option to purchase rBGH-free or organic milk.

Congressman Bobby Scott is a key vote to give schools the choice to purchase rBGH-Free school milk in the Education and Labor Committee, so the Richmond area is particularly important for this issue. We'll keep you informed as the campaign continues to move forward, but for now, can you take 2 minutes to sign Food and Water Watch's online petition?
Sign here.

Interested in working locally in your school district, click here to find out what you can do to ensure your school's milk is rBGH-free.


Thanks again,

Alex

Yoder Dairy to close

Thanks to one of our readers for alerting us to this story, which details the closing of the beloved Yoder Dairy in Virginia Beach. Richmonders were able to get delicious Yoder milk and cream at Ellwood Thompson's, in the classic and reusable glass bottles. The closing of this family run business makes the case that it is our support of these industries that keeps them alive. Don't let this happen to something else you love.

More about the Milk

I was rather surprised to discover this past Monday that just hours after I wrote my post about local milk, NPR broadcast Terri Gross' interview with Anne Mendelson about her new book Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Throughout the Ages. In this 11 minute long interview Mendelson sites the three most important things to look for in quality milk. She list first that it should be locally produced for freshness, second it should be non-homogenized, and finally for it to be pasteurized at the lower temp of 145 degrees (sometimes identified as "Batch pasteurized").
Click Here to listen to the interview in its entirety.

Many thanks

I just wanted to thank our friends for being such great lovers of food. We get numerous emails referring us to stories and events of which we might not have been aware, which we always appreciate. We three of the RFC work outside, (at early hours at that,) so we do not always have the opportunity to hear/ read/ see the news. That is where our friends fit in. Just today, we received an email from a reader who wanted to make sure we heard this story on NPR about new organic standards for milk. Fantastic. Also, my friend Ingrid called, wanting to make sure that I had heard this interview with Michael Pollan about Obama's pick for Secretary of Agriculture. Thank you guys so much for keeping us informed, and feel free to write us anytime!

CENTER FOR RURAL CULTURE TO HOLD SEMINAR ON TRADITIONAL FOODS AND HEALTHY COMMUNITIES

From Lisa Dearden at The Center for Rural Culture:

GOOCHLAND, VA DECEMBER 15, 2008:

The Center for Rural Culture, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Goochland County, Virginia, in conjunction with Ellwood Thompson’s Local Market, is hosting a seminar on Traditional Foods & Healthy Communities with keynote speaker Sally Fallon – author of Nourishing Traditions and President, The Weston A. Price Foundation, on Saturday, January 10th, 2009.

This daylong seminar will raise awareness and educate communities about their health, their food supply and sustainable farming practices for environmental preservation. There will be other experts who will speak, as well as Sally Fallon, on the important links between health and communities. A delicious lunch featuring locally sourced traditional foods will be provided by Ellwood Thompson’s Local Market.

The seminar will take place at the Montpelier Center for Arts and Education, 17205 Mountain Road at the western edge of Hanover on Route 33 in Hanover County (just west of Richmond) from 9:00am-6:00pm. The seminar will include the following lectures/lecturers:

“The Power of Food: a Virginia Dietitian's Perspective" (Lynda Fanning, MA, MPH, RD - Clinical Nutrition Manager, University of Virginia Health System)

“The Basics of Healthy Diets” (Sally Fallon)

“The Politics and Economics of Food” (Sally Fallon)

“Planning for a Healthy Environment” (Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director – Partnership for Smarter Growth)

”How Sustainable Farming can Promote Public Health” (Sally K. Norton, MPH - Scientific / Program Administrator, Department of Social and Behavioral Health, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University)

“How to Change Your Diet for the Better” (Sally Fallon)

Panel Discussion


Cost for the January 10th seminar is $65 in advance or $75 at the door. Pre-register on the Center for Rural Culture’s website (www.centerforruralculture.org). Center for Rural Culture and Weston A. Price members’ cost is only $50 (and also students), but those folks must register by mail. Call 804-314-9141 for a brochure.

The Center for Rural Culture will host two other book-signing and lecture events with Sally Fallon on the same weekend. Participants can meet and talk with Sally Fallon and bring or purchase their own copy of Sally’s Nourishing Traditions book to be signed.

Friday, January 9th 5:30-9:00pm Book signing and Meet & Greet starts at 5:30pm. Lecture - “The Oiling of America/The Cholesterol Myths” begins at 7:00pm. Delicious food and alcohol/non-alcohol beverages will be available for purchase before, during and after event! Cost: $10 suggested donation at the door or pre-register on the Center for Rural Culture’s website (www.centerforruralculture.org). Location: The Camel Restaurant & Bar, 1621 W Broad St. Richmond, VA 23220 (804) 353-4901.

Sunday, January 11th 11:00am-1:00pm Book signing and Meet & Greet starts at 11:00am. Lecture -“Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner: Having trouble getting started with a traditional diet?” starts at 11:30am. Sally will offer suggestions for no-fuss, economical meals based on traditional foods. Cost: Free, although seating is limited, so pre-registration is suggested. Go to the Center’s website to pre-register. Location: Ellwood’s Community Coffee, 10 S. Thompson St. Richmond, VA 23221 (804) 359-7525.

The mission of the Center for Rural Culture is to educate, promote and inspire members of our community to sustain a culture that supports agriculture and the local economy, protects natural and historic resources, and maintains our rural character and traditions. The Center founded and manages the Goochland Farmers Market and offers many educational programs and opportunities to learn about sustainable agriculture, conservation practices, local foods and local foods systems, smart growth, traditional rural arts, music and rural history.

The movement for a more sustainable local food system is in full swing in Central Virginia, and the opportunity to learn more about traditional foods and their relationship to the health of communities is an important and timely topic. Who should come? – Everyone…students, doctors, mothers, farmers, healthcare providers, teachers, or anyone who is interested in radically strengthening the very foundations of their health and their community.

For additional information, contact Lisa Dearden @ 804-314-9141 or admin@CenterForRuralCulture.org.

On Milk and Drinking it Real

For a very long time now I have been wanting to do a "quick" post about local milk and dairy products. For me when I buy milk I am looking for Organic, hormone and antibiotic free, non-ultra-pasteurized. Ideally, I want to buy milk from cows that feed on pasture. I'd like to have the option of buying milk that is non-homogenized and perhaps even... gasp!, "raw."

Part of my education on the subject of fresh milk was from Nina Planck, who writes about the importance of consuming traditional foods. She believes that the road to health lays in consuming the foods that Humans have been eating for thousands of years and have evolved alongside, while staying away from "novelty" industrial foods and the man made alterations and additives that make such foods possible.
In her book Real Food: What to Eat and Why, she has something like 70 pages just on milk and manages to make it all very easy to um, "digest." She discusses the benefits of raw milk, siting studies that show reduced risk of heart disease among groups consuming whole milk, and the dangers of industrial creations such as powdered milk. Planck site's Dr. Kilmer McCully's work The Heart Revolution as pointing out that powdered milk may be the reason why in studies where milk is the one thing changed in the diet, Heart Disease is greater among groups that consume 2% milk and skim milk rather than whole milk.
Planck writes on page 65 that "[d]ried milk powder is created by a process called spray-drying, which creates oxidized or damaged cholesterol. Researchers in 1991 wrote, 'Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is more atherogenic than native [unoxidized] LDL.' In other words, oxidized LDL causes atherosclerosis."
"Milk Powder containing oxidized cholesterol is a common ingredient in industrial processed foods including milk, yogurt, low-fat cheese, cheese substitutes, infant formula, baked goods, cocoa mixes, and candy bars. Nonfat dried milk is also added to industrial skim and 2% milk. In fact , skim milk may be made entirely of dried milk powder mixed with water."

It would be important here to note two things... First that anyone thinking of switching from skim to whole should certainly consult someone other than me (or even Nina Plank!), and secondly that the finer dairies will make skim milk simply by skimming off the milk fat. Here you just need to do some research, because according to Planck, no labeling is required to indicate if your lowfat milk is made in this way or from a powder. Since reading this book, I can verify that dried milk powder really is in all sorts of unexpected items.
Later, on page 68, Plank also goes on to say that "[c]ompared to industrial milk, dairy foods from grass-fed cows contain more omega-3 fats, more vitamin A, and more beta-carotene and other antioxidants. Butter and cream from grass-fed cows are are a rare source of the unique and beneficial fat CLA. According to the Journal of Dairy Science, the CLA in grass-fed butterfat is 500% greater than the butterfat of cows eating a typical dairy ration, which usually contains grain, corn silage, and soybeans." She goes on to say that as a "polyunsaturated omega-6 fat, CLA prevents heart disease,(probably by reducing atherosclerosis), fights cancer, and builds lean muscle. CLA aids weight loss in several ways.".... "CLA inhibits growth of human breast cancer cells in vitro. A Finnish team found that women eating dairy from pastured animals had a lower risk of breast cancer than those eating industrial dairy."
So these are just a couple paragraphs from those 70 pages and all of those pages are choc-full of information and anecdotes such as above here. Sometimes she leaves me doubtful, but generally her arguments made good sense to me and the numerous studies and the other authors she cites are a great introduction into a whole world of work being done. Erin, who is just about a life long vegitarian, loaned me this book saying that she actually enjoyed it more than Michael Pollan's work. (This book also has just as much info. on beef, pork, fish, poultry, eggs and more.)

Okay, so enough on Plank.... if you want fresh, local, milk from pastured cows where can you go?

So far as I know there are only a few options and only one, Avery's Branch , seems to satisfy all of these. Since selling raw milk is illegal, Avery's branch farm provides the option of you going in with other like minded inidivuals to buy a cow that they will then board for you. After you pay for your share of the cow ($100 I believe), you then pay for the up keep and care of the animal, plus the milking and delivery of the milk to you via several local market pickup sites. I believe this is another $35 per month. So the milk is not cheap, but by all accounts, including my husband's, it is wonderful. I have not tried it myself, because of certain medical reasons I am being extra cautious about the unpasteurized aspect.

The Second option is Homestead Creamery.
Whole foods' blog site has a quick piece about Homestead Creamery and a couple of people asked some very direct questions concerning the ultimate fate of the cows at Homestead and if the cows are pastured. On the pastured question the answer seems to be Yes, but you can click here to read the questions and answers in full. For other information about the dairy you can
click Here to read a cute news story about Homestead Creamery's home deliveries. Click Here to see a business summary for Homestead Creamery including their annual estimated sales (a lot higher than you might think. And discover that they also seem to own multiple meat processing plants. ) Click here to see a photo of their shop where you can buy their products including ice cream, butter and beef. Here is a cute slide show of a 4H trip to the Homestead dairy I found on flicker. It has one intriguing photo of cows lounging in in a field of green grass with a sheep dog nearby, and another of the cows eating grain from a trough. Their milk comes in glass bottles, and they actually charge a deposit that you get back if you return your empty milk bottle to the store! Around Richmond you can find their milk, eggnog, buttermilk, etc. at Kroger's Grocery Stores.

Finally there is Yoder Dairies. You can read the rather interesting history of the Virginia Beach Dairy here. It includes a line or two on how government regulations requiring pasteurization in 1931 forced the family farm to become a larger co-op in order to offset the expense. For a very small delivery fee Yoder Dairies has home delivery to several areas east of Richmond. Just like when I was a kid, you can set your glass bottles outside your door and they will replace them with full ones. They have a very long product list and you can get a mixed product delivery as well. However, it looks to me that while the milk is hormone and antibiotic free, these animals are probably grain and silage fed, and may or may not ever step outside.... I'll have to get back to you on that.