Editorial on Raw Milk in Metroland’s Newmarket Era-Banner Newspaper

From a recent editorial in the the Era-Banner:

“There is a growing trend in society toward more natural food consumption.

What began with people buying products directly from farmers at local markets, through farm share programs or at actual farms, has spread to grocery store shelves through the growth of things such as organic products, hormone- and antibiotic-free meat selections and packaged food that’s free of artificial colours and flavours.

By and large, the trend is a good thing. The fewer unnatural additions to food, the better, if only because we don’t have adequate research on the long-term effects of some food additives.

Micro-Dairies Starting Up in the U.K.

From Joanne O’Connell in The Guardian:

“The industrially-produced milk that costs £1 for four pints at the supermarket isn’t the freshest or healthiest on offer. But most people don’t have the option of popping over to a local farm to purchase a frothy pint or two over the gate.

That’s where new micro-dairies come in. Small, local processing rooms are being set up in a handful of farms across the country to deliver fresh, healthy, locally-produced milk to doorsteps, nearby shops, restaurants and cafes. “Every fridge in the country has a bottle of milk in it,” says Nick Snelgar, a smallholder who has recently set up a micro-dairy in Salisbury. “But the dairy industry is in the hands of just a few powerful companies. We’re trying to change that.”

Ten months ago, Snelgar set up a micro-dairy processing plant, funded with a £45,000 award he won from the Prince’s Countryside Trust. He bought second-hand machinery and trained in how to pasteurise and package milk.