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Does the extra money pan out in savings? Does it last long enough to produce savings?
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Hormone free? Does that matter?
The organic milk in my area is anywhere from $3.00 to $4.50 per half gallon depending on the brand and current sales. I haven’t ever run a cost analysis. Before I started drinking organic, I only bought milk about once a month and almost always tossed half of the container. Now I go through a gallon in a week…two at the most. Because it tastes better it got me to using more.
Hormone free matters to me, as well as antibiotic free. I don’t want those things being passed on to my body. It’s up to you to determine if it matters to you. It used to be thought that the hormones given to the cows were being passed into the milk and causing girls to mature much earlier than previous generations. While studies have been done now that point to other factors being the cause of early puberty, I still don’t want to take a chance that I could be consuming something potentially harmful.
The reason I don’t want antibiotics is because they are simply overused. Bacteria are becoming resistant and super bugs are developing. If a farmer can raise healthy cows without using antibiotics, then they shouldn’t be using them just as a matter of course.
But the main reason I made the switch was the flavor. Every other benefit I perceive is gravy.
Milk that has just gone sour can be used to make pancakes, no sweat. As for the drinkability of milk left out accidentally, my immediate response would be “If it doesn’t smell, it’s drinkable.”
When I lived in Latvia, I used to buy 3.8% milk in litre cartons. It was supposed to be homogenized, but still went sour after more than a day in the fridge. I would then pour however much was left into a saucepan and let it boil gently until the milk solids separated from the whey. Then I drained the liquid off and was left with delicious tvorog (a Russian word), similar to cream cheese, which I spread on toast and crackers.