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Milk
as It Should Be: Raw |
Janet Brunner's past health problems led her and her husband to farm in a fashion they couldn't have imagined some years ago. Today they are excited about what they are doing, and confident that they can help others attain better health by eating real foods—in particular, the healthy fats available in unprocessed whole milk products.
The Brunners' Midvalleyvu Farms is a
family-owned, MOSA Certified Organic, Grade A dairy farm located in
Wayne said in times past he was like most younger dairy farmers: ambitious to grow more crops, put more milk in the bulk tank, and get a bigger milk check, without thinking much about milk quality except how it might affect his premium payments.
In the mid-1990s, however, Janet became very sick, and conventional doctoring, including visits to the Mayo Clinic, wasn't coming up with any answers. One doctor told her she had advanced cancer, and there wasn't anything they could do for her. Her weight fell below 100 pounds, and she was quite weak.
Janet says she was finally helped by a naturally-minded physician who diagnosed her as having candidiasis, a yeast-like fungus infection that grew out of control in her gastrointestinal tract. The doctor suggested a change in diet to more natural foods might help. The Brunners did so, Janet's health took an about-face for the better, and today she reports being fully free of her past ailments.
Key in her recovery, she believes, has been
the change in their eating habits as guided by the counsel they have received
from the Weston A. Price Foundation [see previous issues of Well Being
Journal or endnotes for more information]. Dr. Price was a
It was Price's contention that fat-soluble vitamins A and D are catalysts to mineral absorption and protein utilization. Price, who died in 1948, presented his research in a book titled Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. His work is carried on today by a Washington D.C.-based foundation and has been popularized in recent times, especially in organic circles, by the Sally Fallon cookbook, Nourishing Traditions ($25 plus $5 shipping: 1-888-532-3117), which she describes as being politically incorrect for going against the low-fat advice of “the diet dictocrats.”
Following this line of thinking, the Brunners have gone to eating mostly whole, unprocessed food. They use animal fat, especially butter, liberally, and are drinking their own milk from their own bulk tank.
While the Nourishing Traditions
cookbook is highly pro-dairy products, its counsel runs against many of the
standards that have long been the norm for
The Brunners believe in these principles and
are critical of the effects of pasteurization and homogenization. “Basically
all that heat destroys the enzymes and turns milk into a dead product, which
makes it easier for the processor and retailer, but doesn't do consumers any
good,” maintains
This is shameful, believe the Brunners, because they believe raw milk has many health-regenerative properties. Many of their convictions are spelled out in The Milk Book, by William Campbell Douglass, M.D., and they have shared their copy of this book with many.
As a result of what the Brunners have learned
in recent years, Midvalleyvu Farms has drastically changed many of its farming
practices. During the farm's transition period,
Now, after years of hard work to meet legal requirements and regulations in their state, the Brunners can at last provide fresh, organic, raw milk, butter, cheese, cream, yogurt and buttermilk—all rich in CLA (conjugated linoleic acid)—to consumers who have grown tired of the denatured products available on supermarket shelves. By purchasing a $10 share of stock in Midvalleyvu Farms, Inc. (a separate corporation that has as sole asset the milk-producer license), consumers are able to purchase legally any of the raw dairy products the farm sells. The stock share comes with certain terms and conditions that the consumer must agree to at the time of purchase (see “Investing in Nourishment,” to the right, this page).
Wayne and Janet Brunner desire to work with others to promote the return of nutrient-dense foods to American tables through education and activist activities. They encourage others who share their interest to contact them.
Patrick Slattery writes for ACRES USA, from which this article in the May,
2003 edition is reprinted by permission. ACRES:
Wayne and Janet Brunner: Midvalleyvu Farms, W8481 County Road Z,
The Weston A. Price Foundation: PMB 106-380,
Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions is available from Well Being, Inc. bookstore for $25 plus $5 shipping: 1-888-532-3117.