Pictured here is Albert Straus at Straus Family Creamery. Visiting the farm reveals just how much the family is doing to ensure the ecological and efficient operation of the dairy. In addition to being a pioneer in the organic dairy business, Straus Family Creamery now has methane collection ponds that ultimately power the farm buildings and vehicles. As the reading explains, the company takes its responsibility to preserve the open land through active farming very seriously. The Straus family continues to be a strong voice in area politics, including continuing its role as founding members of the Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT).The concept of food quality takes on new breadth here, in which the ecological care for an area contributes to consumers' perceptions of the products which originate there. This corresponds with our earlier discussions outlining the particular food culture of the Bay Area--one informed by politics, a strong sense of shared community, and a concern for social and ecological welfare.
link to: Marin Agricultural Land Trust
link to: Video of Straus Family Creamery's operations
--Brent W.
“[They] sell their products to environmentally and health-conscious consumers, appealing to their political views about farm preservation, environmental protection, and healthy diets.”
ReplyDeleteI think it’s obvious that the difference in quality of a product like dairy comes not just from the cows, the food they eat, and the land they live on, but the owners of the cows. Whether it’s forming community movements to improve the rights of dairy farmers and the land they work on or sourcing quality feed and milk bottles the Strauses go to great lengths to ensure a quality product. The Straus family has been identified as organic, but does not deal with organic corporations who dominate the industry. Instead, the Strauses lobby with other smaller organic producers to distinguish themselves as producers of a superior product. I consider this a type of dairy industry pioneering and all of these factors combined give Straus appeal to the environmentally health-conscious consumers.
Michael B
“Although individual approaches to quality vary, the efforts of these farmers and businesses seem, in aggregate, to indicate a kind of emerging regional convention in which dairy farmers connect their products to place and transform their operations in congruence with rising environmental values, land-protection strategies and regulations” (Guthey 187).
ReplyDeleteWhen considering the quality of a product such as dairy it is important to consider not only the cows themselves, but also their environment: what they are being fed and what is their quality of life. A family like the Straus goes through great lengths to ensure that their product surpass health regulations. What differentiates the Straus from every other organic corporation is that they are not looking to deal with big corporations; instead they lobby with smaller producers as a way to ensure uniform quality. Producers are facing increasing environmental and development pressures that force them to streamline their production process and become more efficient.
The quote above refers to the sense of community that these farmers have developed. They look beyond their personal success and focus on what is best for the industry.
Claudia H.
" We milk our cows three times a day as opposed to two times a day as it decreases stress" and "after they are milked they are fed and return to their separate beds..." - (Quoted from the video "Milking cows at Straus Family Creamery" on youtube).
ReplyDeleteThe Straus Family Creamery is a dairy farm that is working to provide dairy products but in a ecological way. They are a green certified farm and their efforts are noteworthy. I think that such farms who are being socially and environmentally conscious is something that we all need to learn from. They are cutting back on waste produced from their farms, and recycling them. For example, they are turning their dung from the cows and turning them into methane gas and recycling in this way is an effort of being environmentally conscious. I would say that they are operating in a environmentally sustainable manner which is a good industry example for the entire agricultural industry. They are also treating they cows with utter care unlike other factory farmers, but providing less stress on them by going as far as letting them choose when they want to be milked. In return they are getting higher quality product which other commercial producers are not being able to attain.
- Taijash
California has really gone above and beyond with their marketing for cows and their dairy products they are producing. It is important that the cows not only are free of anti-biotics and hormones, but the cows need to eat well in order to give the milk and the other products made from cows the highest quality. MALT(marin agricultural land trust) is a group that looks to make sure the land stays pure and raises awareness of farmland conservation. It is important to support groups such as these to make sure the farm land doesn't get forgotten and stays pure for the generations to come.
ReplyDelete-Josh R
“Analysis’s suggest that consumer politics and globalization explain such shifts to organic and other types of so-called quality food production"
ReplyDeleteLike the political struggles in California for land conservation, or water discernment, these topics reflect shifts in consumer ideas, and opinions. Consumers are starting to understand that the agricultural industry is an ever growing important entity faced with more and more challenges every day. Challenges like waste removal are solved at dairies like Straus farm; they are fully sustainable converting even their waste to energy! This piece outlines California’s "commitment to land conservation strategies, and planning" Challenges with land prices, and competition make it hard for smaller owned dairies to survive. Consumer ideas and opinions toward dairies are shifting towards carrying about waste removal and environmental impact. Big dry-lot dairies are faced with many of those struggles. Smaller more efficiently a run operation shows the need for future consolidation. This shows a need for land to be more accessible to smaller owned dairies to continue this improvement.
"North Bay dairy operators struggle to compete with more fficient dry-lot farms located farther south."
ReplyDeleteFresh milk is one of my most favorite product that is produced. I learned this in NYC when I got my first half gallon of milk that was less than a few days old and it tastes amazingly creamy and FRESH, which I can't really explain that flavor of just FRESH. Reading this article really brought that memory back because when you taste a milk from some land that is too far away and it's probably been pasteurized too much and diluted with water, it just does not taste too great. When I heard about MALT, I realized that this is the kind of real California milk that had been advertized to me my whole life. I think it is sad take away something that is soooo delicious, but the article makes it seem as if these dairy farmers did not take much pride in their industry and went for the big bucks. Dry-lots make a lot of air pollution, the cows are fed unnatural diets and to tell you the truth, the only good thing about it is that it helps California economy. Until people really figure out that real milk is not only more tasty but also more nutritious we have to look to places like Marin County as an example of what real dairy farming is and what it takes to be part of that movement.
--Robbie B