Fresh (raw) milk from the French farm
We get a lot of ‘farmers protest’ type billboards along the sides of the road near us, mostly to do with the fact that supermarkets sell the farm produce for a price that is way in excess of the price the farmers receive. OK so French farmers aren’t top of the list for the public sympathy vote, but I can see their point.
One of the more common placards at the moment reads ‘Le lait c’est la vie, le produire c’est mourir’ (‘Milk is for life, producing it is is to die’ _-a poor translation but you get the idea). The dairy farmers have seen the price they are paid for their milk drop dramatically this year (the price is set by Brussels) and are losing money fast.
What can they do?
Some local farmers here in south-west France are now taking the enterprising step of selling their milk directly to the public and apparently they are doing a very brisk trade with demand exceeding all expectations.
This is great for those of us who live in the countryside but less practical if you live in the centre of a city, where popping out to the local farm will take all morning and your cafe au lait won’t be ready until bed-time.
But how long until bureaucracy moves in, I wonder? I can’t imagine how many rules and regulations apply, but hazard a guess that selling milk ‘straight from the cow’ is a more complicated process than you might think.
Is it legal to sell unpasteurised milk in France? Is a special licence needed? I understand that vet certification is also necessary. Considerations of hygiene and labelling e.g. the date the milk was produced presumably arise, along with bottle (and lid) sterilisation and storage, along with a myriad of issues related to pricing, taxes, competition and other regulations. (edit: I subsequently found the regulations as at 1998 here but don’t know if they’ve been amended since.)
So I have a feeling that, while it is a fine and noble idea to buy milk straight from the suffering French farmers, it is an idea that won’t last very long in the face of hygiene inspectors and regulators.
Meanwhile I’m pleased to report that I just had ‘fresh from the farm’ milk on my cereal, and very nice it was too. But in truth I don’t know if it will do me good or whether there are grave risks involved, I just have a feeling that produce is generally healthier before it undergoes processing than afterwards…but my feelings are not to be relied on!
Note that this post is not suggesting you do the same, especially if you are pregnant, old, young or generally unwell – I know nothing about the medical risks of drinking unpasteurised milk so take advice from someone who knows the facts first. Just because I’m happy to take a chance on something I know little about doesn’t mean it’s sensible for you to do the same! (see also this article which offers some of the many claimed problems and benefits of raw milk, or search the internet – there are many sites available, each with a different view of the matter)…after reading lots of them I now have even less idea whether it’s a good idea or not…
And of course, I’ll let you know in due course if I come down with a milk related malady.
Aah, good old “Green Top” milk. That was the colour of the foil tops that were on the bottles that our horse-drawn milk-float brought round every morning… Then the H&S p*****ks got involved and ruined it for everyone.
We had to go to the trouble of getting it from the farm direct, never did me any harm and I still look forward to having it again.
We’ve just gotten ourselves a couple of ewes and are hoping to get their milk ‘fresh from the tap’.
We need to see far more farmers selling direct to the public from their farm gate. Here in Norfolk we can buy all sort of things direct from the farm or fishermen. I do a round trip to pick up eggs not stamped at £4 per tray for free range, Potatoes by the sack .for £5,any ammout of cromer crabs at £2 each, lobsters for £7.50. Beef from the Red Pol herd at Sandringham estate, that is the best i have ever had.Cheesr from a local maker The list is endless So support your farmers to go it alone and forget the state.
I cannot buy milk direct YET.
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Green top? I don’t remember that – is that the milk that had cream on top? Now there’s something difficult to get in France – someone told me the cream all goes to the veal farmers!
Johnny, we do get a bag of organic vegetables each week but we get what we’re given i.e. no choice, just what is in season, and it’s pretty expensive. Eggs we get from a lady who raises chickens as if they are pets and are very good quality.
Other things are available direct but often very pricey. We can get foie gras, wine etc direct but they don’t quite count as staple items…
I think we’d need to head to the Limousin (250km) to get quality beef direct from the farm and potatoes aren’t much grown around here because it’s too dry. Still, a nice bottle of St. Emilion goes a long way to compensate.
Mmm, fresh milk, great. We currently live in Switzerland (perhaps a move to Lyon next year, fingers crossed) and rent a house on a dairy farm. We get our milk fresh in the morning too. I just put it on the stove until it reaches boiling point to get rid of any nasties. Then when it cools you can scrape the cream off the top for your bread and jam.
Sounds idyllic Lisa! Do you have to milk the cow yourself…?
Fortunately not. We only rent a house on the farm. Yes it is very idyllic but we are always heading across the border into France for holidays. We live in north eastern Switzerland (German speaking) and we find that France feels a lot more like home (we are Australians). We are currently considering a move to Lyon next year with our 3 daughters. Maybe I should give up on learning Deutsch and start with some French.
My mother is 73,lives in a small village in eastern France, she still picks up the fresh milk every other day during the milking in her own milk pail. We grew up on fresh milk and we have never been sick. Anyway the farmer has to give up samples of the milk at least once a week to be inspected or more, sampling is so strict that I can’t imagine we take a risk in drinking it.
It is even still warm when we pick it up.