Does anyone has a copy of this book?

January 5, 2004

ALL Thumbs BOOK REVIEWS

(Coburn Press, 2002)

Review by Sally Fallon

This is a practical guide to keeping a family milk cow, including

instructions for milking, feeding and dealing with health problems. But

even if you are not interested or able to keep a family cow, Grohman's book

is worth the price of admission for the first two chapters alone, in which

she describes the position of the cow in history and vents on the decline

in quality of the modern food supply.

To those who insist that a plant-based food system is the way to a better

world, Grohman begs to differ: "To produce grain in useful quantities

requires rich flat land such as flood plains. It requires a huge amount of

energy, available in antiquity only where complex cultures had developed.

This energy was provided by slaves. The more slaves you had, the more grain

you could grow. And the more grain you could grow, the more slaves you

could afford, thus giving rise to a wealthy class able to afford monumental

tombs and other durable artifacts of civilization. . .

". . . To herd animals requires only the availability of shepherds and can

be done on any kind of land from rocky mountain sides to kelp strewn

beaches. Wherever herbivores have been herded, their milk as well as their

meat became important parts of the diet. Herbivores form grass, bushes and

weeds into high-grade, readily available food. They do this with enormous

efficiency, whether in captivity or not. But when herded, they free up a

great deal of human time for other pursuits. Humans with extra time and

energy tend to engage in commerce, the arts, invention and war, not

necessarily in that order. Dairying has played its part in these pursuits."

Unlike other domestic animals who readily revert to feral conditions (pigs,

goats and sheep), the cow requires humans for her survival. In return, cows

provide humans with the basis of wealth. "Cattle are the original stock in

stockmarket. Ownership of cattle has always been a mark of wealth." People

who create wealth with a cow are "hard working and reliable," which are not

necessarily the characteristics of those in ancient times who created

wealth through the cultivation of grains.

The cow ". . . can support a family. She not only turns grass into milk in

quantities sufficient to feed a family but also provides extra to sell and

she contributes yearly a calf to rear or fatten. The by-products from

cheesemaking (whey) and from butter (buttermilk) will support a pig or two.

Her manure improves her pasture and when dug into the garden, results in

plant growth that cannot be surpassed by other growth mediums. The family

that takes good care of its cow is well off.

"The over-arching truth about the cow is that she drives the domestic or

small farm economy. By living on a constantly renewing resource, grass, she

is able to support not just herself and her calf, but your pig and your

chickens (neither of which can live on grass) and still provide milk for

the house. The reverse is never true. No pigs or chickens or any other non

grazing animals can live on grass or support another animal."

Grohman's description of the milk commerce in the later part of the 19th

century—an emphasis on cleanliness at the farm, milk trains from rural

areas to the cities, blocks of ice to keep the milk cool—contains a

fascinating tidbit. In the winter of 1886, the lakes didn't freeze. Without

fresh ice, dairy farmers were forced to sell their milk to middlemen. "They

have never been able to regain control over their own product," says

Grohman, (at least not until recently with the advent of direct farm sales

and cow share programs). This loss of control helped usher in the era of

pasteurization, a necessary step when fresh milk is pooled and transported

great distances. Pasteurization, says Grohman, was instituted for the

benefit of distributors.

Is the family cow an anachronism? Can there be any economic benefit to

keeping a family cow? For a family with small children and a little bit of

land, the answer is yes. Instead of joining the rat race and paying for

childcare, Mom can stay home with the children. The cow provides a good

portion of the family food, the children will need minimal health care, the

orthodontist budget will be zero, and with a bit of enterprise a

value-added product like butter or cheese can provide some supplemental

income. The family may even come out ahead financially, and Mom will

maintain her health so that she can join the job market, should she choose

to do so, at a later time.

And if you decide to keep a family cow, Grohman's provides a highly

readable how-to manual.

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This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing

Arts,

the quarterly magazine of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Summer 2003

This page was posted on 12/07/03

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