But given the economy and the raids going on across the country against non-corporate raw milk dairy farmers,

it would make an exceptionally interesting piece to see those raids put into the context of what is happening to dairy farmers across the country, since raw milk dairy farmers exist within a completely different set of economies involving grass-fed cows and milk sold only locally, avoiding any corporate middleman, export issues, or the drastically rising cost of inputs for corn and soy.

Martin's story is describing only the industrial side and gives a window into the whole mess of globalization of milk. And while it is not mentioned, one can feel in the background, the impact of Monsanto's monopoly over grains,

click here

The story is of glut and large swings in the market and farmers being knocked around in it all.

Meanwhile, at a local level (the level we say we are most interested in developing and protecting), there is growing demand for raw milk

and there is actual safety for the farmer within a local economy (as well as for the consumer), ESPECIALLY during hard times.





Mr. Martin didn't mention of rBGH

which is also Monsanto's legacy to all this glut of milk (even if they recently sold it). While there is huge resistance against rBGH-milk here with some concerned about its link to breast cancers, prostate cancers, colon cancers. So, are we exporting diseases to countries which have previously had low levels of breast cancer. How much is corporate advertising and fast food multinationals responsible for demand for milk and ice cream and cheeses in countries that never depended on dairy to begin with? What has this done to health in these countries?

" The bags of milk powder represent a startling reversal of fortune for the dairy industry, which flourished in recent years in part because of a growing appetite for milk, cheese, ice cream and pizza in places like Mexico, Egypt and Indonesia." ...

"Much of the increase was caused by increased demand in developing countries, where a growing middle class replaced starch in their diets with protein sources like meat and dairy products. Some Asian countries had little history of eating dairy products but were introduced to milk and mild cheeses by government nutrition programs or by restaurant chains like McDonald’s and Pizza Hut."

Was our government responsible for getting milk introduced into those nutrition programs as part of "free" trade agreements?

"In China, for instance, per-person dairy consumption nearly doubled in just five years, to 63 pounds in 2007 from 33 pounds in 2002 (though it remains far below the per-capita consumption in the United States of about 580 pounds), according to the U.S. Dairy Export Council. The growth translates into the need for nearly 40 billion pounds more milk each year, roughly equal to California’s annual milk production.

"In addition to the increased demand, exports from the American dairy industry benefited from a relatively weak dollar and tight global supplies. For instance, droughts reduced milk production in New Zealand and Australia, two major dairy exporters, allowing American suppliers to fill the gaps.

"American dairy shipments soared to places like Algeria, Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines. The biggest market, however, was Mexico, where imports from America increased to $853 million in 2007 from $258 million in 2003, according to the Agriculture Department."

The EU isn't listed. Is it still the case that the EU won't touch our milk products because of rBGH despite Bill Clinton leaning on them heavily to do so?

Clinton even pushed Codex to set a standard to allow for rBGH.

"By refusing to set a standard today, Codex has recognized that there is no consensus on rbGH safety in the international scientific community, and that national governments should be able to decide whether rbGH should be permitted in their milk supply," said Jean Halloran, Director of the Consumer Policy Institute at Consumers Union.

"The U.S. has pushed Codex to adopt a standard to ensure the continued export of its dairy products from cows treated with the rbGH drug. However, U.S.-driven efforts to persuade the international community that rbGH is safe have been blocked twice before at Codex, in 1995 and again in 1997, primarily by opposition from European governments."