in college we had to taste “off” milk in our animal products class. one of the “off” flavors was onion & another was garlic. ick. not so good.
tonya´s last blog ..rcwant2be: someone in northern michigan should tweet #snowmobile #trail #conditions

This means oxidation starts on the farm, in the bulk tank, while the milk is still raw, or depending on the timeline, if you are getting your milk straight from the farm, in your own fridge even. It looks like propentency for oxidation comes from cow diet, enviroment the milk is stored in & cow genetics.

•Oxidized milk poses no health risks; however, it presents significant risk to retail sales. Consumer rejection of off-flavoured dairy products can result in temporary to permanent loss of sales to dairy competitors.

i am not aware of this being a problem in the US.

“Mixing of oxidized milk from one farm with non-oxidized milk from other farms in the same bulk truck can result in the oxidation of the whole load of milk.”

This is from Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives at http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/livestock/dairy/cda20s02.html

You ask great (and difficult) questions…
1. I wouldn’t use soy milk – never milked a bean, so I don’t trust it! Soy is pretty controversial right now, so I’d rather stay away from it, plus it’s a new phenomenon to have so MUCH of it in our diets. If the soy is for protein, there are other more traditional sources. If it’s just to have something to put on his cereal, you’d have to get creative or have alternate breakfasts to avoid the soy, if you decide it’s no good.
2. I know folks who just choose not to drink milk – they get their calcium either from other dairy sources or things like homemade bone broth, certain vegetables, etc. Protein from natural sources like meat and beans. Try this link for foods with certain minerals: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/10/13/super-foods-break-down-part-one-whats-in-there/ For beverages, just serve water, or there are alternative beverages in the “real food” world that I haven’t really delved into. I’ve tried water kefir, which is interesting: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/09/15/is-water-kefir-as-good-as-soda-pop/
3. Some people who cannot tolerate store milk can handle “raw” or “fresh” milk, which means it’s not pasteurized and the enzymes that can help the baby calf (and you) digest it are still present (they are killed in the pasteurization process).
4. Love the comment on mama’s milk! Good for you!

Remember – you don’t have to make a zillion changes at once. Say a prayer about it, prioritize and do one thing at a time. There’s always more to learn! Katie

wow… this is the first time I’m really delving into all of this and it’s a little disturbing! So a few questions:
-for families who don’t drink milk, what do you give your kids instead? Our 7 year old currently drinks milk with each of her meals and it’s seemed like a good way to get some protein and calcium into her… what do you substitute?
-our 3 year old is diagnosed as lactose intolerant (though I suspect it’s something different as he also can’t tolerate yogurt or anything) so he drinks soy, which also seems like not a super natural substitute.
-our 6 month old is still all on mama’s milk and will remain on that for as long as we can! But I can’t make enough for the whole fam

Thanks for any ideas!