The Dairy Show

Cheese Rolling

Today was the great cheese rolling competition in Gloucestrshire England.  If you are not familiar with this event, basically its a bunch of crazy people throwing themselves down a giant super steep hill after a wheel of Double Gloucester.  The winner gets to keep the cheese.  Its an extremely dangerous competition that results in many many injuries.  This must be one special piece of dairy.  You can read more about it in this article from The Daily Mail.  

Organic Dairy Rules May Be Changing

As you know from watching episode 2, just because the milk you buy in the store is "organic", that does not guarantee that the cows are grazing on pasture.  Yet that is the vision most consumers have when they buy these organic milks.  The sad fact is that some "industrial organic" dairies have their cows living in Feed Lot like conditions.

Well, according to this AP story published in the Boston Globe, the US Department of Agriculture has submitted a draft for new organic dairy rules, mandating that organic dairy cows have to spend at least 120 days a year out on pasture.  A rule like this would make it hard for these industrial firms to continue their cruel practices.  This seems like a good step in the right direction.  The comment period on these new rules ends in December, we will have to stay tuned to see if drafts actually becomes part of official policy.

Dan Barber in Time Magazine 100

Dan Barber the chef and co-owner of Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns is in this year's Time Magazine list of the Top 100 most influential people in the world!  Dan is a phenomenal chef and his restaurants really define farm to table cooking.

Congratulations Chef Barber.