Raw Butter and Cream in San Fran

[Guest guest]

Hi all,

I wanted to post a bit about what I have gone through trying to get

Organic Pastures Milk here in San Francisco. And what is now

happening in trying to get the Organic Pastures Raw Butter and Cream

here.

I am having a terrible time with Whole Foods, and really feel very

discouraged by their store now. First of all, their produce is now

only about 30% organic, even though they like to maintain their

reputation for organics. I, and many others, have requested that the

San Fran Whole Foods carry Organic Pastures milk, so that we can get

organic, raw milk. I have spoken to their dairy buyer several times,

as well as assistant buyers. They have repeatedly told me that

Claravale raw milk is organic. When I then say, no, it is not - they

then agree, and imply that he almost is, or might be, but just isn't

certified. This has happened numerous times, and the fact that it has

happened over and over again, and even more so, the fact that when I

say, " no it is not organic " , they readily agree, means that they DO

know that Claravale is not organic, and that they are simply lying.

If a customer asked who did not know, they would go away thinking

that Claravale is organic.

I want there to be as many raw milk companies as can be, but I do not

think it is fair to lie about the type of production being done. I do

the majority of my shopping at my local, organic farmers market (with

supplementation from local organic stores) and I have become friends

with many of the local farmers. I have nothing respect for the work

they do, the difficulty of producing organic, their commitment to it,

and their perseverence in the face of the agri-business and the many

other pressures in the food industry today. Organic Pastures has also

gone to a great deal of trouble to be organic, to drive his milker

out the cows, to document the health and history of every cow and the

land they pasture on, and he deserves the recognition for that alone.

It is not fair for Claravale to " piggyback " on Organic Pastures

organic methods, or for Whole Foods to consistently lie about his

production methods.

On the other hand, Rainbow ative Grocery in San Fran has been

great. They began carrying the milk right away, they get alot, they

also carry Claravale, and both sell well and sell out.

This leads me to the purpose of my post - I spoke with , the

Dairy Buyer at Rainbow, and she was very interested in the benefits

and advantages of raw dairy. She will be carrying the butter in the

next week or so, and would like to carry the cream as well. She did

express some concern about whether it would sell, as Clover Stornetta

(the distributor for Organic Pastures in SF) will only deliver a case

of both the butter and cream. And so she is concerned that there will

not be enough buyers, and then said she may have to freeze the butter

or throw out any cream that has gone bad.

I have been faithfully buying my butter and occassional cream from

the great farms in PA, but it adds so much $, when you pay for the 2

day shipping, and so I am very excited to be able to buy it from

Organic Pastures. Besides, their milk is amazing and so I am excited

to try the butter and cream.

If you are in the Bay Area, I wanted to alert you to the fact that

Rainbow will be carrying the butter and cream, and if you want to

call to find out about how much or when, please do so. And

please support Rainbow for " taking the plunge " and getting in some of

of our most important foods, raw dairy. Rainbow Phone number is 415-

863-9200.

I'd be interested in hearing if anyone else has had the same troubles

with Whole Food here in SF. Apparently, the Berkeley Whole Foods (and

I believe the others) are now carrying the Organic Pastures, it's

only the one buyer in SF who is showing so much resistance.

Regards, Lynne

[Guest guest]

>>>>>I wanted to post a bit about what I have gone through trying to get

Organic Pastures Milk here in San Francisco. And what is now

happening in trying to get the Organic Pastures Raw Butter and Cream

here.

-------->hi lynne, i just wanted to say kudos to you for being persistent

and vociferous about getting your local markets to supply raw dairy from a

source you feel is outstanding. others will benefit from your efforts!

Suze Fisher

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