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Milk Memories on Ethicurean.com and 3BLMedia.com

Posted by on February 15, 2011

Today, Ethicurean.com published … er … my milky memoirs … I think this version is better than the one I posted a few days ago, but would love your opinions. And, I’m now a contributing blogger for 3BLMedia.com.

Jimmy Stewart, cults, and a lot of broken glass: Remembering Straus Family Creamery’s opening day

By Guest @ 6:00 am on 15 February 2011.

By Michael Straus

Straus Family Creamery recently turned 17, and I started thinking back to those crazy times.

In 1989, my older brother Albert, who’d been managing the farm and doing some pretty innovative things — including feeding our cows leftovers from a local sake factory … but that’s another story — decided to convert the farm to organic. He wanted to bottle his own milk, make ice cream, and make enough money to support the farm without having to either grow bigger (one major trend) or go out of business (the other major trend). California had already lost 90% of all dairies – from 20,000 in 1940 when our dad starting farming, to 2,000 in the late 1980s.

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  • Ami

    Very lyrical style. Otherwise, nice to have been mentioned in the Straus Family Creamery history. I still remember the Saturday morning farmer’s market days. I also remember the first few visits to the creamery when it was just getting started. The big space with a few odds and ends machines seemed like a great start. In my childhood days I use to visit Kibbutzim in Israel. Just about every Kibbutz had a milking shed and a few milking machines. The Straus’ farm and creamery seemed like such an operation. I did under estimate the organic aspect and the small locally bottled (in reusable glass bottles) milk.

  • Jonathan (Loci) Bendiner

    Whooooo! An article about me! I’m famous.

  • Miriam Straus

    Great article Michael….i don’t remember nearly so many details. Maybe because I had a 1 year old and it was the beginnings of losing brain cells?

  • Sarah Bendiner Fenner

    Loci = Jon Bendiner (for those who might not see the connection)

    Here is a link to the full article:
    http://www.ethicurean.com/2011/02/15/straus-family-creamery/

    Very fun to read about the humble beginnings!

  • Mark Zackin

    I read the article and really enjoyed. I recently found the lyrics to our old song Refet Man. I will try to get you a copy. Enjoy your travels!

  • Loren Poncia

    Nice! I had a smile on my face the whole time I read this :-)

  • Anna Hillgruber Smith Clark

    Love to hear these stories … thanks for sharing.

  • Anne Leyden

    Loved this!!!! I am sharing it with my boys!!!!!!!! Congratulations!!!

  • Wendy Booth

    Great story! Verrry funny!

  • Brigit Binns

    This is so wonderful! I can’t believe I have never written about you guys, or met Michael. Maybe we should fix that.

  • Sheila Lauder

    Terrific story, Michael. And later in, as I recall, 1995 the Straus Family Creamery milk bottle, featuring your mother’s cow art, made it’s way onto the table in Monica and Rachel’s apt. on “Friends”. And they were darn proud to have it!

  • Vivien Straus

    And don’t we know who suggested it be on Friends…Sheila!?! :)

  • Walter jeffries

    Great story! I loved reading this. We fought the rBGH issue hard here in Vermont finally winning. It is good to hear your story. I can tell you that as a consumer too it really pissed me off seeing that sort of cover up (the white stickers) and knowing what was going on – how Monstersanto was bullying. Keep on keeping! (re-posted fromEthicurean.com)
    -Walter
    Sugar Mountain Farm
    Pastured Pigs, Sheep & Kids
    in the mountains of Vermont

  • Dave Brast

    I enjoyed the story, Michael. I had no idea all that was going on back then.

  • Monica

    I read this while eating Straus Family Farm Banana Brown Sugar ice cream – my favorite! I’m so glad you guys do what you do, and I will continue to buy your products whenever I can find them down here in So Cal!

  • Robert Guy

    Thank you for sharing the tale. I shared a part of it with a friend of mine, that bit about the covering up or removing everything that said “We don’t use rBGH”, and he made me wonder how many people aren’t even aware because he had no idea of that requirement though I’ve heard it elsewhere in my reading (unfortunately I don’t remember where I heard it first whether from an author like Michael Pollan or a random article someplace). I wonder how many people would be more aware and interested in the topic if dairies were allowed to directly communicate their abstention from that chemical.

  • Gary

    Michael,

    Enjoyed every word. Good job!

    Gary