History blog posts
Timeline of cow breed development
Overview of cow breeds on a timeline of when they were first introduced.
2/13/2025
Dr “Mack” Schmidt rules pasteurization for interstate milk sales in 1973
The FDA’s 1987 ban of interstate raw milk sales was preceded by decades of discourse on how to regulate interstate milk sales.
12/8/2024
NH: She wrote the law on raw milk ice cream
Jill from Little Red Hen drove the New Hampshire senate to legalize raw milk ice cream in 2022. Now her farm has raw milk ice cream on the menu.
9/7/2024
John D Rockefeller brings pasteurization laws to the USA
John D Rockefeller lobbied for compulsory milk pasteurization, leading to almost a century of raw milk bans.
9/5/2024
Victor Rothschild lobbies for milk pasteurization in England
Lord Victor Rothschild tries and fails to lobby for milk pasteurization mandates in the United Kingdom.
9/5/2024
Pasteur never pasteurized raw milk
Louis Pasteur developed the principles behind milk pasteurization, not the methods of industrial gatekeeping or germophobia.
9/3/2024
Boar’s Head factory harbors listeria in Virginia
Boar’s Head factory linked to an 18 state listeria outbreak, likely due to Trump era deregulation to boost big food producers.
9/2/2024
Raw milk and avoidable failures in biosecurity
Raw milk deaths are exceedingly rare, but it’s not impossible. Let’s take a look at some cases where raw milk might have contributed to someone’s death.
7/27/2024
Pasteurized milk couldn’t stop the largest dairy-related outbreak in history
Raw milk wasn’t involved in the largest dairy-related outbreak in history.
6/1/2024
Utah Farm Bureau President slaps migrant worker for complaining about late pay
Industrial dairyman back-hands a migrant worker for complaining about late pay.
8/12/2023
Queen Elizabeth chose raw milk
Elizabeth II enjoyed raw milk over pasteurized milk. So much so that she smuggled it into Eton College for her grandsons.
9/8/2022
Vernon Hershberger’s Food Rights Trial 2010-2013
Looking back at Vernon Hershberger’s legal struggles to protect his private food club in Wisconsin from 2010-2013.
9/2/2022
Recommended reading: How Big Margarine won its war on Irish butter
Margarine’s dark past of treachery and deceit written from the Irish perspective.
12/31/2021
Blueprints for your efficient homestead
Photo dump of diagrams, blueprints, books, and other materials for producing food on a small plot to get your creativity flowing.
8/20/2021
The fatal fall of Aajonus Vonderplanitz, photos and context
Aajonus Vonderplanitz was a prominent figure in the struggle for food freedom. He met an untimely death after a fall on his property in Thailand. Here’s some photos and content from the time.
7/24/2021
The Introduction of Mandatory Pasteurization in Canada
The first provincial laws mandating pasteurization (Ontario, 1930s) were introduced not in response to food safety concerns but as a marketplace strategy to eliminate competition from farmers who were selling milk direct to consumers
7/17/2021
Photo dump: ancient Aurochs and breeding attempts to revive the wild cow
Like many domesticated animals, the cows of today descend from a wild breed. Let’s take a look at the ancient aurochs, the original wild cow.
6/22/2021
List of raw milk books and other food-related literature
Literature about raw milk. Topics include historical and cultural context, recipe books, wellness and nutrition related texts, and helpful books on becoming a raw milk farmer.
6/20/2021
The Swill Milk Scandal and how raw milk became a scapegoat for big business
Bad business practices by newly industrialized concentrated dairies in the 19th century causes a surge of foodborne illness, and many deaths. Raw milk unfairly caught the blame.
5/13/2021