Milkworks

April 16, 2012

by Adam Prochaska, President, MilkWorks Board of Directors

Got Milk? is a very popular ad campaign that often features a celebrity with a milk mustache. A question the ads never ask is - Which Milk?

When most people think of milk, they think of cows. The National Milk Processor Board’s milk mustache campaign was, and continues to be, extremely successful in promoting cow’s milk. But as you may know, other animals also make milk. In fact, sheep and goat milk is often considered more easily digested by humans.

We can choose the amount of fat in our milk. Grocery stores sell skim (with less than 0.2% milk fat), 1%, 2% and whole (which contains the same amount of fat as it did when the cow was milked - 3.5%).   

We can also choose milk that was grown in a field. Soy milk is a stable emulsion of oil, water, and protein produced by first soaking and then grinding dry soybeans with water. Almond milk and rice milk are made using a similar process.

We can choose milk that has been produced without synthetic chemicals, hormones or antibiotics. Organic milk comes from farms that use only organic fertilizers and pesticides and which prohibit supplemental hormones.

We can also choose milk that is made specifically for feeding human babies. Breast milk is widely acknowledged as “the most complete form of nutrition for infants, with a wide range of benefits for infants’ health, growth, immunity and development.”  

Earth Day began with a desire to advocate for a healthy, sustainable environment. Earth Day continues because of our desire to protect that which we hold sacred - our Earth.  

Breastfeeding is an essential part of a healthy, sustainable environment. Breastfed children are more resistant to disease and infection and less likely to contract diseases later in life.  Breastmilk isn’t made in a factory - it is produced naturally by a mother’s body. It is local and renewable. Breastfeeding rates will continue to rise if we choose to protect those whom we hold sacred - our earth and our children.

As you celebrate Earth Day with your friends and family, think about the many ways that you can support the mothers around you who have chosen to breastfeed. Encourage them, help them find support when they need it, honor them when they take a pumping break at work, and thank them for making the world a healthier and more sustainable place for all of us.

MilkWorks is giving away two of the sweatshop-free, fair wage t-shirts that Adam’s daughters are wearing in the  photograph to the left. For a chance to win, simply leave a comment below or share this post on Facebook or Twitter and mention MilkWorks.  

You can read more about Adam on his Sustainable Attorney blog. You can see more photographs by Misty Prochaska on her photo blog.