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Third Essay Assignment: Dairies
Due by email Monday, June 5 at 5:00 p.m.
Write 1500-2000 words on one of the following topics:
A.
Is animal welfare in dairying (grazing where possible, smaller herds, less crowding, less frequent milking to reduce stress) compatible with profitability? Or do the cruel realities of the market dictate that cows need to be treated in as Tayloristic (see the Oenema article on management, page 159; nothing to do with the shellfish company) a manner as possible in order to insure business sustainability? Or, as a third alternative, is less intensive dairying possible only for small niche markets such as those served by Jackie's Jersey raw milk dairy or by Twin Brook? What does the answer to this question say about the possibility of long-term agricultural sustainability in general?
B. Given that Smil and others have asserted that dairy products are the most efficient way of producing necessary animal protein for human diets (again, veganism is possible but difficult and thus probably not feasible as a mass strategy rather than an individual choice), to what extent should governments or environmental activists try to promote greater consumption of dairy products? Can they do so and still solve the nitrogen-disposal problem? If so, how; if not, why not? How much of our protein needs could actually be met by dairy products? And given that Popkin and others have blamed increased dairy consumption for emerging obesity and NR-NCDs in India, is there a potential contradiction between the ecological efficiency of dairy products and their health effects?
C. Get anthropological. Do a longer and more interpretive content analysis of the appeals made by Fresh Breeze Organic Dairy, Jackie's Jersey Milk, Twin Brook Creamery, and the Organic Valley cooperative (in the case of Twin Brook and Organic Valley, drawing on your visits as well as on their web presence), in light of the analysis of the various controversies about "purity" and "naturalness" described in your readings from Smith-Howard's Pure and Modern Milk. How and to what extent to the appeals made by these Whatcom County dairies fit or not fit with Smith-Howard's analysis of how milk producers appeal to the public? Do they include any appeals that Smith-Howard leaves out? If so, what are they, how do they work, and whom are they supposed to work on? Do you think that these websites or the appeals you heard at the farms reflect any factors in the market or appeal for milk that are substantially different from the ways other food products are advertised?
Essays should be between 1500 and 2000 words in length, not counting bibliographic references. You may use any style (footnotes, endnotes, or embedded author and date) for references, as long as it is clear where you have gotten your information. Quotations should always be referenced, as should any information that is taken explicitly from a given source.
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