The Price of Milk

I have lived in Hawaii a long time and am used to paying $5 - $6 a gal for milk that is shipped in from the mainland. Local milk is $7 or $8 a gallon. Then, I found local milk for $10.99 a gal and I had to take a photo.

Just thought I'd rub it in a bit; milk is $1.98 a gallon here.

There are no dairy farms in Hawaii - I saw on a program that the one Hawaiian dairy plant brings in the raw milk daily on a specially equipped ship from the mainland. THEN, they have to process it and transport the finished product all over the islands - none of that is cheap.

The price you pay for living in paradise I guess. I've never been there, but I've heard EVERYTHING is expensive. Maybe not Spam?

chadrog said:

The price you pay for living in paradise I guess. I've never been there, but I've heard EVERYTHING is expensive. Maybe not Spam?

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There are places in Hawaii where the feral pigs are out of control, there's a bag limit of 1 pig per day. A good pig hunter doesn't even need a gun, a couple of big dogs and a partner plus a Texas Toothpick and you're in hog heaven. Fresh pineapple fed pork has got to taste better than SPAM, no matter what you do with it. I have always thought a luau for mainlanders where you charge $XX a head would be a good way to make a living in Hawaii, especially if you can get the locals to help out with the ambiance. There's most likely laws against that sort of thing though...unless your a hotel chain

dave carver said:

There are places in Hawaii where the feral pigs are out of control, there's a bag limit of 1 pig per day. A good pig hunter doesn't even need a gun, a couple of big dogs and a partner plus a Texas Toothpick and you're in hog heaven. Fresh pineapple fed pork has got to taste better than SPAM, no matter what you do with it. I have always thought a luau for mainlanders where you charge $XX a head would be a good way to make a living in Hawaii, especially if you can get the locals to help out with the ambiance. There's most likely laws against that sort of thing though...unless your a hotel chain

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I wonder why they'd limit it if there's a population problem? I have a friend that goes down south a couple times each year for them, he says they're fantastic.

chadrog said:

I wonder why they'd limit it if there's a population problem? I have a friend that goes down south a couple times each year for them, he says they're fantastic.

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I'd guess to prevent commercial hunting. Other than that I couldn't guess what runs through the mind of a Hawaiian legislator...

I think i would quit drinking it.

We are paying $5 a gallon, and can buy a 12 pack of beer for the same price. That is a sad state when beer is cheaper than milk! I have gone to buying powdered milk for my grandkids because we can not afford to buy a gallon of milk. Maybe about 4 times a year we get to see milk at $1.99 a gallon, that is when we stock up on milk and freeze it.

I'm not a big fan of milk, so these prices would definitely turn me off the stuff. I do like a lot of milk products, like cheese and yogurt, so I'm sure rising milk prices will also drive the price of these things too.

I will never understand when liquor or beer are less expensive than milk.

The land of “Milk and honey” is becoming the land of liquor and high fructose corn syrup; doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.

goldlizard said:

We are paying $5 a gallon, and can buy a 12 pack of beer for the same price. That is a sad state when beer is cheaper than milk!

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As far as I am concerned, this is the way it should be. Kids should just learn to pour beer on their cereal.

cwbullet said:

I will never understand when liquor or beer are less expensive than milk.

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If you were to take away taxes applied to alcoholic beverages, they probably have cost less to produce and distribute than milk for a long time. I'm sure distilled spirits will always cost more than milk, but beer and wine are not very expensive to make.

ThirstyBarbarian said:

As far as I am concerned, this is the way it should be. Kids should just learn to pour beer on their cereal.

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My wife, who is Chinese, encountered corn flakes in her late twenties. To this day, she pours orange juice on them. So does our 17-year-old son. They were just unconstrained by convention, I guess.
My other son, from a previous marriage, lives in Honolulu and pours milk on his cereal. I can't get him to switch.

-Larry (Eats eggs for breakfast) C.

How about a gallon of gasoline?

My doctor told me to quit drinking milk, as it was not made for human consumption... is probably why I have developed lactose intolerance. He also stated, that even the calf stops drinking milk before too long... Has been good for the family since we are not as affected by the rising dairy costs. When we need to bake with it, we just buy the small single serve bottles.

About $2.50 gallon for the low-fat stuff and $4 for whole milk here in New England. And I don't buy into the whole "not made for human consumption" stuff. In fact, in the past few years there have been a number of studies that show that cow milk (especially chocolate milk) is the best drink around for restoring electrolytes and natural sugars to our bodies after strenuous exercise or work. The natural sugars in milk are very easily broken down and absorbed into our bodies - they're very easy on our digestive system compared to many other natural sugars. And sport drink makers are currently trying to reproduce the proteins of milk to add to their drinks. In my opinion, unless you have a issues like lactose intolerance, there's no reason to avoid it. There is one possible downside to milk, but it doesn't bother me - addiction. Oh, and I'm addicted to milk. Bovine casomorphines can cause real addiction. I can't go a day without a glass of whole milk. Yummmmmm.

On a lighter note: I grew up around dairy farms and our dairy-farmer neighbor had a son that was lactose intolerant. We all thought that was the funniest thing. Even funnier is that he took over the farm when his dad retired.

I will trade milk for Kona coffee

shreadvector said:

How about a gallon of gasoline?

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This is why my revolutionary car that runs on milk has not taken off.

michigander said:

I will trade milk for Kona coffee

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Back when I was picking beans in Guatemala, we used to make fresh coffee, right off the trees I mean. That was good.

Milk from a cow is just about one of the nastiest things you could drink! I much prefer Almond milk. Great on cereal!

Just look where it comes from! It's purpose is to make little baby cows into big fat cows... and you don't see adult cows drinking milk! Why should we? In fact there are many nutritional experts and doctors that suggest you stop feeding children milk after they reach around 3 or 4 years old.

Now, eating cows.... yummy!


Jerome

Milk on sale here for $2.69/gal. About 35% increase from 6 years ago.

Never drank coffee. My doctor says that's a good thing.

I love eating cow and washing it down with a glass of cold milk......

Bob

shreadvector said:

How about a gallon of gasoline?

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Not sure what your asking so I'm assuming you want to know about the price of gas in Hawaii. I just came back from Maui and was surprised gas was under $4.50 a gallon. Not very much more than what I currently pay in Santa Barbara CA. We also shopped at the Costco and noticed very similar pricing if not the same as our local Costco. Didn't get to launch any rockets but I did get to wear funny cloths and go golfing

farsidius said:

About $2.50 gallon for the low-fat stuff and $4 for whole milk here in New England. And I don't buy into the whole "not made for human consumption" stuff. In fact, in the past few years there have been a number of studies that show that cow milk (especially chocolate milk) is the best drink around for restoring electrolytes and natural sugars to our bodies after strenuous exercise or work. The natural sugars in milk are very easily broken down and absorbed into our bodies - they're very easy on our digestive system compared to many other natural sugars. And sport drink makers are currently trying to reproduce the proteins of milk to add to their drinks. In my opinion, unless you have a issues like lactose intolerance, there's no reason to avoid it. There is one possible downside to milk, but it doesn't bother me - addiction. Oh, and I'm addicted to milk. Bovine casomorphines can cause real addiction. I can't go a day without a glass of whole milk. Yummmmmm.

On a lighter note: I grew up around dairy farms and our dairy-farmer neighbor had a son that was lactose intolerant. We all thought that was the funniest thing. Even funnier is that he took over the farm when his dad retired.

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Additionally, milk is an excellent source of calcium - the fact that it is bound up with proteins makes it easier for the body to absorb. Lactose intolerance is not that difficult to deal with - in many cases either enzyme added (Lactaid, etc) or acidophilus added milk will take care of that. And the lactose is the only real problem (aside from an out-and-out milk allergy) with drinking milk. I've never bought the "milk is bad for you" line - most often these things are started by someone with an axe to grind or with a vested interest (soy or nut milk promoters/producers). And I do know a little about milk - spent the last thirty years working in a dairy laboratory.

COW-A-BUNGA!

https://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/...ice-say-bovines-apparently/?intcmp=latestnews

shreadvector said:

COW-A-BUNGA!

https://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/...ice-say-bovines-apparently/?intcmp=latestnews

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Fact: More people are killed by cows every year than by sharks. Even more reason to eat their tasty meat and drink their yummy milk.

The only reason adult cows, or most any other mammal, stops drinking milk as they get older has nothing to do with the milk being bad for them (or us). Anyone who has spent time on a dairy farm knows that the calf stops drinking because momma cow forces it to stop - sometimes quite aggressively with lots of kicking. The calf gets too big and momma gets tired of it teething on her teats. It's that simple. The calf learns to supplant the nutrients it was getting from mom with other foods. And, yes, we could learn to do the same and go without milk - but why? The reasons for us not drinking milk as an adult are mostly personal and philosophical, and not tied to real nutritional or physiological harm. There were studies from 20-30 years ago that tried to tie milk consumption to increased risk of some cancers and osteoporosis. And while some of these followed large population groups, they were very poorly controlled and the conclusions that were tied to milk were tenuous at best (these are the studies that I'm guessing most doctors and nutritionists are leaning on when suggesting that milk is bad for you). Subsequent studies haven't drawn similar conclusions and most find some milk to be beneficial in your diet. Milk is best for you when it's whole milk;skim is missing the fats that aid in the absorption of the vitamins and minerals that are in it. So, if you're drinking skim milk you're really only do so mostly for the taste, not the nutritional benefit.

If you're going to give up something from a cow, it should be red meat. Red meat consumption is one of the strongest indicators of increased colon cancer risk. I love a good steak or roast and still eat it occasionally, but have reduced it to probably only 5% of my diet. Sad, I know.
:duck:

farsidius said:

Fact: More people are killed by cows every year than by sharks. Even more reason to eat their tasty meat and drink their yummy milk.

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I was almost killed by a cow in back 1969. My first (and only) cow-milking experience. Walked in front of her to pat her on the head and she butted me into the barn wall - twice hard and fast. If she had had horns, I wouldn't be writing this. Luckily, the horns had been removed when she was a calf.