How to be absolutely certain the milk is 100% A2

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October 23, 2020

It seems that there’s a lot of confusion and even misinformation out there about A2 milk. I’m hoping to bring some light to the topic. How can you be absolutely certain the milk is 100% A2?

It’s NOT the breed of the cow. It’s NOT the fat content. It’s NOT whether it’s raw or homogenized. It’s NOT the nutritional content. It’s NOT what the cow is fed. It’s NOT how a cow lives.

The “A2” in A2 milk refers to the type of beta-casein protein in the milk.

It’s that simple, and it’s absolutely objective. It’s not like Grade A and Grade B maple syrup, which is certainly subjective.

The only way to tell if a cow produces 100% A2 milk is via a genetic test.

It’s a simple test done with a hair sample from a cow’s tail. You send it to a lab, and they send back the results. The test result tells you if the cow produces 100% A1, A1/A2, or 100% A2 milk. See some examples of what the test results look like below.

It’s black and white. There is no wiggle room.

The farmer tests every cow to determine what type of milk it produces. Only cows that produce 100% A2 milk are in the milking herd.

You might be asking, why do cows produce different types of protein? And, why would I want to drink A2 milk? Those are great questions!

You see, all other mammals - humans, goats, sheep, buffalo, whales, bears, pigs, platypuses, etc - produce 100% A2 milk. But...

A few thousand years ago in Europe, cows underwent a genetic mutation. This mutation made them produce a new type of beta-casein protein - A1.

Genetic mutations generally happen under stress. Perhaps it was a switch to an unnatural feed (like leftover brewer’s grain) or a change in environment (cows living indoors or in cities) that prompted the mutation. We know a mutation happened but we may never know why.

Those European cows made their way to the United States. Now, basically all American milk is A1/A2 milk. On the other side of the world in Asia, cows were unaffected.

I’ve heard many stories about people from India or China coming to the United States and developing chronic digestive issues. When they switch to A2 milk, the problems go away.

Similarly, I’ve heard stories of children’s behavior improving when they switch to A2 milk. Farmer Aaron himself had this experience. When his fourth child Hannah was a baby, she had terrible colic and had issues breastfeeding. Aaron’s wife Rebecca made her formula. When she switched to A2 milk in the formula, Hannah was much happier. This is what inspired him to produce 100% A2 milk for others!

It seems that some people are intolerant to A1 beta-casein protein. It seems that 100% A2 milk may be more digestible.

To be clear, this does not have to do with lactose intolerance. Lactose is milk sugar. It has to do with A1 protein intolerance. It seems that some bodies cannot digest it properly.

More research certainly needs to be done on the A1/A2 milk debate. I want to know more! For example, I’ve read that the A1 beta-casein protein may only be a problem when the milk is pasteurized…?

If you’d like to learn more about A2 milk, I suggest reading the book The Devil in the Milk.

Miller’s Bio Farm is proud to produce 100% A2 cow milk. We are also proud to be certified by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture for raw milk production.

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Ugh greenwashed labels. What does it take to get ___ on a label anyway?

Not a fan of the confusing, greenwashed labels in store? Yea, me too! And it's especially real for me, because I'm responsible for getting our labels approved with the "powers that be". Here's a little story with a big inside scoop... I made new labels for our bone broth a little while ago. It didn't go as smoothly as planned. Why? I put the little icons about our farming practices on them. They look like this: Yup, despite being 100% accurate and true, they were denied!! We're not allowed to put those statements on our food labels. So, I asked the USDA guy, "What would it take to get those claims on the labels, anyway?" The answer was kinda shocking. First off, there's some guidance on wording. Silly technicalities in my opinion. For example, you can't use the term "No Spray" but you can say "Produced without the use of synthetic pesticides." Or another example is that you can't say "No Routine Antibiotics or Vaccines" but you can say "Raised without routine use of antibiotics or vaccines." Second, the processor needs to update their documents to provide traceability. In other words, they need to document how they make sure the bones for our bone broth don't get mixed up with bones from other farms. I mean, this is pretty simple, especially with small batch foods like ours. But the documentation needs to be meticulous. Drafting it in government-approved language can be time consuming and/or costly. And lastly, once you get the wording and process right, you need proof. This was the real shocker for me: Want to know what proof would suffice for all the claims above? A 2-3 sentence affidavit (AKA a super short letter) signed by all farmers that supply us. That's it!? This lead me to a bunch of questions: What if a company submits a letter from one farmer but actually has other farmers that supply them, too? What if a company changes farmers? Will they submit new letters?What if a company's farmers change their practices in the future? Will they immediately update their labels?Are the "powers that be" checking on this? Is anyone checking on this?Is this why most farms and food facilities don't allow outside people coming in? It seems to me that, if a business isn't doing what the label says, the only way to find out is via a whistleblower. And the only way to make them stop is to take them to court. You know, like what's happening with Vital Farms and their pasture raised egg claim right now. It seems to me that, all that good natural stuff on labels - grass fed, pasture raised, antibiotic free, etc - doesn't mean it's true. Certifications are a little better, but the same kinda thing can be said about those, too. This is why, at Miller's, we choose to NOT sell in stores. No wholesale for us. In fact, we don't even have an on farm store. We only sell directly to our customers via our website. And, we choose to only get certified for what's required. This way, we can make our own natural standards. And, we can provide you will all the info and proof you need. Descriptions, photos, blog posts, test results, and more. So, what do you think? Should we do the affidavit thing to get claims on our bone broth labels? What proof do you need to feel confident in your food choices? I'd love to hear from you. Comment below (no account required - just start typing) or contact us 😊

How to be absolutely certain the milk is 100% A2

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