The misguiding nature of the new A2 milk discovery means you need to talk to your farmer.

I was given a postcard for another small farm that said something like “100% Jersey cows producing A2 milk”, and this got me frustrated. It’s bad enough that “grass-fed” means a cow can be finished on grain and that “pastured” means a chicken may never touch grass, but now small farms are doing it, too!? I know farming is a hard gig, and I don’t think anyone is being maliciously deceitful. I’m disappointed. Unscrupulous farmers interested in high quality nutrient-dense food should do thorough research about new products, like A2 cow dairy, and present accurate information. And conscious consumers should do the same.

Let’s dispel the A2 myth. Just because a cow is a Jersey cow (or another heritage breed), it does not mean that the milk is A2. Not at all. Through genetically testing his herd, our farmer found that the chance of a heritage cow producing A2/A2 milk is greater than a conventional cow (like a Holstein), but it’s certainly not a 100% guarantee. So, a herd of heritage dairy cows will produce milk with a higher concentration of A2 beta-casein protein, but not 100%. If someone is intolerant to A1 beta-casein protein, they will only be able to digest milk that has 100% A2 beta-casein protein.

Converting a herd (like ours) to produce milk with a 100% A2/A2 protein profile is time-consuming and expensive. Here’s what our farmer did. First, he read the book The Devil in the Milk, perused articles about A2 dairy, and talked to some experts in the field. Then, he collected hair samples from his cows and sent them to a lab for genetic analysis. The cows that produce 100% A2 milk were kept. The cows that produced any percent of A1 milk were slowly sold, and A2/A2 cows were slowly purchased. The whole process took about a year. With a dairy cow costing $800-3,000 (depending on age, health, diet, and whether it’s A2 or not) and cows producing less for a year after they are moved, it is an expensive process, especially for a small farmer. Also, given the increased demand for A2 milk, it can be hard to come by an A2 cow for sale.

If you’re new here, you may be asking, what’s the big deal with A2 cow milk anyway? All other mammals – humans, goats, sheep, camels, platypuses, and so on – produce 100% A2 milk. The A2 beta-casein protein is fully digestible by mammals. It’s cow dairy that has been infiltrated with a new type of protein via genetic mutation centuries ago, which made cows produce a new type of beta-casein protein – A1. Some bodies cannot handle the A1 beta-casein protein. They are not lactose-intolerant, but A1 beta-casein intolerant. Our farmer is proud to have a 100% A2 herd and has noticed mood and health differences in his children and calves.

If you seek 100% A2 cow dairy (from a farm other than us), here are some questions to help you verify the protein profile of their milk:
1 - What breed are your cows? This doesn’t matter so much, but the answer should not be Holstein.
2 - Do your cows produce milk with a 100% A2/A2 protein profile? Do you genetically test your cows to verify this? The answer should be yes and yes.
3 - Do you source milk from other farms? Have they genetically tested their cows to find out their A1/A2 protein profile? All cows should be genetically tested.

I hope you an enjoying the start of spring, which is finally here. I am so looking forward to the wonderful milk produced on fresh spring grass.