I make lists of these strange names and then go on the internet and research them. I have learned that things that sound dreadful are many times OK and the ones that we take for granted are horrid!
The only problem with trying to educate folks is that we sometimes come accross as total nut jobs and then they just ignore everything! LOL

Hey Cricke56 et al
I agree that people look at you like a nutcase when you start talking about hormones in beef, additives in food etc..
Have you considered goats for milk. My daughter is lactose intollerant, so we regularly buy goat milk for her, and then everyone drinks it. I grew up on 2% cow milk, and was always very picky about it. The goat milk tastes like cow milk, only better. More milky.
We are selling our farm, so we only have 3 horses left, but when we move, we will be doing a few free range pigs (I hate buying pork from the grocery store, it scares me), and probably goats. We raised 2 steers a couple years ago, and I never really got used to them. I'm not sure I would be comfortable around the dairy cows. Besides, a retired dairy cow will still produce absolutely GOBS of milk (15 gallons a day comes to mind). I'm not sure what I would do with all that milk (feed it to the pigs I guess). Pygmy goats may be good.
Oh well... "green acres is the place for me..." LOL
Cerridwen

Yes Cricket, I was in the store yesterday reading labels like mad. People were staring, actually staring at me. I've read labels before but mainly the percents and now I'm reading ingredients too. One lady kind of did the slow sigh thing and moved on when I looked at her like SHE was the nutso whack job! I wasn't even blocking the aisle! People don't want to believe in "clean" eating. Give em a McDonald's coupon and watch their eyes light up!

Sylvie, I looked at Organic Valley Heavy Whipping Cream today...and it DOES have carageenan in it. When I looked on the web site, they listed cream as the only ingredient, however on the box they listed cream and carageenan. Barstards!

I've found two dairies that sell to the Whole Foods in my area that offer cream without additives, Cedar Summit Farms (which is local and also sells at one of the Farmer's Markets) and Country Dairy from Michigan.

mmm, creme fraiche! That stuff is great. I make mine by mixing 1/2 cup buttermilk into heavy cream and letting it sit out for about 12 hours.

Stop on over! I have family that live in your neck of the woods (MT and WA). :-)

Here's a terrific website that you can put in your zipcode and how many you're willing to travel to find organic, sustainable foods. You may find a small, family-run farm that sells fresh milk products, as well as grass-fed meat and organic produce. I'm trying to put less chemicals in my body--hence no artificial sweeteners or faux foods--and everything I've read says grass-fed meat is SOOOO much better for us. Good luck!

That's odd, because I buy it all the time and my cartons don't have carageenan listed as an ingredient, or any other additives. I know that they source from numerous individual organic dairy farmers, so maybe there are a few who use carageenan as an additive. I would still encourage you to try it, I think their products are really high quality and taste wonderful. I often buy the cream, half and half, butter, cheese, and eggs.

OK, so I called Organic Valley and got the REAL scoop. They make two kinds of heavy whipping cream, pasteurized and ultra pasteurized. The ultra pasteurized has a longer shelf life, but has a tendency to separate so they add carageenan to that one. The regular pasteurized has no additives. So it appears that my local Whole Foods is buying the ultra pasteurized...I will contact them and see if I can get them to carry the *regular* version.

Maybe it's a location thing (I'm in Toronto) but I can get locally-produced (Guelph - close enough) organic cream at the Dominion down the street. Made by Organic Meadow Co-Operative Inc., formerly OntarBio Organic Farmers Co-operative. They consist of 40 or so family farms, producing milk and organic, free-range eggs. A tad spendy, but worth it! Google Organic Meadow if you're interested, they may be able to tell you where you can find their stuff in your area. Only ingredient is organic cream.