Extraordinary Health Magazine Extraordinary Health Vol 31 | Page 25

I’ve seen a lot of protein factories making our organic plant
proteins and our grass fed whey (as well as other whey factories
in Wisconsin and Minnesota). But, as Joby and I tour his factory,
I immediately understand that I’m seeing something special.
This is a continuous process that begins with fresh, organic milk
every morning and ends in a batch of artisan, hand-crafted organic
cheese and a batch of artisan, hand-crafted organic whey that very
same evening. One day, one batch. There’s no freezing, no holding
tanks, no staging, no storage.
BEFORE THE CHEESE AND WHEY COMES THE
GRASS-FED MILK
But, before Rumiano can make its organic cheese and organic
whey, they first need organic grass fed milk. Every one of our
organic dairy farms is located within a 20-minute drive from the
Rumiano factory. The Pacific Ocean is on one side of the factory
and the Smith River (one of the world’s cleanest rivers) rings the
Del Norte peninsula.
The climate here is what makes year-round grass feeding possible.
On the day I arrived, California was experiencing a heat wave.
While it was 110° F only an hour away from me, it was a constant
74° F all day. This peninsula receives—on average—around 120
inches of rain per year, while California averages only around
25 inches during years when there is no drought. The temperature
only varies around 12 degrees between winter and summer.
Everything is green, lush and fertile. It reminds me of the beauty
of Ireland.
On these beautiful green plains, our small group of family farms
raise their herds. They average around one cow for every acre
of land, and each cow eats grass as the majority of its diet at
least 300 days each year. The farms, the cows, the grass, any
supplemental feed and the milking operations are all audited
and Certified USDA Organic. The grass, feed, milk and even
the enzymes used to make Rumiano’s cheese are additionally
audited and verified non-GMO by the Non-GMO Project.
And, the farmers are inspected, audited and their treatment
of their cows is certified by the American Humane Association.
The milk is picked up daily. Every batch is quality tested including
for hormones (like rBGH) and antibiotics before being accepted
into Rumiano’s facility.
AND THE PROCESS BEGINS
I’m with Joby as today’s batch, freshly delivered from one
of the farms I visited, begins its journey. Joby lifts the lid and I see
a giant pool of rich, thick milk with a pale yellow hue. The color,
Joby explains, is due to the beta carotene from the grass fed diet.
He tells me that in the mid-1900s, American cheese competition
judges would dock points from Rumiano’s competitive score
because they did not bleach or use chemicals to whiten their milk.
But the Rumiano’s have always believed in true, organic practices.
The milk moves into large tanks where special non-GMO enzymes
are added and gentle agitation produces curds which were then
separated from the whey. As fascinating as artisan cheese making
is, my attention is completely centered on our organic whey—a
yellowish liquid being pumped into an ultra-purification machine.
This machine will concentrate the liquid whey without the use
of high heat or chemicals until the protein content is over 80%.
At the same time, the purification separates out the lactase (sugars).
“Concentration” simply means the removal of water. That’s why
Joby’s innovation, reclaiming the factory’s water and purifying it
to drinking water standards, is so important.
Once the whey is concentrated, it is pumped to the spray dryer
where a 1 0-second burst of hot air instantly dries the whey into
a pristine powder. Because Rumiano is organic, again, they won’t
bleach their whey and the color retains a slightly golden color.
As the powder falls down a funnel, there’s a man at the other end
bagging it off in sacks marked USDA Organic.
In one day, one batch of milk from one organic farm has been
transformed by the Rumiano family into Certified Organic
prize-winning cheese—and at the same time—Certified
Organic high-protein whey.
RUMIANO—REPRESENTING THE BEST
Clearly, Rumiano can’t take over the world by making organic whey
in this artisan, hand-crafted manner. But that’s not their goal and
it never has been. They are part of a community that’s been living
a way of life together for multiple generations and they do it this
way because they love it. And, I know that Garden of Life ® found a
home with the integrity and values that represent the best of what
we believe in.
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