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13 Where Does Dairy Come From?

TEXT-DEPENDENT QUESTIONS 1. What do all dairy foods have in common? 2. Name at least three dairy foods besides cow’s milk. 3. Explain some of the differences between small and large animal farms. 4. What does it mean to process milk? 5. Why can milk be shipped over such long distances?

This is called ripening. Next, rennet is stirred into the mixture. Rennet is a substance that causes the milk to separate into curds and whey. The whey is liquid, and the curd becomes the cheese. The curds are separated from the whey, salted, and pressed into shapes. After the cheese, yogurt, or ice cream is made, it has to be packaged. So does regular milk. Factories pour milk into cartons or jugs, wrap cheese, and package other dairy foods so they’re ready to move on to stores. FOR SALE Dairy foods have to be shipped from factories to grocery stores. Trucks, trains, boats, or planes get the dairy foods to stores around the world. Because transportation is refriger- ated, milk and dairy products can travel really long distances without spoiling. Once they arrive at their grocery store destinations, store workers unpack them and put the products onto shelves. Most dairy products have pretty short shelf lives compared to some other foods. Milk will only stay good for a couple weeks, especially by the time it arrives at the store. Other dairy products, like cheese, will last longer. Some dairy products aren’t sold at grocery stores. You can sometimes buy them right from the farm that produces the milk. Some farms sell their milk, cheese, yogurt, and more at farmers’ markets. Customers at farmers’ markets can buy their food directly from farm- ers and those who make foods like dairy products. But no matter where your dairy foods come from, you need to be sure to eat them every day!