Comments on Chad W. L. Whitacre: Decentralized milk

I'll check out Adorno, thanks.

2008-11-07T10:12:00.000-05:00

I'll check out Adorno, thanks.

Re-read your post.Two ideas from Theodor Adorno's ...

2008-11-06T22:45:00.000-05:00

Re-read your post.

Two ideas from Theodor Adorno's Minima moralia:

Genuine things are those to which commodities and other means of exchange can be reduced, particularly gold. But like gold, genuineness, abstracted as the proportion of fine metal, becomes a fetish.

He who stands aloof runs the risk of believing himself better than others and misusing his critique of society as an ideology for his private interest.

"disgusted"You're projecting. I'm not disgusted.

2008-11-06T20:38:00.000-05:00

"disgusted"

You're projecting. I'm not disgusted.

"not have the time, inclination or even passion fo...

2008-11-06T20:34:00.000-05:00

"not have the time, inclination or even passion for a Disney-World-like experience with the cow bearing their milk"

Yeah, you're right. Our time is much better spent keeping track of Internet memes and Ryan Skyy parties.

"Brunton's glass bottles are filled with just as m...

2008-11-06T20:30:00.000-05:00

"Brunton's glass bottles are filled with just as much pus as my hypnotically garish carton is."

We asked, and the Brunton's keep milk from sick cows separate. Should we trust them?

Frank at the Ambridge farmer's market lies to his customers about whether he sprays his cabbage. We know cause he winked at us as an annoying woman walked away after a purchase. But this proves the point: if you're friends with the people who grow your food, then you 're much better able to know how it's grown. If you're just a consumer, then who knows?

"Dean's Vitamin D Milk""Dean's Vitamin D Milk (bac...

2008-11-06T20:21:00.000-05:00

"Dean's Vitamin D Milk"
"Dean's Vitamin D Milk (back)"

Silk Soymilk
Silk Soymilk (back)

Horizon is similar (both are Dean brands). I bet they load up the cartons with info for their organic brands as a way to make people who "care about their milk" feel like they are informed consumers.

Incidentally, when I took this photo, Leah suggested enthusiastically that I turn the "Test Your Soy-Q" side the whole way to the front. Why? Because "people will love to see that."

And for the record:

Brunton's Whole Milk
Brunton's Whole Milk (back)

After checking my fridge Dean's Vitamin D MilkDean...

2008-11-05T17:06:00.000-05:00

After checking my fridge

Dean's Vitamin D Milk

Dean's Vitamin D Milk (back)

I fully realized the threat to family and nature this packaging represents.

I doubt the cultural critic who cannot fathom why someone in 2008 would not have the time, inclination or even passion for a Disney-World-like experience with the cow bearing their milk -- someone who is disgusted that his suburban (or urban) compatriots do not share his cup of agrarian nostalgia.

Brunton's glass bottles are filled with just as much pus as my hypnotically garish carton is. What country is this, again?

"This blog frustrates me because it alternates gra...

2008-11-05T11:01:00.000-05:00

"This blog frustrates me because it alternates graduate-level philosophy/CS with the confused, self-absorbed pose of a ninth-grader."

Deep down we are all self-absorbed ninth graders. So I have no problem with this post. I am not up to date on my graduate-level philosophy/CS, but reading this blog in front of other people makes it look like I am. That makes my inner ninth grader feel smart and as we all know now as adults "smart" is the new "cool."

"anyone who cares will pay""it calculatedly appeal...

2008-11-04T21:31:00.000-05:00

"anyone who cares will pay"
"it calculatedly appeals to their impulses"

People have bad impulses. People should care about the difference between an information-overloaded carton on the breakfast table and a glass jar, to take one detail. The former absorbs your interest, drawing you into a shared mental realm of marketing hype and trivia that make you less of a human than the alternatives: the other people at the table, the morning sunshine, the act of eating. The printed carton is selfish. The glass jar makes you more human by not drawing attention to itself. It's a cultural detail. You make culture and culture makes you.

Why are people ridiculous not to like Brunton as m...

2008-11-04T17:47:00.000-05:00

Why are people ridiculous not to like Brunton as much as you do, and give Dean, who offer soy and organic milk, a mark too low to quote?

I think the error in your assumption, as gauged by your proposed methods of action, is that people buy Brunton's instead of Dean's when they would do otherwise, given the chance. But, as the scenario itself indicates, anyone who cares will pay that $1 deposit for Brunton, or its equivalent in their area -- and everyone else, which includes a lot of rural residents and Whole Foods clientele, doesn't and probably won't.

Sure, the internet is the biggest de-centralized thing ever. But, to begin your metaphor, most people spend most of their de-centralized attention on Dean, because it's cheaper and has more to offer than Brunton. Mostly, though, it calculatedly appeals to their impulses, ones which you never seem to address.

This blog frustrates me because it alternates graduate-level philosophy/CS with the confused, self-absorbed pose of a ninth-grader.

Schneider's: 2"Schneider's Dairy, Inc., founded in...

2008-11-04T14:25:00.000-05:00

Schneider's: 2

"Schneider's Dairy, Inc., founded in 1935, is a family-owned and operated dairy that has experienced significant growth in an industry facing increasing competition and capital investment, the consolidation of many family-owned dairies, and ever-changing consumer preferences. [...] Today, Schneider's Dairy has over 350 employees and processes more than 450,000 gallons of milk per week company wide. The company is ranked among the top 100 dairies in the United States."

Actually, it was the carton of Schneider's Super Skim milk in the office fridge that initially got me going on this post. Super Skim is "the first non-fat milk product in the region with the appearance and taste of 2% milk." Non-fat milk?! Ack!