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Cool. Then yes, I don't view milk as fitting the definition above though I realize many do.

maxerickson 6y ago
Do you check which farm it is from and give it a sniff? Or do you put it in the cart and pay for it? "Cheap" was an overstatement, but in general, modern industrial methods lead to consistent quality and downward price trajectories.
- reedjosh 6y ago
  > Do you check which farm it is from and give it a sniff. As I mentioned previously..sampling to me means buying a few brands before establishing a preference. So, in a way yes. And since you're so incredulous, yes, I have two preferred farms. Alexander and Fresh Breeze.
  - maxerickson 6y ago
    I'm not incredulous, I have no doubt that someone might have specific preferences for milk. I'm arguing that 'commodity' isn't a bad word, because it means 'consistent' and similar, not 'low quality', as your up thread comment implies. If you don't investigate every package, you are taking commoditization for granted, there's trust that it will be what it is supposed to be. That's it's done at the level of the individual farm is all the better, they are able to deliver commercial volumes to Whole Foods with consistent (predictable) quality.
imtringued 6y ago
Even high quality milk is a commodity although a niche commodity. Think of it this way. There is an art piece that is being produced millions of times and people even buy it multiple times. It's a commodity because it's consistent. It's always the same. If every art work was different then it wouldn't be a commodity. The same applies to specific brands. They are a niche commodity. Each pack of milk is identical. The amount of milk you buy is the same in each pack (within tolerances of course). You don't care which cow ended up producing the milk. If each pack of milk was labeled with the cow it came from and each pack had a different quantity of milk it wouldn't be a commodity.

Do you check which farm it is from and give it a sniff? Or do you put it in the cart and pay for it? "Cheap" was an overstatement, but in general, modern industrial methods lead to consistent quality and downward price trajectories.

reedjosh 6y ago
> Do you check which farm it is from and give it a sniff. As I mentioned previously..sampling to me means buying a few brands before establishing a preference. So, in a way yes. And since you're so incredulous, yes, I have two preferred farms. Alexander and Fresh Breeze.
- maxerickson 6y ago
  I'm not incredulous, I have no doubt that someone might have specific preferences for milk. I'm arguing that 'commodity' isn't a bad word, because it means 'consistent' and similar, not 'low quality', as your up thread comment implies. If you don't investigate every package, you are taking commoditization for granted, there's trust that it will be what it is supposed to be. That's it's done at the level of the individual farm is all the better, they are able to deliver commercial volumes to Whole Foods with consistent (predictable) quality.

imtringued 6y ago

Even high quality milk is a commodity although a niche commodity. Think of it this way. There is an art piece that is being produced millions of times and people even buy it multiple times. It's a commodity because it's consistent. It's always the same. If every art work was different then it wouldn't be a commodity. The same applies to specific brands. They are a niche commodity. Each pack of milk is identical. The amount of milk you buy is the same in each pack (within tolerances of course). You don't care which cow ended up producing the milk. If each pack of milk was labeled with the cow it came from and each pack had a different quantity of milk it wouldn't be a commodity.