For both price and convenience, the mini-mart at Chevron is a good option when a gallon of milk is all we need. Yesterday morning before going to work was one of those times. The Latina woman at the cash register commented that even the price of milk is going up—$2.39. “It’s still cheaper than gas,” I responded.

Taking the jug of milk back to the house my mind took an interesting journey. It was a very simplistic comparison of the steps that precede the milk jug going into my refrigerator and what it takes to get a gallon of gas into my car’s tank. What would I think if I were trying to feed and milk enough dairy cows to make a living. The oilman pumps the crewd out of the ground and it goes to a refinery to make gasoline, and never has to be refrigerated. It doesn’t involve continuous, demanding animal husbandry. It’s shipped, stored, and sold in bulk; no bottling and short shelf life. And the oilman has the volume advantage—I have no idea what the numbers are, but I know cars drink more gas than people drink milk. If I were a dairyman I’d wonder why a gallon of milk sells for less than a gallon of gas.