I am too lazy to go get sources to cite to rebuttal you as i am at work, but everything i have learned over the years was that American dairy products and Canadian Dairy are very different in quality. There is more to American Milk that just Hormones, they also use anti biotics, and various other methods to make otherwise "bad" milk, good enough to sell. Not trying to get into an argument here though, if you are comfortable going to the States for groceries, good on you. The cost savings are quite significant i am told.

Fair enough. I'm not looking to get into an argument either. I just think there are different quality levels in the US just like in Canada, you can't lump everything and everyone into the same boat. That and Canadian milk being marketed as pure is misleading also. To take things a step further there are Canadians who are not comfortable with Canadian 'mass' dairy and produce either and have thus turned to organic alternatives.

but the gas lineups at the costco in bellingham...especially when you see most guys with BC plates and packing 3 or so jerry cans :heckno:

i swear they should make a non-jerry can fill line only, meaning just for your car, if they see you pulling out a jerry can you get booted out of that line. sucks having to wait 45min to fill your car...i just go to the shell down the road now :lawl:

I'm not sure about Costco's Kirkland milk, but we buy this Darigold milk from WalMart down there, and that stuff has a best before date of more than two months because it's ultra-pasteurized. We've had it sit in the fridge for probably another month after that, and it still wasn't spoiled yet.

is that a good thing or a bad thing? i'm not familiar with milk pasteurization

Living 5 minutes from the border with a Nexus, sometimes it's quicker to go to Bellingham than for me to drive to Richmond for groceries, since everything in White Rock is expensive, because White Rock :badpokerface:

Ultra pasteurization kills most of the bacteria (both good/bad), ruins the flavor, and fucks the whey in the milk which forces the producers to mix in other shit to maintain the creaminess.

In other words, no.

One reason maybe why US poultry is so much cheaper is that all chicken produced in Canada to be eaten has to be free running, whereas I don't believe US poultry has that same regulation. Probably why they are usually bigger too.

I found this to be a good read on American Milk/Dairy

Milk: America’s Health Problem

I was there 2 long weekends ago and the lineup at the Costco Gas Station was a gong show. At least 45mins and you had guys bring jerry cans for fill up.

I personally go to a ARCO gas station (its in bellingham) and the prices is the same or 1-2 cents cheaper and guess what no LINEUPS!!!!!!

I guess if you have a family of 10 to feed and have people in the household who have the time to go south of the border during the week, it can make sense to drive to the States and buy groceries in bulk.

I'm going to bring my ivory tower perspective: for single people who live north of the Fraser, who work 9-5ish and have other things to do, going south of the border on the weekends when it's most busy is a pain in the ass.

With that said, I do buy things down south from time to time such as auto parts and the occasional luxury good (e.g. Shoes) where the savings are significant enough to warrant my time.

Yep.

My wife and I have a costco card, but we never really buy any perishables from there because they just end up going bad before we can come close to eating them, negating pretty much any savings.

I've been shopping quite frequently at the Bellingham Costco and at US online stores (shipping to Blaine) for over the past 6 years. In the past year or so I have observed a huge surge in Indo/Chinese Canadians shopping at Bellingham Costco. The store is always busy, no matter what day of the week or time of day. Its crowded and unpleasant to shop in, very long lines and I can confirm the rudeness. The experience is the same as shopping at the Marine Dr Superstore and Richmond Costco COMBINED, the worst of both worlds.

I used to fill up at the Bellingham Costco Gas Bar but cant stand the new wait times, biggest gripe are the jerry cans! I'm all for saving money on a tank of gas but filling up jerry cans is taking it a little too far. It creates unfair longer wait times for everyone else in line and is a serious safety hazard. I really hope the CBSA starts cracking down on these "gas smugglers" ;)

Might be a little off topic, but I came across this video on youtube a long time ago


Are some of the claims this doctor make true? or false?
He seems like a reputable doctor but I'm not much of an expert in nutrition to tell...

According to the CBSA website basic food items are duty and tax free, with that being said there are limits in regards to quantity. One traveller can only bring back 5gallons-20kg or $20 in dairy products per trip.

There are also limits in relation to meats, cheese, and so-on...

The CBSA may have rules but the people at the boarder don't care.

Jul 19, 2012 9:07pm | Facebook

watch them destroy a whole pallet. LOL milk piranhas

this was in the province today.

Of all the times I have been down, I never went to Costco. Midnight runs to Walmart FTW!

holy shit

It's an honest question - why do you make midnight runs to Walmart? Are tubs of whey protein that much cheaper? Or perhaps flats of Mobil 1 or Royal Purple? And once you factor in time and gas getting down there, do you actually save any money?

Moreover, where do people store their stuff? I would have no room in my condo for all of the food and non-perishables.

I can't speak for the costs of the items you listed but I'm going to think that it's a much more pleasant shopping experience as opposed to having to deal with the hoards of people during the day time.

I usually shop for groceries during the evening for that reason.

The Richmond Costco is already a nightmare to shop in :heckno:

I've never been to the Costco in Bellingham but it sounds very unpleasant.

:fulloffuck: Just wow at the Milk hoarders


Random note, gas in Blaine is $3.879 a gallon at Texaco.

I drink unpasteurized Canadian milk all the time; I have complete confidence in Canadian farming practices. I will not drink American milk, I do not trust the farming or pasteurization practices at all. The standards in animal husbandry are much much lower and the use of hormones are much higher in America than Europe or Canada.

If you search, you'll be able to find studies both supporting and demonizing every possible dietary option. Milk is unhealthy, milk is healthy; carbs are unhealthy, carbs are healthy; red meat is unhealthy, red meat is healthy; cooked food is unhealthy, cooked food is healthy; oxygen is unhealthy, oxygen is necessity of life. Hell, I've heard of studies that support smoking. Generally, follow the mainstream doctors advice and ignore the ones on extremes and you'll do fine. Humans have been drinking milk produced by non-human animals for centuries.

hmm...am i the only one that enjoys freddy meyer more? i think the prices there are comparable...they used to have milk for 1.75 a gallon...now its 2.49...so its the same price and i get 10c off per gallon for the gas...