In Raw Milk Reality: Is Raw Milk Dangerous?, we took a closer look at the claims made by groups like the FDA and CDC that raw milk is “dangerous”. We found that, though the relative risk of becoming ill from drinking raw milk is about 9 times greater than it is from drinking pasteurized milk, the absolute risk of developing a serious illness (i.e. one that would require hospitalization) from drinking raw milk is exceedingly small: about 1 in 6 million.
Nevertheless, as small as the risk of drinking raw milk is, we still need to answer the question: why take the risk? What benefits does raw milk have over pasteurized milk that have convinced nearly 10 million people in the U.S. alone to actively seek it out?
Why drink raw milk in the first place?
There are many reasons one might prefer raw milk over pasteurized milk, ranging from nutritional to ethical to environmental. Different people will resonate with different reasons, depending on their value system, worldview and priorities.
Nutrition
Raw milk comes from cows that graze on grass. Some evidence suggests that milk from these cows is likely to have higher levels of fat-soluble vitamins and other nutrients. Cows fed fresh green forage, especially those grazing grass, have been shown to have higher levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and essential fatty acids in their milk. (1,2) Cows are natural herbivores and are healthiest when they eat grass, rather than the grain they are fed in confinement dairy operations.
The pasteurization process also reduces the nutritional quality of milk products. Research has shown a decrease in manganese, copper, and iron after heat treatment. (3) The FDA acknowledges that pasteurization destroys a substantial portion of the vitamin C in milk, and sterilization is also known to significantly impair the bioactivity of vitamin B6 contained in milk. (4, 5) Beta-lactoglobulin, a heat-sensitive protein in milk that is destroyed by pasteurization, increases intestinal absorption of vitamin A, so the supplemental vitamin A in conventional milk may be harder to absorb. (6) While pasteurized milk does retain some level of nutritional value, it seems that unpasteurized milk is superior in vitamin and mineral content overall.
Tolerance
Many people experience digestive and other problems when they consume pasteurized milk, but have no trouble with raw milk. It’s not entirely clear why this is the case. The FDA insists that unpasteurized milk has no probiotic effect or any other characteristic that could explain this phenomenon. But the collective experience of raw milk consumers suggests otherwise. The Weston A. Price Foundation conducted an informal survey of over 700 families, and determined that over eighty percent of those diagnosed with lactose intolerance no longer suffer from symptoms after switching to raw milk. (7)
While this is certainly not rigorous evidence, it matches my own anecdotal experience and that of many of my patients, blog readers and radio show listeners. I do not feel well when eat pasteurized dairy. It gives me sinus congestion, headaches and intestinal discomfort. Yet I thrive on raw dairy, and fermented raw dairy in particular played a substantial role in my own healing journey.
Is it possible that the millions of people that tolerate raw milk but not pasteurized milk are experiencing a massive placebo effect? Sure. Anything is possible. But a likelier explanation is that raw milk has some quality that makes it easier to digest than pasteurized milk. The fact that this has not been proven in clinical research doesn’t make it untrue. Lack of proof is not proof against.
Fortunately, we shouldn’t have to wait long for more reliable evidence on this topic. A clinical study is currently being performed at Stanford University to help determine whether raw milk actually reduces the incidence of lactose intolerance. (8) The results have yet to be published, but will provide scientific evidence to support or refute the anecdotal claims of many raw milk drinkers.
Health
A large cross-sectional study demonstrated a significant inverse association between “farm milk” consumption and childhood asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis, sensitization to pollen and other allergens. (9) While we must always remember that correlation does not prove causation, the findings were consistent across children from farming and non-farming environments, indicating that farm milk consumption may have had an independent effect on allergy development.
This protective effect may be related to the hygiene hypothesis, which I recently wrote about. It is thought that low dose exposure to a variety of commensal bacteria may help regulate immune responses outside the gut. Another hypothesis is that the higher level of omega-3 fatty acids in grass-fed dairy, particularly in full-fat dairy products, may help reduce childhood atopy risk. (10) More research is necessary before a definitive mechanism for a reduction in allergies in children drinking raw milk can be established.
Additionally, some research suggests that unpasteurized milk contains antimicrobial components absent in pasteurized milk. (11, 12, 13, 14) These studies found that pathogens grow more slowly or die more quickly when added to raw milk than when added to heat-treated milk. This does not mean that raw milk cannot be contaminated with bacteria, nor does it mean that raw milk “kills pathogens”.
The evidence for this is not conclusive, however, so there is no excuse for subpar hygiene standards when dealing with unpasteurized dairy products.
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Flavor
Many people think that raw milk has a superior flavor and texture to pasteurized, homogenized milk. They often use words like “fresh”, “real”, “alive” and “rich” to describe it. They also appreciate the subtle shift in the flavor of the milk through the seasons as the grasses change. Consumer research demonstrates that flavor is one of the top reasons that consumers choose raw milk in states where it is legal to buy. (15, 16) Emily Weinstein, blogging for The New York Times, describes her first raw milk experience:
The milk — oh man, the milk! — was creamy and full of flavors, not white like supermarket milk, but yellow-tinged. It was milk with a taste that wasn’t just defined by it texture — it was distinct, satisfying, delicious. All food should be like this, I thought, so natural it seems to redefine the word.
I’m sure those of you who drink raw milk can attest to the significant flavor differences between raw and conventional milk. While flavor alone is not reason enough for choosing raw milk, it is clearly a driving force in many consumers’ decisions.
Community
Raw milk is almost exclusively produced by local farmers. A growing segment of the population is choosing to support local, family farms and businesses over multi-national conglomerates. There is significant economic potential in the direct sales of milk from small farms, which is often the method of producing and distributing unpasteurized milk in most states. (17) The direct sale of raw milk allows farmers to set a price that allows profit for the farm and equals the fair market value of the product for the consumer. (18) This way, farmers are able to cover their costs while still earning a living to support themselves and their families.
Environment
Similar to above, consuming milk that is produced by local farmers using sustainable methods has far less of an environmental impact than drinking milk produced in large confinement feeding operations thousands of miles away. Conventional dairy operations are highly destructive to the environment. Air and water pollution from dust and feedlot manure, plus fertilizers and pesticides used in grain production, are damaging to the environment and to the health of farmers, farm workers, and nearby residents. (19) Manure runoff into water can cause the death of aquatic life, as well as contamination of drinking water by nitrate, harmful microorganisms, and antibiotics and hormones.
Raising dairy cows on well-managed pastures decreases soil erosion, increases soil fertility, and improves water quality due to decreased pollution. Cows grazing on pasture reduce the energy needed to grow grains or to mow, bale, and move hay, requiring less fuel consumption. (20) Sustainable small dairy farms that produce raw milk are much more environmentally friendly as compared to typical large-scale dairy farms that are energy intensive.
Ethics
Cows that live on small farms and spend their days on green pasture are are much better off than those that live in overcrowded and inhumane “factory farm” conditions. This is important to those of us that care how animals are treated. When confined in small spaces under stressful conditions, cows often become ill and are treated with large quantities of antibiotics. (21) They are more prone to morbidity and mortality from diseases including dust-related respiratory conditions, metabolic diseases, and other ailments that can be directly attributed to their confined conditions, as well as their unnatural diet of corn, soy, and other grains. Pasture-raised cows have longer lifespans than conventionally raised cows, as corn-based diets contribute to health problems such as liver abscesses, and breeding practices designed to maximize milk production have caused reproductive problems. (22)
There are plenty of horror stories and disturbing videos that portray the inhumane treatment of cows in conventional dairy operations. (23, 24) By visiting small farms and purchasing raw milk from pastured cows, compassionate consumers can be assured that the animals are properly treated.
A personal decision
Any one of these reasons might be enough justification for choosing raw milk for a given individual or family. But when viewed together, it’s easy to understand why raw milk consumption has increased so significantly over the last two decades. Consuming unpasteurized milk and dairy products has several positive benefits that, for many people, may outweigh the possible risks. You must consider both the positive and negative qualities of raw milk consumption when making the decision for you and your family.
In the next article, I will discuss the important variables to consider when deciding whether raw milk is right for you and offer guidance on how to find a safe source of raw milk and minimize the potential risk, should you choose to consume it.
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I have had raw milk and cream for 18 days now and i have not had diarrhea for 18 days. I had diarrhea daily for months prior to switching to raw milk.
I don’t take raw milk directly… but yes i use raw milk for face packs. There are also so many benefits of using raw milk for your skin too.
I would just like to say to all the naysayers…. I have Crohns disease and at 19 had to have my large intestine removed. At 21 I had fistulas all down my small intestine … Basically holes in your intestine leaking stool in places you don’t want stool to go… When I talked to the doctors they wanted to either put me on more medication (which I had already been on all of it) and if that didn’t work remove more of my small intestine and get fitted with an illeostomy bag…. Which is absolutely crazy for the 21st century. I decided F that and started doing my own research. After switching to the Specific Carb Diet (which took 4 months to see any results so it doesn’t happen over night) and introducing raw dairy (after being on the diet for 6 months) I have ZERO intestinal issues. I’m just sad that our medical doctors knew this stuff and I’m sad I lost my large intestine for no reason. Raw milk is NOT the enemy. Ignorant doctors and politicians are….
*sad medical doctors DON’T know this stuff**
Lizzy, I’m in the same boat as you! SCD and raw dairy brought me back to life! Happy I’m not alone!
Lizzy, How do you discover fistulas in the small intestine. When my small intestines hurt and feel inflamed, my whole body hurts and I get real dizzy and tired. Some would call it leaky gut, but Im not so sure that so commonly used word now a days is true. Im trying to get the pillcam so they can see everything in my small intestine that the colonoscopy and endo couldn’t see
We made the switch almost 2 years ago. I could never go back to grocery store milk. We had a Campylobacter issue at the farm we get our milk from, so we had to buy local pasteurized non homogonized milk from a local grocer, and we hated it.. we do not like the smell of organic grocery store milk, and at least the Traders Point Creamery milk from the store did NOT have that stinch, but our family will buy a cow, if the day comes we cannot buy fresh real milk from a local humane, sustainable farmer.
I wonder about raw, grass-fed milk and meat consumption with regards to tick-born diseases/Lyme disease and co-infections…anyone have thoughts or know of any studies?
yes, I am thinking about that with free range eggs, too, since I like them soft-boiled but would not want more Lyme or co-infection organisms in me, thank you very much! chickens love bugs and ticks!
The author states that raw milk only comes from cows that are on pasture. Also the he says that cows in confinement do not eat grass but grain concentrates. Both of these statements are false! Raw milk is any milk that has not been pasturized from a confinement or a pasture setting. In addition cows in confinement do eat grass. Now they do not eat grass dirrectly from the field, but the farmer harvestes the forage/grass and stores it then feeds it to the cow. I know this from growing up on a dairy. Also, most cows in a pasture setting get some kind of grain concentrate. This is because cows that are on pasture cannot always get enough energy just from grass to maintain there body weight and produce milk, so to keep the cow healthy the farmer feeds the cow grain.
Now, on a pasture setting cows do get fed less grain than those in confinement setting, but they also produce less milk.
This article is so opinionated it makes me more sick than getting milk right out of a cow’s udders. Be smart people. If nothing else, don’t force your kids to drink raw milk. Let them wait until they are old enough to make their own stupid choices.
Why are you typing negative comments with nothing to back it up? I drink a couple gallons of raw grass fed milk every week, never felt better. I was born with eczema and genetic mutation from my parents eating a S-tandard A-merican D-iet. Healed it with Weston A. Price indigenous superior nutrition research and mostly drinking raw milk every week. Skin glows now, strong, love it. Grow up. Do your research about living and DEAD pasteurized foods.
http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm079516.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/rawmilk/raw-milk-questions-and-answers.html#risks
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030206723189
http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/fpd.2009.0302
I’m a medical student who has taken several courses in microbiology and immunology. Everything I’ve learned comes from credible, scientific sources. I’ve included just a few of the many that can help educate you. I’m glad you haven’t had any problems with it. As you can see, the people most at risk are young children and the elderly. I’ll say it again, don’t force children to drink raw milk. Wait until they’re old enough to make their own life threatening choices.
And yet we give our kids all sorts of horrific processed foods and sweets that do far more damage than a natural product like raw milk without being warned by the medical profession that is not at all upto date on the current scientific thinking. Eg fat and sugar.
I would question the credibility of any claims made by the FDA or CDC: http://www.naturalnews.com/033242_CDC_unpasteurized_milk.html
I do honour you for taking the time to comment. What you need to learn though is that some things just aren’t as clear cut as they appear. I felt like you as a medical student and as a young doctor, but with experience came some wisdom. Your teachers teach what they believe in. You nearly never get access to other sources. And who would have the time to look …
You show the arrogance of the young, you’ll learn 🙂 May your enthusiasm let you become a great doctor!
(How I sometimes want to go back to all this moms and apologize for my juvenile arrogance as a young and enthusiastic pediatritian …
Hmmm, I get that you’re a medical student and you are basically sharing the exact article that has already been shared in “the opinionated” article… BUT a “medical” specialist from a children’s hospital (not an alternative medicine,naturalist or herbalist) has recommended that I give my daughter raw milk due to some issues she has with her digestion of dairy, and eczema. Now they did state that I should introduce it slowly,basically a little bit per day. They had said that now a days to many people jump into the whole bandwagon of “lactose intolerant” drink “soy,almond,lactaid” or whatever. That getting back to our NATURAL roots and ways of eating is what we should be doing, it worked back in history and there was no such thing as lactose intolerant,allergies,gut problems. What about the Amish who still eat this way and drink Raw milk? As long as you know how to use,and store it,it is perfectly safe.
Tyler I would not consider the FDA or CDC credible sources at all “my opinion”. Same sources that allow an estimate of 9 million Americans to get sick from food borne illnesses. So you keep eating your CAFO food.
Yet we allow children to drink drinks that contain aspartame, which has NEVER been proven to be safe. If anything, the only reason it is allowed to be in our foods is because the FAD director of the time got PAID OFF. I don’t care if you’re learning to become a doctor, you don’t know everything. We sometimes consume things far more dangerous than raw milk, and the FDA ALLOWS it.
My dad’s a doctor and my ex-husband was one. I know he had less than 2 days spent in medical school on nutrition. If you research the history of recent medical education you’ll find that the Rockefeller family donated much money to medical schools (and public education before that) and managed through charity and endowments to change the direction of healing and the use pharmaceuticals. They also managed to use their snake oil to make a number of medicines.
I urge you to follow that rabbit trail. I have great respect for the medical profession, but I feel there’s been a lot of manipulation by the powerful that has led to some questionable practices – while there have also been wonderful discoveries and great progress.
Pesticides are “scientific,” herbicides are “scientific.” A great many of the pharmacological products you’ll be pushing to your patients will be “scientific.” Ah yes, they also all have contraindications as well as side effects that at times border on insane. As someone who has spent the last 15 years in the health care field allow me to offer an opinion. Medicine in the western world is outstanding at post traumatic intervention and utterly abysmal at illness prevention. We flat out suck at it.
Why? Simple. There’s far less money in non-medicated, natural illness prevention.
I’ve been increasingly shocked, over time, with the number of life altering and sometimes deadly side effects of pharmacological intervention, which mind you have typically passed 10 years of clinical trials and hundreds of millions in investment before coming to market. This is “science,” technically.
If you graduate and become licensed I’m not sure what route you’ll go, but you’ll always directly or indirectly affect patients/people with your advice (or lack thereof) and decisions. You owe it to yourself and your future legacy as a health care provider to continuously be curious and research and not blindly follow the established protocol. Especially when the macro results of such protocol result in the wide spread health declines of our society over the past century.
My mother lived to be 101 years! She grew up on “raw” cow’s milk. Ate a lot of collard greens or as she called them, “greens” and yes, cooked with lard! She was extremely active until 100 years. Even at 100 she wrote poetry, cooked and had beautiful flower and vegetable gardens. She didn’t die from “raw” food, she eventually died from old age. i am trying to follow in her footsteps. i am 71, extremely active, run a non profit, have 9 children (seven adopted). I eat organic. I also eat a lot of “greens” and drink a lot of DELICIOUS raw milk, cow and goat! I take no medication, my blood pressure is perfect and I feel great! Look on Weston A Price web and locate an area somewhere in your state where you too can buy raw products. You will have to become a member, but it is so well worth it. Have a healthy! Rebecca
Just curious, but what genetic mutation do you have that you inherited from your parent’s diet?
What really make me sick is that the Brainwashed Sheep believe that Government Milk is safer for you, and they offensively attempt to deride and belittle the ones that have opposing views. I’m going to turn the table on you, as it is quite the opposite. Read about the Deadly consequences of drinking Pasteurized & Homogenized Milk. Since I have been drinking Real Milk & Not Government Milk, the skin issues on my body have cleared up after suffering more than 30 years. Not one dermatologist was able to diagnose my condition other than to say that I was allergic to something. I found out that I was allergic to Government Milk. No other changes were made to my diet or lifestyle. It Was the Deadly Milk that I was Drinking. Pasteurized, Homogenized Synthetic Vitamin D Milk. It was supposedly USDA Organic though, so they claim. It was $6.98 per gallon for that poison, and only $7.25 a gallon for the Grass Fed Jersey Cow Milk. I see the cows that I get my milk from every week. They are Beautiful Jerseys. The farmer has a small herd of only about 15 or so cows. He is extremely nice and the cleanliness of his operation is unsurpassed. Go ahead and drink your “poison” A1 Holstein Cow Milk like I did, before I “woke up” and Smelled the Milk. Got Real Milk? YES I DO! Woo Hoo!
Right there with you! Perfectly stated! I love my country but was very taken aback at their food regulatory practices…do you also notice how real cow milk satisfies as well….yum!
nice!
I have begun to steal a litre of milk from one of our breeder cows (for rearing calves) which is quite tame. It takes a while, but to see the difference between shop milk and my cow’s lovely raw milk is incredible. The cream content is obviously so much higher as the milk is more yellow. The calf does not drink a fraction of what this cow produces and I am saving wastage! It is irrational that the supposed dangers of using raw milk results in it’s sale being banned in Australia, while alcohol is freely sold around every corner and causes untold damage to thousands of innocent victims of alcoholism all over the world. Makes sense? Not a bit.
Let me liven this up a bit. I am battling breast cancer…stage three, five surgeries in one year…lots of high dose chemo and long term targeted chemo….i worked in high stress positions in the medical field and fed myself processed, packaged, and basically dead food….the epi-genetics of my case are possible for anyone….keep feeding yourself crap and living the high stress no time for anything lifestyle and you will develop that which you happen to be genetically pre disposed to. Raw, pasture fed milk has helped me heal from my surgeries…handle the chemo related arthritis pain (without ANY pain meds) it has improved my sleep and my intestinal function…so, natural is called natural for a reason..no one should have to learn after the fact as i did…I believe the key to raw milk is to know your source and if they use safe clean handling practices…oh, by the way….my raw milk is healing my fathers failing health issues quite rapidly as well…he suffers from a type of lupus…its been six weeks and he is thriving on this addition to his diet. Dont hate…EDUCATE!
Our cattle ARE 100% GRASSFED. They have not had grain EVER. Obviously there will be seed heads from grasses in the pasture. They are some of the healthiest on the planet
They are Heritage Breeds and consequently were not “Bred Up” to be a part of the feedlot system.
The meat and RAWMILK from these 100 % Grassfed and Grassfinished cattle are superior to all CAFO meat, and conventional pasteurized dairy.
I would sincerely urge you to immerse into the Accurate knowledge of raw life giving foods
Regards
Tyler, you are fighting a losing battle. It’s been proven that people will accept “proof” that they believe in and ignore scientific evidence that they don’t (Dunning-Kruger). I dare say the people in Tarboro, NC, (19 of which died from Listeriosis from raw milk) would agree that pasteurization is needed.
Curious, can you cite this, please? I am having a hard time Googling those numbers. That said, do you deep fry all of your salads and vegetables to ensure you’re killing off all of the dangerous bacteria?
Didn’t think so.
If drinking real milk, ensure you know your source, that they are clean. These farmers are typically under far more vigorous state testing than any industrial farmer.
Do a little fact checking please. Yes there was a listeria outbreak traced to milk in Pennsylvania (not NC), but ONE person died, not 19, and that person had advanced cancer and was on intensive chemotherapy.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/18/health/raw-milk-listeria-millers-organic-farm-irpt/
http://www.davidgumpert.com/cdc-misconduct-raw-milk-death-victim-treated-advanced-cancer
Listeria outbreak in frozen vegetables also killed one person, so maybe you should stop eating veggies too (please recognize the sarcasm here) http://wbtw.com/2016/05/04/recall-frozen-vegetables-linked-to-listeria-outbreak/
I would like more info on grass fed cows and the benefits of their milk and meat.
I’m asthmatic and on steroids so calcium is important to me.
Linda , you do” not” want to be on steroids , whatever the health condition you have find an “herb “, herbs are the way ,with no real side effects , and whole grass fed cows milk is one of the healthiest foods one can put into their body .
One other point , whole milk is actually good for the lungs .
Very Little faith I put into any the Federal Government decides what is Best for us, they require Wheel barrows to be Labeled, Not for Highway Use,, I will Always buy Raw Milk, Honey, anything that has not been Tampered with by Humans
Great share on pure milk. Pride of cows is freshest form of milk. It delivers pure cow’s milk at our doorstep within hours of milking that too without compromising on the quality and purity of the milk.
Raw milk is no more dangerous than plenty of other things we can buy freely at the store. People should do whatever the hell they want, and raw milk farmers should be able to supply their product with a warning label. We are all free to make the decisions that we want after doing our research.
Personally, I do not drink a lot of milk but if I do, I prefer raw. Why? Because having a cup of pasteurized milk will send me running to the bathroom with stomach cramps and diarrhea within 30 minutes whereas I can enjoy as much raw milk as I want without consequence. For those non-believers, call it placebo or psychological, but whatever it is, I just know that I prefer to NOT have stomach cramps and the big D.
Amen to that!
Here in the Uk the situation is similar to in the USA though things are starting to change. If slowly. In the past we were told by the “experts” that all eggs were full of cholesterol and salmonella and should only be eaten occasionally if at all. Now we are being told that eggs are a super food, contain the “right” sort of cholesterol and should be part of a balanced diet. Up until recently fat on meat was being lumped together with nuclear waste as something that should be avoided at all costs. Now we are told the initial science behind the claims was “flawed”. Fat it seems is actually good for us! It is far more than just empty calories.
Raw milk (I believe) is about to become the next super food. Pasteurisation and homogenisation kills and denatures this amazing living product that has sustained humanity for generations. Raw milk is not just a combination of fats, proteins and carbohydrates that the big food processers would have us believe but a complex mix of bacteria, enzymes etc. and a whole load of other things that work together in a way that we still don’t understand. The evidence is mounting that raw milk can protect against cancer, food allergies, heart disease, asthma and a whole range of other ailments in ways that we are just starting to discover.
I drink raw Jersey milk straight from the cow. It tastes delicious and will keep for nearly a week in the fridge. I also convert some into Keffir and make butter and Yogurt. Even when it goes “off” it just goes sour rather than rancid. I am still very much alive!
The reason raw milk has been vilified over the years is probably partially down to the big milk processors who cannot cope with “live” milk and the food police who need o justify their jobs. Both groups it would seem exaggerate any negative evidence and ignore the positive and at least some of the science is just plain wrong!
I am not saying that raw milk cannot make you ill. Any milk produced under dirty conditions can but with modern dairy practices it is unlikely. At 7am this morning the dairy inspector arrived unannounced to check the dairy. Milk is tested before it is transferred to the tanker and at regular intervals on the farm. As a farmer I do not want my customers to become ill not least because it will put me out of business.
What we need is some common sense. People should be given the information to make an informed choice as to whether or not they want raw milk. If they decide they do then they have to accept any risks involved no matter how slight. Farmers should then be allowed to supply it.
I can quite legally go out and buy tobacco products and alcohol. I can buy a fast car. I can go rock climbing or white water canoeing. If I do any of these and get ill or killed the fault is mine. I know the risks and have made a reasoned decision.
The supply of raw milk should be exactly the same.
In the UK dairy farmers are really suffering because of the low prices paid by the big processors. Selling to a big dairy the price is (for Jersey milk) about 36p a litre and for normal milk about 24p. Raw milk sells for £1.65 a litre collected from the farm!
With raw milk everybody wins.
Are you also making sure that your cows aren’t eating poisonous plants? I know that that was a big problem in America in the 1800’s.
As a farmer I would feel terrible if one of my customers or children got ill from our milk. We take the best care we can of ensuring the cow and the milker are healthy, the udder and the milk is clean and milk is immediately chilled. We throw out any questionable milk instead of pasteurizing it. But we also give our customers all the info on the risks of raw milk and how to pasteurize milk so they can decide for themselves. In our home we drink plenty of raw and cooked milk and butter.
Seems to me that a few bad bacteria are easily handled by healthy people, and that may even be good for your overall immune health. But when bacteria are allowed to multiply in any type of warm milk they can quickly get out of control. I’m surprised that prior to sterile techniques, ice boxes and refrigeration more people did not get sick from raw milk.
What is really interesting to me is placing a glass of raw milk next to a pasteurized milk and seeing which one sours faster, in the fridge and on the counter. The raw milk usually wins by lasting several days longer. See http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/2012/07/scientists-find-new-culprits-spoil-milk
Here is Australia you can easily buy non-homogenised organic milk from grass fed cows which is pasteurized.
But we have had a baby killed by E. coli from being given raw milk. That baby had no say in whether he wanted to ‘take a small risk’ or not.
Read what this mum says after her toddler’s life was saved in intensive care after he had a few sips of her raw milk smoothie:
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/he-turned-grey-mother-of-child-who-fell-ill-after-drinking-raw-milk-speaks-out-20141212-125y28.html
Perhaps in the US you should support farmers doing non-homogenised organic milk from grass fed cows, rather than raw milk. Perhaps people would find it just as good from a gut symptom point of view.
At the very least I urge you to not give raw milk to children unless it is straight from the cow in front of you.
I had a question about Raw milk and that was I had heard a rumor that it actually broke up the plaque in arties, compared to store bought milk with was supposed to contribute to the plaque problem.
Is there any truth to either thing I am asking about?
Thanks
“…we took a closer look at the claims made by groups like the FDA and CDC that raw milk is “dangerous”.”
Sure you did.
The FDA and CDC aren’t “groups”. The views of the FDA and CDC are backed by over a hundred years of peer reviewed science. Not anecdotal nonsense and new-age wishful thinking.
Farmers sell raw milk to gullible fools, almost always for more than a good gallon of fine, pasteurized, organic milk at the grocery store. They are a disgrace to honest dairymen.
Actually, by definition, they ARE groups. Like ALL governmental statistics, they are swayed by the lobbyists that keep them in office. Go Big Dairy to keep the myth alive!
Bob, human civilization consumed raw milk for thousands of years. Do you research please ^_^
Check your genealogy and see how long your ancestors lived, you will be surprised I bet 🙂
Well thanks for your honest and no doubt unbiased opinion Bob, but generally speaking, I can’t recall the last time an armed raid was carried out on a factory farm in response to an e-coli outbreak, yet they seem to happen routinely to co-ops dispensing raw milk who have perfect records.
As a result, it’s literally easier for me to buy heroin where I live than raw milk, which I need to drive to the outskirts of town to obtain, under arrangements with the farmer which exist in the margins of legality in order to protect them from being shut down.
When the industrial revolution drove people off agricultural land and into large cities, people stopped consuming most fresh foods. In response to milk spoilage during its transport by rail into urban areas, 2 independent approaches were undertaken. One was a campaign of sanitation, which actually achieved great strides, the other was the advent of pasteurization. Both required cold storage during transportation. Pasteurization permitted sloppy haphazard handling prior to packaging. Guess which one was cheaper and easier? Now most people don’t even realize there was ever anything other than cooked, decidedly unhealthful milk.
On a side note, you know what I’d like to see? Indelible date stamps on each individual grocery store egg. There’s no technical or economical reason this is not feasible, other than it will expose the practice of repackaging unsold eggs week after week for god knows how long, until the shell is brittle and the yolk membrane is wrinkly. There’s really no valid excuse not to. Where’s the decade of peer reviewed blah-dee-blah of the FDA and CDC on the side of the consumer on that one Bob?
Extremely interesting conversation.
Raw milk is new to us in the UK for the same reasons as it’s new to a lot of customers the US. In Italy, however, most farmers producing milk from organic pastures now sell raw milk from self-service vending machines on their farms.
We started buying raw milk for two reasons, both concerned with flavour – not simply that it tastes better, although it does. It’s unhomogenised, so you can fight for the cream at the top of the bottle or be altruistic, shake the bottle and feel good about yourself. And using the Italian vending machine our local farmer has bought, you can dispense it into glass bottles which prevents the taste being at least damaged and at worst ruined by the plastic bottles universally used to package pasteurised milk.
We also like the idea that someone who is working hard to produce the best possible product from a dairy herd is getting a fair reward for it, which is totally untrue of milk sold to supermarkets.
Two good enough reasons for switching without getting involved in the health issues about which I was more than sceptical. However, if you read the statistics aright, health actually tips the balance in favour of raw milk.
However.
Though I swore I wouldn’t make health claims, two long term digestive problems have disappeared from our family in the two years we have been drinking raw milk. One concerned heartburn and indigestion which now appears to be a thing of the past and the other – well never mind.
I’m still sceptical about health claims but living and breathing the same air as the dairy herd, living with the same organisms and drinking the same water might well be a large part of the beneficial effect. Who knows?
The most important thing for us is that raw milk finally offers farmers a margin which produces a fair return for their work, which in turn produces significant benefits to communities beyond the contribution to health.
And when we have proper studies, it may turn out that there are significant health benefits as well.
Drinking raw milk is a personal decision. I grew up on a medium size dairy farm in Alabama many years ago (I’m currently 66 years old). For the first 18 years of my life, I drank nothing but raw milk. It was great. Most of the milk I consumed was less than 24 hours old. It was never more than 36 to 48 hours old. The milk was stored in a large refrigerated stainless steal tank that was big enough to hold two days of milk from 150-180 cows. The temperature was maintained at 36-38 degrees. The milk was picked up by the processing company every other day. The milk from the cows went directly into a glass Pyrex pipeline and then to the stainless steel tank.
Since the milk was being sold for drinking purposes (not making cheese), the milk and the dairy had to meet very high standards of cleanliness. If you failed to meet the cleanliness standards, you had to either sell to the cheese factory or dump the milk. The cows don’t stop producing milk just because you don’t meet the cleanliness standards :-).
With that background, I’m not sure I would rush out and buy raw milk today. If my dad still had a producing dairy farm, I would certainly drink the raw milk from his herd. That is because I know what went into producing the milk and how it was handled. It takes a lot of work to produce “clean” milk. To drink raw milk from anywhere else, I would definitely have to see how they produce and handle their milk. When I was growing up, we lived close to some other dairy farms. For the most part, I would not drink the milk from the other farms. They certainly didn’t have as clean of an operation as my dad. Some of them had to sell their milk to the cheese factory.
Is there a lot of risk to drinking raw milk? Absolutely! You should personally check out the place producing and selling the milk. If you see something you don’t like or something that looks risky, pass on it.
Me and my family grew up drinking raw milk! And we never get sick! It’s because we develop an immunity to certain bugs and viruses. I still drink raw milk every day because it’s better than the pasturized crap!
Drinking raw milk helps your immune system. If u get sick from drinking raw milk …then u know u hav a terrible immune system!
My son isartistic and asked burgers and have digestive system problem in allergic to a lot of food is the reason why I’m trying to try this so if you have any feedback or any place that you know that sell raw milk please email melet me know where I can get it and how much it cost
Again my son is autistic and has other syndromes that go with that and he has digestive system problems and is bipolar ADHD
Anybody out there
It is very important that your son have A2 dairy products only (A2 cows, goats, sheep, buffalo, camel). Most all US cows are A1. Your son is likely very sensitive to the BCM7 (how we digest A1 milk). Read the book, The Devil in the Milk, by Keith Woodford and check out his website. Raw is the best of course but more important in milk is the cow. Is the cow an A1 or A2 cow. After you know you have A2 cows then you want to know what the cow is fed and lastly pasteurization. You may buy cheese/butter/dairy from France and Italy (they have A2 cows). Hope this is helpful.
Campylobacteriosis
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/03/25/health-department-warns-of-dangers-of-drinking-raw-milk-after-6-bay-area-residents-fall-ill/
the benefits still far outweigh the rare risk
Right on! What’s a few dead kid matter?
I drink raw milk and so do my kids. MORE people get sick by regular milk than raw milk. Raw milk farms are CLEAN, Conventional milk farms are covering in cow shit. When kids died from raw milk back in gnu twenties, it was because peddles delivered cheap milk in buckets to make money off the poor. Doctors and surgeons once operated without washing hands. Should we stop all operations because of their mistakes??
Interesting comments, all. I grew up on raw goats milk. Goats are pretty seasonal milkers usually, so when milk was short at home we got raw cow milk from the neighbor. My parents did not want us drinking pasteurized milk.
Watching what we used to call “city people” talk about animal husbandry is funny. Pus in milk now is because of overcrowding, overmilking, and trying to maximize everything so much that the cows are much more prone to udder infections. Pasteurizing, like other modern treatments, makes pus and manure filled milk safe to drink.
I am lucky enough to be out in the countryside and able to have a couple of goats that keep us in fresh milk. I care for them, do the milking, and don’t worry about pus and manure. I pity you city people somewhat, but on the other hand, there is not room for all of us out here.