A Sip of Raw Milk

You may or may not have heard of raw milk. Unless you are already a an aficionado, your first response might be “Ack! Isn’t that dangerous?”

Well, yes, if it’s from cows that are living in confinement and unsanitary conditions. But raw milk from a certified dairy is both statistically safer than pasteurized milk, and far more healthful. Large-scale pasteurization started in the 1800s, and while well intentioned, was only beneficial in direct contrast to the foul milk production practices of the time. Cows in urban areas were fed distillery slop, the acid remains of fermented grains, in what was probably the first experiment in recycling garbage into the food chain.

The slop – being an unnatural food – was very bad for the cows and they became emaciated and diseased. But they were still able to produce milk. The milk was of such poor quality that it could not be made into butter or cheese, but it could be sold. Subsequently, the death rate for children began to increase in cites. Pasteurization was a quick and economical solution to the milk problem.

A different solution had also been put forth, however, it was more difficult and expensive.

Henry Coit MD suggested certified dairies. He started a Medical Milk Commission, which set standards of purity and cleanliness for milk production. Doctors valued quality raw milk for its healing properties and wanted to ensure a good supply. Certified dairies got a better price for their product. Edema, psoriasis, heart failure, high blood pressure, prostate enlargement, tuberculosis and even obesity all responded to a diet of certified raw milk.(i) The use of raw milk was advocated in medical textbooks of the time, and an 1884 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association recommends it as a treatment for diabetes, Bright’s disease, and gastric disturbances. (ii)

But raw milk from grain fed cattle is not adequate, only pasture feeding will provide the right nutrients. Milk from pasture fed cows provides more available calcium and phosphorous than either pasteurized milk of milk from cows confined in a barn.(iii) Pasteurization also destroys 38 percent of B vitamins.(iv) Commercial pasteurized milk has as low as one quarter the vitamin C of fresh raw milk.(v) Another benefit of raw milk is that it adds live enzymes to the diet. Enzymes are the chemical scissors that help us break down foods. The health benefits of raw milk include; lowered incidence of dental caries, health and weight gain in infants, longer life span in mice, and higher calcium content in bones.(vi)

Raw milk has been in the news rather a lot lately. In general the government would like to protect us from ourselves by making sure that we never risk consuming live foods. But it never seems to be a problem that 4 out of 5 cattle are infected with e-coli during the summer(vii) and that their manure ends up in our lettuce fields. Raw milk is heavily regulated in most states, and in those where it is legal, boards of Health and Agriculture have been clamping down. This summer the state of California Gov Schwarzenegger vetoed SB 201, which would have secured the availability of raw milk in CA. Pennsylvania has actually performed a raid on the raw milk dairy farm belonging to Mark Nolte, and the PA State Health Dept has issued a number of inflammatory press releases. Raw milk has been available in stores in Connecticut but is now under fire. The Department of Agriculture wants to limit sales to on farm only and make farmers pay $10,000 a year to test the safety of their milk. No other state makes such demands on its small farmers.

Drinking raw milk is safer than driving in my car, or eating an uncooked hot dog for that matter. The benefits far outweigh the risks and I want the right to choose for myself.

Links you might be able to use:
Real Milk
Organic Pastures FAQ

(i) William Campbell Douglas MD, The Milk Book Rhino Publishing, 2003, 191-3.
(ii) Schmidt, The Untold Story of Milk, 73.
(iii) M. Kramer, E. Latzke, M. Shaw, “A comparison on raw, pasteurized, evaporated and dried milks as a source of calcium and phosphorous in the human subject,” Journal of Biological Chemistry, 1928;79:283-90.
(iv) R. Ducher, Journal of Dairy Science 1934;17:45, cited in Kramer,1928.
(v) A. Hess, “Recent advances in knowledge of scurvy and the antiascorbutic vitamin.” JAMA April 1932;98:1429-33.
(vi) Edward Howell, MD, Food Enzymes for Health and Longevity, Lotus Press, 1994, 125-34.
(vii) Roberts, Paul, The End of Food, Houghton Mifflin Co, 2008, 183.

(Photo credit: Unhindered by Talent on Flickr.)