People are becoming very mindful about how, where, and under what conditions their food is raised. With issues such as the salmonella egg recall that broke a few months ago, mad cow disease, ecoli and a host of other unhealthy microbes becoming inter-linked with the food that’s making its way to our table, the conscious consumer wants to make sure the food he/she eats is safe—it used to be a matter of freshness and quality. What about a farm-fresh product that has people on both sides of the fence saying it’s “naturally dangerous,” and it’s “naturally healthy,” such as the case with the hot-button raw-milk issue?
Here is a good “naturally dangerous” summary from the Washington State Dept. of Ag:
Raw milk is a potentially hazardous product. While some people regularly consume raw milk products with no ill effect, illnesses and deaths associated with the consumption of raw milk occur every year. Those most at risk are children, the elderly, pregnant women, and anyone with a compromised immune system.
Some organisms that can occur in raw milk and cause illness include Salmonella, E. coli 0157:H7, Campylobacter jejuni, and Listeria monocytogenes. Pasteurization destroys these harmful organisms.1
Raw milk proponents claim that raw milk is fresher, richer, and does not putrefy like pasteurized milk. There are many die-hard advocates who have experienced alleviation of symptoms from diseases such as autism, allergies, arthritis, infection and a broad spectrum of other diseases that make the raw milk underdog group resound that raw milk overall strengthens the immune system.
However, the FDA and CDC do not share such glowing feelings for raw milk:
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention , more than 300 people in the United States got sick from drinking raw milk or eating cheese made from raw milk in 2001, and nearly 200 became ill from these products in 2002. “Drinking raw milk or eating raw milk products is like playing Russian roulette with your health,” says John Sheehan, director of the Food and Drug Administration ‘s Division of Dairy and Egg Safety. “We see a number of cases of food-borne illness every year related to the consumption of raw milk.” 2
Pioneer Health evangelist Sally Fallon has been wearing her soapbox thin with all the building up of the raw milk movement, as in this quote from the website www.realmilk.org , a campaign for real milk financed by the Weston A. Price Foundation:
Modern pasteurized milk, devoid of its enzyme content, puts an enormous strain on the body’s digestive mechanism. In the elderly, and those with milk intolerance or inherited weaknesses of digestion, this milk passes through not fully digested and can clog the tiny villi of the small intestine, preventing the absorption of vital nutrients and promoting the uptake of toxic substances. The result is allergies, chronic fatigue and a host of degenerative diseases.
All the healthy milk-drinking populations studied by Dr. Price subsisted on raw milk, raw cultured milk or raw cheese from normal animals eating fresh grass or fodder. 3
As you can see, both sides heartily believe that they are each protecting the populace by either saying raw milk is essentially good to drink or raw milk is essentially bad. I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
My wife and I have some very good friends who are grass-fed dairy farmers who sell raw milk and raw milk cheese products. They are monitored for sanitary conditions in their milking parlor and cheese processing room, and bacteria counts in their milk are diligently tested by a laboratory, all done under the laws governing the pet food exemption nder which they operate.
These folks do everything in their power to see that they are delivering healthy milk, from the way the cows are lovingly treated, to the cleaning of the milk-piping systems after the cows have been through the milking process, to the point of actual delivery.
All the while they have to put a sticker on their products that says “Not for human consumption.” In fact, I have a gallon in the fridge right now, and I don’t have any pets.
I think that there may be some people who have reactions to raw milk, as people have allergic reactions to everything under the sun. It’s important to protect people in the market place, but to make the selling of raw milk illegal is harsh. According to Wikipedia, in 2009, 29 U.S. states allowed sales of raw milk in some form. That being said, I don’t believe there is need to step so brutally on the toes of dairy farmers attempting to bring a genuinely healthy product to the American public’s tables and capturing an equally healthy piece of the American food dollar, as well. There should be rigorous laws in place to make sure sanitation is up to par because along with other potential factors, sanitation may have been at the heart of some of the issues with raw milk in the past.
Most farmers are very accommodating and transparent, wanting you to enjoy the fruits of their labor while continuing to do what they love. That seems like an excellent trade to me.
Notes
1 (from “The Washington State Department of Agriculture Food Safety Program Presents: The Truth about Raw Milk Sales”)
2 Raw Milk—Wikipedia.org.
3 www.realmilk.org “More about raw milk.”
Picture by redeye^
People are becoming very mindful about how, where, and under what conditions their food is raised. With issues such as the salmonella egg recall that broke a few months ago, mad cow disease, ecoli and a host of other unhealthy microbes becoming inter-linked with the food that’s making its way to our table, the conscious consumer wants to make sure the food he/she eats is safe—it used to be a matter of freshness and quality. What about a farm-fresh product that has people on both sides of the fence saying it’s “naturally dangerous,” and it’s “naturally healthy,” such as the case with the hot-button raw-milk issue?
Here is a good “naturally dangerous” summary from the Washington State Dept. of Ag:
Raw milk is a potentially hazardous product. While some people regularly consume raw milk products with no ill effect, illnesses and deaths associated with the consumption of raw milk occur every year. Those most at risk are children, the elderly, pregnant women, and anyone with a compromised immune system.
Some organisms that can occur in raw milk and cause illness include Salmonella, E. coli 0157:H7, Campylobacter jejuni, and Listeria monocytogenes. Pasteurization destroys these harmful organisms.1
Raw milk proponents claim that raw milk is fresher, richer, and does not putrefy like pasteurized milk. There are many die-hard advocates who have experienced alleviation of symptoms from diseases such as autism, allergies, arthritis, infection and a broad spectrum of other diseases that make the raw milk underdog group resound that raw milk overall strengthens the immune system.
However, the FDA and CDC do not share such glowing feelings for raw milk:
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention , more than 300 people in the United States got sick from drinking raw milk or eating cheese made from raw milk in 2001, and nearly 200 became ill from these products in 2002. “Drinking raw milk or eating raw milk products is like playing Russian roulette with your health,” says John Sheehan, director of the Food and Drug Administration ‘s Division of Dairy and Egg Safety. “We see a number of cases of food-borne illness every year related to the consumption of raw milk.” 2
Pioneer Health evangelist Sally Fallon has been wearing her soapbox thin with all the building up of the raw milk movement, as in this quote from the website www.realmilk.org , a campaign for real milk financed by the Weston A. Price Foundation:
Modern pasteurized milk, devoid of its enzyme content, puts an enormous strain on the body’s digestive mechanism. In the elderly, and those with milk intolerance or inherited weaknesses of digestion, this milk passes through not fully digested and can clog the tiny villi of the small intestine, preventing the absorption of vital nutrients and promoting the uptake of toxic substances. The result is allergies, chronic fatigue and a host of degenerative diseases.
All the healthy milk-drinking populations studied by Dr. Price subsisted on raw milk, raw cultured milk or raw cheese from normal animals eating fresh grass or fodder. 3
As you can see, both sides heartily believe that they are each protecting the populace by either saying raw milk is essentially good to drink or raw milk is essentially bad. I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
My wife and I have some very good friends who are grass-fed dairy farmers who sell raw milk and raw milk cheese products. They are monitored for sanitary conditions in their milking parlor and cheese processing room, and bacteria counts in their milk are diligently tested by a laboratory, all done under the laws governing the pet food exemption nder which they operate.
These folks do everything in their power to see that they are delivering healthy milk, from the way the cows are lovingly treated, to the cleaning of the milk-piping systems after the cows have been through the milking process, to the point of actual delivery.
All the while they have to put a sticker on their products that says “Not for human consumption.” In fact, I have a gallon in the fridge right now, and I don’t have any pets.
I think that there may be some people who have reactions to raw milk, as people have allergic reactions to everything under the sun. It’s important to protect people in the market place, but to make the selling of raw milk illegal is harsh. According to Wikipedia, in 2009, 29 U.S. states allowed sales of raw milk in some form. That being said, I don’t believe there is need to step so brutally on the toes of dairy farmers attempting to bring a genuinely healthy product to the American public’s tables and capturing an equally healthy piece of the American food dollar, as well. There should be rigorous laws in place to make sure sanitation is up to par because along with other potential factors, sanitation may have been at the heart of some of the issues with raw milk in the past.
Most farmers are very accommodating and transparent, wanting you to enjoy the fruits of their labor while continuing to do what they love. That seems like an excellent trade to me.
Notes1 (from “The Washington State Department of Agriculture Food Safety Program Presents: The Truth about Raw Milk Sales”)
2 Raw Milk—Wikipedia.org.
3 www.realmilk.org “More about raw milk.”
Picture by redeye^