Why Raw Milk?

A very controversial question, indeed.  If you've already chosen raw over pasteurized milk you may have quickly learned that revealing such a choice over a whisper to more than a select few generally evokes a horrified response.  One might actually wonder, "Why must we ask 'why' in the first place?"  Aren't we all entitled to make our own decisions about what we consume without having to justify the less mainstream of those?"  In any case, our decisions about what we feed ourselves should be informed and defendable.

If you are like most of us in America, you have grown up fully indoctrinated with answers to the question of "Why NOT raw milk."  Propaganda abounds to that end of the debate but it's not so easy to defend the true benefits of raw milk over pasteurization.  It involves at least some understanding of bacteriology, pathology, molecular biology, sociology and almost any other "ology" you can think of to even begin to get most people to think outside of what they "know" about raw milk (or "assume" by what they've been told, that is).  But that's a discussion far beyond this web page. 

For those of us who are already willing to think outside the box and who have, perhaps, already begun a quest for healthier living, these few points to start with may be helpful to consider (afterall, you may need to explain yourself to your mother someday).

Big Dairies, Big Problems

1. Since the beginning of time (or at least since the domestication of animals) people have been drinking fresh milk and enjoying endless other dairy products from a wide variety of animal species without cause for concern and with much appreciation for its nutritional benefits.

2. Before the advent of pasteurization (the rapid heating of milk to kill most of the bacteria and pathogens within) people without access to their own animals relied on local dairy farmers to supply them with milk.  If the farmer did not collect the milk carefully and cleanly, the milk would quickly sour and the problem was addressed immediately by his customers. 

3. The widespred need for pasteurization of milk in this country developed out of the industrial revolution when people left their family cows (or local dairy farms) to live and work in cities.  Quick and uniform distribution without refrigeration became a problem while demand for milk remained high.  Cows were, for the first time, kept in terribly dirty and confined environments in the cities instead of out in green pasture on the family farm.  They were oftentimes kept near breweries and refineries which supplied the cows with their grain by-products for consumption.  A diet high in grain increases the level of acid and decreases the bacterial flora in the cow's rumen, thus making her and her milk more susceptible to disease.  TB and other diseases spread rapidly in the cities, partly through cow's milk, and governmental propaganda for pasteurization began.

4. The mass production and distribution of milk that our country relies on today makes it virtually impossible to supply fresh, clean and safe milk to the consumer without pasteurization.  The large dairies that supply most grocery store brands with milk collect it from a thousand or more cows at a time.  The milk then gets poured into a tanker which can sit for up to a week before transportation.  All the while, more milk is added to it twice a day, continually warming it to a temperature favorable to bacterial growth.  When it is finally transported to processing plants even more milk from countless other sources is added to it.  At this volume it would be impossible to avoid the occasional contamination from fecal matter or sick cows, or to locate and contain a problem if one should arise.  Some of the less responsible dairy farmers have been known to "solve" these problems by adopting practices such as pouring chlorine directly into the milk tanks that show an elevated bacterial count.  Additionally, sustained agitation during transportation for long distances breaks down the lactose in the milk, causing it to sour more rapidly, alters the flavor and oxidizes the fat which releases free radicals into the milk.  On this scale, pasteurization undoubtedly allows for a more uniform product with a longer shelf-life. 

5. Concerned with cost effectiveness, many large dairies use the aid of rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone) to increase milk production in each cow to unnatural and harmful levels.  Despite the FDA's insisted approval of the use of this genetically engineered hormone in the U.S., it has been found to enter the bloodstream of those who consume the treated cow's milk and has been banned from use by dairies in most other countries.  Research on the effects of rBGH (also BGH and rBst) on rats has shown that it can leave cysts on the thyroid and damage to the prostate. 

6. Antibiotics are often given at commercial dairies to cows with mastitis or other illnesses, sometimes even preventatively.  Because of the sheer number of cows they must keep track of and their concern for loss of production, the milk from the cows on antibiotics is not always removed from the bunch, transferring the antibiotics from the milk into the bloodstream of the consumer.   

7. Virtually all commercial milk is homogenized, milk that has been forced under pressure through a screen with tiny holes to break up and evenly distribute the fat globules throughout it instead of letting it rise to the top.  Homogenization was adopted as an answer to another distribution and sales problem with the development of the commercialized food industry.  With the heat treatment of pasteurization, the cream in the milk became lumpy and distasteful.  Consumers also usually favored dairymen who could produce more cream in their milk.  Thus, as an attempt to at least give the appearance of standardizing all commercial milk, homogenization was developed.  This process effectively hid the actual amount of cream within the milk.  It also incidentally hid the sludge of dead bacteria that resulted from pasteurization and settled at the bottom of each bottle.  The unnaturally small size of the fat globules that results from homogenization more easily permeates the lining of the intestines and arteries, causing unwanted buildup and making the otherwise healthy, digestible fat less useful to the body.

Healthy Bacteria, Healthy Nutrient, Healthy You

1. Cows are not cats.  Cats enjoy spending much of the day lying around licking themselves clean to perfection and snoozing with the satisfaction of a job well done.  Cows also enjoy spending much of the day lying around, but they much prefer chewing their cud and seem to show no concern for what they're lying in or the condition in which they find themselves afterwards.  Thankfully though, God, having created the cow in His infinite wisdom, gave her the perfect solution to her inability to clean herself before offering her soiled teat to her calf.  Though she may lay, udder and all, in mud or manure all day long, her milk is loaded with billions of beneficial bacteria to fight the battle with any exposure to unwanted pathogens that surround her teats and inevitably find their way down the throat of the suckling calf.  The presence of amino acids and at least sixty different enzymes in her milk, such as lactoferrin, catalase, lysozyme and lactoperoxidase, also inhibit the growth of unwanted bacteria and aide in the digestive process. 

2. This flora of "healthy" bacteria, coupled with these enzymes, provide the same help and protection in our own guts when we ingest the cow's milk.  Even marketers of yogurt know the value that people have come to place on the probiotic benefit of certain bacterial cultures as they proudly advertise "live cultures" on their labels in the supermarket.  Our guts need a good flora of beneficial bacteria to help digest all of our foods and fight against disease.  These "probiotics" actually line the gut and encourage the production of cytokines, such as gamma intereron, which creates a strong shield of defense.  Also, the better the digestion, the better the absorption and utilization of the nutrients we ingest.  The preservation of the enzyme lactase, spared only by the absence of pasteurization, is the main reason why many lactose intolerant people can actually tolerate raw milk.  During the digestive process, the enzyme lactase binds with the sugar lactose and helps break it down effectively, providing more tolerance to the lactose in the milk.

3. The high temperatures inflicted upon milk during pasteurization usually succeed in killing all of the possible unwanted bacteria introduced to it through some kind of contamination after it leaves the cow.  However, pasteurization also succeeds in destroying almost everything else that's beneficial in the milk as well.  Some of these benefits include all of the good bacteria, the enzymes, amino acids (such as tryptophan, lysine and methionine), vitamins (A, B, C, D) and minerals (such as calcium and pospherus).  Commercial dairy companies usually add the synthetic vitamins A and D back into the milk after it has been pasteurized but, without the aide of the enzymes, very little of it can be absorbed or utilized by the body.  Commercial milk contains virtually no vitamins A, B or C.  Thus, people who drink raw milk enjoy stronger bones and teeth, increased energy, less kidney stones and fewer symptoms of food allergies, hay fever, colds, arthritis, skin problems and much more.

4. Many, if not most, commercial dairies keep their cattle confined and stressed most of their productive lives, denying them the crucial benefit of open pasture to graze on.  Even certified organic dairies will oftentimes feed their cattle organic feed to obtain the "organic" stamp of approval while never letting them freely graze.  Not only does grazing make for happier cows but raw milk from cows with access to green pasture contains 2-5 times more Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA), as well as other long-chain fatty acids such as eicosopentanioc acid (EPA) and the omega-3s.  We are often told by nutritionists to avoid foods such as beef, eggs and dairy products due to the absence of these "good" fats.  Deep sea fish, like salmon for instance, is instead encouraged for its availability of EPA.  However, the food we produce from animals on good pasture, as opposed to the confinement practices of the larger food industry, also contains an array of these long-chain fatty acids.  This fact also makes the consumption of raw milk from small, local dairies more beneficial to muscle growth, weight loss, strong immune systems and the prevention of food allergies, cancer, heart disease and insulin resistance.

5. Though accidental contamination of raw milk can occur, statistically you are more likely to contract food-borne diseases, such as E.coli, Campylobacter jejuni, salmonella, staphylococcus and streptococcus, by eating commercially slaughtered chicken, peanut butter or tomatoes from the supermarket (let's not even bother to mention the myriad of risks in a McDonald's hamburger).  The rapid cooling of raw milk after it is bottled is also very effective in preventing the growth of such bacteria, just as pasteurization is, though the product in the end (as explained above) is nowhere near of equal value to the consumer.  These pathogens do not come directly from the milk within the cow.  They are always introduced through sloppy milking practices or other contamination after the milk has left the cow.  A dairy farmer with only a handful of cows, each of whom he personally knows and cares for, using clean equipment and careful techniques, is logically less likely to contaminate his milk.  It must also be mentioned that commercial milk is more susceptible to contamination after it has been pasteurized as the natural defenses in the milk have been destroyed.  In fact, most of the reported cases of disease outbreaks in dairy products have occurred in the handling of pasteurized ice-cream and cheese, not raw milk.

References:

Keeping A Family Cow by Joann S. Grohman

Raw Milk Association of Colorado at www.rawmilkcolorado.org

Weston A. Price Foundation at www.realmilk.com

www.raw-milk-facts.com

Other good resources on the subject of "real food":

Real Food by Nina Planck

Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats by Sally Fallon

Real Food by Joann S. Grohman

The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan