Raw Milk Vs. Pasteurized Milk
From Armchair Science. London
April 1938
Read this article in Japanese
There is no substitute for clean, raw milk as a food, so far as children are concerned. Science has not yet succeeded in providing, in the pasteurized variety, those essential qualities that are the only real foundation for a healthy child.
Unfortunately, many grossly distorted statements are current regarding our milk supply. If we are to believe the protagonists of the Pasteurization-of-all-milk-at-all costs Party, raw milk is as good, or rather as bad, as rat poison-although as the Minister of Agriculture recently stated, “the human race existed long before Pasteur was heard of.”
The process of pasteurization was debated in the House of Commons and the suggestion made that no raw milk should be sold for human consumption. This would mean installation of expensive machinery by every supplier, and if it should become compulsory there is little doubt that many small firms would shut down and the business pass in the hands of a few big dealers.
If we are to be compelled to drink pasteurized milk, we should at least understand what pasteurization means. It set out to accomplish two things: Destruction of certain disease-carrying germs and the prevention of souring milk. These results are obtained by keeping the milk at a temperature of 145 degrees to 150 degrees F. for half an hour, at least, and then reducing the temperature to not more than 55 degrees F.
It is undoubtedly beneficial to destroy dangerous germs, but pasteurization does more than this-it kills off harmless and useful germs alike, and by subjecting the milk to high temperatures, destroys some nutritious constituents.
With regards to the prevention of souring; sour raw milk is very widely used. It is given to invalids, being easily digested, laxative in its properties, and not unpleasant to take. But, after pasteurization, the lactic acid bacilli are killed. The milk, in consequence, cannot become sour and quickly decomposes, while undesirable germs multiply very quickly.
Pasteurization’s great claim to popularity is the widespread belief, fostered by its supporters, that tuberculosis in children is caused by the harmful germs found in raw milk. Scientists have examined and tested thousands of milk samples, and experiments have been carried out on hundreds of animals in regard to this problem of disease-carrying by milk. But the one vital fact that seems to have been completely missed is that it is CLEAN, raw milk that is wanted. If this can be guaranteed, no other form of food for children can, or should, be allowed to take its place.
Dirty milk, of course, is like any other form of impure food — a definite menace. But Certified Grade A Milk, produced under Government supervision and guaranteed absolutely clean, is available practically all over the country and is the dairy-farmer’s answer to the pasteurization zealots.
Recent figures published regarding the spread of tuberculosis by milk show, among other facts, that over a period of five years, during which time 70 children belonging to a special organization received a pint of raw milk daily. One case only of the disease occurred. During a similar period when pasteurized milk had been given, 14 cases were reported.
Besides destroying part of the vitamin C contained in raw milk and encouraging growth of harmful bacteria, pasteurization turns the sugar of milk, known as lactose, into beta-lactose — which is far more soluble and therefore more rapidly absorbed in the system, with the result that the child soon becomes hungry again.
Probably pasteurization’s worst offence is that it makes insoluable the major part of the calcium contained in raw milk. This frequently leads to rickets, bad teeth, and nervous troubles, for sufficient calcium content is vital to children; and with the loss of phosphorus also associated with calcium, bone and breain formation suffer serious setbacks.
Pasteurization also destroys 20 percent of the iodine present in raw milk, causes constipation and generally takes from the milk its most vital qualities.
In face of these facts-which are undeniable-what has the Pasteurization Party to say? Instead of compelling dealers to set up expensive machinery for turning raw milk into something that is definitely not what it sets out to be — a nutritious, health giving food — let them pass legislation making the dairy-farmers produce clean, raw milk — that is milk pure to drink with all its constituents unaltered.
The above was published in Magazine Digest – June 1938. Armchair Science is a British medical journal.
I took the time to read over this quickly. These are the reports I was needing to find! Fascinating and eye opening. Now if we could get everyone to understand what is really happening here….
You need a serious reality check if you think 2 doctors and 2 lawyers(lol) are enough to prove something as absurd as this. You’re no better than those anti-vaxers.
Yes Bob and I suppose we should believe everything pseudo-skeptics have to say on the matter.
You’ll never convince them, they revel in their ignorance, just like the anti-vaxxers. You can show them videos of people who have come within a hair’s breadth of death from drinking raw milk and they simply will ignore it.
Do you know a lot of people who have come within a hair of dying from drinking raw milk?
Well all I can say is I my family has been a grade a dairy farm for three generations. All of my family members consisting of many uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters mothers and fathers have all been raised on non_ pasteurized milk. No deaths or health issues have occurred and to boot we are all tall, strong, healthy individuals. I for one love the fresh taste of raw milk so to each their own but no need to say the raw milk believers are in the wrong because of the mass opinions of others.
a serious reality check? well good thing there are more people than “just 2 doctors” investigating the benefits of real milk.
I dont vaccinate, drink fresh unprocessed “raw” milk daily for years, my babies were born at home, and guess what? My family is the healthiest family around. I eat raw eggs too! Of course not the kind you get in your sparkly grocery store filled with USDA/FDA approved CAFO crap, but ones from local farmers that are clean and pasture raised. Meanwhile, friends I grew up with, current friends and even some relatives leading the mainstream life (mostly vaccinated) have children who are sick ALL THE TIME, dying from cancer, in the ICU for other non-congenital diseases or are headed down that road because they are obese have HBP or other issues. So get all those vaccines, eat your processed junk. We will see 10-20 years down the road who made the logical decision, I for one know mine are based on research. PS most “anti-vaxxers” who really just want you to stay out of personal medical decisions, are highly educated individuals who have done hours of research.
Aajonus Vonderplanitz faked his credentials. So he’s not actually an anything.
If you can’t refute the evidence, attack those who supply the evidence, eh!…
So, Bob, you do not refute the evidence, aptly presented, but refuse to accept that some individuals are able to dig up necessary valid evidence to support the case favouring consuming of clean, unpasteurized, raw milk
I milked goats for 10 yrs, + brought up my 4 children on it, to stop constant ear infections (caused by Dairy products, they stopped overnight) I remember mum telling me we had constipation as babies, when on Pasterized cows milk, so she put sugar into the baby bottles, to fix it.
I think milk is very healthy for everyone.
Most of the worlds’ population are intolerent of dairy, as thery havnt had cows milk for thousands of years, to learn to tolerate it.
All this scare mongering in get people to conform in buying damaged food, cos that what pasteurization does to milk.
I grew up on raw goats milk from the age of 3, which was when we move to a farm, this milk made me strong and healthy, not ill or sick.
Pasterization is a joke that kills the goodness in the milk, this also allows it to lay in your stomach because it doesn’t digest properly, this is what gave me stomach ulcers! I have since changed the milk I use to one that’s filered and not so heavy pasterized, which has solved my problem.
If raw milk was available I wouldn’t hesitate to buy it, as I know I would be getting the genuine product with all the health benfits.
yes it is not available in au Victoria illegal to sell
and if you do dairy farmer fined up to 10K and sewed
so wrong
Try the set of links, there are quite a few.
I grew up before WW2 in Europe drinking 3 c/p liter raw milk. Had several cars accidents, 1 totaled, fell 30 feet and never broke a bone! Had a knee replaced and the surgeon said he had never worked with such strong bones. Maybe unpasteurized milk?
I didnt drink cows milk for 30 yrs, (had goats milk), at 44 I had a bone density scan, to my doctors surprise, (because she knew my diet of no dairy) she said I had stronger bones than normal for my age….
The process that gives the milk a longer shelf life is called ultrahigh temperature (UHT) processing or treatment, in which milk is heated to 280 degrees Fahrenheit (138 degrees Celsius) for two to four seconds, killing any bacteria in it.
Compare that to pasteurization, the standard preservation process. There are two types of pasteurization: “low temperature, long time,” in which milk is heated to 145 degrees F (63 degrees C) for at least 30 SECONDS ( not minutes like the article read) or the more common “high temperature, short time,” in which milk is heated to roughly 160 degrees F (71 degrees C) for at least 15 seconds.
The different temperatures hint at why UHT-treated milk lasts longer: Pasteurization doesn’t kill all bacteria in the milk, just enough so that you don’t get a disease with your milk mustache. UHT, on the other hand, kills everything.
High-Temperature-Short-Time Treatment (HTST) — this process uses higher heat for less time to kill pathogenic bacteria. For example, milk is pasteurized at 161°F (72°C) for 15 seconds.
Low-Temperature-Long-Time Treatment (LTLT) — this process uses lower heat for a longer time to kill pathogenic bacteria. For example, milk is pasteurized at 145°F (63°C) for 30 minutes. (google it)
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I think that milk is good but, not that much when you drink it with nothing at all. I like my milk with cookies
The problem is that it’s hard to have clean raw milk when you are ramping up production to industrialized levels. There are tons of examples of this biting humanity in the ass. Cows are not sanitary animals, real milk was intended to have a shelf life of zero *teat to baby* so to reduce the risk to the public, we pasturize. It’s all a game of numbers. I doubt anyone has anythign against clean milk from the family cow. Most of us have problems with the hipsters who want to bring raw milk to the masses.
All milk producers take samples of the milk at less every time it gets picked up (before it goes on a milk truck) to as little as ones a month. on top of that Dairy Farmers test each milking cow ones a month. how is that for some info most people don’t realize unless you truly know a farme! Not only that they also test milk before it’s unload off the milk truck each time to make sure there isn’t anything in milk that shouldn’t be there! if there happens to be something in the milk then that shouldn’t be then the whole truck load gets rejected.
The raw milk is already full of stuff that “shouldn’t” be there. The problem occurs if one does not ingest it before those “shouldn’t” have a chance to multiply to an amount that is unsafe for consumption.
Properly handled milk from healthy, grass-fed animals is not full of stuff that shouldn’t be there. Standards for raw milk intended to be drunk raw are more stringent than standards for raw milk intended to be pasteurized. People drink raw milk all over the country daily and do not get sick. They may drink it immediately after milking or they may drink it a few weeks after milking. They may set the milk out to separate into curds and whey before eating it. Foodborne illnesses from raw milk or raw milk products are very rare, rarer than for many other foods consumed raw. Produce is one of the most common vectors.
No it doesn’t I lived on a dariy farm with 30 goats, the milk was never pasteurized and it lasted at least a week if it was kept refrigerated, maybe more and I used to drink loads of it.
The milk we couldn’t use was frozen in gallon bags and was bought buy the local hospital to treat eczema & leukemia sufferers.
Hi there just clarify a couple of things…..I have farmed in New Zealand for almost 20years and have been on enough farms to know that most of our farms do not test our herds milk on a daily basis in fact it is solely left to chance that when our milk gets picked up everyday sometimes twice a day that the milk truck won’t reject the pick up. Other then that us farmers are fully liable for what we send. We get a docket after each pick up which tells us if we have a high cell count at which time we do check the suspect cows we feel could have mastitis she is then treated and left out of the milk collection. Once the next docket comes the cell count should have come back down if not then the herdis tested.
Even small suppliers have problems, one of the ones in California, I believe it was, caused illnesses in people who drank their raw milk. These faddists are simply in denial as regards the dangers of this stuff.
Hey DRock,
indeed, “ramping up production to industrialized levels” is the real problem. Each farm should be able and allowed to provide their undamaged, clean raw milk to whomever wants it. If industrialized processors can create the distribution of their harmful, processed milk, farmers should be afforded the same distribution channels without penalties and give farmers their full, rightful revenues for their work…
One’s not going to live longer no matter which milk they drink. Debates like this are annoying.
ummm ya they will do your research. People live a lot longer and a lot healthier lives drinking other milk besides cows. If you do your research you will find that cows milk, really isnt that good for you like they say. And you will see one day, they will pull pasturized cows milk off the market.
Um no they won’t. Do your research
“they will pull pasteurized cow’s milk off the market” – I don’t think so, too much profit in it… the only way this can happen if people rebel against the system and start buying only clean, raw milk.
It’s called people power, consumer power, but with the vile and distorted marketing for P milk, it’s going to be a tough row to hoe.
You are using research that is almost 100 years old from a time when we new much less about both pathogens and nutrition.
This article has serious flaws. Pasteurized milk does not contribute to the spread of Tuberculosis. It does not cause rickets. It does not significantly inhibit the uptake of calcium from the milk.
What pasteurization does do is help prevent the spread of listeria, tuberculosis, hoof-in-mouth disease, and other very serious illnesses.
This particular article is a historical item from 1938; we include these to show the debate taking place at the time that the dairy industry and government were pushing pasteurization. See multiple other articles on the site for analyses of more recent research, particularly items on this page: http://www.realmilk.com/key-documents/. We address your concerns in many places. Production of safe raw milk free from listeria, etc. is easily possible today, with modern milking equipment and testing.
Just reading through from the link above:
‘Does raw milk prevent or treat asthma?’ section:
1st paper cited does not distinguish between raw and boiled milk
2nd paper found no significant difference in asthma and p-value is incorrectly interpreted
3rd paper (2011) has generalisability issues and significant difference was between ‘farm milk’ and ‘shop milk’ – clear differential misclassification bias where all milk that had been heated >72 degrees named as pasteurized if sold from a shop and raw if from a farm, plus shelf life of raw milk was not adjusted for in statistical analysis. Additionally, the only pathogenic bacteria were found in unboiled raw milk and PAPER CONCLUDES: ‘on the basis of current knowledge, raw milk consumption cannot be recommended because it might contain pathogens’
I could go on…
I completely agree with you that reading the cited papers sheds some light on the ‘raw milk’ debate.
I’m having trouble determining what link (‘from the link above’) you are referring to.
Two weeks ago The Guardian printed my letter, which was checked by their researchers. “The premature baby clinic near Belfast relies on unpastuerised goat’s milk because it does not putrify, unlike pastuerised milk which does”
This is crazy….I grew up on RAW milk…yep..a huge 150 acre farm…I milked the cows myself. And drank the milk..directly…goats milk too…there is seriously nothing wrong with it..except the government, and them wanting to manipulate the consumers of pasteurized milk…great things we made on the farm …from butter, cheese. Heavy cream, breads. All from this RAW milk. Controversy…I don’t know…but, I think there is nothing wrong with it…MMmmmm…drink up!.
hello this is ketan suchak i want to talk with u regarding farm fresh raw milk so plsz guide me this is my mble no +919421473337 mail id is ketsuc_2005@yahoo.com
This is the most ridiculous post I have ever seen. The reason you could drink the milk and not get sick is because you were living on the farm. Meaning you were exposed to the bacteria, both pathogenic and not, that would be present in the milk. Because you had been around these microbes your entire life (playing in the dirt, being around the animals, exposed to bacteria common to your area) your immune system will produce antibodies against them, allowing your system to fight off infections by such organisms. HOWEVER, when you take this raw milk and sell it to someone in the city who has never been exposed to such microbes, their immune system does not already have antibodies to fight an infection off. This can lead to very serious infections and death in people who are unable to fight it off. In particular, the elderly, children and other immunocompromised groups. Do your research people, and i’m talking legitament research, not just what you read on a stupid blog. Learn to read peer reviewed research articles from respectable journals not just he say she say. There wasn’t a single citation in this article, it was just cited as “recent publications” which means absolutely NOTHING. Your going to kill someone in your family based on what someone on the internet said. Absolutely ridiculous.
This is an excerpt from a 1938 article offered as historical interest to illustrate the long history of interest in raw milk. See our Key Documents area for our basic PowerPoint and our rebuttals to position papers and reports by the FDA, CDC, etc. Each of these carefully cites many articles from a variety of highly regarded, peer-reviewed journals.
The fact is raw milk is more healthy for you, however, according to you this is only the case if you live in the envoirment the milk is produced. That could also be true.
Following that logic I would say the problem is the people and the way we conduct ourselves and live in this modern world. If the milk is more healthy for you, but could kill you because you don’t live where the milk was produced… the milk is not the one I blame.
Completely agree! I grew up on animal milk like most everyone, but as an adult I’m able to see the problems with it and other things. Like; if you have to boil something to make it safe, should you really be drinking it? Seems like if we were SUPPOSED to drink other animal’s milk, we wouldn’t have to clean it, or fortify it. I’ve also heard human beings are the only creatures to drink milk from other species. Makes you think. Seriously, I’d like to know who or what group of people decided we should start drinking another animal’s food for their babies.
Personally, i’m trying to reduce my intake and I’d like to outright get away from it someday. It’s not an easy process though, when you don’t have time to cook. Lots of ingredient examining and finding dairy substitutes. And just plain cutting things out.
Will there be any rallys to remove the laws on raw milk?
my mum is 83 years young and became lactose intolerant close to 10 years ago…she would know if there is milk/milk solids in any food and medication as she would react almost immediately. Some of the side effects include coughing, phlegm, rashes etc. i started her on raw milk almost 3 weeks ago and viola, there were no side effects as she would on pasturised milk. Raw or pasturised?….i will definitely go raw milk now.
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I am now in my eightieth year, fit as a fiddle. As a child, I was brought up on raw milk, which was supplied to all British schools at that time. I never knew anyone who was made sick from drinking the milk, and milk allergies were virtually unknown. Today, this type of allergy is rampant.
Then, of course, most cows were raised on grassland and were not injected with the antibiotics and chemicals which are pumped into the modern-day animal. They weren’t required. Cows led contented lives feeding on pasture, not penned up in these horrendous concrete-and-steel prisons which they are now forced to inhabit. And, of course, they are fed mainly on corn products, as opposed to grass. No wonder they need antibiotics.
Make no mistake, processed milk is extremely unhealthy, particularly that which has been homogenized. There is enough scientific evidence on the Web to convince anyone who hasn’t got a vested interest.
This is what I do know, from my family drinking (husband and daughter) homogenized/pasteurized milk, stomach cramps, trips to restroom frequently after consumption and my daughter on occasion throws up. I purchased clean RAW milk from a USDA organic farmer, my husband and daughter have NO problems with it…..hmmmmmm. That’s all the proof I need. RAW milk is better for MY FAMILY ;).
I was raised on raw milk when I was young. I loved it. I have recently begun to drink raw milk again–mainly because I didn’t know where to acquire it for many years and did not live on a farm. I love it still, and when I have to use pasteurized milk, I sometimes have a problem with constipation and bloating. Raw milk helps to regulate my bowels and I don’t feel bloated. Also, I have a small grandson who has been drinking raw milk for about a year–he is 20 months old. If he is given store purchased milk, he gets blisters on his backside but with raw milk he doesn’t have this problem. Definitely raw milk for us!!
This is a perfect example of how society has got to the point where we are ignoring all common knowledge and relying on outdated scientific research to justify invalid ideas. The only reason people support this is because they are small dairy farmers who can’t afford the expensive equipment required to pasteurise milk. There have been deaths caused by the consumption of raw milk, and I therefore find it disgusting people support this.
I wholeheartedly agree
Has society got to the point where we are ignoring all common knowledge and relying on outdated scientific research to justify an invalid claim?
The people who support this are solely small dairy farmers who can’t afford the expensive equipment required to pasteurise milk. I truly want to learn more about the benefits of raw milk-are there any articles around that aren’t over 75 years old? I would appreciate any help someone could provide me.
In the many articles on our site there is a range of references from both older and newer studies. One problem is there was a lot of research done a long time ago on the benefits of raw milk. Then the government started encouraging confinement dairies, and studies at that time showed little difference between raw and pasteurized milk from confinement cows. The government attitude was that the matter was settled. Since the commercial dairy industry preferred to pasteurize and homogenize for financial reasons, they were happy to agree there was no difference and also push the idea that pasteurized milk was safer.
Fortunately, we are beginning to see a bit more research again, often out of Europe. This is one page with recent reference, specifically in regards to raw milk being protective against asthma: http://www.realmilk.com/health/raw-milk-protective-against-asthma-and-allergies/.
It is not true that the small dairy farmers can’t afford pasteurization equipment. Dairy farmers of any size who are producing milk intended for pasteurization typically send the raw milk to a plant that pasteurizes it. Modern milking machines and stainless steel storage equipment on a farm producing milk intended to be drunk raw is not cheap.
The “common knowledge” that pasteurized milk is safer is the result of a marketing campaign by the dairy industry. Their motive was financial, but the means of getting the public to accept this change in the milk they had always known, was to appeal to fear. You see this all the time.
There have been far more deaths and illnesses caused by consumption of raw produce, oysters, deli meats, eggs, and many other foods, as shown by CDC data. Milk, raw or pasteurized, is responsible for fewer illnesses and deaths than most other categories of food. Pasteurization is no guarantee of milk safety; there have been outbreaks of foodborne illness attributed to pasteurized milk. In states where raw milk can be sold, standards of cleanliness are higher and allowed levels of microorganisms are lower for milk intended to be drunk raw. See http://www.realmilk.com/safety/response-to-fda-anti-raw-milk-powerpoint/ for a good overview of the issues.
So are you saying that just because some foods have more deaths caused by them that it’s okay to make raw milk available for consumption? Because that’s like saying that we should make cocaine legal because there are more outbreaks of alcohol fueled violence than cocaine fueled violence. Adding another dangerous food to a market already filled with life threatening foods isn’t going to make anything better.
And for the tenth time…produce contributes to the highest number of deaths. as long as the cow and its raw milk are kept healthy and sanitary chances of death from drinking raw milk are minimal. And the other comment about people building up antibodies and other people (in cities) dont…not exactly.maybe one with a weakend immune sytem should take caution. lastly to the writer of this comment saying that the people supporting putting raw milk on the market are monsters. no. I just think someone you knew may have died from raw milk and now you think it is the armagedon. its not. theres a very slim little tiny chance that itll kill you. very rare. lighten up!
I have joined a ‘Cow Share’ program and pick up UNPASTURIZED milk weekly that is delivered from the farmer. My Son could not drink Pastruized dairy he would have stomach aches, and my daughter who is a vegetarian from birth would not drink pasturized milk. Both children have been drinking the unpasturized milk for 1 year now and have excellent health. My daughter drinks 2 glasses a day and my son drinks 2-3 glasses per day. As a baby in Italy I was drinking unpasturized milk from the family farm. Unpasturized Milk should be available as a free CHOICE.
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Cow’s milk is for baby cows. We are the only species of animal known to consume milk after being weened and milk meant for other species.
All types of mammalian milk have a lot of similarities, although there are some minor differences species to species. This is why our recipes for infant formula made with raw cow milk or raw goat milk includes some other ingredients to more closely approximate the nutrient profile of human milk. When breastfeeding isn’t possible, a formula made from the milk of another mammal is certainly a better alternative than a formula made from soybeans or other plant ingredients.
While we are the only species that widely consumes milk from other species past adulthood, there are many animals who will drink milk if offered it, or if they can sneak in and nurse. Farmers tell us about animals, even grown animals, nursing if they get the chance. Pigs and goats nursing or trying to nurse cows is common. In one case, an adult cow of a small breed liked to nurse from another cow of a much larger breed. So we do it because we can, and other animals perhaps only because they haven’t figured out how to get it on a regular basis.
So honey is made by bees for bees,we shoudnt consume it? NO. so what is wrong with the drinking of milk by humans?
unfortunately, these types are usually vegans, so they would agree that yes, honey is made by bees, for bees, and we are enslaving/raping/stealing, whatever anthropomorphism theyve chosen for the day, the poor bees to death for their honey for our greedy, glutonous ways…. eyeroll::
obviously you have never met a cat. Or a dog… or a pig, a chicken, basically any animal. So… your comment is hogwash. Besides, there are a whole host of other things that humans do that “other animals” dont, what exactly is your point?
Not true. Many thousands of people from various countries who have fasted for various reasons will drink raw goats milks to sustain their bodies again with nutrients after their fasting. Your blanketed statement was not factual in the least!
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hi, I want to know the advantages and disadvantages of pasteurised milk vs home boiling of milk….thanks
Boiling milk at home is essentially pasteurizing it if you bring it above the temperature that will deactivate the enzymes. You can’t achieve the sudden high heat and pressure of commercial pasteurization equipment so you may not be damaging the enzymes, beneficial bacteria, etc. as much as commercial milk, but you’ll likely lose a lot of the benefits of properly handled raw milk from grass-fed cows.
I was brought up on a dairy farm I’ve drank milk both while still warm from the cows and cold from tank. Other then finding the odd hair, I never had any adverse effects from raw milk. After having only shop milk I started having digestive problems and they are on going 13 years later. I can’t eat quite a few things now. I blame the lack of beneficial bacteria in the bought milk.
1 in 3 people are lactose intolerant. How about we use our common sense here people. 1 in 3 people are not intolerant to raw milk. It’s really not rocket science. And Fred, you shoul be removed from this page. You clearly have no idea what you’re saying. Maybe you should lay off the cocaine.
what about boiled farm milk vs pasteurized. I don’t think I could drink straight up raw milk.
Boiling milk at home is essentially pasteurizing it if you bring it above the temperature that will deactivate the enzymes. You can’t achieve the sudden high heat and pressure of commercial pasteurization equipment so you may not be damaging the enzymes, beneficial bacteria, etc. as much as commercial milk, but you’ll likely lose a lot of the benefits of properly handled raw milk from grass-fed cows. If you have read about the safety and health benefits of raw milk on this website but still can’t drink it raw, consider raw milk cheeses, available almost anywhere.
well boiled milk is not as good as raw milk but it still has a lot of vitamins and beneficial bacteria unless you boil it a lot. There are two differences between boiled and pasteurised:
1. boiled milk still has a small shell life. You cannot keep it too much over 1 day even in the freezer.
2. Although it looses some of the vitamins and beneficial bacteria it does not lose all of it.
Just think at pasteurized milk as boiling it 10 times over.
Why would boiling milk suddenly reduce the “shelf life” of milk to less than a day. Especially if frozen? When raw milk has a much longer shelf life than that? seems illogical.
Great article. While we’re at it, there are several studies proving that not only is smoking not bad for you, it’s actually good for you! They came out in the 40’s and 50’s, more recent than some of what’s cited here. So, light up everyone! As proof, I don’t anyone who has died from smoking. I know smokers who lived into their 90’s, so obviously it’s healthy.
On a side note, using more recent statistics, in the U.S. between 1998 and 2011 there were 148 illness outbreaks (not individual illnesses but full outbreaks) due to raw milk or cheese made from raw milk. That’s an average of 11 outbreaks a year over the course of only 13 years. That came to 2,384 reported illnesses. Most were children. Where did I get that info, current statistic collection: “Among dairy product-associated outbreaks reported to CDC between 1998 and 2011 in which the investigators reported whether the product was pasteurized or raw, 79% were due to raw milk or cheese. From 1998 through 2011, 148 outbreaks due to consumption of raw milk or raw milk products were reported to CDC. These resulted in 2,384 illnesses, 284 hospitalizations, and 2 deaths. Most of these illnesses were caused by Escherichia coli, Campylobacter, Salmonella, or Listeria. It is important to note that a substantial proportion of the raw milk-associated disease burden falls on children; among the 104 outbreaks from 1998-2011 with information on the patients’ ages available, 82% involved at least one person younger than 20 years old.
Reported outbreaks represent the tip of the iceberg. For every outbreak and every illness reported, many others occur, and most illnesses are not part of recognized outbreaks.” (http://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/rawmilk/raw-milk-questions-and-answers.html#related-outbreaks )
As for testing to make sure it’s safe, the germ / bacteria count in milk can change drastically each and every time an individual cow is milked, and drastically from cow to cow. Did the cow lay down in feces before being milked? You don’t know. Did the farmer adequately disinfect the teet before milking? You don’t know. Did the farmer remember to disinfect at all? Did he / she miss one teet? You will never have any way of knowing. Everyone makes mistakes, but this little mistake might lead to a severe illness or even loss of life.
So, yeah, I don’t know anyone who has gotten sick from raw milk yet either. But I don’t know everyone and neither do any of you. Is this a huge number of infected people. No. But then there is only an estimated 3% of people in the U.S. who drink raw milk at all. Is it worth one death at all when pasteurization has not been proven to harmfully effect milk in any way? I don’t think so. Pasteurization decreases the vitamin content a little. Eat better food. It kills some beneficial bacteria that may or may not be present. Eat some yogurt. You’ll be fine. Is there anything harmful in drinking pasteurized milk? Absolutely not.
The junk food we all eat and all the preservatives pumped into all the other foods, along with the herbicides and pesticides sprayed on our foods, are far more worrisome. Of all things to debate and worry about, this is a ridiculous one.
Oh, and for the writing tone impaired, the first part about smoking was sarcasm. Don’t smoke. Despite all the old scientific data to the contrary and all the “personal observation that no one I know has ever been hurt by smoking (or drinking raw milk)”, turns out it’s really bad for you. And yes, there really were experts who published reports in favor of smoking, just as there are published reports promoting drinking raw milk and that global climate change is a hoax. The majority of those studies in favor of smoking were published by pro-tobacco coalitions, kind of like this website who’s sole job is to promote raw milk or the proof from pro-coal groups that there is no climate change. See a connection? When you do your research, find info from someone who doesn’t have a horse in the race. The Center for Disease Control has one job, helping people stay healthy. One method is by being the police to help people avoid being victimized by those who don’t care about their health and just want to make a profit. This site represents those who want to make money selling raw milk to you. Do you really think that’s going to be a trust worthy source of non-biased information? Nope.
hmmm. You say ONLY 3% of people in the US drink raw milk (which is probably underreported since there is such a stigma attached to it in most states where it is often ILLEGAL… ridiculous as that is) and act as if two deaths in twelve years (while tragic that anyone died, further research shows that those two deaths were NOT FROM RAW MILK AT ALL! but lets pretend they were, for arguments sake) a little raw math might be in order here, just for the sake of scale… 3% of something might seem like a tiny number, a number that means 2 people are a large part of it. until you think about the fact that there are 350MILLION people in the US. Which means that that tiny little figure of “3%” turns into roughly 10,000,000 people drinking raw milk, every day likely, for over ten years… when you look at it that way, i think ANYONE would say ONLY 2 people, instead of ONLY 3%…im poor at math. but even i can figure there are going to be a lot of zero’s between the “Point” and the number when we go the other way on that equation. i’ll let you figure it out. what percentage of people died from drinking raw milk (pretending the answer is more than zero for now)? yeah. I’ll take my chances. Now someone remind me how many people died from food poisoning having to do with their spinach in the same time period… uh huh. goes back to her cow::
I am severely disappointed in the close-minded comments on this article. I have been drinking raw milk from a local farm that also sells milk on a larger scale for about 10 years now. I am never sick. I never feel ill. I actually have felt better since I stopped drinking pasteurized milk. I would love for everyone here (who hasn’t already) to try drinking raw milk before trusting any article written on it, whether it has credible sources or not. The only way to find out how amazing raw milk actually is, is to try it 🙂
do people living in India, Asia, Africa all the countries in South America, and so on, that drink cow’s milk is it raw, or pasturised?
I see all these comments about raw milk is good, better than pasteurized and then I see comments about pasteurized is better, safer. It all depends on who’s righting the article. All I have to say when your loved one has a severe or fatal complication due to consumption of raw milk, then what or who will you blame. If you’ve been drinking raw milk your whole life then drive on. If you and your family have been on pasteurized, then drive on…………. Only one knows how our life will end! So just live!
Raw milk from completely healthy animals is safe and wonderfully nutritious. How many of you can guarantee with 100% certainty that the raw milk you buy is from animals that are 100% free of disease?
I can tell you that the majority of Cow herds have members in the developed world are infected with Mycobacteria Avium Paratuberculosis that isn’t even killed with normal pasteurization. MAP has been linked to Crohns disease and Ulcerative Colitus. It isn’t killed by making it into yogurt, cheese, ice cream, etc. either.
After all before Pasteur developed the process of pasteurization many, many people contracted disease from milk. If you want better milk I agree that raw milk from a known supplier is likely more nutritious but milk should be heat treated one time before consumption. The risk to your family isn’t worth it. If you buy raw milk boil it for less than 3 minutes, stirring constantly, and then bottle in a clean bottle and immediately refrigerate.
This has been the practice in India for generations and guess what. They have less incidence of IBD(Crohns, UC) than the rest of the world.
If you read the Key Documents on this site and the many articles on the health and safety of raw milk, you’ll see that the Weston A. Price Foundation disagrees with you. Pasteur’s process, which he developed for wine, was first used on a milk during a period when raw milk was unsafe because of the “urbanization” of dairy cows (crowding them into feedlots on the edges of cities and feeding them distillery waste that acidified their rumens) and the lack of sanitation procedures. Raw milk had not been a common vector for illness before this change in the handling of cows and their milk. Pasteurization was a way to make the milk of this time safe to drink, especially for feeding babies who were particularly vulnerable. However, soon stainless steel, refrigeration, public water and sewer infrastructure, and a better understanding of germs made it possible to produce safe clean raw milk.
IBD in the US is not likely linked to raw milk consumption. We get testimonials all the time from people whose digestive issues and other health concerns are improved when they start drinking raw milk.