The Raw Milk Debate
We were eleven altogether, sitting on the red-brown sand of the African savannah. We eagerly moved to the edge of the colorful plastic mat that was to be our dining chairs as one of the mothers of the compound brought two large calabashes to us. Excitement was mixed with subtle tension - what is it that we will be eating today? As we curiously peered inside the calabashes, we saw an off-white liquid surrounding pieces of what looked like a mashed cooked grain. Hands washed, then reaching for the calabash…delicious!
"What is this?" we asked. "It is so good!" we cried between liquidy mouthfuls. "Fura," he said. "Fura, it is sorghum balls crushed inside soured milk" The milk which was milked from the cow the day before had been allowed to naturally ferment.
It was extraordinarily creamy, and wonderfully refreshing. The eleven hungry travelers ate the entire two calabashes full of the newfound favorite village dinner.
"But isn't it dangerous to eat unpasteurized milk," one may ask. Apparently, many people in the USA think so, because in over 25 states, although one can possess unpasteurized milk, it is a crime to sell it. Federal law also states that one cannot transport raw milk between states with the intent to sell it for human consumption.
But one must then also wonder how billions of people worldwide can drink raw, straight-from-the-cow milk (and still come out of it alive) if unpasteurized milk is so deadly. How did our ancestors fare on their family farms just over 100 years ago, without the miracle of pasteurization?
Pasteurization is the process of heating raw milk so that any harmful organisms swimming inside can be killed. Its basis is the germ theory - the theory that germs cause disease - and was developed by Louis Pasteur. His original method was to heat milk to 130-150F for 20-30 minutes. New methods of pasteurizing milk have been developed, such as the "flash" method, which requires milk to be heated from 150 to 170F for 15-20 seconds; the problem with this method, however, is that it is virtually ineffective, as temperatures need to reach at least 190F to kill bacilli coli and organisms related to typhoid, tuberculosis, and other illnesses. The common method that is used today is called UHT (ultra high temperature) - the cream is separated from the milk so that the milk can be heated up to 300F, resulting in very sterile milk - free from both potential pathogens as well as nutrition. Numerous studies have shown that pasteurization kills not only potential microbes in the milk, but also the valuable enzymes and lactic acid (lactobacillus acidophilus) that helps keep bacteria in check and aids in digestion. The process also alters (and often destroys) the availability of vitamin C, all 22 amino acids, as well as fatty acids, calcium, magnesium, and trace minerals.
The American public is convinced that milk is dangerous if it is raw, and that the milk we buy in supermarkets is "nature's perfect food" While it may very well be true that milk is nature's perfect food, it is absurd for us to believe that it remains so after being so heavily processed and stripped of its natural goodness.
Has the reader ever wondered how pasteurization started? The story is an interesting one; it is a story that caused a divide between milk-drinkers across the USA. The story begins in the late 19th century, when thousands of babies in America were dying due to milk consumption. In New York City alone, almost one-fourth of all babies died before their first birthday, and the culprit was thought to be the milk they were drinking.
Meanwhile, Mr. Pasteur had already invented his process of pasteurization in the 1860's, but at this time it was not used for milk. Nathan Straus, an owner of Macy's department store, became very bothered by the large infant death rate, and it was Straus who began advocating for the pasteurization of milk. He also decided to set up milk stations around the country to distribute the pasteurized milk. The infant mortality rate dropped very quickly.
Soon states began passing laws for mandatory pasteurization of milk. Chicago was the first city to require pasteurization in 1908, followed by New York, but was Michigan who was the first state to make raw milk illegal in 1948. Much later, in 1986, a federal judge ordered the FDA to ban the interstate shipment of raw milk, as it is "a vehicle for transmission and spread of numerous diseases".
The public didn't stir about the changes to their milk - after all, the government wants only what is best for us, right?
Yet one issue was missed (purposefully?) - most of the infants that died due to drinking raw milk were in cities rather than in rural areas. In the cities, the dairies were contaminated, dirty, and hot. At the time, there were few regulations or standards on dairies, especially regarding transportation and storage of milk.
Additives were also often found in milk, such as grilled onions, carbonized carrots, caramel, marigold petals, chalk, plaster, clay, starch, almonds, and even animal brains!
Were babies dying because raw milk is dangerous, or because it had not been properly handled and refrigerated? Were children becoming deathly sick because milk, as nature intended it, is full of harmful bacteria and organisms, or because they were consuming plaster, animal brains, and other weird substances secretly put in their white gold?
Has the reader ever seen raw milk? It looks like, well, real milk. Not the watered down, creamless, sterile white water you find in the grocery store...no, it is thick and hearty, with a yellowish tint. The cream it contains rises to the top, and when you stir it in, the milk becomes ready for drinking. A tall, creamy, thick glass of raw milk...one surely could never go back to the white water the grocery stores pass off as being "nature's perfect food".
Raw milk is making a comeback in the USA for a number of reasons. One reason is simply that it tastes better.
Anyone who has ever had raw milk will testify to its wholesome goodness. But, for the health conscious, taste is a mere luxury...why are so many health conscious folks turning their backs to pasteurized milk and embracing its raw ancestor?
Of course we've already established that raw milk contains much more nutrients than pasteurized milk. Those who choose raw milk also know that they can avoid certain illnesses and conditions by drinking raw milk instead of processed. These issues include: diarrhea, cramps, bloating, tooth decay, anemia, arthritis, colic in babies, allergies, skin rash, heart disease, cancer, autism, acne, infertility, asthma, diabetes, growth problems, and more.
Plus, raw milk naturally has pathogen killers inside, including lactoferrin, xanthine, oxidase, lactoperoxidase, nisin, and lysozyme. Studies have shown that when pathogens are added to raw milk, they will not survive because the enzymes kill them off.
Pasteurization has also been shown to be ineffective in ridding milk of the germs and organisms it was designed for. In June, 1982, 172 people in a three-state area in the Southeast were stricken with an intestinal infection. Over 100 hundred were hospitalized. The infection, which caused severe diarrhea, fever, nausea, abdominal pain, and headache, was caused by pasteurized milk. In 1983, an outbreak of listeriosis that occurred in Massachusetts 1983, pasteurized whole or 2% milk was implicated as the source of infection. Inspection of the milk-producing plant detected no apparent breach in the pasteurization process.
One other benefit from raw milk is that it contains an antiviral agent. It seems to be found in the aqueous portion that is just below the cream layer, and drinking raw milk can help prevent and cure viral illness.
Raw milk is a good treatment for worms. Many people know that a short raw-milk fast can be very effective in getting rid of worms in humans.
Does your infant have diarrhea? It could be the milk you or he is drinking - John Hopkins University and the University of Maryland found that raw cows milk contains twice as much of the enzyme 1gG than pasteurized milk. This enzyme inhibits retrovirus organisms that often cause diarrhea in infants.
(Incidentally, did the reader know that newborn calves who are fed pasteurized milk since birth die by the third month of life?)
Dutch chemist Willem J. Van Wagtendork at Oregon State College found guinea pigs with calcification of the tissues found great relief from raw milk cream
One must wonder why the authorities are so hellbent on keeping pasteurization rather than looking into the raw milk issue. But that, my friend, is another story for another day.
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