Should We Legalize the Sale of Raw Dairy?
by Gina Laverde
My family and I recently visited a dairy farm in Indiana, where children can milk cows and learn all about how milk does a body good. My son loves animals, so I saw no harm in letting him pet the cows. But, I also had some detective questions of my own for the staff.
I asked them to allow me to purchase raw milk. I was met with a wall of negativity and given a laundry list of the dangers of un-pasteurized dairy. I know that they cannot legally sell it to me (and I’m not sure that I’d even drink it if they did). But, I wanted to get a sense of their true feelings on the subject.
Raw Dairy Contains Live Enzymes and Bio Available Nutrition
I’ve personally witnessed the healing powers of raw butter and fermented raw milk (kefir), in this last year. If cows are fed a natural diet of grasses, they produce clean milk with potential healing power. Of course, their milk is ideal for their own young. However, raw butter can help heal the gut lining of humans, and prepare the gut for absorption of beneficial bacteria. In cases where a leaky gut leads to autism in children many parents have found success using raw butter. I am not one of these parents. I find that milk of any sort is mucous forming and unnatural for my family.
The woman at the farm would not elaborate on the cows’ diets.
She would only say that they are fed a special blend of grains and grasses. We only began pasteurizing and homogenizing dairy in this country for the sake of money. Farmers wanted to be able to save money on animal feed and produce more money making milk; producing in mass quantities without ideal diets or refrigeration meant that the animal’s milk would need to be heated in order to kill bacteria. Obviously, the milk from the Indiana farm was not healthy enough to be consumed raw.
The Real Dangers of Pasteurization
Most dairy for sale in this country is heat pasteurized to kill disease. And, while it does kill enzymes, it is not enough to destroy all potentially harmful organisms. This process also turns proteins (like casein) into poison. Without enzymes to aid in digestion, we are left with white poison that has absolutely no health benefits. The proteins in this type of milk are of no use to us at all.
According to Organic Pastures
it has been theorized that the combination of grass feeding, no antibiotics used, no hormones, and low levels of grain used in diet cause a change in the cows immune system and rumen. This change in physiology directly inhibits pathogen development in the milk (actually a transfer from environmental contamination that does not seem to occur; there are no bad bugs in the manure that transfer into the milk and the clean raw milk is highly pathogen resistant).
Raw Milk on the Down-Low
So many people who decide that raw dairy is beneficial to their health have to purchase it from secret farm shares and pick it up in garages across suburban America. This is illegal, and those who are truly just trying to get healthy could get into some big trouble with the man.
What will it Take?
States like California currently sell raw dairy on the public market. Some raw foodists are citing the benefits of raw dairy in battling Cancer. Yet, it still remains one of the only food products that cannot legally be sold raw. And, so much misleading information is splattered across our television screens, billboards, magazine ads and radio ads that preach the greatness of milk.
What will it take to increase our standards of dairy farming so that we can allow healthier raw dairy to be sold? How will this affect America’s farmers?
Resources:
Drink it raw:Why is unprocessed milk the only illegal food in North Carolina? [Independent Weekly]
What is Real Milk? [Westin A. Price]
Living Foods for Life [Organic Pastures]
deal
What? You have nothing to say?
Now is not the time to be silent. These issues affect us all
October 19th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
Great article, Gina. Speaking about raw food, I think that humans — if they “must” eat meat — should consume it raw its natural form. I mean, since so many people think that we are natural carnivores, then why not eat your meat raw? In fact, they did a documentary on the discovery channel about a dude who hunts and eats raw prey with wolves and he’s MUCH healthier than most cooked foodist. Supposedly, he “never gets sick.” Interesting.
October 19th, 2007 at 5:20 pm
Well, we do know that cooking food kills enzymes. So, eating meat raw (if it is completely organic and properly fed) isn’t such a weird concept. I’ve heard of people who marinate beef with digestive enzymes for 24 hours and then just slightly cook it. I myself have eaten ceviche (fish that has been soaked in citrus for 24 hours). Ceviche tastes cooked because the citrus breaks it down.
Some mom friends of mine feed their children raw eggs (free range organic), and swear by it.
I don’t believe that we are natural carnivores. But, i do believe that there are better ways of consuming meat, if we choose to do so. As for dairy — I believe raw should be made available to us.
I will say though, that it has been months since I’ve had meat and over a year since I’ve had dairy and I’m afraid going back would get me sick.
October 19th, 2007 at 6:52 pm
Gina, stay strong! Don’t go back to meat… no… Oh, and I just so we’re on the same page, I wasn’t implying that we are carnivores at all (just in case you thought so). I believe that we are naturally frugivores, actually :)
October 19th, 2007 at 7:30 pm
Interesting, frugivores…. I just found a great doctor for my son who is right on target with most of my beliefs regarding nutrition. However, he is suggesting that we start feeding our boy meat…. I’m baffled. I’m studying more and trying to keep an open mind. I’m wondering what Dr. Raj would say.
October 20th, 2007 at 12:54 am
Hi Guys,
Sorry! it has been ages since I visited your wonderful website. Great articles Gina and David. I am however against eating meat. I personally feel that the human body is programmed to be vegan. That would not tax the body. To take it further, we might be ideally suited to be fruitarians, that taxes the body the least. However, we have evolved and have adapted to eat grains, legumes etc. I think we have not evolved enough to become carnivores. Perhaps, we will but it might take billions of years. As for eating raw meat. I can only think of one word UGH!
October 21st, 2007 at 4:51 pm
:) Not sure how an argument for raw dairy morphed into a conversation about eating raw meat. I know that I don’t need meat and am happy without it. But, my son doesn’t tell me what he needs — I have to guess or experiment. His doc says that children need protein and amino acids from many different sources or their muscles will begin to eat away at themselves. I’m still too afraid to put meat into his body because he is doing so well on cultured foods and veggies, grains and spirulina.
I am curious about the concept that fruit taxes our bodies less. Many fruits, especially make me dizzy, skin breakouts and feel yukky all over.
October 22nd, 2007 at 7:15 pm
Raw Butter certainly has its benefits. We have tried it for an autistic gut. There are occasions when the casein intolerance is so high that it is not tolerated, but at other times I think it is beneficial. We are lucky to be in California where we get it in health food stores.
Pramila
October 22nd, 2007 at 7:31 pm
Hey Pramila,
Thanks for reading and sharing your experience. We have not tried raw butter. I have actually tried ghee in the recent past (lactose and casein free) I believe that it has its benefits in autism and gut healing — because of research and parent testimonials. But, my gut is telling me that it isn’t the best for our family right now. But, i’m definitely all for selling it raw and healthier. The milk and butter for sale now in my state (Illinois) is poison.
Gina
January 16th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Did you know that bacteria in unpasteurized milk can kill an unborn child in the womb.
January 16th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
January 16th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
testimonies of people who have been positively affected by using raw milk: Raw Milk - Tell Us Your Story!
mayo clinic once used it to cure cancer/this is a very good article: Got Raw Milk?
January 19th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
When I am pregnant I will not be testing what you beleive to be the opinions of public health propagandists. Personally I want to give my unborn baby any advantage possible to develop normally and healthy. Therefore I will not be drinking raw milk during conception or during my pregnancy.
Also please note that you have posted a response, to feed raw milk to children, which is not what I posted about. I was simply warning pregnant ladies to be aware of the potential dangers.
People have to read all the information presented to them to make an educated decision. I encourage anyone that wants to make any lifestyle change to read!
January 20th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Hi Laurel,
You are right. I didn’t fully address the unborn child statement that you made. As a mother, I always want to create the healthiest environment possible for my son. So I know what you mean. There are reasons for federal regulations and reasons why people oppose them. This is a reflection of our unique needs. I think one of the most important lessons to learn from reading health-related literature is that we have to build our own answers. Nobody can tell us the full story.
Your feedback was very insightful. Thank You
Gina
May 19th, 2008 at 1:14 am
I’m Romanian and I can’t help being amused and amazed at how many normal things are forbidden or unavailable in the US. I mean, raw milk? It’s not like it’s a goddamned drug. Sure, it can contain bacteria and whatnot, but put a label on it and let people decide for themselves.
I sometimes drink raw milk when I go to my grandma’s (she doesn’t keep cows but the neighbour does). I don’t particularly like it- it’s fattier, and has a different, stronger taste. But it’s probably just beacuse of habit. As a city kid, I’m used to pasteurized milk as “default”, but it’s sure as hell that the other doesn’t kill me either. Plus, you can just boil it if you’re bent on making it safer.
I don’t know what to say about you not feeding your kid dairy and meat. You know, people will survive on many different (and extreme) diets. The eskimos lived on only meat, they were strong enough to hunt and even just survive that climate, but they had typical illnesses because of the inbalance in the diet.
I’m pretty sure this is the first time in history someone can afford to keep their kid on an all-vegetarian diet that includes fancy stuff like spirulina, too. What you do is still an experiment. Your kid could grow healthier and stronger, or… not. But time will tell, and it’s logical that you do what your education says it’s best. It can’t be that bad since you keep them away from fast food and sweets. I just try to point out that maybe, humans would not be keeping certain things (like milk or meat) in their diet for hundreds of thousands of years if there were no considerable benefits.
June 13th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Properly cared for cows, hygiene and sanitation are the prerequisites to healthy raw milk, which is superior to all pasteurized products. Enzyme depleted foods are the cause of much disease, aging and suffering which goes beyond milk. Current health claims for pasteurized milk, are largely predicated upon the real benefits of quality raw milk. Factory style processing always diminishes quality. Rather than centralized production and distribution, which results it an emasculation of the people, we require a return to small independent family units. The CORPORATE model is not concerned about health or people, but about profit and control.