Udderly Interesting

Pictured here is my first gallon of raw cow milk. I was careful not to jostle the jug so you would be able to see what it looks like prior to shaking. See all of that cream/fat on top?

My husband has been looking at me skeptically as I buy and then drink raw milk. I even gave my kids some of the raw goat's milk, gasp!

He, like most of us, has been very carefully taught not to eat raw dairy and meats, and as I've done my research on this controversy I have come to find that there are very strong opinions on both sides; it reminds me of the battle over vaccinations.

Not wanting to put my beloved children, or myself for that matter, at risk, I have sorted through the information that floats around cyberspace to come to what I consider the best educated guess I can at this time. Take what you want, and leave the rest, and by all means, do you own sorting before you drink any type of milk!

I stumbled upon information about raw milk a while ago, and was NOT impressed. In fact, as a family, we avoided cow products across the board, pasteurized or not. Here is a link to the site I studied, with direct mention of raw milk. The entire site http://www.notmilk.com/ focuses on the author's distaste for dairy, along with his reasons for becoming a strict vegan.

One thing that stands out to me, is the statement that, "many bacteria are not killed by pasteurization. Rod-shaped bacteria form a "spore" at the first sign of heat (spore is the Greek word for seed). When milk cools, the spore re-emerges into its original form."

Two questions came to mind after I read that. One, if bacteria are going to survive pasteurization anyway, why go through the trouble? And two, are the bacteria really a problem at all?

Raw milk advocates address both questions by choosing a milk in which all bacteria are left alone. The theory here is that pasteurization kills off the good bacteria that keep the bad bacteria in check. I think of our guts and what happens when we get a dose of an antibiotic. All bacteria gets killed off in our systems; the good with the bad. Then yeast grows out of control (formerly kept at healthy levels by our good bacteria). We, and many along with us, take daily probiotics to ADD back good bacteria lost to the chlorine in our drinking water, among other things. Mass marketers have caught on, and now sell everything from granola bars to cereal with added probiotics. My guess is that this is nothing more than savvy marketing, and that the levels and types of probiotics used probably never survive long enough to get anywhere near our digestive tracts.

I look to human breast milk for a comparison. Experts tell us not to microwave or heat (aside from a brief warming) breast milk because the heat will destroy the componants in the milk that strengthen our babies' immune sytems. Breast milk can be left at room temperatures for hours without risk of spoilage because of the 'living' nature of the milk that is naturally anti-bacterial. I imagine "cooked" or pasteurized breast milk would not have this same protection. So, wouldn't it stand to reason that milk made by other mammals would be similarly protected prior to pasteurization?

Raw milk proponents site numerous reasons for consuming milk in its natural state. Among them are that pasteurization, "destroys enzymes, diminishes vitamin content, denatures fragile milk proteins, destroys vitamins C, B12 and B6, kills beneficial bacteria, promotes pathogens and is associated with allergies, increased tooth decay, colic in infants, growth problem in children, osteoporosis, arthritis, heart disease and cancer. Calves fed pasteurized milk do poorly and many die before maturity. Raw milk sours naturally, but pasteurized milk turns putrid; processors must remove slime and pus from pasteurized milk by a process of centrifugal clarification. Inspection of dairy herds for disease is not required for pasteurized milk. Pasteurization was instituted in the 1920s to combat TB, infant diarrhea, undulant fever and other diseases caused by poor animal nutrition and dirty production methods. But times have changed and modern stainless steel tanks, milking machines, refrigerated trucks and inspection methods make pasteurization absolutely unnecessary for public protection. And pasteurization does not always kill the bacteria for Johne's disease suspected of causing Crohn's disease in humans with which most confinement cows are now infected...." From http://www.realmilk.com/

Although I am able to get my hands on cow's milk that is raw and comes from cows that are healthy, are grass fed, and are milked in a sanitary manner (my source also has grass fed beef, and free range eggs here in GA- if you're local, go to http://www.countrygardensfarm.com/ ) I still opt to feed only goat's milk to my children.

My reasons are that I have actually seen the goats, watched them being cleaned before and after they are milked, know what they eat, and have a sense that the owners are knowledgeable and careful about how the goats and their milk are handled. Goat's milk is also much more similar to human milk in protein and fat levels, and is much more easily digested (raw!). From what I have read, a goat makes milk that most other mammals could thrive by drinking.

I would never drink or give milk to my children from an animal that was:

• Confined to a stall
• Fed grains only, and not allowed to ruminate on vegetation most of the year
• Bred only for milking capacity (as most dairy cows today are) rather than for all-around health and quality
• Given hormones to increase milk production
• Mass-milked by workers who are out of touch with safe-handling procedures

Keep in mind that even most commercial Organic dairy products are produced by cows who are grain-fed and confined. Check your sources, and take advantage of small farms that are local!

Yes, there are dangers in eating raw. The next spinach salad you eat could be laced with e. coli (the most common food for e. coli contamination, by the way). Your raw cow's milk might give you a stomach ache and diarrhea; but the pasteurized variety might do the same. Because of those dangers, there are foods I would not offer to an immune suppressed individual or take if I were pregnant.

To find your local source for raw cow or goat milk, visit http://www.realmilk.com/

And for those of you who are hesitant to give goat's milk a try because of its flavor, fear not! The pasteurized version does taste 'goaty' or musky, but the raw milk tastes remarkably similar to 2% cow's milk (whole goat milk is much lower in fat than whole cow milk). I've had it on my cereal and out of a glass, and despite my aversion to the commercial/pasteurized form, I have nothing but positive things to say about the taste and smell.

Also, because laws in most states prohibit the sale of unpasteurized milks, most farms will advertise that the milk is "for pets". If you get to know the animals and their caretakers, and are comfortable with the entire picture, you may find that the milk for your pets is good enough for you too.