What is Raw Milk?

[Corie]

A local farm sells raw milk. What is that? Is it safe to drink?

Help!

[kijip]

It is not pasteurized. It can be safe to drink. It is not homogenized however, and many people getting raw milk are either shocked or turned off of it because of the separation of the fat. I won't drink any milk at all so it was a moot question personally but when we got some for my husband and T, they decided they did not like it AT ALL. You need to weigh the stated/claimed benefits of raw milk against the potential risk of non-pasteurized milk. Raw milk needs to be very fresh and most places that provide it do a good job of getting it to you fresh.

[Corie]

shocked or turned off of it because of the separation of the fat.

Okay, that grosses me out.

[BillK]

http://www.wtae.com/health/23199238/detail.html

[kijip]

Okay, that grosses me out.

I am with you but my grossed out reaction extends essentially all milk. I shudder at the thought of drinking any glass of milk but my husband and sons just love, love, love it. I have apparently been rejecting milk since I was a baby.

[Corie]

but my husband and sons just love, love, love it.




My daughter is a milk lover too. She is a Milk Connoisseur. :)

[ellies mom]

When I was a kid I loved raw milk. I've spent so many years drinking 2% that it would probably be hard for me to go back to it now.

[mommy111]

Wow, in Ohio? I wish I had known when we lived there. I love non-homogenized milk.

[Uno-Mom]

Another milk-hater here! Unless it's an ingredient.

I had a co-worker who refused to consume dairy that came out of a non-human animal. She said it was unnatural and disgusting. It made team pot-lucks a major pain because we love to cook with cream and cheese.

I was SO looking forward to bringing a creamy soup to work, tell her I used breast milk "just for her," and call her bluff! Sigh. I was saving that joke up for a whole year and then she went and quit 2 months before Sprog was born!

Sigh.

[salsah]

you have to get it! it is the best. i always thought that i didn't like milk until i tried real milk -- raw milk.

the "separation of the fat" is not gross, it is great. it's not like the oil separating in natural peanut butter. instead you have cream on top. when you get your jar, you can scoop the cream (fat) off of the top and use it to make butter or whipped cream or some really fattening delight. and then you are left with reduced fat milk. but so tasty!

if you want to ease yourself into it, you can boil the milk (w/ or w/o the cream).

[mommy111]

Yeah, I'm chicken so I boil, because I'm always concerned about disease transmission. But I'm in China so we have to be a little bit more careful, since agricultural practices here are different.

[HannaAddict]

Watching the news report on children in the hospital with the bad strains of e-coli, etc. from with legitimate, licensed raw milk dairies (that take precautions and are as clean as raw milk can be), would keep me away. There have been several outbreaks in our state with serious complications for kids or pregnant women. I wouldn't want to chance it, just not worth it to me.

[mommy111]

Watching the news report on children in the hospital with the bad strains of e-coli, etc. from with legitimate, licensed raw milk dairies (that take precautions and are as clean as raw milk can be), would keep me away. There have been several outbreaks in our state with serious complications for kids or pregnant women. I wouldn't want to chance it, just not worth it to me.
Wow, that's scary. I'm assuming the ecoli risk is diminished if you boil milk for 10 minutes or so? I guess its not 'raw' any more, but the unhomogenized milk tastes so much better than homogenized one.

[Puddy73]

I grew up on a dairy farm and my whole family drank raw milk for years BUT there is no way that I would drink it now. My parents still have a small dairy farm but they don't even drink the milk from their own cows without scalding it first. They have a healthy, grass-fed herd and maintain a clean milking parlor but no farm is perfect. Raw milk may contain e coli, staph, strep, rabies, tuberculosis, listeria, brucellosis and a host of other nasty bacteria. I don't think that it is worth taking the risk.

[AngelaS]

I would love to buy it for my family! Here, it's illegal to sell it so I'd have to pay about $50 to buy a share in the cow and then each gallon is about $6. I'd also have to drive a good 20 miles one day each week to get my one gallon. :P

[mommylamb]

It's not a risk I feel comfortable with, and I'm not really sure why raw milk is worth that risk. I don't think it provides some sort of nutritional benefit that you can't get from a balanced diet. So, nope, not for me or my family. It's illegal in a lot of states.

I always find it interesting that the people I've heard of who drink raw milk, also eat organic all the time. To me, I feel like, if you're so concerned about bad stuff in food that you would eat organic, why would you eat raw milk? And yes, I know I'm going to get flamed for that statement.

[JElaineB]

Here's a pro raw milk website. http://www.realmilk.com/

The fat separation mentioned is not a function of the milk being raw, per se. It is becuase raw milk is not homogenized. You can buy pastuerized milk that is not homogenized, which is what I do. There are some purported benefits of non-homogenized milk. As for raw milk, I do think it has benefits that pasturized milk doesn't, and is safe as long as it comes from healthy grass-fed cows. So you really need to know where it is coming from, visit the farm, etc. I probably could get it here if I tried really hard, but since it is illegal here it is easier for met to buy the vat pastuerized non-homogenized organic milk at the store.

[daisymommy]

Without getting into any sort of debate, because frankly, I'm just tired from all the debating--I just want to say that any reputable farm that sells raw milk for consumption tests every single batch of milk for all pathogens and disease, and dumps it if it tests positive, and then treats it's cows for illness. They vaccinate their herd against disease many times, and have a third party test the cows monthly, and provide it's customers with copies of the test results.

The reason that many "organic-eating" families want raw milk, is the desire to eat food as close to it's natural state as possible, untainted, unharmed, unchanged by man, with all of it's God-given benefits still intact.

In regards to wether eating a healthy varied diet can provide the same benefits, those who are pro-raw milk would say no. Raw milk has many of the same properties as breast-milk (immune boosting, antibacterial, antiviral, probiotic, etc.), and they are destroyed by high heat processing. It would be like saying if you feed an infant a healthy diet, they would get all the same benefits as breast milk, which we know isn't the case.

As for benefits and risks, it's obviously a very personal decision as to what you believe. http://www.raw-milk-facts.com/index.html

Here's a great interview to listen to if anyone is interested. It's with the owner of Green Pasture's Dairy in California, one of the most well known reputable raw dairies in the US.
http://vimeo.com/13418268

[lowrioh]

I grew up on a dairy farm and my whole family drank raw milk for years BUT there is no way that I would drink it now. My parents still have a small dairy farm but they don't even drink the milk from their own cows without scalding it first. They have a healthy, grass-fed herd and maintain a clean milking parlor but no farm is perfect. Raw milk may contain e coli, staph, strep, rabies, tuberculosis, listeria, brucellosis and a host of other nasty bacteria. I don't think that it is worth taking the risk.
:yeahthat:
I grew up drinking raw milk from my uncle's dairy farm but there is no way I would give raw milk to my children. Working in food safety has made me very wary of certain things and raw milk is one of them.

[JBaxter]

When Im in PA I get the raw milk but in MD its not legal to sell so I buy the non homogenized I've been to the dairy that supplies the milk and have actually bought it from the farmer. He is certified organic and tests regularly I have no problem giving it to my kids. I have to be very desperate to buy grocery store milk even the organic. The local dairy does not do the ultra pasturization. I buy the cheese made from the organic raw milk.

[elektra]

Working in food safety has made me very wary of certain things and raw milk is one of them.

I don't work in food safety but my SIL does. She works for the FDA doing testing of food samples and is always working overtime whenever there is an e coli outbreak or whatever.
She refuses to drink raw milk or unpasturized juices. She has told me horror stories about bacteria in those types of foods- it's like a breeding ground for it I guess.

I would try milk straight from a cow if I was on a farm, but the risks outweigh the benefits of raw milk all the time for me or my kids.
We still get our milk from a local dairy, but I'll take the extra processing. :)

[daisymommy]

The farm and cow conditions and milking standards that are allowed for milk that is intended to be pasteurized are horrible. That's why the milk is so contaminated. Because everyone knows it will be "cooked" and the bacteria will (usually) all be killed off. So there aren't many regulations as to what cannot be there pre-pasteurization. It's like Oh-well, we'll just clean it later...

But it's a whole other ball game when you're working with a farmer who know's that everything must be scrupulously clean from the get go, and the cows raised in healthy conditions, on grass--not poop cages, and eating a diet that doesn't case illness (which grain does). Then you get healthy clean milk that is not full of bacteria.

If you look at pictures of farms where people who have gotten sick from raw milk, no way in the world would I drink milk from those farms! People have to be pretty dumb to do that. The number one rule is visit the farm, and know your farmer. Check up on him, see that the conditions are clean & hygenic for yourself, request test results.

[JBaxter]

The farm and cow conditions and milking standards that are allowed for milk that is intended to be pasteurized are horrible. That's why the milk is so contaminated. Because everyone knows it will be "cooked" and the bacteria will (usually) all be killed off. So there aren't many regulations as to what cannot be there pre-pasteurization. It's like Oh-well, we'll just clean it later...

But it's a whole other ball game when you're working with a farmer who know's that everything must be scrupulously clean from the get go, and the cows raised in healthy conditions, on grass--not poop cages, and eating a diet that doesn't case illness (which grain does). Then you get healthy clean milk that is not full of bacteria.

If you look at pictures of farms where people who have gotten sick from raw milk, no way in the world would I drink milk from those farms! People have to be pretty dumb to do that. The number one rule is visit the farm, and know your farmer. Check up on him, see that the conditions are clean & hygenic for yourself, request test results.

I agree. I have been to the farm where my milk comes from seen his his milking parlor and milk storage area as well as his pasture. He also has free range chickens and make his own cheese. He has his organic certification and has his testing schedule/results available at request.

[AnnieW625]

I am picky about milk, and I am all about buying local (meaning within a 5 to 6 hr. radius of us because we live in a concrete jungle per se south of the Grapevine in So Cal). I get the same brand, Rockview Farms that Elektra does through a drive thru dairy or at Trader Joe's (it's the maker of their dairy products too; I matched the plant codes). I just found this dairy whose products will be sold at new market (Henry's Marketplace) near me called Organic Pastures (http://organicpastures.com/index.html) so I think I will try it just to see what it is like once the store opens.

Jeana, or Daisy at what age did you start giving raw milk to your kids?

[rhettsmom]

http://www.rawmilk.org/default.php

[chottumommy]

I buy raw milk whenever its available (about $6 a gallon). Most times, we visit when the farmer is milking (in the afternoon) because DS loves watching the cow being milked.

However I boil milk on a low flame because that is how I have always had milk in India. I love the taste of boiled raw milk after removing the fat on the top. I make butter and ghee with the cream and guard it with my life. The taste of the butter and ghee is heavenly.

DS loves the milk too especially with some saffron and a tiny hint of honey in it.

[YouAreTheFocus]

...Raw milk may contain e coli, staph, strep, rabies, tuberculosis, listeria, brucellosis and a host of other nasty bacteria. I don't think that it is worth taking the risk.

:yeahthat:

As this poster and others have said, I don't see the point of taking the risk. Just buy pasteurized NON-homogenized if you want the seperation. WF & TJ's both have cream top milk. There are also brands that are that are not ultra-pasteurized--this is like what is sold in europe.

"Ultra pasteurized came into being so that milk would have a longer shelf life in the store. It is heated to 280 degrees F for about 2 seconds. Regular pasteurization heats milk to 161 degrees F for about 15 seconds. Milk that is ultra pasteurized tends to have more of a cooked flavor. Some consumers feel that the proteins have been altered too much by the ultra pasteurization process."

[Corie]

Thank you so much for the great information!!

[brittone2]

Not wishing to really enter into debate and Nak, but we do raw milk and have for some time.

In terms of food borne illness risk, I got salmonella through tahini sold at whole foods during the great peanut butter debacle a few years ago. I was super sick for 8 days. Salad bars, peanut butter, salsa and guacamole, sprouts, green onions, and spinach have all had high rates of food borne illness associated with them in recent years. Restaurant salsa and guac have pretty high rates of pathogens. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-07-13-Salsa14_ST_N.htm

I don't do raw while pg and we don't really *drink* a ton of milk. I also use raw cream in my coffee.

I would never even remotely consider raw milk from a commercial dairy. I have had two great sources through the years (two different states, one where it is legal to sell and one where it was not legal). I feel fine with the decision for my own family but it is something you'd want to inform yourself about before considering.

We love that the fat separates fwiw. Just shake up the bottle before using.

[daisymommy]

And I don't know anybody that buys raw milk for the cream separating reason. It's for the health benefits that only come from raw milk, as well as the fact that many people cannot tolerate pasteurized milk, but do very well on raw milk.

Just didn't want anyone feeling confused as to why on earth someone would risk it just for the cream.

And fwiw, every single year there is at least one major pasteurized milk recall. There were 2 in 1985 which sickened over 200,000 people, and killed many. So just because you buy it in the grocery store doesn't guarantee it's safety either.

[nmosur]

Here's a pro raw milk website. http://www.realmilk.com/

The fat separation mentioned is not a function of the milk being raw, per se. It is becuase raw milk is not homogenized. You can buy pastuerized milk that is not homogenized, which is what I do. There are some purported benefits of non-homogenized milk. As for raw milk, I do think it has benefits that pasturized milk doesn't, and is safe as long as it comes from healthy grass-fed cows. So you really need to know where it is coming from, visit the farm, etc. I probably could get it here if I tried really hard, but since it is illegal here it is easier for met to buy the vat pastuerized non-homogenized organic milk at the store.


Where can I buy pastuerized, non-homogenized milk?? I love yogurt made out of non-homogenized milk. And the cream/fat that separates out is very very addicting - as a child I used to eat it on bread.

[JBaxter]

Where can I buy pastuerized, non-homogenized milk?? I love yogurt made out of non-homogenized milk. And the cream/fat that separates out is very very addicting - as a child I used to eat it on bread.

Look for a local dairy.
http://www.tricklingspringscreamery.com/ is where I get my dairy


http://www.yourfamilycow.com/ is one of the farmers that supply the creamery. Edwin is very knowledgeable and if you asked nice he will share Kefir grains to start some keifer

[JElaineB]

Where can I buy pastuerized, non-homogenized milk?? I love yogurt made out of non-homogenized milk. And the cream/fat that separates out is very very addicting - as a child I used to eat it on bread.

I guess it depends where you live. The milk I buy is sold in the midwest and central U.S. http://www.kalonasupernatural.com/locations.html, under their own brand as well as at least one store brand.

[llama8]

I would never use raw milk nor would I expose my children to it. Way too dangerous. With all of the risks out there, I don't understand why someone would willingly use it. IMHO

[nicepersonfl]

http://www.wtae.com/health/23199238/detail.html

While food-bourne illness CAN occur, take a look at some of this info:
http://www.raw-milk-facts.com/
http://www.realmilk.com/why.html

"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."

While there is risk in just about anything in life, I have gone to the farm I get my milk from, inspected the cleanliness, and encourage other people to do the same for safe, clean, RAW milk!

[YouAreTheFocus]

Where can I buy pastuerized, non-homogenized milk?? I love yogurt made out of non-homogenized milk. And the cream/fat that separates out is very very addicting - as a child I used to eat it on bread.

Our Trader Joe's sells it--it's called cream top organic milk, and comes in 2% and whole. From what I have read this particular TJ milk is supplied by Strauss, which is a local creamery, so I guess YMMV.

FYI, also came across this website, supposedly you can enter the code from your milk carton and find out where you milk came from.

http://whereismymilkfrom.com/

[JBaxter]

Cream Line is now its labled where I get milk

[nmosur]

Thank you for your replies re: where I can find non-homogenized milk. Off to TJ's I go.

[vejemom]

We get 2 gallons of raw milk a week. I get it from friends who sell milk shares for their 4 cows. I know the guy who milks the cows, and I know the conditions on the farm where the cows are kept. I even know the names of the cows and their distinct personalities. When this subject comes up, I often see references to "small dairies" by raw milk naysayers. Invariably, those dairies have 60-100 cows. That ain't a small dairy in my book. :)The smaller the better when it comes to raw milk.

Like all things in life, there is some inherent risk to raw milk. But frankly I trust my neighbors more than I do the big agri-business in this country. Same rational for me raising my own eggs and meat chickens. For me, it is also an issue of self-sufficiency. I'm no conspiricy theorist, but I think that there is a good chance that the ))($$)?$ is going to hit the fan in this country at some point. I'll still be able to get milk if I have a non-commercial source in place.

I don't actually like to drink milk but in my coffee. But I love the taste of raw milk. I like that you can customize your milk fat by how much cream you skim off each jar. While it is expensive (about $6 a gallon), I get other dairy products out of it. I make butter from the cream, and use the resulting buttermilk for baking. The buttermilk is nothing like you buy in a store. My mom used to tell me stories of how her grandfather from Ireland used to love to drink buttermilk after physical labor in hot weather. I used to wonder why the heck anyone would drink buttermilk until I tried a sip of the stuff left from butter making. It is sort of sweet and watery, with none of that sourness and thick consistency of store bought

If it really concerns you, you can pasteurize the raw milk yourself, as PP have
noted. It will still taste better than anything you can get at the store. Nice to support local farmers, too.

[TwinFoxes]

And fwiw, every single year there is at least one major pasteurized milk recall. There were 2 in 1985 which sickened over 200,000 people, and killed many. So just because you buy it in the grocery store doesn't guarantee it's safety either.

It looks like of the two recalls in 1985 the one that killed the most (40+) people was unpasturized milk. This was huge news when it happened in California. The cheese was contaminated with listeria, so there were a lot of infant deaths and still births.

I had never heard of the other recall, which was in the Midwest, and was pasteurized milk. The second link mentions that one if you scroll down, it cites just three deaths. Other sources say there were as many as 12 deaths.

http://www.nytimes.com/1985/07/14/us/62-deaths-from-cheese-traced-to-single-source.html

http://health.usnews.com/usnews/health/articles/070520/28food.timeline.htm

Be that as it may, I'm sure raw milk practices in 2011 are very stringent if you buy from a reputable source. It's not my thing, but I'm sure there are legit sources.

Forgive me if there's another pasteurized milk recall in 1985 that you're referring to, but I couldn't find it, and you didn't provide links.

[daisymommy]

Sadly, in the case of the Mexican-style raw milk cheese (their name for it, not mine btw) that sickened those people, the milk that produced that cheese (and other Hispanic soft cheeses) was milk that was meant to be pasteurized (meaning it did not come from the organic, ultra clean, grass-fed sources that raw milk should). It came from a conventional feed-lot dairy (aka poop-land!) where great care is not taken because they figured it will be sterilized later. Sometimes it comes from Mexico, where regulations are lax and questionable, and is imported to the U.S. So not surprising in that case.
And then cheese is made from it, and left to culture for 60-90 days, with the idea that as the good cultures grow (like probiotics in the cheese) it will kill off the bad bacteria (the FDA is supposed to inspect it at this point to see if the culturing has worked). This doesn't always work though, certainly not in the case of cows raised on grain, improperly. There are probably very little good cultures in the milk to start with, and couple that with a huge amount of bacteria from the feed-lot/animal...gross. Not a safe idea.
As I said it my last post--BAD idea! Never consume any raw milk food/drink unless the cows were raised from the very start with the assumption that their milk would be consumed raw.

Here's the 1985 Salmonella outbreak I mentioned: Hillfarm Dairies
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1370/is_v20/ai_4119044/

Some listings of outbreaks, year by year
http://www.californiarawmilk.org/site/_documents/news/PasteurizedOutbreaks.pdf

TwinFoxes and others~ Thanks for keeping the discussion polite! :) I think it was nice to have a healthy discussion on both sides of the issue that didn't head South.


(http://www.californiarawmilk.org/site/index.php/site/news_article/25/)

[oneontheway]

What is the difference between non-homogenized and raw milk? Is the only difference that raw milk is not pasturized?

[daisymommy]

Yes, non-homogenized is still pasteurized (heat-treated/cooked), so it is not raw.
But the cream has not been mechanically spun at high speeds to molecularly break it down into particles so small that it blends with the rest of the milk--never to separate again. Which some health advocates will tell you causes the body to absorb the fat more and cause high cholesterol and inflamed arteries as a result.

[Puddy73]

We get 2 gallons of raw milk a week. I get it from friends who sell milk shares for their 4 cows. I know the guy who milks the cows, and I know the conditions on the farm where the cows are kept. I even know the names of the cows and their distinct personalities. When this subject comes up, I often see references to "small dairies" by raw milk naysayers. Invariably, those dairies have 60-100 cows. That ain't a small dairy in my book. :)The smaller the better when it comes to raw milk.

Compared to the ever-increasing corporate giants, anything under 100 cows is definitely small. Sadly, the "family" farm is disappearing rapidly. I'm glad the sale of raw milk products is helping keep some of these farms going. Drinking raw milk is not a risk that I'm comfortable taking but I see how others can make a different decision. Thanks to everyone for making this an informative and civil discussion!

[Tracey]

It's a good way to get tuberculosis and many other diseases. Yeah, you can listen about how unlikely all of this is with today's cleaner conditions, but really, is it worth the risk?

[mommy111]

If it really concerns you, you can pasteurize the raw milk yourself, as PP have
noted. It will still taste better than anything you can get at the store. Nice to support local farmers, too.
:yeahthat: Milk fresh from the cow pasteurized at home tastes waaaaay better than cream top pasteurized milk bought in a bottle at the store. And its relatively safe.

[JBaxter]

It's a good way to get tuberculosis and many other diseases. Yeah, you can listen about how unlikely all of this is with today's cleaner conditions, but really, is it worth the risk?

When we weigh the risks of the particular dairy I use with his testing and farming methods vs the standard commercial dairies that routinely use antibiotics on their animals and questionable feeding methods for my family yes it is worth the risk.
Knowing where my milk , beef and chicken come puts my mind at ease. Would I buy just any raw milk, cheese, ( or any dairy product) NO but I have done my research and feel comfortable with Edwins operation

[nicepersonfl]

When we weigh the risks of the particular dairy I use with his testing and farming methods vs the standard commercial dairies that routinely use antibiotics on their animals and questionable feeding methods for my family yes it is worth the risk.
Knowing where my milk , beef and chicken come puts my mind at ease. Would I buy just any raw milk, cheese, ( or any dairy product) NO but I have done my research and feel comfortable with Edwins operation

:yeahthat: Funny how my food allergic child can have a reaction to organic, pasteurized milk from a big store, but NOT have a reaction from the local raw dairy farm that uses no antibiotics (doesn't need to because his animals are healthy), grass fed, heirloom breed line (not genetically altered to produce more milk). Even the allergist is thinking many "milk" allergies may actually be an allergy from what the cows are fed/pumped with...

And my child is healthier NOW than when on soy!

[chlobo]

http://www.wtae.com/health/23199238/detail.html

http://www.marlerblog.com/legal-cases/more-news-on-massachusetts-listeria-deaths-related-to-whittier-farms-pasteurized-milk/

not just raw milk.

[BarbieSmith]

Nah, nah, nah, nah... I get my farm fresh (er, raw) millk for $3 a gallon here in southern PA!!! I am so spoiled.

I did months of research (no kidding). Anyone wanting to do this, MUST do the research. When you do, you might never, every drink (*used to be* beloved) Stonyfield or other "regular" milk again. It is alarming how some deep, deep research can open your eyes!

By the way, my kefir grains are getting too many. If anyone is close to York, and wants some free, just let me know :)
Barbie

[sadie427]

Some more info from the FDA about raw milk:

http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/Product-SpecificInformation/MilkSafety/ucm122062.htm#safe

I don't actually really drink milk myself, so don't have an opinion as to taste, but would personally be a bit wary. Note that some of the common pathogens in raw milk are particularly a problem for small children, immunocompromised people and pregnant women; may or may not be that dangerous for healthy adults.

(And actually I'm skeptical about food safety in general and agree you can get sick from pasteurized milk too; I get my milk from a local farm that seems trustworthy, but it's pasteurized.)

[BarbieSmith]

Note: it has been noted that the FDA *may* be very biased... there is a huge potential for conflict of interest (dairy industry's relationship with government, school milk programs, etc.). I don't know the details, just want to point this out... the FDA would not be the first place I would turn for information on this subject.

[Corie]

Note: it has been noted that the FDA *may* be very biased... there is a huge potential for conflict of interest (dairy industry's relationship with government, school milk programs, etc.). I don't know the details, just want to point this out... the FDA would not be the first place I would turn for information on this subject.


This sounds like a conspiracy theory...;)

[BarbieSmith]

This sounds like a conspiracy theory...;)

You may say so, I did not go that far. In fact, I *cannot*, I don't know the inner workings, I think I made that clear.

ps: having difficulty reading the tone of your post, please clear up if it seems I am reading incorrectly.

[daisymommy]

I would have to say that after reading the FDA webpage, some of those points are matters of OPINION, not fact, and some of them have been proven in scientific studies and published journal articles to be the opposite of what they are saying. But they would of course spin it differently.

I think the big thing comes down to freedom of choice. Americans are allowed to smoke cigarettes that most likely will cause lung cancer. Or drink alcohol which has the potential to lead to alcoholism. Or eat trans fats which can cause heart disease. Because it's a personal choice of what we put into our bodies. And yet, it is illegal in more than half the US states to sell raw milk for human consumption. I don't need the government making the choice for me. Let them slap a warning label on it if they choose, like cigs. and lung cancer, or alcohol being bad for pregnant women. But give me my freedom to make that choice for myself gosh darn it! ;)

[lowrioh]

Note: it has been noted that the FDA *may* be very biased... there is a huge potential for conflict of interest (dairy industry's relationship with government, school milk programs, etc.). I don't know the details, just want to point this out... the FDA would not be the first place I would turn for information on this subject.

I personally think you are way off base on this. JMO.

FYI- School lunch program and many other parts of the milk industry are under USDA not FDA.

[AngelaS]

i would have to say that after reading the fda webpage, some of those points are matters of opinion, not fact, and some of them have been proven in scientific studies and published journal articles to be the opposite of what they are saying. But they would of course spin it differently.

I think the big thing comes down to freedom of choice. Americans are allowed to smoke cigarettes that most likely will cause lung cancer. Or drink alcohol which has the potential to lead to alcoholism. Or eat trans fats which can cause heart disease. Because it's a personal choice of what we put into our bodies. And yet, it is illegal in more than half the us states to sell raw milk for human consumption. I don't need the government making the choice for me. Let them slap a warning label on it if they choose, like cigs. And lung cancer, or alcohol being bad for pregnant women. But give me my freedom to make that choice for myself gosh darn it! ;)

amen sistah!

[bcafe]

I would have to say that after reading the FDA webpage, some of those points are matters of OPINION, not fact, and some of them have been proven in scientific studies and published journal articles to be the opposite of what they are saying. But they would of course spin it differently.

I think the big thing comes down to freedom of choice. Americans are allowed to smoke cigarettes that most likely will cause lung cancer. Or drink alcohol which has the potential to lead to alcoholism. Or eat trans fats which can cause heart disease. Because it's a personal choice of what we put into our bodies. And yet, it is illegal in more than half the US states to sell raw milk for human consumption. I don't need the government making the choice for me. Let them slap a warning label on it if they choose, like cigs. and lung cancer, or alcohol being bad for pregnant women. But give me my freedom to make that choice for myself gosh darn it! ;)
:yeahthat:

[Jenn27]

Corie, when I saw this post I knew it had to be you! Great info!! I'm still not sure how I feel. I believe, like others said, that Red Sun is a milkshare. I really want local milk but am so torn on whether I want to go raw. I do know, that after Monsanto approved the GM alfalfa, I fear we will never have commercial 'organic' dairy products so I need to find something!