UPDATED: December 20, 2024
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Raw Milk: I Used to Drink It
When I was in high school, I had fantasies about the idyllic lives of families running small farms. So, I took a summer job working on a dairy farm with a herd of about 60 Holstein cows. I learned to recognize each one of them by name, and milked them all, twice a day, starting at 4:00 am. I never worked so hard in my life!
That hands-on experience with farming burst my fantasy bubble. It also made me stop drinking milk, but probably not for the reasons you might imagine. Here’s what happened:
The farm family I lived with had their “table cow,” a Jersey named Daisy, whose milk had a very high butterfat content. Still warm from Daisy's body, that milk was the most delicious drink I had ever tasted. Nothing I could find in any store ever came close, and never again would I settle for something that tasted like an inferior imitation of the real thing.
Yes, what I drank that entire summer was raw milk, and I suffered no ill effects. However, the “raw milk movement” that we’ve been hearing so much about lately doesn’t provide people with a direct “cow-to-table” experience. Commercially produced raw milk, with much of its butterfat removed, is not nearly as tasty as what Daisy had provided, and its claimed benefits are bogus.
Debunking the Myths About Raw Milk
Unpasteurized milk from cows, goats, or sheep, often referred to as “raw” or “fresh,” has made great gains in popularity in recent years. Raw milk dairies and “natural foods” advocates commonly make false health and nutrition claims about it.
Unsurprisingly, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a notorious anti-vaccine activist, conspiracy theorist, and outspoken promoter of medical nonsense, is reported to be a raw milk advocate. All the more reason he is unfit for a role in our government.
California is the largest state where raw milk is legally sold in retail stores. Many other states permit direct sales to consumers, most often at farms or other locations such as farmers' markets. Production and supply of raw milk in California is claimed to be growing by 50 percent a year. This map details the legality of raw milk sales across the country:
Raw milk is often touted as a healthier alternative to its pasteurized counterpart. However, the risks associated with consuming raw milk (along with other dairy products made from raw milk) far outweigh any of its purported benefits. In fact, all such claims have been thoroughly debunked.
For raw milk's true believers, scientific evidence to the contrary typically falls upon deaf ears. Scientists are by training willing to correct their mistakes and alter their conclusions to account for new evidence. In stark contrast, anti-science conspiracy theorists almost never do, no matter how much the evidence contradicts their beliefs. The best you can do is send them to an interactive website, and not waste any of your time arguing with them.
None of the claims made by raw milk advocates are able to withstand scientific scrutiny. Here is the truth about some of the most common raw milk myths:
Raw milk does not cure or prevent lactose intolerance.
It doesn’t cure, treat, or prevent asthma and allergies.
It isn’t more effective in preventing osteoporosis than pasteurized.
Raw milk has no beneficial bacteria for gastrointestinal health.
It is not an immune system building food.
Raw milk isn’t safe for children or pregnant women.
It doesn't contain immunoglobulins to enhance the immune system.
It doesn't have any natural antimicrobial components that make it safe.
It doesn't contain nisin for pathogen inhibition.
Raw milk doesn't have additional enzymes that help digestion.
It is not nutritionally superior to pasteurized milk.
It doesn't enhance folate utilization.
From: Raw Milk Misconceptions and the Danger of Raw Milk Consumption.
With no nutritional advantages or any other health benefits over its pasteurized counterparts, there are only downsides to consuming raw milk products.
The Dangers of Drinking Raw Milk
Raw milk from commercial dairies is exposed to many sources of contamination by microbial pathogens before it reaches consumers. Cows graze outdoors, and are milked in barns with their stalls covered in mud and manure. The bulk milk is picked up in tanker trucks and transported to processing and distributing facilities. That’s a far cry from my summer experience drinking raw milk right from Daisy.
Some of those organisms can cause severe illnesses and death, especially among vulnerable people such as children, the elderly, pregnant women, and those who are immunocompromised. They risk becoming sick or even dying from even small amounts of microbial contamination. Over a 20-year period, the CDC identified over 200 illness outbreaks linked to drinking raw milk, that resulted in 2,645 cases, 228 hospitalizations, and three deaths.
Public health scientists investigating disease outbreaks have found that even if the raw milk comes from state-certified dairies it can still present health risks. In November, 2024, California regulators recalled two batches of raw milk from a Fresno dairy farm after detecting bird flu virus. The farm was placed under quarantine, and distribution of its raw milk, cream, kefir, butter and cheese was suspended.
Pasteurization is a heat treatment named after microbiologist Louis Pasteur. The treatment is used to kill microorganisms in food in order to inhibit spoilage and prevent food-borne diseases caused by bacteria, microscopic parasites, and viruses. Specific temperature and time requirements vary between different foods and beverages. Dairy processors can choose among several different types of pasteurization.
Milk pasteurization "Grade A" guidelines were adopted in the United States in 1924. At the time, milk was responsible for a quarter of all foodborne illnesses. Pasteurization helped prevent the spread of diseases such as tuberculosis and brucellosis, and was considered a major breakthrough in public health. The federal government banned interstate sales of unpasteurized dairy products in 1987.
Playing Pathogen Roulette
Raw milk can harbor a variety of dangerous pathogens. The most common species include:
Escherichia coli (especially E. coli strain O157:H7), associated with fecal contamination of milk, can cause severe stomach cramps, diarrhea (sometimes bloody), kidney failure, and even death.
Salmonella, which can cause gastrointestinal illness, fever, diarrhea, vomiting, and dehydration.
Listeria monocytogenes can produce fever and muscle aches. In pregnant women, it can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, or severe illness in newborns.
Campylobacter causes symptoms such as diarrhea, cramping, and fever.
Brucella, the bacteria responsible for brucellosis, produces fever, joint pain, and fatigue.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the bacteria that causes tuberculosis. Fortunately, its presence in raw milk has become rare in developed nations.
Toxoplasma gondii is a common parasite that causes toxoplasmosis. It can cause a range of symptoms, from a mild flu-like illness to serious health problems, depending on a person's immune status.
Giardia is another widespread parasite. Giardiasis is an intestinal infection marked by stomach cramps, nausea, and persistent diarrhea.
H5N1, the avian influenza virus, has been killing barnyard cats that drink raw milk. A child in California may have developed an H5N1 infection after drinking raw milk, but the CDC has been unable to confirm the connection.
Raw milk is more perishable than pasteurized milk, and must be handled, stored, and transported under strict hygienic conditions. If raw milk is not stored properly, it can quickly become contaminated with additional bacteria, posing an even greater health risk. Some bacteria in raw milk may be resistant to antibiotics, increasing the likelihood of more severe infections that are harder to treat.
Due to the significant public health risks associated with its consumption, many countries prohibit the sale of raw milk or tightly regulate its purchase. Despite regional prohibitions, raw milk is still obtained directly from farms or at farmers' markets. A federal order requires that unpasteurized milk samples be collected and provided to the USDA upon request, but it will probably have little impact upon direct sales.
My best medical advice: Avoid raw dairy in any form. If including dairy in your diet, eat only pasteurized, reduced-fat, fermented dairy products, such as cheese, kefir, and yogurt, and don't drink milk at all.
Mammals produce milk for their own babies, not for grown-up humans. There is nothing “natural” about adults drinking milk, pasteurized or not, although the dairy industry would have you believing otherwise.
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