Raw Milk vs. Homogenized and Pasteurized Milk

The learning curve for Raw Milk has been steep for me.  I came here kicking and screaming and is has never really been on my agenda until I started researching it for the fats portion of this blog.  Amazingly, we are becoming absolute raw milk advocates.  I am still finding this a little hard to believe, but here we are, actually looking into getting a milk cow (or two... or three!)

Here is a page with numerous links for raw milk.  Not to overwhelming, but good information.  It has links to both sides of the raw milk argument.  I have been reading a lot on both sides of the issue and what has bubbled to the surface is not pretty.  I am going to have to quit reading all of these great articles, although it is fascinating.  I know this is getting to be a lot  :)

Mi Milk Maidens

 
As far as the raw milk vs. pasteurized and homogenized argument goes, it appears that a healthy cow, eating grass, taken care of, and careful milking, cooling and handling of the milk provides a healthy, nutritious product.  Raw milk also appears to be the second most contraband item in the United States, right behind illegal drugs.  Go figure.

If you feed your herds garbage (or an unnaturally large amount of grains), have manure everywhere, disgusting things going into the milk (blood, pus..... you get the idea) you might need to pasteurize your milk products so as not to poison everyone drinking the milk.  

If you want to ship your milk product over long distances, have them keep "fresh" for an unnaturally long time, and are completely OK with destroying anything live in your milk product, then the entire pasteurization and homogenization process is right up your alley.

If the idea of complete fats is a puzzle to your dairy, and cream rising to the top of the milk is bothersome to your marketing department, then you definitely want to homogenize that milk!   It completely destroys the fat molecules, so they can never, never be reunited the way God intended.  But you don't have that cream issue to deal with and can sell more product.  A quote from the soda pop article below is intriguing... I am trying to find the studies, but here is the quote.

[You might find it interesting that, as demonstrated in numerous studies, calves fed pasteurized milk die within 60 days.]

We are blessed here in California to have Organic Pastures Dairy.  As I have been studying in depth on this issue, their name came up again and again and again as a model for the state, the country and the world.  They are amazing advocates for clean, wholesome, raw milk.  Their processing is outstanding and  they are passionate about providing this wonderful food to the public.  

Organic Pastures 

It is a continual fight to keep raw milk safe, legal and available in California.  It is always under assault.  I still can't figure out why that is.  When other foods are found to be unsafe, they deal with the individual supplier, not make the entire food illegal.  With milk, however, it is different.  I still don't know why.  I assume it comes down to the same thing as always.  Money and power.

I do know that, in general, when one side just has a bunch of names like "stupid"  "crazy"  "mindless" and goes on and on with the whole "don't you know what's good for you" thing..... it's bad.  The case against raw milk involves a lot of that.  They also have had very few actual, proven instances of death, disease or problems.  There are some, just like in any food based industry.  You should compare that to people with problems with non-raw milk.... oh, we don't want to give out THOSE numbers.

Finally, for those study hounds who want to know the COMPLETE history of the milk pasteurization movement, here is an in depth article containing a history of how we got here.  A quote from the article:

The story of what’s happened to quality milk is the same as the story of what’s happened to America’s farmers. Both have been mostly eliminated, marginalized by a culture that has allowed corporations to promote the big lie that the processing of natural foods has nothing to do with the epidemic of disease that cripples our society. Corporate spokespersons for the food, drug and medical industries have used billions of dollars (a drop in the bucket compared to their profits) to convince most of us that this scam has been carried out for our own good. The corporations and their media and government lackeys proclaim "food safety," while in truth allowing our food supply to be nutritionally depleted, further contaminated, and fostering unsustainability of food sourcing.

Is Soda Pop or Milk Healthier?

I don't ever want to make any decisions for anyone.  Just take a little time while we are in fats and study the raw vs. other on milk.  Check into what the laws are in your state or country.  Can you be proactive in bringing free choice?

One final quote from the Soda Pop article (it is really, really in depth and so good).

Whether one drinks milk at all is a personal choice. The point herein is not to convince anyone to drink clean, healthy raw milk, but rather, as with my related articles, that true health can only be facilitated by getting beyond the industrial agenda based manipulation that permeates our society. Only with sufficient unbiased information, and free choice, can we begin to dig ourselves out of the destructive chronic illness plaguing our quality of life.

Finally, this has been here before (on gut health), but it is still so good I wanted to put it include it again.

A Word About Diet In General

Use common sense and stick with whole, unprocessed foods, free from genetic tweaking (there's still just too much conflicting information out there on that topic), and you'll likely be ahead of the game.

Cook your foods minimally, and you'll be even better off. Learn about sprouting and fermentation. Question everything before letting it past your lips. 

Explore what worked for countless generations before ours, and put it to work for yourself today. You can achieve great health by diet alone. I've done it, and so can you!

 Raw Milk Facts . Com

Best of health to you,

Cindy