I spent a year as a manager at a raw milk dairy farm in the UK. We tested our milk every week and had extremely strict cleanliness standards. And it was a lovely calf at foot dairy where the cows were well looked after. Nonetheless, bacteria count would creep up with changes in weather, unexpected external stress to the herd, and for other “who knew why” reasons. Ultimately I just don’t think it’s worth the risk because you can do everything right and there is just no avoiding the fact that you’re getting milk from an environment which is inherently risky. And pasteurised milk isn’t unhealthy or unsafe so there’s absolutely no reason to drink raw milk. If you really want to avoid industrial processing, find yourself a small dairy. That’s good for your local economy anyway.
Agreed, I don’t understand why people ignore that either. Particularly because that is not just about the product, but also about the conditions it’s been produced in.
(For context, Here in the UK there is a provision for the production and sale of Raw Milk legally directly from farms for Human Consumption. It’s subject to strict rules, testing, oversight, and it has to carry a warning “This milk has not been heat-treated and may therefore contain organisms harmful to health.” But still, I wouldn’t recommend it for all the reasons you stated in your original al post)
I can't get them to understand that if they boil it (and they absolutely should)that it is no longer raw milk. They could save themselves so much time & trouble if they just bought milk from the store.
As a retired pediatric nurse- I helped take care of a couple of young children that had unpasteurized goat milk from their farm- they got pretty darn sick 🤢
Not something to play around with. Adults can choose for themselves- please leave the kids out of it!
I grew up spending a lot of time at my grandparents’ dairy. Cows have zero sense of sanitation. They can live a nice life roaming green pastures. They still shit all over other cows as they lay about enjoying their lives. Go ahead and install a filter to remove straw and grass and chunks of stuff. If you don’t pasteurize that milk, you get a lot of nasty bits in your milk. Buy lots of toilet tissue.
Raw milk is what my great grandmother fed 3 of her 5 daughters. Those 3 died in in fancy. Everytime I visited her in the nursing home as a mother she lectured me, are you breastfeeding? Don't let your babies die.
Thank you for pointing out the reason any of this wellness stuff is gaining traction. It’s Important for us to understand the underlying cause for such blatant dismissiveness of science, that it’s the lack of trust that is driving this. It is sad to witness.
I spent a year as a manager at a raw milk dairy farm in the UK. We tested our milk every week and had extremely strict cleanliness standards. And it was a lovely calf at foot dairy where the cows were well looked after. Nonetheless, bacteria count would creep up with changes in weather, unexpected external stress to the herd, and for other “who knew why” reasons. Ultimately I just don’t think it’s worth the risk because you can do everything right and there is just no avoiding the fact that you’re getting milk from an environment which is inherently risky. And pasteurised milk isn’t unhealthy or unsafe so there’s absolutely no reason to drink raw milk. If you really want to avoid industrial processing, find yourself a small dairy. That’s good for your local economy anyway.
Thanks for that. What gets me is the labels on raw milk say "Not for human consumption."
Agreed, I don’t understand why people ignore that either. Particularly because that is not just about the product, but also about the conditions it’s been produced in.
(For context, Here in the UK there is a provision for the production and sale of Raw Milk legally directly from farms for Human Consumption. It’s subject to strict rules, testing, oversight, and it has to carry a warning “This milk has not been heat-treated and may therefore contain organisms harmful to health.” But still, I wouldn’t recommend it for all the reasons you stated in your original al post)
My friend: Peggy you should try raw milk.
Me: No thanks I don't like bacteria
My Friend: Well, we boil it & cool it first
Me: So you pasteurize it rather than buy milk already pasteurized?
My friend:
Sooooo dumb
Oh my. It just isn't worth the risk, IMO.
Came here to say that. Like duh. The smart ones boil it…the dumb ones feed it to their children raw.
I can't get them to understand that if they boil it (and they absolutely should)that it is no longer raw milk. They could save themselves so much time & trouble if they just bought milk from the store.
As a retired pediatric nurse- I helped take care of a couple of young children that had unpasteurized goat milk from their farm- they got pretty darn sick 🤢
Not something to play around with. Adults can choose for themselves- please leave the kids out of it!
I grew up spending a lot of time at my grandparents’ dairy. Cows have zero sense of sanitation. They can live a nice life roaming green pastures. They still shit all over other cows as they lay about enjoying their lives. Go ahead and install a filter to remove straw and grass and chunks of stuff. If you don’t pasteurize that milk, you get a lot of nasty bits in your milk. Buy lots of toilet tissue.
Agreed.
Raw milk is what my great grandmother fed 3 of her 5 daughters. Those 3 died in in fancy. Everytime I visited her in the nursing home as a mother she lectured me, are you breastfeeding? Don't let your babies die.
Thank you for pointing out the reason any of this wellness stuff is gaining traction. It’s Important for us to understand the underlying cause for such blatant dismissiveness of science, that it’s the lack of trust that is driving this. It is sad to witness.