Currently the large majority of people in the U.S.– more than 95% - drink pasteurized milk. But the number of raw milk drinkers is increasing in spite of its health risks, much higher price and shorter shelf life. Should you join them?
R.F. Kennedy Jr., who has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump, to head the Department of Health and Human Services, is an enthusiastic promoter of raw milk. Currently, Federal law in the U.S. bans the sale of raw milk across state lines. Kennedy wants to change this and generally make raw milk more popular and available.
Raw, or ‘magic’ milk drinkers not only prefer the taste, but believe it is better for your health because it contains some wonderful enzymes as well as ‘good’ bacteria. So far, research has not proven such claims. Almost all public health specialists and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and FDA advise against drinking it.
Why? Because an estimated two to 25% of our raw milk supply has been found to contain dangerous bacteria, viruses or parasites. The process of pasteurization kills these.
Microbes in milk (Salmonella, E.coli, Campylobacter, Listeria and others) can give you some very unpleasant conditions, and even prove deadly. You may get diarrhea, vomiting, stomach cramps, listeriosis, tuberculosis, and in rare cases even brucellosis, paralysis, kidney failure or Guillain-Barré syndrome. For many years now there has also been a fear that one day cow’s milk will give us avian flu, commonly called ‘bird flu,’ and that this will become the next pandemic. This fear is now increasing (see next blog).
Milk may come out contaminated because the cow has a disease such as tuberculosis. Or, the milk may become contaminated from the udder of the cow or from dirty equipment.
In spite of the comparatively low number of raw milk drinkers, between 1998 and 2011, the CDC reported 148 raw-milk-related outbreaks of disease, resulting in 2,384 illnesses, 284 hospitalizations and two deaths. Keep in mind that such statistics are always a huge underestimation because of low reporting rates.
Pasteurized milk is much safer. It is estimated that you have about a 9.4 times greater chance of getting sick from drinking raw milk than from drinking pasteurized milk. Of course this doesn’t mean that if you drink raw milk, you are bound to become ill. Many people drink it regularly and have no ill effects. They are lucky. Others aren’t.
What it amounts to is a game of Russian Roulette.
Until research really shows that raw milk is worth the risk, it is wiser not to drink it, especially if you are older, have a weakened immune system, have cancer, or are pregnant. That also applies to giving it to your young children.
For more on the subject, read The Safe Food Handbook, especially pages 179 and 181 to 185.
