RAW MILK

            Milk in its natural form has always been essential to eating healthy. After pasteurization, milk became a commodity. Raw milk from grass-fed cows is a complete and a balanced drink. It has been proven to reverse disease and improve health. Raw milk contains several benefits for our body, it lowers the risks of having; osteoporosis, kidney stones, cancer, and recurrence of middle-ear infections. Once the milk has been pasteurized, the real meaning of milk changes. Pasteurized milk causes most of the diseases that are very common now days. In my research project I will be focusing on raw milk, to why it should be made legal, and on how it’s the best thing for our body system, also not forgetting the minor negative effects that it may have on the human body.

Firstly, the benefits of raw milk includes its traces in the amounts of naturally occurring hormones and growth factors- key bio-active ingredients that make it such a valuable, healing food. “The ideal raw milk is taken straight from animals fed only fresh, organic, green grass, rapidly cooled to somewhere around 36-38 degrees F., and bottled.” (White Tiger Production) “Now days cows are imprisoned indoor for their entire lives; we give them inappropriate feed such as soy, bakery waste, citrus peel cake and the swill from ethanol production, foods that cows are not designed to eat.” (The Weston A. Price Foundation).  The confinement environment and the inappropriate feed make these cows sick, so they need antibiotics. We breed them to provide us with huge amounts of milk, and give them hormones to increase milk production as well. These cows produce large quantities of watery milk with only half the amount of fat compared to milk produced by old-fashioned cows eating green grass.

Secondly, most milk produced today undergoes numerous processing before it reaches the consumer. Raw milk contains naturally produced antimicrobial; beneficial fatty acid known as CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid). Pasteurizing raw milk destroys certain disease-carrying germs and while it prevents the milk from souring. Pasteurization does more than just killing germs; it also destroys some nutritious contents. “Probably pasteurization’s worst effect is that it makes indigestible the major part of the calcium contained in raw milk”. (Armchair Science is a British Medical Journal). This can then lead to rickets, having bad teeth and nervous troubles.  Sufficient calcium content is vital to children health; the loss of phosphorus also associated with calcium, bone and brain formation can suffer serious with setbacks. Pasteurization also destroys 20% of the iodine present in raw milk, causes constipation and generally takes from the milk its most vital qualities.

           Thirdly, pasteurization started from a French chemist named Louis Pasteur who suddenly became famous because he saved wine and beer industries from devastation. Pasteur invented a heat process that saved the wine from complete financial failure. By heat processing, he stopped the fermentation and growth of molds in wine. Later, the dairy companies found that they could do the same thing with milk that became sour, thus increasing their profits by making it possible for them to sell a product that would become less desirable. By 1935, George Pushing from Minnesota provoked Louis ideas to continue. He said that if we take the milk from farmers can’t sell themselves, put it under processing and sell it will be more profitable. George himself died by drinking his pasteurized milk, he contracted rheumatoid arthritis, a degenerative disease that manifested itself in his spine.

Pasteurization refers to the process of heating milk to at least 130 degrees F, for at least 45 seconds or heating milk to 160 degrees F requires minimum of 15 seconds. Pasteurization destroys enzymes, diminishes vitamin content, denatures fragile milk proteins, destroys vitamins C, B12 and B6, kills beneficial bacteria, promotes pathogens and is associated with allergies, increased tooth decay, colic in infants, growth problems in children, osteoporosis, arthritis, heart disease and cancer. Calves fed pasteurized milk do poorly and many die before maturity. Raw milk sours naturally but pasteurized milk gets rotten.

            Fourthly, various individuals are fighting with the government to make raw milk legal, because of its proved importance. This war has been going on for many years. Milk War, a documentary about an organic dairy farmer Michael Schmidt, screened at The Toronto Underground Cinema to raise awareness about the status of raw milk in Canada. The film serves as a thorough introduction to the topic of raw milk and the Schmidt's battle with Canadian authorities although it's clearly one-sided in it views. People are still willing to trade health risks for a pure, delicious taste of milk. In very rare cases people died or have gotten severely ill from raw milk, resulting in kidney failure, heart attacks and paralysis. Raw milk defenders disregard the percentage of all dairy related illness outbreaks between 2000 and 2007 and say: “The FDA and USDA are ready to blame anything on raw milk.” (Burton).

Some  rare cases in which people have end up losing their loved ones due to the consumption of raw milk, include the three woman’s who have preferred raw milk over pasteurized milk and ended up with great loss.  Mary McGonigle-Martin, from California, is a kind of mom who does her homework. Searching for a healthier way to provide dairy for her 7-year-old son, she considered raw milk. Kalee Prue is a health-conscious, single mom from Connecticut, who enjoyed being active.  Kalee had trouble digesting lactose and read that drinking raw milk would help her digest dairy better. A few days after finishing the milk, Kalee began to get sick. Julie Riggs and her family live in a small town in Missouri. Her husband and daughter couldn’t tolerate cow’s milk, so the family decided to try raw goat’s milk from a local farmer. In all of the videos, the 3 woman’s in conclusion say that raw milk has many benefits for your body but its very risky because if the milk contains pathogen it can lead to you to sickening conditions. Though the possibility of the pathogen is 50-50 but once it goes down your body it corrupts your body system. Women have stated that it’s not worth putting the rest of your life into risk, the benefits are pleasing but the risks are much dangerous than you can imagine. All the people that were affected by raw milk did recover but were once at very critical stage, and don’t believe that it’s worth risking your life because you never know if you end up dying or recovering. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)  

 The debate over whether raw milk could be a health benefit or health hazard is one that has been in progress for years now. Unfortunately, the results haven’t shown any positives yet. Healthy food advocates often speak of it as a miracle cure for all sorts of chronic ailments. People on both sides seem convinced themselves of what they think is better for them. The site of raw milk that will strike you is its rich, mouthwatering creamy appearance. Raw milk is gaining its popularity. “The ranks are growing, as are the number of arms with permits to sell it to them: 29 in New York, and 100 in Pennsylvania.” (Burton). With many hopes, and the proven benefits of raw milk, it can be assumed that the legalization of it isn’t far away.