Raw Milk is Scary, Right?

It wasn’t long ago that I remember being terrified and, quite frankly, disgusted by the thought of drinking raw milk. Along with the majority of Americans, I have been programmed to think that raw milk is dangerous while pasteurized milk somehow holds the key to better health. Just a few years ago, I remember chugging glass after glass of tasteless skim milk because I believed it alone could fulfill my need for essential nutrients like calcium and vitamin D.

Last summer amidst my research, I was introduced to the idea that raw milk is not only nutritionally superior to pasteurized milk, but also that the latter is really not beneficial at all. At first I scoffed at this idea, remembering all the horrific stories I had heard about the contamination of raw milk. As I started to open my mind a bit more and look at the facts, I began to think that maybe the American public had been led astray. However, due to my stubborn nature (thanks for the Irish genes, Dad!), these concepts were still pretty hard to accept. But, while combing through some articles on the Weston A. Price website one evening, something hit home as I began to read about the traditional practices of family farms.

My mom grew up on a farm. Sometimes, when I tell people that, they instantly start in with their judgments. A common misconception is that people who live on farms (especially in the Midwest, where I’m from) are ignorant and lack the mental capacity required to make educated decisions. While I can’t speak for everyone, I do know that in my experience this is absolutely NOT true. Traditional family farms, which are few and far between these days, follow much of the same treasured wisdom that our ancestors passed down generations ago. Sadly, a large part of this wisdom has been devalued and even forgotten in modern society. The pasteurization of milk is an excellent example of this. My mom can recall drinking tall glasses of fresh milk straight from the cow for breakfast during many of her childhood years. Although pasteurization was already in full swing when my mom was growing up, my grandparents were not at all concerned about contamination of their raw milk. Instead, they reminded my mother and her brothers how precious this food was for their health. By the time I came into the picture, my grandparents had scaled down their farm and long since gotten rid of their dairy cows, but I always thought those stories my mom told of drinking fresh milk were pretty cool.

A Violent Process

I recently heard the pasteurization process referred to as “violent.” After learning about it myself, I really can’t argue with that statement. When milk comes out of the cow, it is a living food with so much to offer. Pasteurization literally takes the life out of milk. It kills essential organisms and bacteria that help strengthen the immune system and protect against disease. Pasteurization also destroys lactase, the naturally occurring enzyme in milk that is required to digest lactose (milk sugar). Valuable nutrients that naturally occur in raw milk are fragmented during processing, often to the point where they are no longer beneficial. Pasteurized milk is frequently vitamin-fortified, meaning that the vitamins which were destroyed in processing have to be added back into the milk via more processing. Homogenization goes a step further and destroys nutritious fat globules by passing milk at very high speeds through a filter. By the time pasteurized milk gets to the consumer, it’s really just another processed food.

Allergies, Intolerance, and Raw Milk

I do want to briefly touch on lactose and casein sensitivities since I know they are a very real concern for many people. As I mentioned above, raw milk contains an enzyme called lactase that helps the body digest milk’s sugar, or lactose. Since pasteurization has been pretty main stream for the past one hundred years, many people no longer produce lactase in their gut. These people have trouble digesting milk and are referred to as lactose intolerant. Thankfully, I’m NOT one of those people, but I do feel pretty sorry for those that are. If you are lactose intolerant, remember raw dairy contains vital enzymes that will help your digestion, not hamper it. From what I’ve read and heard from others, it’s best to start with small amounts and work your way up to a full glass of milk. As you introduce more lactase into your body, it will more easily be able to digest lactose. This seems to work for most people and hopefully it will work for you too! If you are one of the unlucky few who just can’t seem to digest raw milk, there is also the option of trying fermented dairy products like yogurt and kefir, both of which can be made at home using raw milk. Fermented dairy products contain bacteria that make digestion even easier and usually don’t cause problems with even the most sensitive stomachs. Fermented dairy products are also an alternative to raw milk for those with casein allergies. The fermentation process predigests casein, making it much more tolerable for those with allergies.

A Little History

It’s certainly important to understand the reasoning behind pasteurized milk in the first place. By the end of the 19th century, there were some very serious problems with the conditions of milking parlors in highly concentrated cities like New York City and Boston. At that point in time, cows lived in confinement, wading in their own waste and eating things that no living being should be forced to eat (not much different from some factory farms today). People became very sick and many even died from diseases which were passed on to humans through contaminated raw milk. Pasteurization was a solution to a very serious problem, but, arguably, not the best solution. Instead of addressing the obvious issue at hand – sanitation of the milking parlors and diet of the cows – law makers decided to make pasteurization mandatory. With various political and economic interests stirring the pot, this story has many different angles but it’s truly a shame that so many people were able to justify the destruction of such a healthful food.

If you look at the numbers today, raw milk is not the health threat that it once was. In fact, you are assuming more risk by consuming fresh produce than drinking a glass of raw milk. It’s important to remember that raw milk has built-in mechanisms to help protect against contamination even if pathogens are present. Since the pasteurization process kills off beneficial bacteria, pasteurized milk has no way to fight off infection. If you’re interested in looking at specific studies involving raw milk vs. pasteurized milk and its effect on health and safety, check out the Realmilk.com website.

Raw Milk Availability, Denver and Beyond

The laws regarding the sale of raw milk vary from state to state. While it’s legal to sell unpasteurized milk for human consumption in a few states, most have passed laws making it illegal or very difficult to obtain. Fortunately, here in Colorado we are able to buy “cow shares” to get around this legality. By paying a one-time fee to purchase the share in addition to a monthly or yearly boarding fee, consumers can get fresh, raw milk each week from a local dairy. Since the share owners technically own a portion of the cow and never pay for the milk directly, this practice is not a violation of Colorado state law. Sadly, some states have even made share owning illegal.

My Personal Raw Milk Experience at Windsor Dairy

The decision to “go raw” was a big one for Dave and me. As I mentioned earlier, it was quite a step for me to even consider drinking unpasteurized milk, but the facts do not lie and it’s easy to see how much healthier a whole foods approach is. In the beginning, I expected to have a hard time finding a raw milk dairy, but I was pleasantly surprised by the many local dairy operations there are to choose from in the Denver area. We ended up settling on Windsor Dairy for several reasons:

1) Windsor is the only dairy in the country, raw or otherwise, that tests every batch of milk for milk-borne pathogens (listeria, e. coli, campylobacter, salmonella).

2) All cows are 100% grass-fed and hormone/antibiotic free.

3) They are certified organic.

4) Our downtown farmer’s market, Denver Urban Homesteading, is a weekly drop-off site.

After researching Windsor and being thoroughly pleased with what we learned, Dave and I decided to visit the farm. They hold free tours every Friday and Saturday at 3pm and actually require a visit to the farm prior to purchasing a share, so we were happy to check out the operation. On one of those strange spring-like days in the middle of January, we made the trek up to Windsor to buy our cow share. As we got out of the car, we were greeted by a couple of hogs, and a herd of goats. We could hear chickens clucking and saw a flock of lambs in the distance. After walking around the farm and visiting all of the animals, we went into the milking parlor to observe the milking process. It was a cool experience that I would recommend to anyone, even if you’re not interested in the raw milk stuff. It was definitely a breath of fresh air to see farm animals living happy and healthy lives as they were intended to.

For those interested in other farm fresh foods, Windsor Dairy has a store located on the farm offering beef, lamb, chicken, pork, eggs, and raw cheese. In addition to cow shares, they will soon be offering raw goat milk shares. Share owners receive a discount on most products. If you’re interested in purchasing some of these items but can’t make it up to Windsor, check out one of their drop-off sites in Boulder, Denver, or Fort Collins. They also offer cheese, cream, and butter making classes on-site throughout the year.

Raw Milk and Financial, Ethical, Personal Concerns

So, I’m sure you’re wondering just how expensive it is to drink raw milk every week and if it’s worth the price. Here’s how I see it:

1) Health. Raw milk contains lactase and other probiotics to aid digestion. It contains naturally occurring forms of essential nutrients and is full of beneficial bacteria that strengthen the immune system. Raw milk is an excellent source of healthy fats which are vital for nervous system health, especially for children. Pasteurized milk cannot make any of the aforementioned claims.

2) Safety. The raw milk I drink is always tested for the four main food-borne pathogens before it is given to share owners to consume. The same can’t be said for ANY brand of pasteurized milk. Plus, raw milk contains probiotics and bacteria that will help fight pathogens if they do happen to be present. Lastly, raw milk dairies often have feeding regimens and living conditions that are far superior to those of conventional dairies which ensure the safety of the end product.

3) Peace of mind. I know exactly where my milk comes from. I know exactly where the cows that produce this milk live. I know exactly what they eat, and I can visit them at any time.

4) Local. By drinking raw milk, I’m supporting local business and sustainable farming practices.

5) Personal/ethical reasons. I feel good about helping these cows lead pastured lives. I also strongly oppose conventional farming practices involving corn, soybeans, and grains which destroy topsoil, so I like to encourage pastured-raised animal products.

We DO pay a premium to have such great quality milk every week. Windsor Dairy allows consumers to purchase a half share or share of a cow. A half share (which is what we have) is a half gallon of milk per week and a share is one gallon of milk per week. We paid $25 to purchase the share itself and our boarding fees are about $17 per month. If you do the math, that’s a little over $4 per half gallon. Yes, that’s a lot but it’s worth it to us. Of course, we are only a family of two, so if your family is larger or you have kids then this starts to add up pretty quickly. In the end, this is a personal decision.

Regardless of how you feel about raw milk, I think it’s important to remember that there ARE still family farms, just like my grandparents’, that understand the wisdom in traditional food preparation. Not all cows are factory farmed. Not all cows are crammed into a feedlot and stuffed full of grain and corn. Some actually do live quite happy and healthy cow lives on green pastures and these are the types of operations we need to support because they enable us to lead nourished lives.