?? about drinking unpasturized milk

Check out www.realmilk.com and as said above all raw milk is not created equal. My farmer only has about 30 cows, they only eat hay and pasture no grain. His farm and path of the milk is scrupulously clean. If after researching you feel uncomfortable don't do it. Lisa

Call me crazy.... but if your friend is really concerend.. she could stove top pastuerize..

Good post with good information!!!

I believe that the consumer should have the freedom to consume what they want.

There is a profound hypocrisy to allow peanuts, but ban raw milk. (Raw milk should be appropriately labeled. That seemed to make it all right to have peanuts amply available to the public.)

__________________
"When you are having dinner with someone and they are nice to you, but rude to the waiter, then this is not a nice person.".....Dave Barry

Eating raw peanuts does not pose the threat of contacting a potentially fatal disease that anyone can get. Tree nuts, peanuts, cow's milk, eggs, soy, wheat, fish, shellfish, strawberries, and tomatoes are the 10 most common foods which may cause severe allergic reactions. Please note that cow's milk is one of them. That is why milk and peanuts share equal warning status on labels.

Martin

My point precisely!!!!

Peanuts inherently can kill anyone that has a severe allergy to them. But they are available everywhere!!!

If you check the CDC website, there are numerous cases of pasteurized milk that was contaminated. Pasteurizartion is no guarantee of milk not being contaminated.

How many people were affected by the contaminated spinach? How many people have been affected by contaminated beef? How many people get sick every month from eating contaminated food in restaurants?

Is there any discussion of banning spinach, beef, or restaurants?

In my opinion, raw milk should be available to the public (with appropriate labels).

There is a HUGE hypocrisy regarding raw milk!!!

__________________
"When you are having dinner with someone and they are nice to you, but rude to the waiter, then this is not a nice person.".....Dave Barry

Man this gets old. Some people can't get the concept of relative risk. Drive down the highway at 60 mph in a death trap to get their pasteurized milk so they can be safe!

What are the rates of bovine TB and Brucellosis in the Amish?

If people are worried about raw milk, don't drink it! If you want a zero risk life, stay in bed and eat pressure cooked, irradiated, bleached food in 5 layers of packaging, with extensive labeling of preservatives and additives.

But, then you get bed sores and die.

Visit the farm, and ask questions.
If you do not like what you see or hear, then don't buy it.

I, too grew up on raw milk and milk a cow now for my family.
Alot of folks put the pasteurization scare out there.....raw milk really isn't so scary. If it's so bad...why do the Amish keep milking the cows and drinking it?? Why is raw milk in demand more now than just 10 years ago??

Raw milk tastes sweeter, and 'whole-r' than storebought.
I compare storebought milk to the same flat taste as tomatoes bought in the winter. Homegrown is always tastier, healthier and fresher.

Plus when you accidentally trip on the stairs with 3 gallons of it and spill it on the deck/porch/stairs/ground, it doesn't stink, or smell rotten. Just smells like milk for a few days. (Even when it is summer!)

You've never broken a gallon of fresh raw milk in your car. Don't tell me it doesn't stink!

Martin

Could I recommend that you try Pot o' Gold Dairies raw milk with peace of mind?

http://potogolddairy.com/?page_id=8

They are state tested.

__________________
Check us out out "The Modern Homestead", a small, helpful, friendly forum. Find us at "The Modern Homestead", on facebook too!

This is obviously a hot topic! I believe in exercising ALL of my freedoms! Including the right to eat what I want - that's pretty fundamental. The laws about milk differ from state to state. I have really found the campaign for real milk at realmilk.com and/or westonaprice.org to be helpful. These sites provide great questions and steps that you can take to be informed and to make sure that what you are consuming and providing for your family is nourishing and healthy.

First, visit the farm, preferably at milking time.

I also would recommend getting a home pasteurization unit if you decide to go down this road. I bought mine for $20 on eBay. (If you buy a used unit, test it with a candy thermometer to make sure it's reaching the recommended temperature.)

Remember that even someone who generally follows sanitary milking procedures may have the occasional goof-up ... cow sticks her foot in the pail, or kicks the milker off and it lands in God only knows what! Now, when I was milking my own cows, that bucket would go to the dogs, cats or pig. Would I trust a stranger with a financial stake in the matter to make the same decision? What if it's a kid doing the milking, one who doesn't want to get scolded by Mom for ruining a bucket of milk, or a hired hand who isn't so particular? Etc.

Be smart, protect yourself.

__________________
"I love all of this mud," said no one, ever.

This applies to EVERYTHING! Why single out the raw milk producer as particularly dangerous?

Do not buy any food from anyone unless you have watched its entire production! Some guy at the potato chip factory could slip arsenic in the bag! Or maybe they didn't wash their hands after using the bathroom. Farm workers can crap in the lettuce, etc, etc.

At some point, rather than viewing every point of an operation, you have to look at statistics and see how many people are getting sick and dying. When I do that, I have to say I should give up my car before I give up raw milk.

One wrong move by me or the other guy on a 2 lane road and I'm in a head-on collision! Now that's a risk you ought to be losing sleep over. Among the raw milk drinkers I know, there have been more injuries from cars/4wheelers than from the milk.

After a few hundred thousand servings of raw milk without incident, I'm not worrying much, but apparently there are those who can't stop obsessing about the danger.

Something struck me today when I was recalling the years on the farm. One thing that seemed common was "2-day" flu, backyard trots, and other intestinal problems now and then. I ain't saying that it was from milk since it could have come from any food source. Willow Girl has "been there and done that" when it comes to what may get into milk between the cow and the kitchen table. Sometimes the strainer pad was almost black despite carefully washing the udders. Didn't deter us from dipping right out of the can for the milk. Was getting raw milk until just over 10 years ago and still could if I wished. Old neighbor lady loved whole milk and we both knew a dairy farmer. He wouldn't even knew that we were there until we walked into the barn to give him a couple dollars. As long as I shut the valve tight on the cooler and rinsed any spills, that was sufficient. I had no worries whatsoever about that milk since it was a Grade A farm, I knew the family quite well, knew the herd, and had often helped out with the haying. Don't know if I'd think the same of a farm that I didn't know very well.

Martin

My extended family ages 87 down to age 4 all drink raw milk and are in excellent health. I can't remember the last time any of us had any kind of intestinal problem like Paquebot is talking about. But I do like the quote "Don't drink raw milk unless you know the name of the cow--or at least the name of the farmer."

Jean

That's got to be a Post of The Day!

I don't drink milk, raw or otherwise. And Is houldn't eat cheese or any cows milk products due to allergy...BUT!!!!!!!! I loves me some cheese!!!!!!! I can't wait untilt he goats come!

That aside, when it is said that everyone has a right to eat or drink what they want it can be sort of misleading. I konw that I personally don't want to shoulder the economic ramifications for people who are just plain old stupid. I would rather say that the consumer should have the right to make INFORMED decisions and be able to make INFORMED safe choices when it came to the food they eat. That should include Raw milk.

__________________
"What would you do if you won the lottery?"
Become a farmer!

But if you go back in history, a lot of people DID die from diseases that they had no real understanding of. Way back when, for example, "doctors" performed surgeries without washing their hands, because they didn't have an understanding of "germs" and contamination. If a patient got sick, they attributed it to other, often more whimsical, things. Case in point below:
They say a lot of intestinal/stomach disruptions people suffer from, even now, are not true viral infections, but often food poisoning. I've read that everyone has suffered from at least one minor form of food poisoning in their lives, and will never realize it, but blame "the flu".
But if someone is alleric to peanuts, they avoid eating them. Same as with milk. However, peanuts are not generally known for needing extensive contamination controls while being processed, either. Milk is considered more easily contaminated just by its basic form: it is in close contact to manure and possibly-diseased animals (ie, cross-contamination), it is a moist and sweet environment that encourages bacterial growth, etc. It's a lot harder to manipulate a peanut to become legally inedible.
I wholeheartedly agree with this. I used to work in a food-distribution company and if anyone thinks that government controls will ensure 100% that food is NEVER contaminated and sold regardless (underhandedly), then you are very naive. Companies often and do cut corners, particularly when large sums of money are involved. A lot of owners consider the rules to be too stringent and "foolish" and therefore often substitute their own when the food inspector isn't looking. A scary thought, but true. You take a chance whenever you buy food. Some foods are more susceptible to contaminants than others, though.

Having said that, I have goats and plan to milk them, and drink the milk. At least I know where the milk has been and how it has been treated beforehand. I would buy from certain people also, if I had seen their facilities beforehand and didn't get any "intuitions" that the place was not quite right. I would pastueurize it if I had any doubts.

I think that with raw milk, there is a high potential of someone getting sick. Mainly because it would be a high market area, lots of different facilites to keep track of, and there would be difficulty in ensuring that all farmers "kept to code". The governing bodies wouldn't be so concerned with peoples' health as it would be the resulting costly lawsuits that would surely follow.

__________________
"The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese in the trap."