# Raw milk



## Lu King (Feb 18, 2010)

Is it safe to drink raw cow and/or goat milk?


----------



## ksalvagno (Feb 18, 2010)

If the milk is handled properly and the items used for milking are cleaned properly, then yes. Teats need to be cleaned before and after milking and the milk pail needs to be sanitized after EVERY use. Also keep the milk in glass containers and they also need to be sanitized. Also there is a filtering process for the milk which should also be done.


----------



## freemotion (Feb 18, 2010)

You will find that most of the people here and on ss that have dairy animals drink the milk raw.  Check out www.realmilk.com or www.westonaprice.org


----------



## Lu King (Feb 19, 2010)

Thanks for the responses.

Some of my relatives said when they were  a kid their families drank the milk without having to do anything....just rinsing out the bucket.   I guess they were lucky they didn't come down with something.


----------



## ohwell (Feb 19, 2010)

Just rinsing out the bucket used to be the only thing anybody ever did before the modern era of farming as far as I know. Not saying I would do it but it sure is interesting some of the stories that can be told. Yes raw milk is absolutely unbeatable for taste in my opinion. When I was a kid I drank more than a gallon a day of a jersey's milk and I must say the coloured water you buy at the store just isn't appealing.


----------



## kstaven (Feb 20, 2010)

Interesting to note that most fresh milk can range 4.5 - 6% butter fat and yet the so called Whole milk on the store shelf is only 3%.

Reality is that the product on the shelf should be labeled as a Modified Milk Product.


----------



## Henrietta23 (Feb 20, 2010)

I actually buy raw milk by choice. It tastes so much better!


----------



## Imissmygirls (Feb 20, 2010)

Raw milk was discouraged in the early 1900s because it transmitted Tuberculosis if the cow had TB.  Since then, the gov't had a strong TB testing policy for many years.  It worked so well that they discontinued testing a few decades ago for the general farm population.
In PA, cows over 2 yrs old who are shown in  fairs  must still undergo TB testing yearly.
IMHO, if you know the cow(s) and their health, raw milk is MUCH healthier and tastes better too. Cleanliness is important, but I would assume you are doing the verybest you can to keep ALL your food clean and germfree,
BTW, taste is improved by cooling as quickly as possible. This is the only place the large dairies may have an advantage over home grown with an efficient cooling system.


----------



## mnblonde (Feb 20, 2010)

I grew up on raw cow milk and now have dairy goats-i drink all raw milk -pasturized does strange things to my body!!!!!!

MNBlonde


----------



## jhm47 (Feb 23, 2010)

Brucellosis (Undulant fever) is also passed by raw milk.  The USA has had an eradication program in place for several decades now, but there are still some cases that pop up from time to time.


----------



## ohwell (Feb 26, 2010)

Another very interesting thing to note is that processing the milk still doesn't make it 100% safe. There have been a few cases where people got very sick. Can't quite recall though if they died or not somehow I remember that at least 1 did. If the milk doesn't have anything bad in it, in my opinion it wouldn't have anything good in it either.


----------



## Yates Dairy (May 17, 2010)

I thikn it is perfectly fine to drink raw milk


----------



## GeeseRCool (Jun 16, 2010)

I drink raw cows milk!


----------



## chicken fruit (Jun 17, 2010)

You're actually more likely to get a milk born disease from pasteurized milk than raw. The deciding factor is the milking parlor and kitchen. If the animals are clean, the parlor is clean, and the milk is handled properly its actually safer than the stuff in the stores. 

Thats been proven many times over by studies in the UK and Europe- even in the US. 

There was one study in particular, done in the UK, which REALLY sticks in my mind. They took two groups of 70 people (my memory seems to think) and gave one group raw milk and the other store bought milk. There was something like 30% more cases of TB and brucellosis in the pasteurized milk group than the raw milk group. 

Google raw milk facts and it should bring up those case studies and reviews. Pretty interesting stuff.

more people die and have died from pasteurized milk as opposed to raw. Back when the CDC and FDA were really pushing for unification and standards that required pasteurization, and were really pushing for the home milker to heat their milk before consumption, there were no vaccines for TB and brucellosis, fridges were not widely used or overly functional, and people didnt understand or have the ability to keep their animals clean.


----------



## chicken fruit (Jun 17, 2010)

let me link you up a little here:

legal review of raw milk safety  this is a great review- very thorough. 

multiple links this site is full of info for good decision making- and its surprisingly unbiased.

another site with more info- slightly biased towards the benefits of raw milk... okay, pretty biased... LOL


----------



## clarmayfarm (Jun 26, 2010)

Raw milk is safe, for older children and adults. I grew up with it.  I would be careful giving it to children under the age of one year.

Even though I am a dairy farmer, I would caution you in buying it from anywhere...make certain it is from a clean, honest dairy.

In many states (mine included)  it is illegal for a dairy producer to sell.


----------



## Hollywood Goats (Jun 27, 2010)

http://www.realmilk.com/

I have been drinking raw milk for 6 years and I have never became sick from and I have never heard of anyone getting sick from it.
Several States are making it legal.
I know many little kids that drink raw milk and they are very healthy!


----------

