Unbiased raw milk information?

[CoburnWoman]

I've been researching and considering switching my family to raw milk for some time now... the thing is, I can't find any sources of information that don't seem biased. It seems like everyone is trying to sell me on either raw milk or pasteurization. So, I was wondering if anyone could steer me to any unbiased info? I'm an engineer so I have a pretty science-based thought process... research and studies are great

Thanks!

[AJP]

It's such a polarized issue, I think finding unbiased sources of scientific information is unlikely. The main funding sources for those kinds of studies have no interest in anything that might indicate that clean, raw milk from healthy cows isn't a deadly poison, because the whole industrial dairy structure relies on pasteurization and other processing.

Are you wanting stuff about safety, or about the supposed health benefits of raw milk, or both? The safety issue varies so wildly because production methods vary. Most of the studies out there that support scary claims about pathogens in raw milk have used milk from conventional dairies that had been intended for pasteurization. Many of the health claims made about raw milk are anecdotal. There is that recent European (German, I think) study showing that children who drank raw milk had much lower rates of asthma and allergies than children who drank pasteurized milk, regardless of whether they lived on farms or not. I don't have a link to it, but you will probably find it if you do a little looking around on pro-raw-milk sites, it's been talked about a lot lately.

[WuWei]

Start here: http://thebovine.wordpress.com/2009/...ive-exclusion/

And see Amanda Rose's research: http://www.rebuild-from-depression.c...thogens_a.html

You can purchase a copy of the original research for $7: http://rebuildmarket.com/catalog/raw-milk.html It is informative, unbiased and rational, it seems.

Bottom line, don't contaminate raw milk with pathogens and you are fine. We only consume cultured raw dairy.


Pat

[BetsyPage]

I drink raw milk all the time, and I'm very comfortable with it. The particular dairy we get our milk from is tested frequently (daily?) because some of the milk is sold raw and some is sold for pasteurization or other purposes.

I don't think there is any such thing as unbiased opinions. I think that for raw milk, the really important thing is having a trustworthy source, that your milk comes from a clean dairy and that it is handled appropriately. There are people who describe what that is.

[BetsyPage]

I just noticed that you are from Florida, so thought you might be interested to read this article about a farmer in your state, unless you've seen it already.

http://www.campusprogress.org/fieldr...ilk-revolution

[mamadelbosque]

I'm not sure unbiased info for raw milk exists... its kind of like the vaccine issue, yk? Highly biased/opinionated folks on both sides. I really recommend just giong and visiting a farm if your interested in drinking raw milk, and see how its produced, how the cows are treated, etc. The farm we get ours from has little pamphlets on the 'benefits' of raw milk. I'm not 100% sure I buy all of it, tbh... but I *do* know that I LOVE the taste of raw milk - its *SO* much different and *SO* much better (IMO) than pasturized... and for me, thats enough to keep me buying it

[CoburnWoman]

I'm primarily looking for info about the safety of raw milk. I believe there are definite health/digestive benefits just because of the fact that the enzymes are still in tact (the original definition of pasteurization was that all of the enzyme activity ceased). Our family's philosophy about food tends to be the less processed (especially industrially processed) it is, the better, and I just started reading Sally Fallon's "Nourishing Traditions," which is what got me looking into raw milk. From the sources I've looked at so far, I tend to believe it's just as safe as any other food as long as it's produced and handled properly, but I'm looking for a little more hard-and-fast truth than the 'feeling' I get, ya know?

Thanks all for your responses so far, and WuWei, thanks for the links I will definitely check them out today. I will also go ahead and tour a couple of local dairies.

[pampered_mom]

Originally Posted by WuWei

And see Amanda Rose's research: http://www.rebuild-from-depression.c...thogens_a.html

You can purchase a copy of the original research for $7: http://rebuildmarket.com/catalog/raw-milk.html It is informative, unbiased and rational, it seems.

I was actually going to recommend these as well. I'm not really sure that you can find unbiased information...I kind of have my doubts that as human beings we can actually attain something like that. However, I think that Amanda's resources are probably the closest you can get to something like that.

[onetrumpeter]

I agree that it's basically impossible to find unbiased info! I've read a bit of Amanda's website but not her white paper (ummm... don't even really know what a white paper is but it sounds very research-y! ) and it is helpful.

Originally Posted by WuWei

Bottom line, don't contaminate raw milk with pathogens and you are fine. We only consume cultured raw dairy.


Pat

Pat, does that mean you only drink milk that has naturally soured (in addition to consuming raw cultured dairy in other forms - yogurt, kefir, etc)? As in, if you just picked up your gallon, would you drink it fresh? We don't drink *lots* of milk but just joined an "alliance" to get raw milk and I was looking forward to drinking it in addition to using it to make cultured butter/buttermilk, etc.

[WuWei]

Our best local raw milk source (an hour away, cross state line) has been feeding more and more grain, unfortunately. I'm not comfortable with that without culturing it. We do homemade raw milk kefir and yogurt, and use kefir for baking. But not raw milk straight anymore.

Pat

[FernG]

This blog http://www.thecompletepatient.com/ focuses mostly on legal issues, but the journalist also posts about the science. He talks about the biases on both sides of the issue. The WAPF does publicize some claims that are based on weak research (raw milk kills pathogens that contaminate it), but so does the FDA and the CDC and the dairy regulators.