Raw Milk Part 1

"Not for human consumption!"

There is a lot of controversy over drinking grass-fed cow’s milk in its natural form. In some states it is completely illegal to sell, and many farms have been raided by the FDA. Other states, such as Florida, allow raw milk to be sold as pet food only. If one wishes to purchase a gallon of fresh raw milk, it will have the label “not for human consumption” clearly written on the container. Is raw milk really as dangerous as it’s made out to be?

Raw milk, raw butter, raw fermented dairy products, and raw cheeses are foods that have been eaten by people in cultures all over the world since… forever. The Bible even talks about the Promised Land of Israel being a land flowing with milk and honey. If God used those foods to describe a land he had blessed and chosen for his people, that should be saying something to Christians. In describing the richness of the land he wanted to bring his people to, God chose to use those foods which bring blessings and health to our bodies. 

Less than 100 years ago raw milk was still a regular part of the American diet. It hasn’t been until recent years that Western cultures labeled this wonderful super-food as “unsafe” and “fattening,” along with other sacred foods like butter and egg yolks. Processed foods now make up the majority of the American diet. Low-fat foods are considered “healthy.” Interestingly, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, liver problems, thyroid problems, digestive issues, allergies, difficult pregnancies, and infertility, to name a FEW of our modern sicknesses, have skyrocketed in just the past few generations. 100 years ago heart disease and cancer were very rare! Everyone needs medication (or many) nowadays, to help with all our problems.

Getting back to raw milk…. Let’s compare natural cow milk to CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operation) milk.

Cows should be fed green plants such as grass. This is what their bodies are designed to eat and what they thrive on. CAFO cows are fed exclusively grains and soy feed, which changes the milk protein. On the other hand, nutrients and vitamins found in the grass free-range cows eat are transformed into something humans can digest, which is milk. We are able to get the nutrients from the grass, but in a form our body can use. 

 Grass-fed dairy cows give 1-2 gallons of milk a day, but commercial cows give 3-4 times as much. They are fed growth hormones in order to produce so much watered down milk. The CAFO animals are given antibiotics because they are sickly. This is why conventional milk must be pasteurized. If milk is not produced from a clean and healthy cow in a clean and natural environment, drinking the milk raw will make you sick for sure! Commercial cows are not able to access the green grass they need to be healthy. This “grass-fed” aspect is important because healthy animals make healthy people and vise versa.

In my next post I will talk about the benefits of grass-fed raw milk in greater detail.

--Corryn