Save Raw Milk

[maudlin76]

I don't blog very often because I don't have the energy. But this has me up in arms, and I have to say something about it

Comments

[kokotg]

here they have to sell it either as a cow share or as "pet milk" and there's a bill right now to make them put black dye in milk advertised as pet milk to discourage human consumption.

[maudlin76]

Wow.

[melissatulip]

That's terrible! I love Organic Pastures; I think the raw milk farms rock. You have to get it as cow shares here also...

[secretradio]

I'm wondering if this is a public-health driven reaction to the listeria thing ( a few weeks ago, listeria was found in Organic Pastures half-and-half or cream. The farm said it was from milk they purchased from elsewhere). I'm currently in a public health class, and it is definitely providing some food for thought about food safety!

[maudlin76]

Yeah, I knew about the listeria case. The thing is, listeria and other pathogens are found in pasteurized milk, too! Much more often actually than in raw milk. (Besides the fact that it is found on raw vegetables.) I believe that it is a scare tactic.

[maudlin76]

And really, I'm not trying to argue the safety/benefits of raw milk. Although, my research and own experience has me completely convinced for myself and my family. But do I not have the right to purposely buy a product that is clearly marked with warning labels? What about cigarettes? What about alcohol? And why is there no warning label on sooo many other foods?

[secretradio]

Oh, I'm not arguing for the ban! I just was pondering the cause of the amendment. And I do think it's because mortality from listeria is so high (20-25% of people who contract it die) that it makes it, from a public health perspective, more of a "look what a difference we can make" issue by trying to eradicate it. I think pasteurization enables factory farming; if dairy products were held to the current standards of safety but pasteurization was not available, I think there'd be millions of healthier cows in the world.

Tobacco and alcohol manufacterers do much more extensive lobbying than small raw milk manufacturers; sadly, it's lobbying that makes government work so often.

[starflower5]

It's such a shame. I grew up on raw, totally unregulated milk we traded for from a family farm, and not once ever came down ill from it. I would venture to say that I actually got sick less often overall because I drank locally pastured raw milk and ate locally produced raw wild honey, in fact.