Raw Milk Survey

I know this post is a little old, but I can’t help not posting when it comes to raw milk. I am definitely a supporter, and indeed, intend to have my own raw milk dairy.

The U.S. Government is adamantly against raw milk. There is no dispute to that. To them, even looking a raw milk might cause you to break out is some sort of ailment.

The supporters of raw milk will have you think that raw milk is the next best thing since sliced bread, and will certainly cure you of the aforementioned ailment.

I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Here in Washington State, raw milk sales are legal. You can buy the stuff in a grocery store on the shelf right next to pasteurized milk. There is no doubt a demand for it, and I think the state’s strategy for allowing it makes perfect sense, as it allows them to inspect farms and regulate it. To ban it would simply drive producers underground and create a black market for milk. This is already evidenced in states that ban raw milk sales. A CDC study from 1998 to 2011 resulted in the documentation of 148 outbreaks resulting from the consumption of raw milk or raw milk products with two deaths. There is no doubt in my mind that raw milk can provide a path for pathogens to enter the body. So can water. I do want to note that the two deaths were not from fluid raw milk, but from some Queso Fresco, aka bathtub cheese. With freedom comes responsibility. I believe consumers should have the right to consume raw milk, but they must also accept responsibility for their actions. Easier said than done in this litigious world we live in.

Author Gene Logsdon said it best… “I never so much worried about the milk, it’s the cow that can kill you.”

To me, I think we should be more worried about spinach and cantaloupe.