What do you think of raw milk? pasteurized? ultra-pasteurized?

[Julpost]

My dh and I had found a local source of raw milk a few months ago. We felt comfortable that they maintained a high level of cleanliness and were intrigued with the idea of a more nutritious dairy product. Their milk was in such high demand, there was a waiting list for it. Unfortunately they had to cut down on production and since we were one of the last ones to sign up, we were one of the first ones to be "cut off" (for lack of a better term...I'm too tired to try to find it). We hadn't really fed it to the kids, we were experimenting to see how we did with it. Sometimes I would put it into smoothies and once we even made butter out it. (very cool!)

 

I started noticing at the grocery store that all of the organic milk is ultra pasteurized. I've read that ultra pasteurized milk has even less nutrients than just regular pasteurized milk and has a bit of a cooked taste.

 

Which leads me to this....I'd like to tap into the knowledge base of this hive. What do you think of these different varieties of milk? Is it true that raw milk is so much more nutritious? Do you think it's worth the slight risk (or maybe not so slight risk) that the milk is contaminated? I'm confused and have been meaning to post the question for awhile now. I wonder why I can't find just regular pasteurized organic milk at the store. And I wish raw milk weren't so hard to find around here.

 

Another thing.....one blessing from this recession....I'm learning more and more about simple, healthy food and how much almost everything is processed. My sister saw a documentary on how even cows are mainly fed corn and the resulting meat is pretty poor quality. She said something about how the meat is mainly fat but is disguised as meat. I don't get that at all and she didn't have time to explain what she meant. She also said that grass fed beef is just as nutritious as fish. Also that most of the corn grown in America is 'inedible' (I don't understand how) but that it's a genetically modified strain of corn that has to be processed into fuel or HFCS, etc. it can't just be eaten. I'll get the name of the documentary and watch it myself. I had never even heard about any of these things. I'm new to all this....I just starting grinding my own wheat for Pete's sake. But I'm all for starting my garden this summer, putting up that food for the winter, storing grain from a local farmer who keeps his wheat prices low (I just bought 3 50# bags of wheat berries for $20 each) and continuing to search for a source of raw milk and learning to make my own cheese and butter. Who knows, maybe one day I'll get one of those "mini-cows" I read about on this board earlier this week. I'm more and more leery of "mainstream culture" and the food we put into our bodies at any rate.

 

But then again, I'm a closet conspiracy-theorist at heart as well...so this is right up my alley!

[Mamagistra]

My dh and I had found a local source of raw milk a few months ago. We felt comfortable that they maintained a high level of cleanliness and were intrigued with the idea of a more nutritious dairy product. Their milk was in such high demand, there was a waiting list for it. Unfortunately they had to cut down on production and since we were one of the last ones to sign up, we were one of the first ones to be "cut off" (for lack of a better term...I'm too tired to try to find it). We hadn't really fed it to the kids, we were experimenting to see how we did with it. Sometimes I would put it into smoothies and once we even made butter out it. (very cool!)

 

I started noticing at the grocery store that all of the organic milk is ultra pasteurized. I've read that ultra pasteurized milk has even less nutrients than just regular pasteurized milk and has a bit of a cooked taste.

 

Which leads me to this....I'd like to tap into the knowledge base of this hive. What do you think of these different varieties of milk? Is it true that raw milk is so much more nutritious? Do you think it's worth the slight risk (or maybe not so slight risk) that the milk is contaminated? I'm confused and have been meaning to post the question for awhile now. I wonder why I can't find just regular pasteurized organic milk at the store. And I wish raw milk weren't so hard to find around here.

 

Another thing.....one blessing from this recession....I'm learning more and more about simple, healthy food and how much almost everything is processed. My sister saw a documentary on how even cows are mainly fed corn and the resulting meat is pretty poor quality. She said something about how the meat is mainly fat but is disguised as meat. I don't get that at all and she didn't have time to explain what she meant. She also said that grass fed beef is just as nutritious as fish. Also that most of the corn grown in America is 'inedible' (I don't understand how) but that it's a genetically modified strain of corn that has to be processed into fuel or HFCS, etc. it can't just be eaten. I'll get the name of the documentary and watch it myself. I had never even heard about any of these things. I'm new to all this....I just starting grinding my own wheat for Pete's sake. But I'm all for starting my garden this summer, putting up that food for the winter, storing grain from a local farmer who keeps his wheat prices low (I just bought 3 50# bags of wheat berries for $20 each) and continuing to search for a source of raw milk and learning to make my own cheese and butter. Who knows, maybe one day I'll get one of those "mini-cows" I read about on this board earlier this week. I'm more and more leery of "mainstream culture" and the food we put into our bodies at any rate.

 

But then again, I'm a closet conspiracy-theorist at heart as well...so this is right up my alley!

 

The movie is King Corn. There's a thread about it here.

 

I am not educated enough to speak about milk, but there have been discussions on the boards about it so you might try a search. Colleen, one of our resident dairy queens (LOL:lol:...JK, Colleen!) has recommended one site...Cornucopia Institute maybe?...that has information on packaged milk.

 

As for a way with simpler food, just keep on reading! There are several wonderful books out there to further enlighten (and anger) you about our nation's food system. Here are a few that I've entertained:

 

 

• Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser

• The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan

• Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes (regarding diet research and misleading nutrition)

• Revolution at the Table by Harvey Levenstein (a history of food in America)

• Kitchen Literacy by Ann Vileisis

• Seeds of Deception by Jeffrey M. Smith

 

 

I'm sure others here will chime in with even more info. :)

[fiddledeedee]

Like everything, you can find studies for and against raw milk. We started drinking it in the fall, stopped for a while, and started up again. When we went off of it, my asthma was the worst it has ever been, within a few weeks of drinking the raw milk again, it went completely away. This could have been coincidence, but I tend to think the milk helped. I have a local dairy just a couple miles from my house, and I feel like the milk is a good choice for our family, I've read the enzymes and vitamins are very good for you. We've had no illnesses from the milk. We also buy free range eggs from them. They sell goat milk as well, but I've not been brave enough to try it!

 

I personally wouldn't drink ultra pasteurized milk.

 

I found this book to be an interesting read.

The Untold Story of Milk: Green Pastures, Contented Cows and Raw Dairy Products by Ron Schmid

[amy g.]

Can I ask a piggyback question?

 

If you drink raw milk, did you start slowly to adjust to it and build up immunities?

 

I've been pasteurizing our goat milk, because I have a baby, and I'm paranoid, but I would really like to move toward raw milk.

 

I'm just wondering if there is a preferred way to make the switch.

[yslek]

I currently have a book entitled Nourishing Traditions from the library, and it recommends raw, whole, unhomogenized milk as the ideal. There are a few recipes that call for pasteurized milk (yogurt is apparently easier to make that way), but even then the author calls for unhomogenized milk. The book is based on the work of Weston A. Price. I have his book, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, on hold.

 

Although I've read some disturbing articles on raw milk on the CDC website, I still think that the evidence in favor of raw milk is pretty convincing. I wouldn't buy it if it wasn't local, though. I recently found a farm nearby that sells raw goat milk; I bought some and it's delicious. I also joined a local food co-op which sells raw cow milk and pasteurized non-homogenized cow milk. I think I'm going to be doing a combo of the goat milk and pasteurized milk, just because it's all so expensive, and the pasteurized non-homogenized stuff is the least expensive of all the choices. (The goat milk is the most pricey.)

 

I'm just coming into my hayfever season, which is usually worsened by milk. I'm hoping this new regimen will help, but it's just too early to tell. (We've been on this for only a month; so far everyone's healthy & fine. :))

 

Kelsy

[Colleen]

Colleen, one of our resident dairy queens (LOL:lol:...JK, Colleen!) has recommended one site...Cornucopia Institute maybe?...that has information on packaged milk.

 

Yes, I've pointed people to Cornucopia Institute's dairy report scorecard http://cornucopia.org/index.php/dairy_brand_ratings/. This pertains to maintaining organic integrity and doesn't address questions surrounding raw versus pasteurized and/or ultra-pasteurized milk. Most raw milk advocates point to the Real Milk campaign sponsored by the Weston A. Price Foundation. Like most campaigns, the info there is worthwhile when considered with a grain of salt.

 

I do believe raw milk offers a myriad of benefits and that my boys' excellent health is due in part to consuming raw milk. Having said that, I also believe both pasteurized and ultra-pasteurized milk are beneficial and were we not producing our own milk, I would not purchase it from other sources.

 

As far as locating pasteurized (rather than ultra-pasteurized) organic milk, Julpost, I would have to know your location to help you to that end. Organic Valley produces, among other things, regional milk in half-gallon cartons. There are seven regions, two of which are New England and the Northeast. Typically, milk packaged as regional is not ultra-pasteurized.

[Mamagistra]

 

Yes, I've pointed people to Cornucopia Institute's dairy report scorecard http://cornucopia.org/index.php/dairy_brand_ratings/. This pertains to maintaining organic integrity and doesn't address questions surrounding raw versus pasteurized and/or ultra-pasteurized milk.

 

Oops, sorry 'bout that! :blush: That's what I get for losing my links. ;)

 

Thanks for chiming in, Colleen. :001_smile:

[Colleen]

Oops, sorry 'bout that! :blush:

 

I appreciate that you remember my reference to the Cornucopia Institute. Truly!:)

[*anj*]

Can I ask a piggyback question?

 

If you drink raw milk, did you start slowly to adjust to it and build up immunities?

 

No, not at all. Our source for raw milk is not such that we're worried about pathogens. If we were even remotely concerned about that we wouldn't be drinking it, nor would we give it to our children.

Responsible raw dairy farmers know that because their milk will not be cooked, their hygiene and overall cleanliness must be above reproach. They would not knowingly take any chances that would jeopardize the safety of the milk that they sell. And don't forget that drink their milk too! I think (don't ask me to site the source because I don't remember) that research has shown that health/hygiene conditions in conventional dairies ranks far below that of raw milk dairies precisely because the conventional producers know that any pathogens that enter their milk will get cooked out. Raw dairy farmers can't take that chance.

[Mommieeeee]

This is an interesting discussion. In fact my dh and I were just talking about this subject this morning. Does anyone know how I can go about finding raw milk sources around me? Is there a website that I can locate local raw milk?

 

My dh and ds both have moderate asthma. I am starting to wonder if it is semi-related to milk products. So we wanted to try this experiment on them.

 

Thanks!

[*anj*]

This is an interesting discussion. In fact my dh and I were just talking about this subject this morning. Does anyone know how I can go about finding raw milk sources around me? Is there a website that I can locate local raw milk?

 

My dh and ds both have moderate asthma. I am starting to wonder if it is semi-related to milk products. So we wanted to try this experiment on them.

 

Thanks!

 

This link is for the Weston A. Price Association.

There are others, but I like this one, although I know they're a wee bit controversial. :001_smile:

 

I know that you didn't mention lactose intolerance, but I wanted to mention in this thread that raw milk is often a better choice for people who otherwise can't tolerate dairy. I have been lactose intolerant for almost 20 years and could only have maybe two servings of dairy per day. Now I see that that is because the good stuff had been killed off in the pasteurized dairy products that I was eating/drinking. When I consume raw dairy I can have as much as I like without any symptoms of lactose intolerance.

;)

[Jenn in Mo]

My dh is a lab technician in a milk processing plant and he has no problem with me purchasing raw milk. I've yet to do it, but he finally has me convinced that it is fine. He told me that when he first started examining the milk slides, they were so clean that he started to doubt the integrity of the equipment....so he spit on a slide and examined it. He described that slide as "disgusting" and is now very impressed with our local farmers' milk. It helps that he grew up drinking raw milk from his parents' farm.

 

Just a word of caution though: start slow. While farmers and their families DO generally drink their own milk, they've been doing it most of their lives and their bodies are used to it. Some people react with diarrhea. Gross, but true. My dh, while appreciating the benefits and the safety of consuming raw milk, is one of the few who can't tolerate it well.