Raw Milk Anyone?

Realizing there are risks with eating any raw food is common sense. I don't believe anyone is saying there's NO risk to raw milk. I personally don't believe there's as large a risk as others clearly feel there is. I, like another poster, eat raw or nearly raw beef and lamb, sushi is practically a staple for me, and vegetables......they're LOADED with bacteria that can never be completely washed away and I rarely cook them at all.

As for suing a physician or the government IF I were to ever get sick, which I never have, that's the equivalent of suing McDonalds for hot coffee or obesity. No one on this thread indicated that they planned to blame anyone else if they got sick from drinking raw milk.

I don't begrudge anyone their pasteurized or homogenized milk.....that's what I buy for my home because I don't drink or even cook with it enough to spend the extra money on raw. I don't see any reason to discourage or preach at anyone who does choose to consume raw milk, however, anymore than I see a reason to discourage or preach at anyone who chooses to eat sushi or steak tartar.

To each his own

The government has a duty to ensure what is sold to the public is safe. When the FDA, or it's equivalent in other countries, give food advice based on scientific research then that advice carries significant weight and is not issued lightly.

The advice may find its way into leglisation - like banning the sale of raw milk - but it doesn't prevent the consumption of same if that's what you want to do.

I like hiking and will drink water from mountain streams rather than carry it. I am sure the advice would be that there's a risk associated with this. i know that risk and decide on balance that it's acceptable because i dont want to carry an extra 3 kgs of water with me.

So the OP can drink raw milk if she wants - I just dont see the benefit other than it might taste better to her. I suppose it must. One poster was able to say raw milk tastes better than pasteurised milk even though they only ever drank raw milk.

WRONG!

The government has a duty to protect our God-given rights! They have NO business telling us what we can or can't put in our own bodies. They do not OWN us!

Maybe you missed the bit where I said 'it doesn't prevent the consumption of same if that's what you want to do.'

God-given rights? You're having a laugh?

I like my milk straight from the source. Mmmmmm breast milk

The government does have an obligation to save people from themselves, because unlike your average person, their judgement regarding what we should and shouldn't eat is governed by doctors, dieticians, panels of scientists and decades of studies. They will always know more than any one person.

And beyond that, there will always be SOMEONE who will risk themselves, end up ill or hurt and then try to blame the FDA, the farmer, whoever. Lawyers get rich off that crap. And even if everyone in this thread would never, EVER sue the FDA because they drank raw milk and it went badly (cough), what happens when a well meaning mother gives raw milk to their children and one of them becomes drastically ill? What if there are complications for that child later in life, which means they decide to take legal action because that raw milk was available? The FDA HAVE to take into account these kinds of situations, because people will always try to blame someone else for their own willful ignorance.

And FYI - The FDA came into being to stop tricksters putting cocaine into elixirs sold to calm restive babies. I think we can all safely assume that a food and drug authority was necessary.

/rant

You don't have to refrigerate eggs in England because they don't have the same issues with salmonella there that there are in the States. The conditions are different with the way animals are raised that affect the safety of farm products. So assuming that "it's safe in x so it would be safe in y" is a false assumption.

Most farmers in the US that sell raw milk are not conventional farms. The milk I buy is from pastured cows, not feedlot cows. You can visit the farm if you like.

There is a ton of misinformation on this post. RAW milk is legal in many sates in the US. I drink it everyday, I ferment it on the counter and drink it for breakfast every morning. The person that posted 'facts' from the FDA is very misguided.
The following goes against all REAL science and history:

"Below is from the FDA

Raw Milk & Pasteurization: Debunking Milk Myths
While pasteurization has helped provide safe, nutrient-rich milk and cheese for over 120 years, some people continue to believe that pasteurization harms milk and that raw milk is a safe healthier alternative.

Here are some common myths and proven facts about milk and pasteurization:

Pasteurizing milk DOES NOT cause lactose intolerance and allergic reactions. Both raw milk and pasteurized milk can cause allergic reactions in people sensitive to milk proteins.
Raw milk DOES NOT kill dangerous pathogens by itself.
Pasteurization DOES NOT reduce milk's nutritional value.
Pasteurization DOES NOT mean that it is safe to leave milk out of the refrigerator for extended time, particularly after it has been opened.
Pasteurization DOES kill harmful bacteria.
Pasteurization DOES save lives."
All false, part of a propaganda campaign.
Read: http://www.amazon.com/Untold-Story-Milk-Revised-Updated/dp/0979209528
Check out: http://www.westonaprice.org/
People, especially in America since 1913, have been bombarded with the most successful propaganda campaign to control our thoughts in the history of the world. Food 'safety' in the last one hundred years has been pushed on us yet now 1-3 get cancer, everyone has asthma, autism, obesity, heart disease etc. All caused by food, go back in history and see. Go back to pasture raised animal fats including dairy, stay away from fruits and vegetables that you didn't grow yourself and you will live long and healthy. All mega farmed foods are covered in chemicals that don't wash off, they absorb into the fruit/vegetable so I stick with RAW Milk, Raw Eggs, Raw Beef. Never been healthier, don't get sick, don't go to a doctor. Do your own research.

To answer your question: http://www.realmilk.com/where05.html#mn

Small farms, cows that go outside to pasture, grass fed and oat fed in the winter is best.

There is a ton of misinformation on this post. RAW milk is legal in many sates in the US. I drink it everyday, I ferment it on the counter and drink it for breakfast every morning. The person that posted 'facts' from the FDA is very misguided.
The following goes against all REAL science and history:

"Below is from the FDA

Raw Milk & Pasteurization: Debunking Milk Myths
While pasteurization has helped provide safe, nutrient-rich milk and cheese for over 120 years, some people continue to believe that pasteurization harms milk and that raw milk is a safe healthier alternative.

Here are some common myths and proven facts about milk and pasteurization:

Pasteurizing milk DOES NOT cause lactose intolerance and allergic reactions. Both raw milk and pasteurized milk can cause allergic reactions in people sensitive to milk proteins.
Raw milk DOES NOT kill dangerous pathogens by itself.
Pasteurization DOES NOT reduce milk's nutritional value.
Pasteurization DOES NOT mean that it is safe to leave milk out of the refrigerator for extended time, particularly after it has been opened.
Pasteurization DOES kill harmful bacteria.
Pasteurization DOES save lives."
All false, part of a propaganda campaign.
Read: http://www.amazon.com/Untold-Story-Milk-Revised-Updated/dp/0979209528
Check out: http://www.westonaprice.org/
People, especially in America since 1913, have been bombarded with the most successful propaganda campaign to control our thoughts in the history of the world. Food 'safety' in the last one hundred years has been pushed on us yet now 1-3 get cancer, everyone has asthma, autism, obesity, heart disease etc. All caused by food, go back in history and see. Go back to pasture raised animal fats including dairy, stay away from fruits and vegetables that you didn't grow yourself and you will live long and healthy. All mega farmed foods are covered in chemicals that don't wash off, they absorb into the fruit/vegetable so I stick with RAW Milk, Raw Eggs, Raw Beef. Never been healthier, don't get sick, don't go to a doctor. Do your own research.

To answer your question: http://www.realmilk.com/where05.html#mn

Small farms, cows that go outside to pasture, grass fed and oat fed in the winter is best.

Happy to believe the FDA, with it's host of peer-reviewed studies and hordes of scientists over a sensationalist book deal and a website that anyone can buy/start. You'd do well to learn how incredibly easy it is to a.) self-publish or b.) publish something anti-Big-government, since there appears to be no end of people willing to lap that up*.

*no pun intended

The government does have an obligation to save people from themselves, because unlike your average person, their judgement regarding what we should and shouldn't eat is governed by doctors, dieticians, panels of scientists and decades of studies. They will always know more than any one person.

And beyond that, there will always be SOMEONE who will risk themselves, end up ill or hurt and then try to blame the FDA, the farmer, whoever. Lawyers get rich off that crap. And even if everyone in this thread would never, EVER sue the FDA because they drank raw milk and it went badly (cough), what happens when a well meaning mother gives raw milk to their children and one of them becomes drastically ill? What if there are complications for that child later in life, which means they decide to take legal action because that raw milk was available? The FDA HAVE to take into account these kinds of situations, because people will always try to blame someone else for their own willful ignorance.

And FYI - The FDA came into being to stop tricksters putting cocaine into elixirs sold to calm restive babies. I think we can all safely assume that a food and drug authority was necessary.

/rant

First, we all must have personal responsibility. It is not the government's role to baby you through out your life. For instance, the government doesn't stop you from eating too much that's how most of us got to this site and the biggest driver of health care costs. Many of us here have taken personal responsibility to get control of our diet.

You think the government does a good job regulating food? What about all the listeria and e coli breakouts and recalls we hear about all the time? That is all USDA regulated food products.

It's legal here in Texas. We get it from a local farmer who has a little shop on their farm.