As a kid I remember sometimes stopping at a farm on the way to the lake to pick up some raw milk. My Dad loved the stuff. I wasn't so sure because I was just used to the 2% we had in the fridge. But I don't remember anyone suffering any ill effects.
That memory plus Sally Fallon's- the author of my new cookbook- strong endorsement of raw milk has me interested. Did you know that the sale of raw milk is illegal in Canada? It is illegal to even give raw milk away. I just read a fascinating (and very disturbing) article about the "Milk War" centred around a farm in Ontario. Check it out here. You can read about the raw milk debate in the U.S. in this Wikipedia article.
I also found a video of an interview about raw milk which I found very informative and interesting.
What do you think?
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Ack! Lysteria!
ReplyDeleteAt least boil it if you're going raw. Homoginization is supposed to change the fat structure of milk and thus be less healthy, according to my dietician friend, but I'd go whole/organic (and water down if whole is too heavy for you) before I'd go raw. Lysteria can be deadly (and is almost unheard of and therefore likely to be misdiagnosed now that milk is no longer sold raw). Same with the ecoli and other fecal bacteria that sometimes wind up on the teats and then into the milk...
But I'm open to discussion as to alternative methods of avoiding illness AND conventional milk processing!?!
Hm, it seems that 'raw' milk is being synonymously linked with 'organic' milk in the first article, which isn't the case. One can have pasteurized, organic milk which is free of bacteria AND free of antibiotics and from happier, healthier cows.
ReplyDeleteIt's true, dairy farms have become aberrations, though the lifespan of each cow varies from farm to farm, as does the amount of times she is inseminated (some cows live to be quite a few years older than the 600 days quoted in the article). But some things which have always concerned me are; rendered meat products fed to 'vegetarian' cows, and widespread antibiotic and hormone use.
These can be avoided with organic milk.
We have not yet switched because of the price difference, but I applaud those who do.
But as I said before, you can go organic without going raw.
I can't even find organic milk here, let alone raw milk if I wanted to. I wouldn't dash down to the local farm for a bucket of raw milk based on only a couple of articles and interviews... however I'm inclined to believe in the innate health and safety of a natural product that has been consumed for millennia. The trick is in the environment from which the milk comes. Feed, space, equipment, storage. I shouldn't be anymore but I continue to be shocked and amazed by just how perverted our food supply has become. Is it any wonder our culture struggles with chronic illness and rising incidence of disease? So much of the food we eat is skeletonized and processed beyond recognition it's a wonder we are as healthy as we are.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's true. It's funny to me sometimes what we've come to consider 'food' (ie, petroleum products!?! and margarine) and discarded as 'not food.' I think it's not so much that you (and I) are shocked at the perverted state of food, but that so many of our products fit in that category. It also raises my eyebrow that the previous generation WASN'T shocked by this processing and perverting.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, previous generations DID eat things like Haggis. This makes me question THEIR eating habits too! Lol!
I think you could dash down for some raw milk at the local farm if you learned how to pasturize it yourself. I know it involves heating, but not for how long or how hot. You may not be able to find an organic farm, though, so :-(
You may just have to switch when you come back (and live next door to me, right??)
I thought of you last Wed.. nite at yoga b/c the 16 other women in the room were exchanging horror and fear birth stories. Too sad. And aweful to feel like a freak for looking forward to experiencing giving birth.