Cow's Milk: The Raw Truth

Cow's Milk: The Raw Truth

When you go the store to pick up your weekly gallon of milk you probably face rows and rows of plastic jugs, the colored tops and labels reminding you of the vast number of choices you have. Should you go with the skim milk or the 1%? Does “hormone-free” really mean anything? Some of the milk cartons might depict pretty brown and white cows happily mooing as they graze on bright green grass, others may even bear the green and white “Certified Organic” seal. So what's the difference?

The vast majority of all commercial milk comes from is over-processed, full of hormones, and void of nutrients and beneficial enzymes. Many American falsely believe that their milk has to be pasteurized because pasteurization protects you from the deadly pathogens contained in raw milk. The fact is, however, that if cows are raised as nature intended, free-range and grass fed, there is no need to process the milk that these healthy animals produce. Dr. Joseph Mercola puts it this way, “The journey that turns healthy raw milk into a dead, white liquid full of allergens and carcinogens begins with modern feeding methods.”

How Has the Cow Been Treated?
Does the quality of the milk depend on how the cow was treated & what the cow ate?
Sophie Uliano, often referred to as Hollywood's Green Guru, explains: “The conventional dairy farms can be appalling...Large corporate owned factories pack cow into massive warehouses and teat them simply as milk machines. It's common for them to be forced to produce 100 pounds of milk a day – ten times more than they would produce naturally. They are artificially inseminated and pumped full of growth hormones and unnatural milking schedules, their udders get painful and so swollen that they drag on the ground. This increases the chance of infection and antibiotics are overused.”

The following is a brief description from The Humane Society of the United States (whose undercover video also recently prompted the largest beef recall in U.S. history) about what these factory-farm dairies are really like:

Factory farmed dairy cows are typically kept in indoor stalls or on drylots. A drylot is an outdoor enclosure devoid of grass. Cows raised on drylots usually have no protection from inclement weather, nor are they provided with any bedding or a clean place to rest. Drylots can hold thousands of cows at one time. Because these lots are only completely cleaned out once -- or at the most, twice -- a year, the filth just keeps building up. Such conditions are not only extremely stressful for the cows, they also facilitate the spread of disease.

It’s true if you were to drink milk from these cows prior to pasteurization, you could indeed be risking your health. It’s important to know that the milk you drink will only be as healthy as the cow that produced it. If you and your family want to enjoy milk, the best thing to do is buy your milk from a clean, well-run farm that gives its cows access to pasture – better yet if the farm is local and believes in organic farming practices.

Milk from cows that are eating green grass, especially rapidly growing green grass in the spring and fall are rich in vital nutrients like vitamins A and D. Vitamins A and D are greatly diminished when milk cows are fed commercial feed. Real feed for cows is green grass in Spring, Summer and Fall; stored dry hay, silage, hay and root vegetables in Winter. Appropriate feed for cows is not soy meal, cottonseed meal or other commercial feeds, nor is it bakery waste, chicken manure or citrus peel cake, laced with pesticides (typically given to commercial dairy cows). Soy meal has the wrong protein profile for the dairy cow, resulting in a short burst of high milk production followed by premature death. Most milk (even most milk labeled "organic") comes from dairy cows that are kept in confinement their entire lives and never see green grass!

Rule #1: Only buy milk products from herds allowed to graze on green pasture.



Where Does My Milk Come From?
Does the type of cow my milk comes from have any influence on the milk that I buy at the store?
The source of most commercial milk is the “modern Holstein” - a specific type of cow bred to produce huge quantities of milk - three times as much as the old-fashioned cow. She needs special feed and antibiotics to keep her well. Her milk contains high levels of growth hormone from her pituitary gland, even when she is spared the indignities of genetically engineered Bovine Growth Hormone to push her to the udder limits of milk production.

There are farmers who produce excellent quality milk using older lines of Holsteins and Holstein crosses. It is the modern commercial Holstein, bred only for quantity, not quality, and pumped full of hormones and antibiotics - that should be avoided. Know your supplier! Ask questions!

Rule #2: Buy only milk from old-fashioned breeds of cows.
This includes Jerseys, Guernseys, Red Devons, Brown Swiss or older genetic lines of Holsteins. You may also want to try milk from goats or sheep (very easy to digest). If locally available, buy milk from llamas, camels, mares, water buffalo, or reindeer.



How Has the Milk Been Processed?
Pasteurization is an outdated practice that kills friendly bacteria, diminishes the vast majority of beneficial enzymes and significantly lowers the nutritional content of milk.

While many have been led to believe pasteurization was instituted in the 1920s to combat TB, infant diarrhea, undulant fever and other diseases, the process actually came into prominence in the late 1800’s through the early 1900’s. This occurred simultaneous to the building of sewage systems and improvements in the cleanliness of our water supply. Given this timing, it’s quite likely the benefits of pasteurization alone have been greatly exaggerated. Contamination of milk, primarily caused by poor animal nutrition and dirty production methods, can now be quite easily avoided with the use of modern stainless steel tanks, milking machines, refrigerated trucks and inspection methods.

Much commercial milk is now ultra-pasteurized to get rid of heat-resistant bacteria and give it a longer shelf life. Ultra-pasteurization is a violent process that takes milk from a chilled temperature to above the boiling point in less than two seconds. Pasteurization destroys enzymes, diminishes vitamin content, denatures fragile milk proteins, destroys vitamins C, B12 and B6, kills beneficial bacteria, promotes pathogens and is associated with allergies, increased tooth decay, colic in infants, growth problems in children, osteoporosis, arthritis, heart disease and cancer. Pasteurization destroys phosphatase (which is essential for calcium absorption) and kills lipase (an enzyme unique to milk, needed to complete the digestion of the fat in milk). Calves fed pasteurized milk do poorly and many die before maturity.

Raw milk sours naturally (variations of soured milk include yogurt, kefir and crème fraiche) but pasteurized milk turns putrid. Processors must remove slime and pus from pasteurized milk by a process of centrifugal clarification. Inspection of dairy herds for disease is not required for pasteurized milk.

The majority of cows confined to commercial dairy farms are infected with the bacteria for Johne’s disease, suspected of causing Crohn's disease in humans, and pasteurization does not always kill this bacteria. The best way to avoid this bacteria is to consume milk only from trusted local dairy farms that do not practice inhumane cow confinement, over-drugging and over-milking. Clean raw milk from certified healthy cows is available commercially in several states and may be bought directly from the farm. (Sources are listed on www.realmilk.com.)

Rule #3: Demand access to clean, raw milk by boycotting processed milk.


Commercial milk is further subjected to homogenization - a process that breaks down butterfat globules so they do not rise to the top. Homogenized milk has been linked to heart disease. When pasteurized milk is also homogenized, a substance known as xanthine oxidase is created. This compound can play a role in oxidative stress by acting as a free radical in your body.

Rule #4: Use only milk with "Cream on the Top."


Are Skim Milk & Low-Fat Milk Really Healthier for Me?
Won't full fat diary make me gain weight and clog my arteries?
Average butterfat content from old-fashioned cows at the turn of the century was over 4% (or more than 50% of calories). Today butterfat comprises less than 3% (or less than 35% of calories). Consumers have been tricked into believing that low-fat and skim milk products are good for them, but selling low-fat and skim milk as a “health food” simply allows the modern dairy industry get rid of its excess poor-quality milk from modern high-production herds. Butterfat contains vitamins A and D needed for assimilation of calcium and protein in the water fraction of the milk. Without them protein and calcium are more difficult to utilize and possibly toxic. Butterfat is rich in short- and medium chain fatty acids which protect against disease and stimulate the immune system. It contains glyco-spingolipids which prevent intestinal distress and conjugated linoleic acid which has strong anticancer properties. Green Guru Sophie Uliano says “fat does not equal 'fat' if its the right kind of fat. There have been numerous studies proving that eating the right kinds of fats can help you lose weight. Raw milk, butter and cream are on my healthy fats list.”

Rule #5: Buy only full-fat milk products.

Aren't low-fat dairy substitutes supposed to be healthy?
Powdered skim milk, a source of dangerous oxidized cholesterol and neurotoxic amino acids, is added to 1% and 2% milk. Low-fat yogurts and sour creams contain mucopolysaccharide slime to give them body. Pale butter from hay-fed cows contains colorings to make it look like vitamin-rich butter from grass-fed cows. Bio-engineered enzymes are used in large-scale cheese production. Many mass produced cheeses and imitation butters (soy-based) contain additives and colorings. The majority of imitation cheese products contain unsavory vegetable oils.

Rule #6: Boycott counterfeits.


Are You Ready to Join the Raw Milk Revolution?
Raw milk from clean, healthy cows bears no comparison – in taste or nutrition – to pasteurized milk.

High quality raw milk will always win out over the pasteurized variety. Raw milk from grass fed cows is full of things that your body will thrive on, including: probiotic enzymes, healthy fat, cancer-fighting and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). It’s not uncommon for people who drink raw milk to report improvement or disappearance of troubling health issues – everything from allergies to digestive trouble to skin problems like eczema.

After decades of consuming highly processed foods, Americans are experiencing skyrocketing rates of chronic, debilitating conditions like asthma, obesity and diabetes. Pasteurized milk was one of the very first processed foods the American public was exposed to, and to this day countless numbers of people are experiencing all kinds of health troubles, from digestive upset to perhaps even autism.

This is why even organic milk, which should be from relatively healthy cows, is STILL not a healthy choice for milk, as it is still pasteurized. As with nearly any food, the closer you consume it to its natural state, the better. And this is also true for milk.

Outdated pasteurization laws favor large, industrialized dairy operations and squeeze out small farmers. Farmers with grass-fed herds deserve to have the right to sell unprocessed raw milk to consumers, so that they can make a decent living, even with small herds. The way you spend your dollars can make a huge difference. When you purchase raw milk from a local free range dairy farm you are making a a difference in the life of that dairy farmer.

Rule #7: Support small local farms with your pocketbook, avoid industrialized dairy operations.

Talk to Your Neighbors

If you’re still on the fence, talk to people in your area who drink raw milk and eat raw dairy products. There are more raw-milk drinkers around than you may think. Check www.holisticmoms.org to see if your area has a local chapter. These holitic parenting groups are a great way to meet open-minded parents who drink raw milk and can advise you on where to buy raw locally.

And you don’t have to stop with milk. Most raw-milk providers also offer other wonderful raw dairy products like cheeses, sour cream, kefir, yogurt, butter, and fresh cream. The flavor of these dairy products is incomparable -- rich, creamy, sweet and incredibly fresh.

Visit www.RealMilk.com for sources of raw dairy products near you.

You might also consider getting involved with organizations like the Weston A. Price Foundation and the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund who are working toward true freedom of choice for American consumers.

Sources:
1. www.realmilk.com

2. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/11/14/Choosing-Between-Raw-Milk-and-a-Dead-White-Liquid.aspxom

3. "The Gorgeously Green Diet: How to Live Lean and Green" by Sophie Uliano