On Saturday night, I was fortunate enough to see and hear Sally Fallon speak on the subject of raw milk, aka real milk. She is, of course, the co-author of Nourishing Traditions, the best guide to traditional, nutrient-dense food history, information, and recipes, and the founder of the Weston A. Price Foundation. She spoke to a large and enthusiastic crowd down in Chelsea who were happy to have her.
I am a raw milk drinker, so I definitely support her arguments, whether they’re about safety or nutrition. To see what she talked about last night, just go the Real Milk site and download the Raw Milk powerpoint presentation. There is a lot of science in there to back up the pro-raw milk arguments.
I was asked about what I got out of the talk, as I was not there to be convinced of anything new. For, me what I gained was 1) more assurance in the effectiveness of raw milk on health; 2) reinforcement that raw milk is safe from a food safety standpoint; and 3) a reminder that simply because it’s raw is not enough – this farm fresh milk must meet certain criteria to make it acceptable for human consumption.
What are these criteria? They are as follows:
- From pasture-fed cows
- Full fat
- Cows free of TB and undulant fever
- Milk produced under sanitary conditions
- Milk immediately placed in cold storage
- Regular testing program for somatic cell count and pathogens
- Regular testing of water on the farm
So basically, make sure the cows are fed on pasture and eating grass, they are free of disease, and tested regularly (as well as testing the farm’s water), and use refrigeration. Since the “swill milk” days, the advances in medical testing, water cleanliness, and refrigeration are light years beyond from where we were then. The cows that supply my milk meet each and every one of these criteria.
As far as its effectiveness on health, it was clearest in the list entitled, Destruction of Built-In Safety Systems by Pasteurization. From the inactivated bioactive components like Leukocytes (they eat at all foreign bacteria, yeast and molds), to the reduced levels of medium-chain fatty acids (also found in coconut oil), to the general dismantling of the natural protective safety systems that reside in the milk, it’s clear to me that pasteurization is not something beneficial to the health of the milk. Additionally, raw milk seems to be supportive of our immune systems, contains carriers to ferry vitamins and minerals through the gut and into the blood stream, and has curative properties, (see The Milk Cure, which should only be done with raw milk). One woman in the audience told us that she put raw milk in her child’s ear and it cured his earache in about 4 hours!
And to touch on the food safety standpoint – why not look at one of the core reasons our milk may not be safe – the cleanliness of the animals and their surroundings, and the manner in which they are raised and treated during their lives. Cows that produce milk that is consumed and sold as raw are under a lot more scrutiny and are tested more often. This kind of practice is what I’d like to see – preventative, wholistic health care for the animals, rather than its opposite. It will keep them healthy and happy, and their milk is healthy and makes the drinker happy, too!
Sally herself was in good spirits. The talk was informative, and she presented the information in an easy and sometimes entertaining manner. She also answered a bunch of questions from the audience, including one from a physician asking about how doctors and medical students could access education about raw milk, especially since they are (falsely) taught that all raw milk is dangerous.
Most memorable quote of the evening: “Drinking raw milk is like playing Russian roulette with an empty gun.” Too true.
Photo credit: (cc) Jean-Pol Grandmont via a Creative Commons license
