Raw Milk

This message is brought to you by cows across the country. It might look like a plug from Chick-Fil-A but really, it's actually just me explaining what milk is all about.

Sarah Kay is lactose sensitive which just means that I have to be careful how I talk about milk in front of her otherwise she might start crying. Actually, that's a joke. She just doesn't process regular milk and dairy very well... or so it seems! Let's take a look at a gallon of milk and see what information we can glean from the data presented on this beloved substance:

Notice this lovely icon of the modern grocery store. This beautiful Kroger gallon of skim milk is interesting for several reasons.

1. It is self-promoting. Grade A with Vitamins A&D. Imagine two basketball players: LeBron James and me. LeBron is a magician on the court and practically flies when he goes in for the dunk. I'm a dude who hasn't spent a bunch of time playing basketball and I'm not fantastic. I suspect few people would need convincing to have LeBron on their team. I would have some persuading to do. That's because I am not obviously good. In fact, in order to get on a team, we might have to dress me up a bit with some nice Air Jordans, Nike Apparel and sweat bands. That's called self-promotion.

2. It has impressive longevity. Cool story, we can kind of resist the aesthetic effects of aging through artificial processes. Botox, plastic surgery and a shelf of fancy creams and lotions extend our looks and delay undesirable visual traits. However, even a 40-year-old who looks like a 20-year-old is still a 40-year-old. I'm not so sure all milks are good just because they haven't rotted yet.

3. It's pasteurized so that we don't get sick. Pasteurization is named in honor of the French scientist Louis Pasteur. He figured out that by bringing beer and wine to high temperatures, most of the bacteria responsible for spoiled beer and wine would be eliminated. This process has been used to rid our milk of dangerous pathogens that could potentially harm us. Unfortunately, this process also kills the enzymes that help us digest milk. But still, the dangers are real. Here is a statement from the CDC:

Among dairy product-associated outbreaks reported to CDC between 1998 and 2011 in which the investigators reported whether the product was pasteurized or raw, 79% were due to raw milk or cheese. From 1998 through 2011, 148 outbreaks due to consumption of raw milk or raw milk products were reported to CDC. These resulted in 2,384 illnesses, 284 hospitalizations, and 2 deaths. 

Ok that's a little scary. So now if you want to sell raw milk, you must have a permit. If you want to buy raw milk, you need to sign a waiver indicating you know the risk. But when was the last time you had to sign a waiver in order to buy your other grocery items? Let's compare milk statistics to other diseases from just the year 2011. According to the CDC:

Illnesses due to Staphylococcus aureus in 2011: 241,148

Hospitalizations due to E. coli in 2011: 2,138

Deaths due to Camplyobacter spp. in 2011: 76

All of these were food-borne related diseases (references at the end of the post). Apparently, the 13 years of data on raw milk related diseases pale in comparison to other food-borne diseases in the year 2011 alone. Plus, people have been drinking raw milk for thousands of years. So it might be possible that we overreacted to these statistics just a bit.

4. It's homogenized so that the fat is equally distributed throughout the milk instead of rising to the top. Wouldn't it be nice to equally distribute our body fat over our whole body? Probably not. I think it might improve the appearance of some people but in general, that would look rather odd. And I don't think it would be healthy for us. Well, here is what we do to milk when we homogenize it:

First, notice the little yellow circles (henceforth called fat globules) passing through this pump. This is done at very high pressures. What comes out the sides are smaller fat globules. Success! The fat doesn't rise to the top anymore. But wait! There's more. These fat globules are now exposed to certain enzymes that break down fat and make the milk taste awful. So how do we solve that problem? Boil and kill them (pasteurization). In the end, the chemistry of the milk is compromised and that can lead to heart disease and other chronic issues.

Let's talk about an alternative called Raw Milk. This stuff is as good as it gets. It is important to point out two different kinds of raw milk you can consume:

Raw milk from grain-fed cows is actually not as good as it gets. Since it is cheaper and produces meat with more fat, many farmers choose to feed their cows corn fed diets. Unfortunately, cow physiology doesn't process grain very well and it alters the milk that they produce. It's not healthy for the cows and definitely not the best.

Raw milk from grass-fed cows is definitely as good as it gets. This is the diet and lifestyle cows have been living for years. Grass-fed cows pass good nutrients on to the consumers of its milk.

In short, other kinds of milk are not necessarily bad but there are definitely trade-offs. You can choose between cheap, long-lasting and less healthy milk or expensive but way healthier raw milk. And we should be grateful we have the choice! 

Remember Sarah Kay's lactose sensitivity? Well, turns out it might just be pasteurization sensitivity. Raw milk (and the yogurt we make from it) seem to treat her just fine. Considering the health situation Sarah Kay and I are currently in, we definitely favor raw milk. In my last post I said that we eat real food. I'd like to make an addition. We eat real food that eats real food.

The data I referenced can be found by clicking on the following link: CDC Foodborne Illness and CDC Raw Milk.

Also, a decent video: Pasteurization and Homogenization