Is Raw Milk Good or Bad?
Is raw milk and dairy a good thing or a bad thing?
When I was a little kid, I used to go to my grandma’s house, which was on a farm. It was a little family farm, mostly retired by that time. But there were still some milking cows. They used to milk the cows in the afternoon and put the milk in the fridge over night. First thing in the morning there was nothing better than fresh milk with a rich creamy layer on top.
Raw milk.
Some people won’t drink any think else. The question, of course is whether or not raw milk is better for you or if pasteurization really is needed to kill bacteria.
Personally, I don’t think there is a good answer to this question.
On the one hand, I certainly like foods as close to whole and natural as possible. Raw milk fits that bill.
On the other hand, bacteria can be deadly. Literally. Back in my grandmother’s day, children died pretty routinely and people died early deaths because of things like a simple bacterial infection. Two of the greatest advances in health and avoiding early death are sanitation and antibiotics.
So, the raw milk products issue is a trade off. It’s a trade off between keeping a food more whole and keeping a food safe. You can live with a less whole milk product, but you can’t live with a bacteria that is stronger than you and all of our antibiotics. It can kill you. The chances may be low, but the unlucky folks that end up with an infection, it’s 100%.
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