Raw Milk and Pasteurisation

Most milk today derives from the modern, rather than the traditional Holstein cow, bred to produce huge quantities (three times a much as the old-fashioned cow) and to survive on cereals rather than grass. Average life span is 42 months compared to about 12 years for the grass-fed cow, she must be milked three times a day and is very susceptible to mastitis. Her milk contains high levels of growth hormone from the pituitary gland even when spared the indignity of genetically engineered Bovine Growth Hormone to push her to the limits. 

The proper feed for cows is green grass in spring, summer and autumn, with only small amounts of grain; then stored dry hay, silage and root vegetables in winter. It is not soy meal, cottonseed meal or other commercial feeds, nor is it bakery waste, chicken manure, swill from ethanol production or citrus peel cake laced with pesticides. Soy meal has the wrong protein profile for the dairy cow, resulting in a short burst of high milk production followed by premature death. Vital nutrients like vitamins A, D, E and K are greatest in milk from cows eating green grass, especially rapidly growing green grass in the spring and autumn. Vitamins A and D are greatly diminished and Vitamin K disappears when milk cows are fed commercial feeds. 

Pasteurisation destroys enzymes, denatures anti-microbial and immune-stimulating components, diminishes nutrient availability, denatures fragile milk proteins, destroys vitamins C, B6 and B12, kills beneficial bacteria, promotes pathogens and is associated with allergies, increased tooth decay, infant colic, growth and behavioural problems in children, osteoporosis, arthritis and heart disease. Calves fed pasteurised milk do poorly and often die before maturity. Raw milk sours naturally whereas pasteurised milk turns putrid. 

Pasteurisation was instituted in the 1920s to combat TB, infant diarrhoea, undulant fever and other diseases caused by poor animal nutrition, dirty production methods and infected water supplies. But times have changed and effective water treatment, stainless steel tanks, milking machines, refrigerated transport and improved testing methods make pasteurisation unnecessary for public protection. Pasteurisation does not always kill pathogens: the bacteria for Johne’s disease, which infects a large proportion of confined cattle, survive pasteurisation; Johne’s has been linked to Crohn’s disease in humans. 

Much commercial milk is now ultra-pasteurised to eliminate heat-resistant pathogens and lengthen shelf life. Ultra-pasteurisation is a violent process that takes milk from a cool temperature to above boiling point in just a few seconds. Most milk is then also homogenised, which breaks down butterfat globules so they don’t rise to the top. Homogenised milk has been linked to heart disease. Average butterfat content used to be 4% but today it is more like 3%. 

Consumers have been duped into believing that low fat and skimmed milk products are good for them, and only by marketing low-fat and skimmed milk as healthy can the modern dairy industry get rid of its excess poor quality, reduced-fat milk from modern high-production herds. Butterfat contains vitamins A and D needed for assimilation of calcium and protein in the water fraction of milk; without them protein and calcium are more difficult to utilise and possibly toxic. Butterfat is rich in short and medium-chain fatty acids, which protect against disease and stimulate the immune system. It contains glycospingolipids, which prevent intestinal distress, and conjugated linoleic acid, which has strong anticancer properties. 

Powdered skimmed milk is a source of dangerous oxidised cholesterol and neurotoxic amino acids. Low-fat yogurts and sour creams contain mucopolysaccharide slime to give them body. Pale butter from hay-fed cows contains colourings to imitate vitamin-rich butter from grass-fed cows. In the 1920s people could procure fresh raw whole milk, curdled milk products and buttermilk as well as natural raw butter, cheese and cream. Today’s milk is accused of causing everything from allergies to cancer, but prior to pasteurisation and the industrialisation of dairy farming these diseases were rare. In fact fewer and fewer people can safely consume today’s pasteurised, ultra heat treated, homogenised, standardised, fat-reduced and manipulated dairy foods. 

Raw milk contains numerous ingredients that kill pathogenic bacteria in milk, strengthen the immune system, protect the intestinal tract, prevent the absorption of toxins and ensure full assimilation of all nutrients. These components are largely destroyed by pasteurisation.