Hey you, yeah you. Pssst. Over here. We’ve got some milk. Yeah, the good stuff. Unpasteurized. Shhh. Keep it down, the FDA is listening.
The Brooklyn Paper is reporting (sort of) on their aborted attempt to infiltrate Brooklyn’s raw milk underground. Why underground? Because it’s illegal to transport raw milk across state lines with intent to sell it for human consumption. Why?
An FDA report on illnesses caused by raw milk over the last five years says there have been 18 “outbreaks” of bacterial illness involving raw milk or raw milk cheeses in 15 states. Those outbreaks have sickened 451 people, a few of those seriously enough to be hospitalized. The report lists types of bacteria that might be found in raw milk, including campylobacter, escherichia, listeria, salmonella, yersina and brucella. It also lists diseases raw milk products can cause, such as tuberculosis, diphtheria, polio, strep throat, scarlet fever and typhoid fever.
But don’t let that dissuade you, the Brooklyn Papers would be informant, “Deep Milk”, maintains that the pasteurization process kills a bunch of the healthy stuff along with the horrible diseases. Heaven forbid.
Sadly, just as the paper was about to pull back the curtain on the seedy (but well-nourished) milk underground “Deep Milk” got cold feet:
“I am really sorry for wasting your time,” she said, claiming she got orders from the top. “But we can’t help you anymore at the risk of the government finding out, so the story can’t run at all.”
Tony Soprano? Is that you?—MEGHANN MARCO
Organic crime in Bay Ridge [Brooklyn Papers via Brooklyn Record]
(Photo: Matt Browne)
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There was an article in Salon not too long ago about raw milk, which was really my introduction to the topic: http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2007/01/19/raw_milk/index…
gwai lo & jackdangers, one thing they mentioned in the article is that California’s standards for raw milk intended for sale are the same as for pasteurized milk, so raw milk you find at your local grocer is as safe as the pasteurized stuff. In fact, California’s rules are actually stricter than the FDA’s, which allows for 25% more bacteria contamination. So the raw milk you can buy there is actually safer than the pasteurized stuff I have in my fridge right now.
I’m reading a lot about “dirty milk” from fellow posters. You want to know why milk is pasteurized to begin with? Because it’s extremely dirty. The dairy cows are crammed into stalls, not allowed to move much at all and the rBGH they give them to overproduce causes mastitis (infection) and bloody milk. No thank you. I’ll take the raw milk we get from a local family any day. It’s delicious and full of the enzymes that occur naturally in milk to help us mere humans digest milk from an animal far larger than us. I gave some to a friend the other day and it was the first time in years that she could drink milk and not get nausea and cramping.
No mammals on earth (except some humans) drink milk beyond juvenile age.
No mammals on earth (except some humans) drink the milk of some other mammal.
Think about it.
Should you really be drinking milk at all?
The FDA is worried about the natural bacteria in raw milk that is good for you. Yet, they allow the bottling and sale of milk that has been made from cows that were give antibiotics (to keep them healthy), eaten grains that were sprayed with pesticide and herbicides, and fertilizers. Pasteurization destroys the enzymes that make it possible to digest milk. I’d rather take my chances with raw milk. It’s more digestable, contains no antibiotics or chemicals and is healthier for you. If you like pasteurized milk you may as well pour a handful of dirt from your lawn in your water, mix in some dry milk and drink that.
@kubus_gt: Isn’t pasteurization a heat-treating process, that doesn’t involve the use of chemicals?
We have a farm nearby that sells raw milk “for pet consumption only”. My wife and I bought some to try – I liked it, but later read an article on another website about how much pus and blood is in raw milk. I guess this stuff is in pasteurized milk too, but somehow seems less gross since it’s been treated.
Milk…blecch.
@butterscotch66:
No animals on earth (except some humans) post on the Consumerist.
Think about it.
Should you really be posting on the Consumerist at all?
(just trying to point out the flawed logic here…)
Sign the petition to legalize raw milk. Support the consumer’s right to choose what they buy. Big dairy farms want to prevent small farmers from stealing their business. By supporting raw milk legalization you are supporting small farmers. Rather than making less than $1.50/gallon for hormone-laden milk that’s transported off to be pasteurized, they make $7-8/gallon for raw milk. Plus raw milk is a lot more nutritious than pasteurized milk. It tastes better, too!
http://www.change.org/ideas/view/legalize_milk
Pass this on to your friends!
By the way, raw milk tastes incredible! And it has all sorts of nutrients that are killed during pasteurization including CLA, omega 3s, absorbable calcium, vitamin C and good bacteria. The fda is constantly attacking raw milk because of pressure from big dairy who want to shut small farmers down.