Milk is one of nature’s most nutritionally complete foods. Fresh out of the cow or goat, it is delicious and full of vitamins and minerals our bodies need. Perfect just the way it is, milk has been consumed and enjoyed in its natural state since the beginning of time. So why is the milk we buy at the store pasteurized and homogenized?

Milk straight from the cow is so full of health benefits that I’m amazed everyone doesn’t drink it. The best source of calcium available, it is extremely rich in enzymes, contains all 22 essential amino acids, and children who drink milk in its natural form have lower rates of asthma and allergies.

Conjugated linoleum acid (CLA), a fatty acid that raises metabolic rate, helps remove abdominal fat, boosts muscle growth, reduces resistance to insulin, strengthens the immune system, and lowers food allergy reactions, is abundant in milk from grass-fed cows.

The beneficial bacteria, healthy enzymes and proteins in raw milk will clear up digestive issues for many people and it strengthens the immune system.

Many people who are lactose intolerant can drink raw milk. Unfortunately, my son, who has always loved milk, has developed an allergy to any form of dairy products, raw or pasteurized. The rest of my family prefers to drink raw milk, which tastes richer and creamier than its pasteurized and homogenized counterpart. It also has a much fuller, more satisfying taste.

So when and why did milk begin to be pasteurized? In the late 1800s and early 1900s, inferior milk was the supposed cause of a health crisis in developing United States cities. Most urban dairies were located right next to whiskey distilleries and the cows were fed distillery slop. So you can imagine what their milk was like - pale and thin. Those who were sick or dirty often milked the cows, adding their germs to the already low quality milk.

The dishonest dairy owners would add sugar, starch, or flour to attempt to give some body to this watery milk, so poor that neither butter or cheese could be made from it. This poor excuse for milk was called slop milk. The slop milk industry was blamed for the many deaths from infant diarrhea, scarlet fever, typhoid, undulant fever, and tuberculosis. I don’t know whether or not it was responsible for all of those illnesses, but I’m sure it couldn’t have been good for you. Reformers began to call for this slop milk to be pasteurized, while still allowing for raw milk produced in hygienic situations to be produced and sold.

In 1908 a panel of experts, under Theodore Roosevelt, blamed raw milk for food-borne illnesses. In 1924, the Standard Milk Ordinance urged states to require that their milk be pasteurized. By 1949 it was law in most states. These days obtaining raw milk can be difficult unless you know someone who raises milk cows.

When milk is pasteurized it is heated to between 131 and 158 degrees F. for a specific period of time, usually 15 seconds. This is supposed to destroy disease causing microorganisms without radically altering the taste or quality. If the milk is ultra-pasteurized, it has been heated up to 191 degrees F. for at least 1 second, then immediately chilled. This is supposed to give it a longer shelf life than if it was just pasteurized.

When milk is homogenized, it has been spun in a centrifugal cream separator so that the globs of fat are evenly dispersed throughout the liquid. Before you pour a glass of raw milk, it is necessary to shake it up to combine the fat with the milk, or you will end up drinking straight cream. I like to take some of the cream off the top and store it in a separate container as cream for my coffee.

The high temperatures used in pasteurization do not kill the germs that cause typhoid and tuberculosis. Several salmonella epidemics have been traced back to pasteurized milk, not milk in its natural form. The number of people who have become sick from ingesting raw milk and its products is minimal when compared to how many have become sick from consuming pasteurized milk and its products.

I don’t know about you, but I think that we should be allowed to make the choice whether or not we want to purchase pasteurized milk or raw milk. I, for one, want the milk I consume to be full of the nutrition that comes in it naturally.

Following are some links to websites that talk about the myth of pasteurization. Enjoy!