aggieterpkatie
The Shepherd
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I definitely didn't take it as an attack!freemotion said:Let's take raw out of the equation. A bit of research on A1 casein is very interesting. Also the nutrient profile of milk from confined cows vs pastured cows. What UHT does to the proteins of any milk to make it toxic. What homogenization does to the milk.
That is not even getting into the cruelty factor. Confining animals for most of their unnaturally shortened lives and feeding them a diet that requires daily antibiotics to keep them alive.....well, for me that is a factor. That is based on personal experience, not theory or photos.
I am NOT supporting that movie....it is VERY one-sided and obviously doesn't give the whole story if that article is accurate in its description. It doesn't acknowledge the existence of milk as a real and valuable food source, which I believe it is. I used to go along with the "we shouldn't drink milk of any kind once we are weaned" idea until a wonderful naturopath convinced me (along with almost two years of my own research, which included visiting dairies) that raw milk could also be very healing for me. It was. Is.
I also want to clarify that I don't think all pasteurized milk is bad. Milk is pasteurized when using it to make soup and thermophillic cheeses and pudding. But it is good to understand that pasteurized milk, even gently pasteurized, is not the live food that raw milk is and does not offer the value that raw milk does.
I don't believe you can find milk in the stores that has been pasteurized at 145 F. I have to go to a local dairy to get that milk, which I do on occasion if I want to add some cow's milk to my goat's milk cheese as in making cheddar.
I hope you don't think I'm attacking you, aggieterpkatie. I just have a different opinion, that's all. Please don't take this the wrong way, since you can't see my demeanor.
We all have our own opinions on things and that's great! I do want to say though, that dairy cows are not fed antibiotics to keep them alive. If they are fed antibiotics, it is because they are sick and are being treated. Their milk is dumped if they are being treated, and their milk only returns to the bulk tank if they are past the withdrawal time. There are very strict rules on traces of antibiotics in the milk, and every single time the milk truck comes he takes a sample. Unfortunately for the farmer, the milk isn't tested before it joins the rest of the milk in the milk truck, so if for some reason the milk is tainted, the farmer is responsible for the whole truckload. Farmers are very careful about not letting treated cows' milk end up in the bulk tank. Many farms also do their own testing regularly (daily) so they can catch any problems before the milk truck comes. There are aspects of commercial dairies that I would agree with you about, like confinement. I don't think it's the ideal life for cows, and I think it's hard on their bodies. The "normal" production life of the average holstein is only about 4-5 years, because they just break down after that. Their legs don't hold up to all the concrete, and producing that much milk is hard on their bodies. They could last longer, but they start costing dairies money, so they're sold at auction. We all know that a home milk cow can last easily 15 years, and there are many that last to 20.
And I just wanted to clarify that even though I said we don't need to drink milk past infancy, I LIKE milk and I do drink it. I just don't like the argument that humans need milk to be healthy, because that is not the case either.
My sister cannot eat dairy and I feel so bad for her!
