Raw milk

[Lu King]

Is it safe to drink raw cow and/or goat milk?

 

[ksalvagno]

If the milk is handled properly and the items used for milking are cleaned properly, then yes. Teats need to be cleaned before and after milking and the milk pail needs to be sanitized after EVERY use. Also keep the milk in glass containers and they also need to be sanitized. Also there is a filtering process for the milk which should also be done.

 

[freemotion]

You will find that most of the people here and on ss that have dairy animals drink the milk raw. Check out www.realmilk.com or www.westonaprice.org

 

[Lu King]

Thanks for the responses.

Some of my relatives said when they were a kid their families drank the milk without having to do anything....just rinsing out the bucket. I guess they were lucky they didn't come down with something.

 

[ohwell]

Just rinsing out the bucket used to be the only thing anybody ever did before the modern era of farming as far as I know. Not saying I would do it but it sure is interesting some of the stories that can be told. Yes raw milk is absolutely unbeatable for taste in my opinion. When I was a kid I drank more than a gallon a day of a jersey's milk and I must say the coloured water you buy at the store just isn't appealing.

 

[kstaven]

Interesting to note that most fresh milk can range 4.5 - 6% butter fat and yet the so called Whole milk on the store shelf is only 3%.

Reality is that the product on the shelf should be labeled as a Modified Milk Product.

 

[Henrietta23]

I actually buy raw milk by choice. It tastes so much better!

 

[Imissmygirls]

Raw milk was discouraged in the early 1900s because it transmitted Tuberculosis if the cow had TB. Since then, the gov't had a strong TB testing policy for many years. It worked so well that they discontinued testing a few decades ago for the general farm population.
In PA, cows over 2 yrs old who are shown in fairs must still undergo TB testing yearly.
IMHO, if you know the cow(s) and their health, raw milk is MUCH healthier and tastes better too. Cleanliness is important, but I would assume you are doing the verybest you can to keep ALL your food clean and germfree,
BTW, taste is improved by cooling as quickly as possible. This is the only place the large dairies may have an advantage over home grown with an efficient cooling system.

 

[mnblonde]

I grew up on raw cow milk and now have dairy goats-i drink all raw milk -pasturized does strange things to my body!!!!!!

MNBlonde

 

[jhm47]

Brucellosis (Undulant fever) is also passed by raw milk. The USA has had an eradication program in place for several decades now, but there are still some cases that pop up from time to time.