WEBVTT - Is Raw Milk Better Than Pasteurized Milk? 0:00:01.920 --> 0:00:07.200 Welcome to brain Stuff, production of iHeartRadio, Hey brain Stuff, 0:00:07.200 --> 0:00:10.920 loring voc obam here. Interest in raw milk by US 0:00:11.000 --> 0:00:14.720 consumers is steadily growing as more people demand less processed 0:00:14.720 --> 0:00:17.840 food and seek diet based ways to treat and prevent 0:00:17.920 --> 0:00:21.760 health problems. More farmers are offering raw milk, and states 0:00:21.800 --> 0:00:24.239 are creating policies that allow sales of raw milk and 0:00:24.400 --> 0:00:28.520 raw milk products. Yet, raw milk, which is milk that 0:00:28.560 --> 0:00:31.840 has not been pasteurized or homogenized, but rather reaches the 0:00:31.880 --> 0:00:35.240 consumer with little processing, is one of the most controversial 0:00:35.360 --> 0:00:39.280 farm products. Fans and advocates say it's better for you, 0:00:39.400 --> 0:00:43.120 tastes better and safer now than ever before, But in 0:00:43.159 --> 0:00:47.240 the US government, health disease and nutrition experts repeat strong 0:00:47.280 --> 0:00:51.159 warnings about drinking raw milk. So is raw milk good 0:00:51.280 --> 0:00:55.120 or bad for you? Most of the milk and milk 0:00:55.120 --> 0:00:57.760 products like ice cream, yogurt, and cheese that's sold in 0:00:57.800 --> 0:01:02.400 the United States is pasteurized. Pasteurization kills bacteria present in 0:01:02.480 --> 0:01:04.920 raw milk by heating it to a specific temperature for 0:01:05.040 --> 0:01:09.680 a prescribed period. This process developed in eighteen sixty four 0:01:09.680 --> 0:01:11.840 by Louis Pasteur to help with the shelf life of 0:01:11.840 --> 0:01:15.080 wine helps reduce the threat of many food born illnesses, 0:01:15.280 --> 0:01:20.319 such as suberculosis, diphtheria, and typhoid fever. Some of the 0:01:20.319 --> 0:01:24.160 harmful bacteria that can be present in milk include equali, listeria, 0:01:24.240 --> 0:01:27.640 and salmonella, all of which can lead to illness, hospitalization, 0:01:27.680 --> 0:01:31.480 and even death. Public health officials consider pasteurization one of 0:01:31.520 --> 0:01:34.000 the most significant developments when it comes to preventing these 0:01:34.040 --> 0:01:38.959 types of diseases and deaths. Pasteurization isn't selective, though, it 0:01:39.080 --> 0:01:42.520 kills good bacteria along with the bad. That's one of 0:01:42.520 --> 0:01:45.920 the main arguments in support of raw milk. The US 0:01:45.959 --> 0:01:48.960 Food and Drug Administration, the US Centers for Disease Control 0:01:49.000 --> 0:01:52.560 and Prevention, and public health officials maintain that most of 0:01:52.560 --> 0:01:56.360 the nutrition in milk remains intact after pasteurization, and that 0:01:56.400 --> 0:02:00.200 the benefits of pasteurizing milk outweigh any losses. Are Raw 0:02:00.240 --> 0:02:04.720 milk advocates, however, disagree and say that modern pasteurization destroys 0:02:04.880 --> 0:02:07.880 valuable health benefits and alters the texture and flavor of 0:02:07.920 --> 0:02:11.880 milk for the worse. We spoke of Sally Fallon, the 0:02:11.919 --> 0:02:15.320 founding president of the Weston A. Price Foundation, the largest 0:02:15.400 --> 0:02:18.960 US organization in support of raw milk. She notes that 0:02:19.000 --> 0:02:21.600 pasteurization was introduced to make milk safe in the late 0:02:21.680 --> 0:02:25.960 nineteenth century, when dairy production became more urban, safe practices 0:02:26.000 --> 0:02:31.480 were inconsistent and most people didn't have refrigerators. Today's sanitation practices, 0:02:31.520 --> 0:02:34.640 such as refrigerated tanks and trucks, make milk safer than 0:02:34.680 --> 0:02:38.040 it was then. Fallon said that raw milk contains factors 0:02:38.040 --> 0:02:40.440 that help our immune systems, and that the calcium in 0:02:40.520 --> 0:02:42.720 raw milk is more easily absorbed by our bodies than 0:02:42.720 --> 0:02:46.000 the calcium in pasteurized milk, making it better for children 0:02:46.000 --> 0:02:50.079 and older adults. Some research does seem to back her up, 0:02:50.440 --> 0:02:54.080 showing that pasteurization alters proteins so that human bodies can't 0:02:54.080 --> 0:02:57.520 digest them as easily, and a twenty sixteen study published 0:02:57.560 --> 0:03:00.480 in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology showed that 0:03:00.560 --> 0:03:03.760 of the one thousand, one thirty four children who participated, 0:03:04.040 --> 0:03:07.000 those who drank raw milk were less likely to develop asthma, 0:03:07.240 --> 0:03:10.000 with the benefits due to greater concentrations of Omega three 0:03:10.000 --> 0:03:13.560 fatty acids in raw milk. The same study determined that 0:03:13.600 --> 0:03:16.120 the children who had raw house milk early in life 0:03:16.320 --> 0:03:21.600 also experienced fewer respiratory infections and fevers. Many proponents of 0:03:21.680 --> 0:03:25.160 raw milk also say that homogenization ruins the texture of milk, 0:03:25.560 --> 0:03:29.640 homogenization being a process that's separate from pasteurization, which makes 0:03:29.680 --> 0:03:32.760 milk fat molecules smaller in order to emulsify the milk 0:03:33.040 --> 0:03:35.160 so that the cream no longer rises to the top. 0:03:36.240 --> 0:03:38.920 This allows for a more stable regular product and for 0:03:39.040 --> 0:03:43.240 easier production of milk products with different fat contents. In 0:03:43.240 --> 0:03:47.840 the United States, each individual state regulates raw milk policies. However, 0:03:47.920 --> 0:03:50.440 on a federal level, the FTA bans the sale of 0:03:50.520 --> 0:03:55.160 raw milk across state lines. As of April, selling raw 0:03:55.200 --> 0:03:58.920 milk in stores was legal in thirteen states, seventeen states 0:03:58.960 --> 0:04:02.040 permitted raw milk sale only on farms, and in twenty 0:04:02.080 --> 0:04:06.520 states all sales of raw milk were illegal. Raw milk 0:04:06.520 --> 0:04:10.360 advocates like Fallon say that selling unpasteurized milk products is 0:04:10.400 --> 0:04:13.200 a great way for small, independent farmers to thrive in 0:04:13.200 --> 0:04:16.600 a time when dairy farms go out of business daily. Fallon, 0:04:16.720 --> 0:04:19.719 a dairy farmer herself, says it's the dairy industry that 0:04:19.839 --> 0:04:23.679 is lobbied to maintain policies restricting interstate raw milk sales. 0:04:24.560 --> 0:04:27.520 Fallon said, if the farmers have a choice, they don't 0:04:27.560 --> 0:04:30.120 have to sell to dairy processing companies for a dollar 0:04:30.200 --> 0:04:32.960 thirty a gallon. If the price of milk reflected pay 0:04:33.040 --> 0:04:35.839 raises since the nineteen hundreds, it would cost twenty dollars 0:04:35.839 --> 0:04:40.080 a gallon. Allowing dairy farms to sell raw milk anywhere 0:04:40.120 --> 0:04:43.279 from five to twenty dollars a gallon helps offset their costs, 0:04:43.560 --> 0:04:46.520 and even at those high prices, Fallon says demand would 0:04:46.560 --> 0:04:49.000 still be so great that raw milk and raw milk 0:04:49.040 --> 0:04:52.320 products would remain among the fastest growing agricultural products in 0:04:52.360 --> 0:04:56.200 the United States. But back to the risks of consuming 0:04:56.279 --> 0:04:59.080 raw milk of food safety laws in the United States 0:04:59.080 --> 0:05:02.280 exist for a reason. Food poisoning is serious and could 0:05:02.360 --> 0:05:06.520 lead to hospitalization, disability, and even death. A children, people 0:05:06.520 --> 0:05:09.400 with weakened immune systems, the elderly, and pregnant women are 0:05:09.440 --> 0:05:12.960 at increased risk from ingesting unpasteurized milk or milk products. 0:05:14.360 --> 0:05:17.160 The CDC declared in twenty fifteen that no raw milk 0:05:17.200 --> 0:05:19.840 was safe to drink after finding a relatively small number 0:05:19.839 --> 0:05:22.800 of outbreaks. A total of eighty one outbreaks reported in 0:05:22.800 --> 0:05:27.320 twenty six states between two thousand seven and twelve. These 0:05:27.320 --> 0:05:31.760 outbreaks resulted in nine seventy nine illnesses and seventy three hospitalizations, 0:05:31.760 --> 0:05:35.479 but no deaths. The cdc S report also stated that 0:05:35.520 --> 0:05:38.720 outbreaks increased as more states allowed sales of raw milk, 0:05:39.960 --> 0:05:44.000 but advocates disagree, pointing to a newer eighteen study published 0:05:44.040 --> 0:05:47.640 in the journal plos. It analyzed food born outbreaks from 0:05:47.680 --> 0:05:51.480 unpasteurized milk from two thousand five to six and determined 0:05:51.520 --> 0:05:54.400 outbreaks caused by raw milk had decreased during that time 0:05:54.440 --> 0:05:59.240 by sevent If raw dairy products concern you, or if 0:05:59.240 --> 0:06:01.760 you have a compromise commune system, check for the word 0:06:01.920 --> 0:06:05.880 pasteurized on packages and containers before you buy, read product 0:06:05.920 --> 0:06:08.719 information and used by or sell by dates carefully, and 0:06:08.760 --> 0:06:10.880 consult your retailer. If you have any doubts about an 0:06:10.880 --> 0:06:14.440 item that isn't clearly labeled, ask questions. If you're buying 0:06:14.480 --> 0:06:16.840 milk or dairy from a farmer's market or co op. 0:06:17.360 --> 0:06:19.800 Felon recommends visiting a dairy yourself to get to know 0:06:19.880 --> 0:06:22.919 the producers and check out the cleanliness and the animal health. 0:06:23.360 --> 0:06:26.240 Though usually the cow itself isn't the problem, it's the 0:06:26.279 --> 0:06:29.840 contaminants around the cow that make raw milk dangerous. Harmful 0:06:29.880 --> 0:06:32.880 bacteria from a cow's betting, soil, manure, feed, or the 0:06:32.960 --> 0:06:36.320 milking equipment the cow teats and utters can become infected 0:06:36.320 --> 0:06:40.280 with bacteria from these other items, so attention to sanitation practices, 0:06:40.360 --> 0:06:43.560 temperature control, and animal health are key to a good product. 0:06:44.560 --> 0:06:46.760 By the way, the used by and sell by dates 0:06:46.800 --> 0:06:49.039 on milk and on products in the United States in 0:06:49.080 --> 0:06:52.200 general were lobbied for it by al Capone after the 0:06:52.240 --> 0:07:00.960 toppling of his prohibition Booze Empire. Day's episode was written 0:07:00.960 --> 0:07:03.800 by Sean Chavis and produced by Tyler clang. A Brainstuff 0:07:03.839 --> 0:07:05.760 is a production of I Heart Radio's How Stuff Works. 0:07:06.080 --> 0:07:08.000 For more on this and lots of other health topics, 0:07:08.080 --> 0:07:10.680 visit our home planet, how stuff Works dot com. And 0:07:10.800 --> 0:07:13.080 for more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit th heart 0:07:13.160 --> 0:07:15.680 Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 0:07:15.680 --> 0:07:16.360 favorite shows.