We're taught as early as elementary school about the
French chemist Louis Pasteur and his famous invention:
pasteurization. This is the process of heating food to kill
bacteria, viruses, mold, yeasts and other potentially
harmful organisms. The first pasteurization test was
performed back in 1862, after Pasteur noticed that
microorganisms could contaminate beverages (he later
extended this to the theory that microorganisms could
contaminate humans and animals as well.). But
pasteurization did not immediately become the gold standard
for milk production in the United States. In fact, at the
end of the 19th century "swill dairies," in which cows were
raised in horrible conditions and reportedly fed swill from
liquor distilleries, were a major problem. The milk from
these dairies was of such poor quality that it was thought
to be contributing to the high death rate of urban infants
at the time (the yearly death rate of U.S. infants in
cities was about half of the yearly birth rate). Thus, a
crusade began for certified raw (unpasteurized) milk, which
would ensure certain purity levels of milk and regular
inspections of dairies. "Though more and more milk was
being pasteurized, pasteurization was seen by many as a
stopgap measure that would no longer be needed once the
production and distribution of milk was more carefully
regulated. Certified milk was the model for the production
of better milk everywhere," said Ron Schmid, ND, author of
The Untold Story of Milk. Yet by the early 20th century,
milk supplies were still of poor quality, and thought to be
involved in many disease outbreaks, leading authorities to
push for mandatory pasteurization of all milk except
certified raw milk. "Not until the 1930s did commercial
dairy interests, segments of the medical community,
politicians and public health agency officials and their
allies in the media begin a campaign first to smear all raw
milk and then to eliminate its availability and sale,"
Schmid said. Thus began the compulsory pasteurization of
milk and the great debate that has spanned centuries: Is
pasteurization one of the greatest discoveries, or greatest
setbacks, of our time? The Case for Pasteurization
"[Drinking raw milk is] like playing Russian roulette with
your health," says John Sheehan, director of the Food and
Drug Administration's (FDA) Division of Dairy and Egg
Safety. "We see a number of cases of food-borne illness
every year related to the consumption of raw milk."
According to the FDA, raw milk may contain any number of
disease-causing organisms, including campylobacter,
escherichia, listeria, salmonella, yersinia and brucella.
Aside from causing acute diarrhea, stomach cramps, vomiting
and fever, these organisms may also cause more serious
conditions, particularly among the elderly, pregnant women,
children or those with weakened immune systems. The FDA
says pasteurization helps prevent:
- Tuberculosis
- Diphtheria
- Polio
- Salmonellosis
- Strep throat
- Scarlet fever
- Typhoid fever
Milk can be contaminated from a sick or dirty animal,
as well as by dirty living environments. "Think about how
many times a cow lays down in a field or the barn," says
Tom Szalkucki, assistant director of the Wisconsin Center
for Dairy Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
"Even if the barn is cleaned thoroughly and regularly, it's
not steamed. Contamination can take place because it's not
a sterile environment." Pasteurization, says the FDA, kills
any dangerous bacteria while also destroying bacteria that
can cause milk to spoil, thereby extending shelf life. One
of the biggest controversies over pasteurized milk is
whether or not the milk is able to retain its nutritional
value after the high temperatures it is exposed to.
Proponents of pasteurization say the process has little
effect on the milk's nutritional value or flavor. "Milk is
a good source of the vitamins thiamine, folate, B-12, and
riboflavin, and pasteurization results in losses of
anywhere from zero to 10 percent for each of these, which
most would consider only a marginal reduction," says
Sheehan. Further, "Pasteurization will destroy some
enzymes," says Barbara Ingham, Ph.D., associate professor
and extension food scientist at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison. "But the enzymes that are naturally
present in milk are bovine enzymes. Our bodies don't use
animal enzymes to help metabolize calcium and other
nutrients."
The Case for Raw Milk On the other side
of the fence are those who say pasteurization is
unnecessary if cows are raised in clean environments, and
radically changes the structure of the milk, resulting in
an entirely different, and potentially harmful, food.
According to the Weston A. Price Foundation:
"Pasteurization destroys enzymes, diminishes vitamin
content, denatures fragile milk proteins, destroys vitamins
C, B12 and B6, kills beneficial bacteria, promotes
pathogens and is associated with allergies, increased tooth
decay, colic in infants, growth problems in children,
osteoporosis, arthritis, heart disease and cancer. Calves
fed pasteurized milk do poorly and many die before
maturity. Raw milk sours naturally but pasteurized milk
turns putrid; processors must remove slime and pus from
pasteurized milk by a process of centrifugal
clarification." Raw milk, proponents say, is an outstanding
source of beneficial bacteria such as lactobacillus
acidolphilus, vitamins, enzmes and calcium. Further, they
say that sickness resulting from raw milk is rare--instead,
it is pasteurized milk that is often implicated in
outbreaks of food-borne illness. According to Mark McAfee,
founder of Organic Pastures Dairy, which produces a full
line of raw organic dairy products for retail sale, "During
the period 2000 through 2004 there were several
listeria-related food recalls in California associated with
pasteurized milk products and ice cream. During this same
period more than 12 million servings of Organic Pastures
products were consumed and not one person complained of
illness and not one pathogen was ever found either by the
state, FDA or Organic Pastures." Organic Pastures then
hired a laboratory to perform an experiment. The lab added
10 million counts of pathogens to one-milliliter samples of
organic raw milk and found that the pathogens not only
would not grow but they also died off. The lab concluded: "
... Organic raw milk and colostrum do not appear to support
the growth of pathogens ..." As it stands, the sale of raw
milk across state lines is illegal. However, sales of raw
milk, either in retail stores or directly from the farm,
are legal within 28 U.S. states. In other states, raw milk
may be available through cow "leasing" programs in which
members purchase shares of a cow and can then use the milk
how they choose. l">
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