Raw Milk?
I haven't been able to find any posts on the topic of RAW MILK --
Any thoughts? I know it is "illegal" in NJ, but I've heard many people buy it from PA. Would YOU drink it? Just found an interesting article on naturalnews.com regarding our beloved CDC and pasteurization of our milk .. check it out
http://www.naturalnews.com/035039_raw_milk_pasteurized_CDC.html
Paulina 
Rebecka 
Ba Ba Booey Oddly enough, I was just reading this story today about raw milk in PA/NJ. I never heard of it before then.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/02/nj_man_boy_among_78_to_get_sic.html
Bessie That "natural" web site begins "vaccine-pushing, disease scare-mongering". Seems to be as much of an agenda as they say they fight against. Sure there are good reasons to go with natural products. But natural can also mean more prone to bacteria. For every statement the article assumes "natural" goes along with the cleanest disease free product, all the contamination only ever comes from some other kind of cow. It happens because it's part of anything that deals with a living organism. Natural also comes without processes that kill contamination. The article is biased and wrong. It's not that there isn't a certain point that some people may want raw milk. But over compensating the truth doesn't help anyone.
If some people want raw milk, it's their business. I have an auto-immune disease with medication that means it could have really serious problems for me. But I don't think anyone should be denied it because of my problems. Education is the key. There are legitimate health concerns, but as long as you understand that why not have it be available?
GC Raw Milk is good as long as the cow is good and clean and healthy, that the milk was handeled properly
I have drank it i like it
I feel that is should be sold if you want to buy it
Caged Animal I eat raw milk cheese. It is very healthy and has beneficial enzymes that pasturized milk destroys.
I don't drink milk, but if I did, I would drink raw milk as well.
happy girlI think it's in the same vein as eggs; if you don't want them cooked til the yolk is solid and there may be a slight risk of salmonella, well that's up to the consumer. I have had raw milk and love it. It has all the enzymes that pasteurization destroys.
Perhaps it could carry a warning on the label. Btwm you can buy raw cheeses in NJ if they are aged more than three months. Also delicious!
Jams Well-stated, GC. I don't want to be drinking milk from a cow that had an early mastitis infection! Blech!
3wbdwnj At one time you knew spring was on its way, you could taste the wild onions in cow's milk.
I think pasteurization has its merits, killing bacteria etc.
I would love to see non homogenized milk make a come back.
I got an email yesterday from my children's peds office. This is what it said about Raw Milk.
"There is a bill before the legislature to allow the sale of raw milk in New Jersey. This would set us back over 200 years to pre-pasteurization times. Over the past years there have been multiple outbreaks of Listeria, Salmonella, and toxin producing Escherichia coli related to raw milk. There is currently an outbreak of Campylobacter related to a dairy in Pennsylvania. There is no way that milk can be made safe for consumption other than pasteurization. Visualize the udder of a cow and its proximity to her anus. Bacteria from cow manure can easily get onto the udder and into her milk. Bacteria in an adult cow doesn't cause disease in calves but it does in humans; thus the need for pasteurization.
Please take time to send a letter to your state representatives - specifically your state senator. Let them know we would rather not have our children experience good old-fashioned, life threatening food poisoning because some misguided constituents have convinced them the risk is worth the very marginal health benefits of raw milk - the web site to look up your representative is http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/legsearch.asp "
Mommyof3 My uncle had a dairy farm, we all drank raw milk, didn't seem to harm us. Even way back then in the day, udders always cleaned and the milk was pumped straight to the cooler.
Don W. Again you have to know who your buying your raw milk from , how clean is the milk , you would puke if you seen the milk that get taken in for treat ment . so again its handleing of the product and the health of the cows . and no one is forced to drink the raw milk
so write the representitives and say freedom of choice
Both husband and myself grew up on raw milk. Never had problems. If people would like to drink it, we don't see reason to stop it. Like CA said, know where your milk comes from.
I see a reason to stop it. Nice, but clueless farmer that sells it will get sued and lose his farm when the first cute little kid dies and the parents who purchased the raw milk blame it on the poor farmer. I say, go for the raw milk, but grow the cow yourself and take ALL of the responsibility. If you are not living where you have the land to do it, you are probably buying processed food and insisting on raw milk would just be hypocritical anyway.
maja Or buy your own cow and pay the farmer to board it. Then no lawsuits, and I don't think Miss Kalee should get a dime:
from the WSJ:
Kalee Prue, a 29-year old Connecticut mother of one, says she believed in the benefits of raw milk but became ill soon after drinking some purchased at a Whole Foods in Connecticut linked to the E. coli outbreak.
She was eventually diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome, which can be caused when an E. coli infection produces toxic substances that destroy red-blood cells and damage the kidneys. She has undergone blood transfusions and is at risk for long-term kidney complications that may require a transplant. Her attorney, William Marler, says she has incurred over $230,000 in medical bills, and he is in discussions with Whole Foods to see if the matter can be resolved without a suit.
Raw milk was all we ever drank. after Dad was done milking he would come in for breakfast with a gallon of milk right out of the milk tank. To this day I still cant drink store bought milk or white water we called it.
jd4020 question
do you feel that because we have pasturized milk that farms have gone down hill to the point where the farmer says dont worrie the bactiera count the pastureizing will kill it off ?
I have been to farms where the cows are so clean and so is the equipment the storage and the handleing
and others that you dont even want to go near
H'Town had a dariy long ago on miller street
Mommy of 3 is a classic overreactor. Please do not allow her ignorance to alarm you. Raw milk, from well operated and carefully scrutinized farms is a wonderful, highly nutritious food. She clearly has bought into the fear mongering that surrounds this topic. No need for anyone else to. I have been drinking RAW MILK for over 7 straight years and have nothing but high praise and thankfulness for it. Please educate yourselves about RAW vs. Pasteurized (denatured, adulterated) milk.
I now drink RAW goat milk exclusively because I prefer it to cow's. But RAW cow's milk is fine if you prefer it. Just make sure the farming operation is acceptable. The vast majority of these farms in PA are heavily scrutinized and are under the microscope by the FDA. This cleanliness and scrutiny should be applied to the factory farms that produce the crap that most people buy in the supermarket. I wouldn't touch that stuff with a 50 mile pole. Because they "pasteurize it" they are allowed to keep their poor cows standing in filth all day day while loading them up with foodstuffs that are foreign to their natural diet (grass). They are fed GMO corn and all kinds of slop that most people never realize. It's THESE cows from the factory farms that carry the diseases that you should concern yourself with. Besides that, the final product is anything but milk and is extremely damaging to your health. Can you image taking the milk from a lactating human mother and "pasteurizing" it before feeding it to the baby?
Once you start to research this topic you will fing that not even all RAW milk is equal. If you drink RAW cow milk it should come from cows that are considered "A2" types. Jersey's for example. Type "A2's" offer a much better ratio of omega 3 oils to omega 6. Also, you must make sure that the cows are pasture fed and not eating any grains of corn. Remember, what they eat, you eat.
Anyway, I could go on forever about the health benefits of the proper RAW milk but suffice it to say that I woud be extremely happy if Raw milk came back to NJ. Oh and Mommy of 3, you do know that it's YOUR choice to buy it or not. No one is holding a gun to your head.
MMMM Raw Milk! Oh. and BTW, here is where you can SUPPORT Raw milk being passed in NJ. Remember, the choice is yours.
http://www.gardenstaterawmilk.org/index.asp
Mommyof3 just shared an email she got from her pediatrician (I received it as well). No need to give her a hard time about it.
jrsemom THis is just another way that the government makes it sound like they want to protect us but in the process you give up your free choice. Like everything else that is good for you the government puts the fear into you. But we should all be responsible consumers and not just take what is said as proof. We should research further and find the real answers. Not what the media pushes. Just a saying that I have heard over and over again "Fear is the mind killer", isn't that the truth. I will leave you with that thought.
Raw milk is awsome JRSEMOM.......Not giving her a hard time. Just keeping the playing field level. She is potentially scaring people unecessarily. Add to that that she is trying to petition against raw milk based on the alarmist and innacurate information provided by her ignorant pediatrician.
I am sure that she is quite capable of responding to me herself should she be interested in debating this. Maybe you should MYOB.
morganmommy Interesting. Recently a new weight loss drug was approved by the FDA that could potentially cause major heart issues. How many commercials do we all sit through for drugs that have potential side effects that are worse than the ailment? Seizures, weight loss or gain, shortness of breath, dizziness, and DEATH?
Doesn't it seem a little ridiculous that the government wants to control people drinking local raw milk yet all the drugs with horrific side effects are ok? I know the drugs can be greatly beneficial to some people too...however many people believe that raw milk is also very beneficial. I see no need to restrict the sale of raw milk. I do not drink it, but I do not support banning my neighbors from buying it if they think it is best for their families.
I drank it as a kid, and the cream. I know people who drink the colostrum.A little hard core for me though. I loved the smell of the seperating rooom in the barn. But I think the choice should be there. Now to really throw a bone into the whole thing. Humans really shouldn't be drinking animal milk at all. What other species drinks the milk of another besides us? Besides the rare dog nursing tiger cubs story we hear now and then. But my family and I aren't going to stop drinking it, or cream, or ice cream or half and half or whip cream.....etc. Again, it's choice which we seem to be loosing more and more these days. Maja has a point. We are a litigous country and a law suit would with out doubt happen eventually.
Jaemae I don't really like milk. I LOVE dairy products give me cheese, sour cream, ice cream any day! But not milk itself.
I don't think raw milk should be illegal, though.
Peaches This can be a very polarizing issue, but really its about free choice for the consumer.
And about the dairy industry lobby as well. A farmer can get anywhere from 12-20 dollars per 100lb of milk. Fed gov sets the price. There are 8 gals in 100 lbs. So thats a range of 1.50 to 2.50 per gallon that the farmer is paid. What do you pay in the store? 4.50- 5.00? more? who gets the difference? The big dairy business doesn't want to miss out on those lovely profits.
My husband is a dairy farmer and we drink raw milk every day. WE ARE SO LUCKY!There are many beneficial nutrients that are killed by pasteurization. Some people in NJ drive to PA to purchase raw milk, it's legal to sell in PA. PA shows respect for their farmers and supports them much better than NJ.
hktownie We drink it exclusively - from I farmer I trust, who dumps the milk if the bacteria count is too high.
Meandmore Jaemae, very much agree with your point about the TV drug ads! But I'm chuckling about your gently made point above about 'no other specieis drinks milk'. This has been around for a while.
What other species has opposable thumbs to milk a domesticated animal? What other species domesticates animals to begin with? Animals live to survive, eat, and reproduce. If they could get at that milk as a food source they sure would!
Glad you still plan to enjoy your ice cream :oD
If NJ would make the sale of raw milk legal, the state could regulate and certify the farms selling it. There would be controls and inspections.
I mentioned in the "Fluoride" thread that I believe uddermilk.com delivers raw milk to NJ.
I also wrote about A1 & A2 milk and mentioned googling "The Devil in Milk" for information.
Growing up we had a farmer down the road who used our field to grow crops to feed his cows, which my Father wanted no return for. The Farmer insisted on rent or some sort of payment, so seeing my Father wouldn't accept that , the farmer , seeing our family of growing kids, would drop of an iron kettle full of fresh warm milk with the cream on top once a week. He would be prosecuted for that now. Lol
And a little funny note concerning bacteria. We would ride our bicycles all over the countryside , and when we got thirsty, would lay on our tummies and drink from a stream.......right down the road from that dairy farm where the cows would bathe and do something else. lol. Hey...it looked clean to us and I don't think it hurt us any,hurt us any,hurt us any.......(smiling sarcastically)
Len Love it Len. Back in the '70's we bought raw milk from the farmer in Independence. A dollar taped to the "pickle jar" every other day, and he left the raw milk. My (3) daughters drank it for years and never missed a day of school. In fact we have still have those certificates stating 100% attendence.
Miss fishy We actually go a bit farther, to Jersey Hollow farm near Kutztown. They cost significantly less (under $4/gallon) and don't feed their cows any soy.
I get my milk from Jersey Hollow Farm in Kutztown thanks to a friend who referred me there last year. $4./ gal : )) and very delicious and healthy. Nice trip from NJ passing Dorney Pk on way 10 miles south.
Vivian Raw milk to make baby's formula is very healthy too. Get recipe in Nurishing Traditions -Weston Price Foundation. It's your choice of course. Be healthy!
You drive from NJ to Kutztown for milk? That puts the $4 per gallon number up quite a bit.
I have never tried raw milk. I would like to sometime.
Greg Klein Dairy might be closer than Kunkletown, just over the boarder from Jersey.
http://kleinfarms.com/dairy-store
Tidy - "Kunkletown" is probably about the same distance as Easton. But the farm mentioned was "Kutztown" which is definitely way further than Easton. ;-)
http://www.realrawmilkfacts.com/raw-milk-regulations/state/new-jersey
It may be illegal - ymmv
skippy We have used Birchwood Farms (down near New Hope) and The Family Cow (pick up at the drop off in Easton or Stroudsburg) and both are excellent!
Mintyfresh 
Dolce_Vita Iam a customer of uddermilk.com
They deliver raw product weekly to my door
I grow up on raw milk
David Thanks for the link Skippy.
I see the site is biased against raw milk. Where are the stories of the thousands of people who drink it regularly and for many years, enjoy the health benefits, and have never had any problem?
Pathogens can be in any food if not handled properly, produce, deli meat, etc.
Been drinking REAL ("raw" is used by the Dairy Association to instill fear) MILK now for over 10 years, goat's milk to be exact, and I have NEVER once fell ill b/c of it.
Quite the contrary in fact, while the milk itself is wonderful, I generally make homemade kefir from it, and homemade kefir from REAL milk is one of the best sources of beneficial bacteria for your gut.
Sure, not pasteurizing milk could present a problem if your source is negligent, but that's why it would behoove you to make sure your milk source is up to speed on maintaining sanitary conditions, generally speaking, most REAL milk farms are under heavy scrutiny, so they are usually very safe operations.
Bottom line is that we should be allowed to decide for ourselves what we consume or not consume.
it's illegal to sell a raw milk in NJ, but it is legal for a farmer to get a donation for it.
Dolce vita - I'd stay away from Klein's milk - feed is not good.
PA and NY sells it.
Pyc I don't know anything about it - just a google search said it may be illegal - didn't want to see anyone get jammed up - I have no opinion either way just sharing
Lili I am so glad I have access to Raw Milk. I couldn't do without it. There is a Farmer that I recommend to all. He has great customer service and delivers to different places in New Jersey, and most apt can ship raw milk to your door.
Email me if you want to contact him.
Stay Healthy
Gideon Raw milk is illegal to sell in N.J. NY state had serious infection outbreaks last year.
There is science behind food safety.
I knew a guy who drank raw goats milk for years. Lived to be over 100 years old.
Guess it can't be that bad for ya'
dodgebaal We drink properly handled raw milk daily and have never had a problem. How do you milk an almond?
ultra pasteurization gives a longer shelf life on milk but also kills off most of the beneficial minerals. It's heated to a higher temp for a shorter time. Regular pasteurization is not as bad for the milk, but it's a lower temp for a longer time, takes more time for the creamery to do, costs them more money, shorter shelf life. It's hard to find these days in the store.
"There is a science behind food safety"- whatever makes the most money for the large food companies. Food should be sourced locally as much as possible. Fresher, safer, better for the planet.
I know a guy who smoked two packs of unfiltered Lucky Strikes every day and lived to be 90. I guess cigarettes are almost as good for you as raw goat's milk (-;
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