In the past year there has been more and more buzz in the news about raw milk. This is my raw truth, in its entirety censored form. Although I am not neutral in my own opinion of the matter I do absolutely believe it is not the governments job to force the subject of what I, or anyone else should eat. Our unalienable rights are no longer in existence. Personal security, personal liberty and the right to purchase property are all things that must be flawed. The right to own and enjoy property, to a farmer means to work the land their ancestors have worked before them. With taxation and monstrous corporations strong holding the industry we now live in a country where an estimated 330 farmers per week leave their land, yet approximately 11,000 babies are born every day in the United States. Where is our food supposed to come from? Think about it, if you had to pay taxes on 2,000 acres of land could you do it?
Raw milk rights are just another example of how policy over-rides popular desire. Although a large population of people desire to consume raw dairy, roughly half of the states in America have outlawed it. People are afraid of what they do not know, and on average what is "popular belief" is often misinterpreted as truth. The simple fact is that we live in a technologically advanced society that revolves solely around supply and demand. More people demand the supply of homogenized pasteurized milk, so therefore the demand for raw milk has diminished.
Technological advancement has led to mass produced products, with that have come sicknesses and even deaths. The governments answer is sterilization, ammonia in meat and pasteurizing anything and everything. You can go to a fast food chain and eat a burger with ammonia and countless chemicals and preservatives, you can eat peanut butter jam packed with salmonella. Both examples of how mass production can lead to sanitation disasters. Raw milk? Its general opinion that real milk, in its organic and natural form is risky business. Only in the past century have people started sterilizing their food, yet the species lives on does it not?
Raw milk got its bad reputation primarily in the 20's when there were outbreaks caused by raw milk. Malnourished animals and poor sanitation were the primary causes for the disease. In very recent history we have seen deaths and hundreds of illnesses caused solely by our revolutionary advancement in processing food. Included: cannibalistic cows = mad cow disease, meat manufacturing = salmonella. Somehow these issues are forgivable but raw milk is still quite taboo. It is true that raw milk can still to this day have bacterial contamination's, and it can even still cause sicknesses (food poisoning) but it is also true that cleanliness and standards are at an all time high. We have an alarming rate of deaths caused by cancer's, viruses and other diseases that did not even exist in the 20's. Manufactured high calorie foods are the leading cause to many of our nations health problems, yet we fiercely combat the ideology behind raw milk?
My message is this, we deserve the right draw our own conclusions. Under no circumstance should anyone take what I, or anyone else says as fact. Your government and your neighbor should not dictate to you what it is you believe to be right, it is no one's place but your own to decide what is right for you and your family to consume. With that said here is my opinion in a nutshell.
-Raw milk is living, local, whole and seasonal food. You are supporting a local farmer, a face with a voice, a person with values, honor and a family to feed. (Think of the Jack in the Box incident. Four children died and hundreds became sick. Had that been a local farmer do you think he would still be in business? Yet we still accept Beef Products into our homes and schools.)
-Natural enzymes, bacteria and probiotics are good for your digestion. I won't preach to the choir, but at the bottom I have linked some of my favorite references on the subject.
-Immunity, I firmly believe that living in a sterilized society is part of why we are so sick and so scared. (of everything) I'm not saying go eat a petri dish of e coli, but I do think we've turned into a country of bubble boy's and girls.
Facts I've Found Useful- (because I needed to know, couldn't find it and googled the hell out of it)
*Ideally raw milk should always be consumed raw for ideal nutrition do not heat it above 180 degrees. Pouring it into boiling hot coffee, or cooking it for any reason will diminish the quality of health benefits. The beauty of raw milk is that it is not pasteurized right?
*Freezing raw milk does not diminish nutritional value or harm the natural enzymes. It does however alter the flavor and/or texture. (The fat will separate)
Raw Milk Resources
Following are links I found extremely useful. If you decide to wander out into the raw world my #1 rule would be that you thoroughly research the pro's and con's. With all food I believe you should find out where your food is coming from. Raw milk is no different, in fact I think its more important than lets say where your rice comes from. In my search for raw milk I ended up lost in the sticks after a two hour journey looking for one farm, and upon researching another local source of raw milk I found that THE ONLY information I could find about the company was a Listeria contamination. Although it is natural for bacterial content to vary, my opinion of the matter is that I would NOT feed my family raw dairy based on that reputation. You have to trust your source, and an unknown option is a shot in the dark.
What is Raw milk? Why, how? Why Not? Raw-Milk-Facts.com
Where Can I find Raw Milk? Real Milk.com
10 Reasons To Drink Raw Milk: Nourished Kitchen
Food Freedom Fighters: Raw Milk! Leftover Queen
Real Milk: Food Renegade
Wikipedia: Probiotic
Wikipedia: Raw Milk
Last but not least, The FDA's opinion . I would not be a good host if I did not share the opposition. I find the spooky evil organism to be entertaining. "Is your homemade ice cream safe" (insert maniacal laugh here)
If you live in Pennsylvania
Your Family Cow, (The Family Cow) serves a good portion of the southern parts of the state. You can purchase their products in health food stores, or through drop off points that are scattered in different regions. (Western- Pittsburgh, South Central-Harrisburg, South East-Philadelphia, Eastern- Easton & YES, Even The Poconos !!!)
The Shank family has obvious pride in their products and they are respectful and kind. For me, this is the only option. This is the only resource in the Pocono's I would trust for my raw milk. They are the closest and only reliable source I've found. You really can't find anyone with anything bad to say about them or their products. Did I mention how delicious it is? I could not adequately capture the beautiful yellow hue of their milk and cream. It is truly magnificent and unlike anything I've ever had.
Meet Family Cow Farmer, Edwin Shank (RealFoodFreaks.com)
Meet Your Family Cow (sunbonnet smart)
Setting It's own Standards- The Family Cow gets a positive reading. (Chelseagreen.com It goes to show that a positive reading isn't the kiss of death for a company with high standards and values. -P.S. No one actually got sick.)
"We're live people. We're not meant to eat only dead food!"
-Monica Corrado
4 comments:
Exactly! We should have the right to choose what we eat.
Raw milk is just incomparable, especially when it's fresh from the cow.
Cheers,
Rosa
You're so lucky to be able to get raw milk... . I grew up on raw milk and raw almost everything (excluding the meat of course ;) )...
I miss those days!
For me the ban of selling raw milk is ridiculous!!!
We love raw milk here and have been drinking it for a few years. We're lucky to have a small local farm to buy it from that does it all natural, even letting the cows go dry in the winter.
If more people tasted raw milk more would buy it I think. There's an amazing taste difference between real milk and what is sold for milk at the grocery store.
I'm always amazed at the number of things that the FDA gives the OK to; like aspartame for instance that are questionable as far as safety is concerned, and yet raw milk is treated like an illegal drug.
And what you're saying about bubble kids, it's so true. I grew up in South America and was exposed to all kinds of crazy "dangerous" bacteria, ecoli, parasites, worms, etc. We never got sick from such things because we were exposed to them from a young age. Only in our uber clean sanitized society do people get sick from such things. Most cultures eat a wide variety of fermented foods which keep intestinal cultures strong enough to overpower the baddies. And how are we to know that such organisms don't play a vital role in building our immune function for later on in life.
We have government in the Poconos complaining about "tainted lake water" all the time. Kids get sick from consuming the water. If I remember correctly none of them were local kids that grew up in the lakes. We can not live in a world without bacteria, good or bad. Adjusting to the bacteria is better than getting overwhelmed with it all at once.
Educating yourself about your food and where it comes from is the most important thing you can do for yourself and family. I'm constantly amazed how many people buy things without looking further into whats in it or where it came from. Things as simple as reading labels can make a huge difference in the quality of food you buy.
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