Digg - Legalize it (Raw milk) - NY times article

In the same way that washing your hands too often with antibacterial soap makes you prone to sickness, pasteurizing milk kills off the billions of good bacteria that would otherwise benefit you. Please do not outlaw raw milk, if you are going to make something illegal make the selling of milk from sick cows illegal. Sick milk comes from sick cows.

I think it is kind of atrocious that the government can just claim that something we have done for thousands of years (drink raw milk) is now bad for us... and outlaw it. Even if that were true we have a right to our own bodies... but the great catch is that they are totally wrong. You want an example of the government infringing on our liberties? The illegalization of raw milk is one example.

Ya, well, the average life expectancy for those folks living thousands of years ago, was about 35 years.

We've learned a lot about general health issues, and sanitary practices, and pasteurization is one of those wonderful things, in my opinion, that contributes to the long life spans we enjoy today.

I do agree however, that there are points to be made on both sides of the issue.

Pasteurization - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pasteurization is good for selling cow milk in massive quantities - when mixing milk from 10,000 different cows, you HAVE to pasturize it to get rid of all the germs etc, especially considering how cows are treated (the conditions most milk cows live in today are positively atrocios). If we simply treatd cows decently you COULD drink their milk raw, without pasturization. But, when you confine them to a shed, don't allow them to eat what they were meant to (grass), move around, and shoot them full of hormones, antiboitics, etc... well, then you HAVE to pasturize their milk because its sick milk from sick cows!

I somewhat agree with that. But they should not make selling milk illegal from properly grass fed pastured dairy. Make the selling of milk from sick cows illegal instead.

- Our increased sanitation and technology is precisely just another reason yet why we should allow raw milk. With regulation and sanitation you can easily avoid sanitation problems like dirty containers, and transportation ETC

- Part of the reason why the average life expectancy is up is because not as many people die during child birth (which lowers the life expectancy) . Also infections from wounds and surgeries etc. The only food that is pasteurized on a wide scale is milk and to declare that is one of the reasons why our life expectancy has gone up is ludicrous

- Every person has about 5 pounds of bacteria in their body. In fact you have more cells from bacteria in your body than your own. Every person has some bad bacteria in their body... and some good. What is important for health is the balance of good to bad.. that is why raw milk is so good besides the fact that it has enzymes to digest the lactase... it gives us a good source of probiotics. Any time you pasteurize something or sterlizie it you lower it's immunity. When doctors prescribe antibiotics instead of probiotics.. they kill off all the bacteria. The person suffers from symptoms of lowered immunity beause of this. When you wash your hands with anti bacterial soap you have a statistically lowered immunity. When you swim in chlorine pools that kill the bacteria it is the same thing. As long as you get milk from healthy cows, not only will you not get sick but it will do just the opposite, and strengthen your immunity.

There only proof that raw milk is dangerous comes from the early 20th century during the depression when cows were confined and fed such a poor diet that their milk was blue... from such a low fat count. People got sick off of it because the cows were sick. Then they figured out that if they pasteurized this putrid sick milk they wouldn't get sick.. but do you really want to be drinking milk from sick cows?

Neither you or the government has the business of telling people what they should be able to eat. Do you want cheeseburgers illegalized next because they contain cholesterol? Not only is it an infringement on our rights... but much of the time the establishment is completely wrong. The FDA frequently tells the OPPOSITE of what is correct. For instance the substitution of margarine full of trans fats for butter. Coconut oil and saturated fats have been demonized for decades now and the people are brainwashed to think they are bad... just like raw milk. Not only is this an infringement on our rights, the OPPOSITE is true.

If you leave a glass of raw milk, and a glass of store milk on the counter guess which one will putrefy? The lactoferrin and good bacteria in raw milk actually make it safer and prevent random bacteria from colonating it. If you left them both out the raw milk would naturally curdle and become sour. The pasteurized would simply putrefy.

There is no reason whatsoever for raw milk to be illegal. I simply cannot see where a conflict of interest may lie.. so I simply attest it to germophobes.

Louis Pasteur = wrong
Beauchamp = right

The Germ Theory: A Faulty Medical Model

If you look at goveg.com, they act like milk is bad for you altogether.

MilkSucks.com: Find Out More

I've read some of the arguments against milk.. it is one of the most common allergens for a reason. But the fact that milk CAN be healthy... is proven by societies who subsist off it. In sweden for example, before pasteurization and modern man's diet... there was a low incidence of dental carries... much lower disease and illness. You can guess what happened when they changed their diet. The same thing with the masai tribe in Africa who nearly live off it.

There are a couple of considerations to make when declaring whether it is simply unhealthy or healthy.. For one your blood type and genetic disposition makes a difference.... The diet of the cows producing the milk makes a difference... the species of the animal makes a difference (for instance goat or sheep has smaller protein molecules than cow and is easier to digest) and the preparation methods make a difference (such as raw as opposed to pasteurized... and fermented as opposed to not)

So I would not just claim milk is unhealthy. That is proven false... if you are going to declare it broadly. But it is bad for many people who might not even realize it. Raw milk is of course much better (but still not great for everyone) .

Soy milk is really bad though... it's funny how a vegetarian site might not mention that!

This is just another example of government interference. If people want to drink raw milk, why should anyone else care? This nanny mentality, that we must protect people from themselves, is idiotic.

Thanks for the support ! I wonder if Ron paul would do anything to help this issue... or if it is simply a matter of states rights >< . If the states infringe on our rights though i think the fed is allowed to step in maybe?

banning raw milk?????? ffs..... none of these knobends ever been to a farm?? seriously why not ban any dish made with raw meat or fish too, sushi? banned! blue steak? banned!!

are humans and oppurtunistic housecats the only species that drink the milk of species other than their own?

nope. I have seen puppies wean off of a pig for instance.

We do alot of things other species don't do... cooking our food for instance....

some people on the paleo diet argue that nobody should drink milk since it was only supposedly introduced within the last few thousand years of human evolution. ALl i can say is that it works for some people and doesn't for others

How's soy milk bad for you?

Soy Alert!

http://www.mercola.com/article/soy/index.htm

i dunno about soy milk being bad for you, but it certainly tastes REALLY bad on cereal

I completely agree NoTiG.
A CAMPAIGN FOR REAL (RAW) MILK!
Where Can I Find Real Milk Products?

My own two cents: It's none of the government's damn business. If I want to drink raw milk, I can think of no reason why they have the right to prevent me.

What does this have to do with my original statement?

Where in my post does it say that I disagree with you? Did you read this?

so...life expectancy for those folks living thousands of years ago, was about 35 years, because of raw milk?

Don't read anything more into my post, than what I said there.