Organic and Raw Milk: What You Need to Know
Organic Milk
According to Robbins, this is misleading, as there is hardly grass on the feedlots from which they can graze. Much like the egg industry, while “organic” may include happy pastured cows, it is not the prerequisite to obtaining “organic” status. On large farms like Horizon, the cows are separated from their calves and then milked 3-4 times daily to obtain the milk meant for their babies and thus taken to sale.In this sense, the ethics of large-scale milk production, organic or not, are questionable.
It is important to note that some organic milk producers supplement their cows’ diets with grain, hay, corn, silage, and water, particularly in colder months. It is assumed the feed is organic, the hay and grass devoid of pesticides, and the water from a clean source. What’s more, organic cow’s milk comes from cows not treated with hormones or antibiotics.
Homogenization:
Both commercial non-organic and organic milk offer a homogenized variety. Homogenization denatures the natural fat in milk. There is no nutritional value in this process, and in fact, it has been linked to heart disease.
You might then ask, “So, why is it done?” The reason is purely for aesthetics. Naturally, fat rises to the top of fresh raw milk. Homogenization forces the milk, by extreme pressure, through tiny holes that break up the normally large fat molecules into tiny ones. In this denatured state, the fat molecules stay suspended in the milk.
Unfortunately, this unnatural fat is easily absorbed into the bloodstream, carrying with it the xanthine oxidase. In un-homogenized milk, the xanthine oxidase and large fat molecules are normally passed through the digestive track, un-absorbed.
Raw Milk
Perhaps nothing is more food-fashionable today than the topic of raw milk. Whether you’re discussing the many benefits of the drink or are outraged by the recent FBI raids and arrests of raw milk farmers, raw milk is theIt Girl of the Foodie World right now.
So what’s the deal? Is it dangerous? Are the benefits worth the risks? What’s the fat on raw milk?
Statistically, there is no known data to support raw milk as being more dangerous to drink than pasteurized milk, and in fact, some might say statistics point to raw milk as being safer than pasteurized. The crucial components that assure the safety of your milk are the condition of the animal and that of the farm. The milk should not only be safe butresistant to disease if the cow is healthy and the conditions sanitary.
What’s more, those who drink raw milk consistently build up a stronger immunity to pathogens.
