The Story of Milk: Raw vs Processed
My wife came home from the market with a very special treat today: Crooked Creek Non-Homogenized Milk!
It's not raw milk, but it's a step closer! It inspired a look into the process that milk goes through before making it to the shelves at the grocery store.
Raw Milk is Illegal in Michigan
Our family would really enjoy drinking raw milk, but in Michigan the only way to drink raw milk is to own your own cow and milk it. It's illegal to sell raw (unpasteurized) milk in Michigan.
The Michigan Legislature reaffirmed this important food safety principle in 2001 when it continued the prohibition on the sale of unpasteurized (raw) milk to consumers through a rewrite and update of the state's dairy laws. FDA banned the interstate shipment of unpasteurized (raw) milk to consumers in 1987, garnering the United States worldwide recognition as having the gold standard for milk safety and reducing the annual number of raw milk-related illness outbreaks by about half.
Yes folks. Our state has dairy laws. And Michigan is the "gold standard" for milk safety. Sadly, this makes it very difficult to acquire any real milk except homogenized/pasteurized milk, usually with Vitamin D added.
Transporting raw milk in Michigan is treated as a crime on the scale of drug trafficking.
If you are caught transporting raw (unpasteurized) milk that you do not own, meaning it didn't come from your cow for your own consumption, you are committing a crime in Michigan.
A delivery truck from Standish, MI-based My Family Co-Op was making its run south on Interstate 75 to Macomb and Oakland counties with products also from High Hill Dairy when it was stopped by state agricultural inspectors. Once they discovered what was in the truck’s load, they seized it, requiring the driver to dump 250 gallons of raw milk and smash about 100 dozen organic eggs. All totaled, about $3,600 in raw and organic products were destroyed.
State agriculture inspectors said the eggs were not clean, and butter, cream and buttermilk were not properly labeled and some were from a business that closed two years ago. The Michigan Department of Agriculture also wants the co-op to obtain a retail license
So if you sell unwashed eggs and not properly labeled dairy products and do not possess a retail license, the authorities can legally destroy your property.
Processed Milk
The process: pasteurization, separation, homogenization.
1: The Milk is Separated
When the raw milk comes from the cow it's put into centrifuge. It separates the milk fat solids from the skim milk liquid. The milk-fat is used to make butter or is sold as cream. For "whole milk", 3.5% of the fat is put back into the milk.
2: The Milk is Fortified
Vitamins A and D are added to the milk. The thought process is that adding these vitamins to our milk supply will help offset vitamin deficiency diseases such as rickets.
According to Organic Valley Milk:
Vitamin A: We are required by law to add vitamin A to all of our skim/fat free/nonfat milk, lowfat (1%) milk, and reduced-fat (2%) milk. This is because vitamin A is "fat soluble," so you lose vitamin A content when you reduce fat in fluid milk. We do add vitamin A to some of our whole milk products also. For confirmation, please reference the ingredient label.
Vitamin D: We add vitamin D to all Organic Valley fluid milks, with the exception of some specialty milk products. Vitamin D is naturally present in milk, but it can be low due to several factors like cow breed, seasonal exposure to sunlight, diet, and lactation. For confirmation, please reference the ingredient label.
3: The Milk is Pasteurized
The milk is then heated to 161 degrees F for 15 seconds. This essentially "cooks" the milk, killing any harmful microbes that may be present. This also destroys the entire array of probiotics, and most if not all all enzymes. At this point, the milk is no longer "raw".
When milk has been heated to 165 degrees (higher for UHT milk) and pasteurization is complete, the enzyme phosphatase is 100 percent destroyed. Guess what? This is the enzyme that is critical for the absorption of minerals including calcium! Phosphatase is the third most abundant enzyme in raw milk and those who drink raw milk enjoy increased bone density. Several studies have documented greater bone density and longer bones in animals and humans consuming raw milk compared to pasteurized.
4: The Milk is Homogenized
The final step is homogenization, a process where the milk is put under high pressure (2500 - 3000 psi) and forced through a very small passage. The "shearing" effect of being forced through the tiny opening breaks down any remaining fat particles so they will no longer separate from the liquid. There are some health concerns with this:
Cow's milk contains an enzyme of large molecular size called xanthine oxidase (XO). XO is normally attached to the fat globules in milk. However, when these fat globules are in their natural large-sized state prior to homogenization, they are not easily absorbed by the gut wall. After homogenization, the milk fat is easily absorbed, and the attached XO gains much greater access to the bloodstream.
What ever happened to good old fashion milk?
Have you ever tried raw milk? How is it different from processed milk? Let me know in the comments!
Bless the Most High!
Can't beat raw milk it is the best. We have it on and off depending on the cows and also we have milk goats but raw cow milk is my favorite. I never knew what I was missing. I don't like it warm from the cow though I do like it chilled. Thanks for the great article explaining pasteurization and hominization.
Thank you! I've never tried raw milk, but the non-homogenized milk tasted very different than what I've become used to. I couldn't imagine drinking milk still warm from the cow. Now THAT's fresh! @ironshield
Here is my experience with milk.
My cardiologist told me to stop drinking and eating dairy because it causes inflammation all over your body. So I cut out dairy.
A couple years later I noticed I needed to up my protein intake since I was trying to reduce the last masses of fat I had left while maintaining the muscle I gained. So once in a while I would buy myself a protein drink. After two weeks of taking a protein drink on and off, I started having prostate issues.
I tried to pinpoint the cause and I suspected the milk in the protein drinks. So I stopped. After I stopped the inflammation in my prostate went down. Which reminds me that in my late teens and early twenties I use to have prostate issues all the time, and at the time I was drinking a lot of milk since it was before the cardiologist told me stop drinking dairy.
Will raw milk have a different effect? I have no idea. But I try to get my protein from chicken, beef, fish, and plants and nuts for now.
Thank you for sharing your story!
I have to wonder how much of the inflammation issue comes from all the processing the milk goes through. Years back, milk also had a lot of growth hormones included which can't be very healthy to ingest. I suspect that if we were drinking raw milk all this time we wouldn't have these dairy issues.
@ironshield
I think modern milk still has all the hormones, IGF-1/2, dehydroandrostenedione, and estradiols.
Supposedly the insulin growth like factors are broken down in the digestive tract, but some people claim that things like colostrum gave them acromegaly, and they regret eating the colostrum.
Raw milk still contains all the enzymes and nutrients to digest the milk properly. There's a HUGE difference between pasturized milk and raw milk.
Never had raw milk before, but would be willing to give it a try! The milk I do get has to be shaken first!
Ah, you enjoy non-homogenized milk all the time! What a treat! We tried the cream at the top and it was delicious! Like butta. @ironshield
Haha, I have used it as cream before!
Can't beat milk that's barely been out of the cow for 15 minutes!
I worked on a dairy farm years ago while I was in high school and loved going to the tank and getting a glass of milk.
My family also bought raw milk from a local amish farmer. This was in PA and I know it wasn't illegal, but I believe the farmer had to follow pretty stringent guidelines regarding refrigeration and such, If I remember correctly he used a propane powered fridge. Had to get to the shed the milk was in before dark and payment was on the honors system!
Raw milk separates when it sits so you have to shake it before drinking, unless you want a lot of cream and when the spring grass first comes the milk can taste a little odd after the cows have been eating silage for the winter months. Overall its great stuff!
15 minutes from cow to consumption? Now we're talking! Thank you for sharing these stories!
I've heard that raw milk will spoil quickly if left refrigerated. That's how you can tell it's healthy - by how quickly it spoils! I believe many of the health problems people experience, like lactose intolerance, has to do with all the processing that our milk goes through. If we could get the lactase enzyme naturally occurring in the milk, this wouldn't be a problem.
@ironshield
isn't the lactose intolerance a genetic thing, initially most humans had it, then sometime shortly after agriculture was invented a mutation swept Europe that enabled humans to digest cow milk? Supposed to explain why so many Asians are lactose intolerant.
My family is in search of someone we can buy raw milk from. We’d love to try it. This is our state law: Minnesota Statutes 32.393 Limitation on Sale of Milk:
"No milk, fluid milk products…shall be advertised, offered or exposed for sale…for the purpose of human consumption in fluid form in this state unless the same has been pasteurized and cooled… this section will not apply to milk… occasionally secured or purchased for personal use by any consumer at the farm where the milk is produced.
I’d like to know how they define occasional? And truly, how would they even know how often we go to buy milk in this fashion?
Thank you for sharing that. The law in every state is a little different.
And really, why is it their business to interfere with your ability to choose what type of milk you drink? What ever happened to personal responsibility? @ironshield
Get loud with your local politician, go to his office! Demand that they fix this or face unemployment, maybe with a list of neighbors that want it also. Then PUSH the fool to get our of your kitchen, and work to replace him if he does not do it! Be a pain in their A$$, and the next time you go there with a problem, they will remember, that is the one that got rid of Fred....
My politicians know me by name, they may not agree with me, by they do NOT ignore me! Besides raw milk is worth the work, LOL!
As a kid growing up, we would have milk from my granddad's cows and I am sure it wasn't pasteurized or homogenised. Grandma made her own butter and grandad made his own ice cream. It was great. Unhomogenized milk is a step in the right direction but it's been processed. It's nothing like straight from old Bessie. Can you imagine how we felt moving to Central America and only being able to get the boxes of ultra-pasteurised milk? None of us would drink it, so we looked for a farmer that had goats.
Oh boy, farm butter and ice cream? Whoo hoo! Good stuff. There are some farms that will sell milk, butter and ice cream, but I don't think it's made using raw. I hope you can find a farmer to offer some fresh milk for you and your family! @ironshield
My wife has been pushing to get a milk cow. Just not quite ready for one yet. It's a lot of work. Lol
If you are in any position to get a milk cow.... I would do it! @ironshield
Or perhaps .gov wants us to be dependent on the grocery model. It’s true though, in years past farmers used to mix other milk with cows milk.. so legally there are some good reasons.
Grocery stores are cheap and convenient but at what cost? If I knew a farmer, I would be willing to negotiate an 'equitable' price per gallon of his unprocessed milk. It would take a certain level of trust, since there is an opportunity for shady business, like tainting and such. @ironshield
Great post. We have a family milk cow. Fresh raw milk is amazing and we are blessed to have it everyday. Kentucky is the same way with not being able to sell it. Crazy how government tries to control everything.
The raw milk regulations come from a time when sanitation was nearly non-existent on the farms. I haven't yet met someone who regularly drinks unprocessed milk that has experienced any of the illnesses that the gov is (supposedly) protecting us from. You are highly blessed to be able to enjoy milk from your own cow! @ironshield
We buy raw milk, but I have to drive 35 miles to get there. Homogonized milk is no longer something the body can recognize and use. This milk would be a LOT better than the junk in the stores here! The raw milk dairy uses no antibiotics and only feeds grass! They make the best cheese I havew ever eaten! Fire your politicians, and make real milk legal again! SMH!
We found milk from a local dairy, I was pleased to see it show up at the fruit markets. It's not raw (it's pasteurized), but no "D drops" added and it's not homogenized. It tastes totally different than milk from the grocery store and the cream that forms at the top is like butter! I don't know if the cows are grass-fed, but whatever they're feeding them results in some yummy milk. The downside is that it costs about 4X the price of grocery store milk. It may be worth it. It's the closest thing we've found to raw milk. @ironshield
Yes, real milk is amazing! My biggest cost is the gas to go get it, the milk is about the same there as the grocery store. These are grass fed, and they have a milking area next to the store, with a glass front so you can watch (to be sure the milk is harvested clean I guess).
The real show stopper there is the cheese! They sell the cheese curds made with real milk, and the taste is stunning! I buy two bags, so I can get home with one, LOL!
That's so cool! Cheese is so yummy. @ironshield
OH YES! This Cheese is SOOOO good it should be illegal...OH, Wait, ROFLOL!
It is amazing though!