I saw an "opportunistic" article posted online urging people to not drink raw milk as they might get bird flu from it... which I thought most people would shrug off as obvious propaganda against raw milk, but I saw it posted in earnest elsewhere so I decided to post this here
Raw milk has a lot of alleged health benefits; the author makes the ridiculous plea for "no one to drink raw milk for any reason"...
Please don’t drink raw milk at any time, especially not now
The problem with pasteurization, as with antibiotics, is the process also kills good nutrients like antibiotics kills good bacteria
So by drinking raw milk you can get the good nutrients without them being destroyed. I know of dairy farmers who would drink pretty much straight from the cow without getting sick. The milk tastes totally different (better, a lot of people think)
The elderly or children or sickly might avoid drinking raw milk, but otherwise it's a healthy consideration for a lot of people
Example pro-raw-milk article: https://www.rawmilkinstitute.org/updates/letter-to-medical-professionals-about-raw-milk
Numerous scientific studies have shown that raw milk is correlated with decreased rates of asthma, allergies, eczema, otitis, fever, and respiratory infections. Raw milk also aids in recovery from antibiotic use, and provides many gut-healthy probiotics and enzymes.
Here's the biased fearmongering article in contrast: https://gizmodo.com/raw-milk-sales-up-bird-flu-h5n1-tiktok-usda-cdc-fda-1851476916
I live in Lancaster County, PA - Amish Country. Raw milk is a staple among the Amish. They do not drink pasteurized milk. They are 1,000x healthier than most Americans.
If you're not used to drinking raw milk, as I was before relocating here, it takes a little time to adjust to it. The trick is to take it slow and easy at first.
Last month an Amish dairy farmer won a court battle allowing him to continue to sell his raw milk products outside of PA. This ruling followed a very contentious legal battle between Farmer Amos Miller and the PDA (PA Department of Agriculture). It's very possible the PDA will appeal to a higher court. The laws in PA regarding raw milk sales are very murky, however, poor Amos Miller has been in conflict with state and federal regulators since 2016. He has also gathered some national "celebrity" attention from critics of government regulation.
Not all states permit the sale of raw milk. A total of 29 states permit it, however the focus is not on the retail level but rather on purchases closer to the milk - meaning farms. 12 of these 29 states (PA is one of them) allows farm sales of raw milk with no license.
There are also cow-sharing programs in which consumers buy a share in the animal's care and upkeep which affords the consumer an interest in the cow's production. There are only 9 states that make cow-sharing programs illegal. 23 states have no explicit law, and the remaining states all allow for cow-sharing as a way to get raw milk when you want it.
Even though PA's Milk Sanitation Law allows for the legal production of raw milk, it is a strict process for both pasteurized and unpasteurized products, AND raw milk is tested even more rigorously than pasteurized.