With Raw Farm, the largest raw-milk dairy in the country, Mark McAfee has capitalized on a once-fringe product that’s been thrust into the mainstream in recent years and backed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Crossposted from https://scribe.disroot.org/post/9428370

Archived version

  • Raw Milk on the Rise: Driven by political shifts and wellness trends, unpasteurized milk has moved from a fringe obsession to a widespread movement rooted in institutional distrust.
  • The Myth of Safety: Despite stringent hygiene efforts, contamination from deadly bacteria like E. coli and salmonella remains an inherent, unavoidable risk in unpasteurized dairy.
  • A Political Shield: As raw milk continues to sicken consumers, high-level lawmakers and government officials are championing the industry’s expansion rather than curbing the danger.

…

If you trust 150 years of bedrock science, [raw milk] offers little reason to consume. By definition, it has not been pasteurized, the simple process of heating milk to kill off harmful bacteria. Before the practice was widely adopted a century ago, thousands of babies died each year from illnesses linked to contaminated dairy. Today, most scientists and health experts agree that raw milk has no significant, proven nutritional benefits over its sanitized counterpart, cannot treat or cure disease and subjects its consumers to over 100 times the risk of foodborne illness, which can be especially dangerous for young children.

And yet, McAfee’s farm, the largest raw-milk dairy in the country, is pulling in about $30 million a year, meeting a growing demand from customers who say they want food that hasn’t been robbed of health benefits by industrial processing.

…

Regulators have linked Mark McAfee’s raw dairy farm to more than a dozen recalls and outbreaks that left hundreds of people ill.

“I’ve put a couple kids in the hospital …,” McAfee acknowledged… “But here’s the thing: I’m a pioneer.”

…

  • A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    11 hours ago

    They also mess with the milk in additional ways. I didn’t realise how bad it had gotten until I started getting milk delivered from a local dairy. It’s still pasteurised, but closer to natural. I dread to think how bad it must be for you yanks.

    Yes, I literally covered lower temperature pasteurization in my post, and how it does taste better and have better nutrition.

    lower temperature pasteurization, like flash pasteurization makes a better tasting product, thats still just as safe, because it uses half the temperature of ultra but has to hold it for 15-30 seconds… and in the world of MAKE MOAR MONEY FASTERER, thats just no good for the bottlers, even if it provides a product that is superior in taste and nutrition, but with the downfall of shelf life (but the shelf like is still like…2 weeks, and who is gonna keep milk around that long anyway)

    also Ultra Pasteurization is not an American only thing. Europe, outside of like… the Nordic countries, loves and uses it too.

    • cynar@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      11 hours ago

      I was more referring to how they deal with the cream. They fully skim it out, then mix it back in to get the various types of milk. That processing is why you don’t need to shake supermarket milk to mix the cream back in before use. The oil droplets are FAR smaller, and it changes the mouth feel of the milt at the very least.

      I’ve no proof, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t bother mixing the best parts of the cream back in. At least not in the ratios that came out originally.