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(long) Raw milk vs store stuff



There will always be people who say milk isn't necessary nor even 
desirable for anyone not an infant. There will always be those who 
say 'drink more milk, build strong bones'. Both are right, both can 
be wrong. 
And, milk isn't just 'milk'. Cow milk varies greatly from goat's milk 
and sheep's milk even more so. The way the fats live in the milk 
fluids are extremely important as to how the body takes up those 
fats. Cow milk can take up to 4 hours to be absorbed in the 
intestines, while sheep and goat milk only 30 minutes to an hour. 
A LOT can happen in a warm environment to turn milk sour in 4 
hours. So, many people who have stomach distresses over 
drinking milk may just need to switch the animal it comes from. 
Even if you own a backyard milk cow, you can easily have her 
blood tested for brucellosis. Goats CAN harbor the disease, but it's 
extremely rare to find that they've transmitted it to any human. 
Seems like US records report little to no incidence of goat-
transmitted brucellosis in the States. (I'm not up to date on that, I 
could be wrong, but it is unusual for goats to harbor the disease.) 

BUT, what you get in the store, almost isn't milk anymore. They've 
taken the solids out for the higher cream and butter markets. 
They've added enough % fats back to make 4%, 2%, etc., but 
whole, raw milk can vary in the amount of natural fats it has, well 
above the 4% point. 
There are other factors that the buying public never hears about 
such as somatic cell count in milk, the inline cleaning agents that 
are 'percentage allowable' in Grade A milk, etc. 
Goat milk is naturally homogenized, that is, the fat globules are 
totally in suspension throughout the milk. It makes it very hard to 
collect cream, but it makes the milk more easily absorbed into the 
system that drinks it. Cow milk separates readily into fat and 'skim' 
milk, so, to 'standardize' the product, mechanical homogenization 
processes have been instituted. (To keep the remaining fats in 
suspension, prolonging the life of the milk and to keep it from 
separating while still in the carton.)   It's being shown lately, that 
this strips the milk of some properties, turning it from 'neutral' to 
slightly acid. Which adds to milk intolerance distresses, and can 
actually harm the lining of the stomach. 
I guess by now you can tell that we milk goats. I pasteurize the 
milk for my baby goat feeding chores, but for ourselves, we prefer 
raw milk totally. I do send monthly samples to DHIR labs to test for 
somatic cell count, protein and butterfat content, and other factors. 
I'm not to the point that I can feed totally organic grains to the herd, 
but I do monitor medications, wormers, etc. Excess milk goes 
either to my soap making or to the occasional pig or steer that we 
may sell for freezer meat or put in our own freezer. Any way it's 
used, I know the origins of the milk. 
Knowing how milk is created, processed and handled, I'd never feel 
comfortable drinking anything from the store again. Horror stories 
from high school kids who work dairies for part time jobs, the way 
the inline machine milkers are handled, the treatment of mastitis 
infected cattle, would be enough to turn me into a non-milk drinker 
totally, if it weren't for the goats. 
The commercial dairy industry may turn into it's own worst enemy. 
The way dairy cattle are bred and fed, creating a weak animal that 
produces enough milk to require 3x per day milk outs, short lived 
livestock, and the subsequent requirement of drugs, are all turning 
the dairy situation into something I don't think even the regulating 
agents can control. 
Martha, (Texas)
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Fields/5505/index.html
See TexCat Web page:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Fields/5505/Texcat_home.html

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