The Truth about Raw Milk

Did you know that the chance of getting sick from drinking raw milk or products made from it is 150 times greater than from pasteurized milk? Though the health risk is real, proponents of raw milk are seeing the limelight. Now, more and more lawmakers are taking up the cause of raw milk dairy farmers who want their product legalized.

Raw milk has the spotlight as being seemingly better for you than pasteurized milk, yet it can cause illness. More people are sickened in states where raw milk sales are legal. From 1993 – 2006, 77 percent of illness outbreaks caused by raw milk or its products occurred in states where raw milk sales are legal.

Raw milk causes serious illnesses. In fact, 79 percent of dairy-related illness outbreaks between 1998 and 2011 were caused by raw milk and cheese.  Drinking raw milk can put you at risk for illness, and it is not much better than pasteurized milk. Of course, what’s better than drinking either dairy milk product is to stop drinking cow’s milk altogether, bust the myths, and switch to plant-based milks instead. You can easily make your own — try almond milk, cashew milk, sprouted sunflower seed milk, and peanut milk.

Image source: Kristen Taylor / Flickr