Certified raw milk is unpasteurized milk that has to meet high and rigid standards of quality. The cows producing such milk must be fed fodder uncontaminated by pesticides, regularly inspected for disease, cared for by absolutely healthy personnel, and the equipment carrying milk from cow to container must be completely sterile. These rules are strictly enforced, and milk bearing the certified label is absolutely safe to drink and highly nutritious.
Pasteurized milk, on the other hand, is steadily declining in nutritional value and carries in it many harmful elements. Antibiotics that are pumped into cows in pasteurized herds go straight into the milk and are not killed by pasteurization. Neither are the pesticides nor the hormones eliminated. Bacteria count is allowed to be extremely high in the belief that pasteurization will kill everything – which somehow becomes like the difference between drinking boiled contaminated water and pure springwater. Pasteurized milk is often exposed to excessively high temperatures that destroy large amounts of its calcium (the main reason we drink milk!) and alters its nutritional content extensively.
If you cannot find certified raw milk – try to buy from a local farmer whose operation you know is clean. There are still a few regional dairies around that pride themselves on a particular herd of Alderney or Guernsey cows that are thoughtfully cared for. Search them out! Then you will be getting all of the rich vitamin A and D, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, and protein that you deserve from a glass of milk. If certified raw milk makes you nervous despite the strict regulations, then choose to buy only organic pasteurized milk, as this milk (though not as nutrient rich) will at least be free from the hormones and pesticide residues that contaminate all other dairy milks.
No comments:
Post a Comment