Raw Milk: A Legal Local Superfood for Californians

A glass of fresh raw milk at a farm in De Lutte, Netherlands, on July 29, 2023. Pierre Crom/Getty Images

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Milk used to be considered a health food of almost medicinal qualities. Do you want to grow up to be big and strong? Drink your milk. You can’t sleep? Have some warm milk. Do you want to keep your bones strong? Pour yourself a glass of milk. Milk is even referenced 28 times in the Bible, including numerous references to the abundantly prosperous promised land as a place of “milk and honey,” both of which represent nourishment, sustenance, and health.

Just the opposite is true today. In recent years, dairy products have been denounced by the medical industry as fattening, unhealthy vices which produce high cholesterol and digestive issues. It’s now the trendy thing to be vegan, avoiding not only meat but all dairy products, so dairy-free options are offered by many food suppliers and restaurants.

In complete contrast to this view, others in the natural health community encourage people interested in wellness to make milk part of their nutritional regimen, but not just any milk: raw milk in particular. For Californians, this controversial issue is worth researching because, surprisingly, raw milk is commonly sold for human consumption in this state.

Is It Legal and Safe?

Traditionally, milk has been a stereotypically wholesome beverage, since it’s the first nourishment which humans and all other mammals ingest. Nevertheless, raw milk is considered unsafe by the mainstream medical industry. Raw milk basically means milk that hasn’t been pasteurized. The FDA says that raw milk is not safe for human consumption because bacteria and microorganisms can live in dairy products which haven’t been heated during the pasteurization process. The FDA, the CDC, and WebMD all declare that the supposed health benefits which raw milk proponents claim have not been proven and that the dangers outweigh any possible benefits.

The FDA prohibits the sale of raw milk on a federal level, so it’s illegal to transport or sell raw milk across state lines. (Just for the record, it probably isn’t a great idea to transport produce as perishable as dairy products across state lines even if it is pasteurized!) However, whether or not you can actually purchase raw milk in your location is decided at the state level, and the rules vary vastly from state to state. The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund lists detailed information about the purchase rules in each state.

While New Jersey is the only state in which raw milk cannot be obtained legally in any way, California is one of twelve states where raw milk can be sold in stores. Politically, there seems to be no rhyme or reason as to which states have more stringent raw dairy rules. The Raw Milk Finder on Real Milk is a very useful tool for finding the nearest raw milk provider by zip code, and The Raw Milk Institute offers a similar search engine at GetRawMilk.com. While raw milk seekers in other states have to purchase products directly from farmers or buy raw milk only allowed for pets or other animals, Californians can walk into any Sprouts, Whole Foods, or other natural foods store and buy raw milk, cheese, butter, kefir, or goat milk.

InstaCart employees fulfill orders for delivery at a Whole Foods Market Inc. store in downtown Los Angeles on Nov. 9, 2015. Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg Photo via Getty Images

Raw Milk’s Benefits

If you live in California, it should be easy for you to sample some raw whole milk for yourself. For those who would like more information, the Raw Milk Institute is an amazing resource for reading about the safety, health benefits, and necessary precautions of raw dairy consumption. The website features many informative blog posts, testimonials, and links to studies. For anyone who is interested in trying raw milk for the first time, it’s a great place to start your research.

As more and more people are becoming lactose intolerant, especially with age, vegan and dairy-free diets are prescribed as the answer to the bloating and digestive problems which many people experience from dairy products. One of the best things about raw milk is that lactose intolerant people usually can enjoy it without any of the negative side effects they experience from pasteurized milk, which cooks out the lactase enzymes that help digest lactose. Many people have also experienced relief from allergies, asthma, ear infections, sinus pressure, skin complaints like eczema, joint pain, and arthritis, plus improved immunity and a general sense of well-being.

How can all these benefits possibly come from drinking a glass of milk? What makes it so different from the white stuff you can buy in any store? The answer is in the heating during the pasteurization process. During pasteurization, milk is heated to a high enough temperature to kill any bacteria, germs, and microorganisms which could be living in it. If the milk is dirty, rancid, or contaminated with dangerous pathogens, this can prevent it from transmitting dangerous food-borne illnesses to its drinker. However, in the process, it also kills the good bacteria which make it so healthful in its natural state. Raw cow or goat milk is a nutritional superfood because its composition of beneficial enzymes, probiotics, vitamins, proteins, healthy fats, calcium, phosphorous, immunoglobulins, and bacteria is similar to human milk.

A farmer collects fresh raw milk from cows in De Lutte, Netherlands, on July 29, 2023. Pierre Crom/Getty Images

My Experience With Raw Milk

I’ve bought raw milk twice, first from Windmill Farms Market in San Diego and then from a Sprouts near my home. I had been wanting to try raw milk for a few months, since I started reading recommendations from fellow conservative natural wellness enthusiasts on Instagram. The biggest difference at first is the price, since it is around twice as much as organic pasteurized milk, and the appearance, since the cream is noticeably separated at the top from the thinner milk. I was very excited to pour my first glass.

I was surprised by how similar it tastes to pasteurized, homogenized milk. It’s definitely creamier, but there wasn’t some added and potentially unpleasant “natural” taste as I feared there would be. If anything, it has less flavor, lacking the pungent dairy flavor which actually comes from pasteurization. It’s very refreshing and actually tastes fresher. My father said it tasted like the delicious milk he remembers drinking on his uncle’s farm as a boy, straight from the cow out of a big silver pitcher.

Making a point of calling unpasteurized milk “raw” is like calling biological females cisgender; it’s just milk, and they are just women. Unpasteurized milk has been branded as a health hazard which is risked only by conspiratorial fanatics, but it’s all part of the movement to brand God’s natural creations as dangerous. People have been drinking raw milk since the beginning of time, and it’s typically safe as long as you ensure you get it from a dairy which follows the Raw Milk Institute’s guidelines of safe farming practices. Raw dairy can be a wonderful nutritional boost for you, your family, and even your pets!

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.