“Raw milk” is milk in its natural state, Mark McAfee, owner of Organic
Pastures Dairy, explains in this excellent article. It comes from the
cow, without heat treatment or pasteurization, which is used to extend
shelf life and to immobilize certain bacteria.

But people, milk,
and bacteria can coexist. It is normal for milk to contain some
bacteria, and human societies have been benefiting from these bacteria
in milk for thousands of years. Fermented milks, for instance, have
superior nutrient value and digestibility. Today these products are
marketed as containing “probiotics,” as if this is something brand new.

Yet, bacteria have always existed in natural milk. In fact, bacteria:

• Are earth’s oldest life forms
• Are everywhere
• Are essential for human survival
• Comprise more than 90 percent of the cells in the human body

Public
obsession with killing bacteria misdirects efforts at improving public
health — because relatively few bacteria are pathogenic. By constantly
sterilizing, pasteurizing, and disinfecting, the balance is actually
tipped in favor of the pathogens.

It is difficult to get at the
truth because so much research on milk is little more than advertising
— self-interested and commercial. But you can educate yourself
directly and make health choices without the intervention of so-called
“experts.”

If you do, you will find that raw milk, loaded with beneficial bacteria, is the better choice.