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The “cow milk is for baby cows” argument against dairy does not match the reality of how humanity survived and thrived long before the advent of agriculture.
A school of thought that “cow milk is for baby cows” and that it is unnatural for humans to be drinking it has become somewhat of a catchphrase by plant-based aficionados in recent years.
In two of the radio interviews I’ve done over the years, this point was specifically addressed as a counterpoint to my discussion of the health benefits of drinking grassfed raw milk.
No doubt this notion is bolstered by the ever-increasing rates of allergies to processed dairy. Thus, more folks are wondering if dairy should be consumed by humans at all.
The vegan community also espouses this line of thinking on the principle that consumption of animal foods is fundamentally and morally wrong.
Certainly, this is a valid point to ask and the answer I have typically given is that healthy cultures consumed raw dairy for centuries.
In fact, dairy is one of humankind’s foundational foods. It supported the vibrant health and high fertility necessary to survive and thrive.
What’s more, dairy was critical to the survival of the human race long before we ended our nomadic roots and began cultivating plants.
Swiss of the Loetschental Valley
To the Traditional Swiss living in the isolated Loetschental valley, raw dairy and, in particular, butter was a sacred food.
This was not a pale supermarket butter. Rather, it was a golden alpine butter made from the rich, beige cream of cows grazing on thick grass.
The children raised on this nutrient dense, raw butter had strong physiques, wide faces with plenty of room for their teeth, and a high resistance to disease.
There wasn’t a single case of tuberculosis in Loetschental despite this illness raging elsewhere in Switzerland during the early part of the 1900s.
The young men raised on this nutrient-dense traditional diet based primarily on dairy with plenty of raw, deep yellow to orange butter were so superior in physique, strength, and character that the Vatican favored them over all others to serve in the Papal Guard.
The Maasai of Africa
During his travels in the early part of the last century, Dr. Weston Price examined five cattle-keeping groups in Africa who were still subsisting upon a completely ancestral diet.
These included:
- Maasai of Tanganyika
- Muhima of Uganda
- Chewya of Kenya
- Watusi of Ruanda
- Neurs tribes on the western side of the Nile near the country of Sudan.
These groups were largely following a carnivore diet consisting primarily of meat and milk.
These dairy-consuming peoples were very tall with even the women averaging over 6 feet in height in some tribes.
All displayed marvelous physiques and perfectly straight, uncrowded teeth. Six tribes had no dental decay whatsoever.
Clearly, the basis of milk in the diet was a critical component of the vibrant health enjoyed by these ancestral people groups.
Dairy Sustained Humans Before Agriculture!
Now, strong evidence has emerged that humans consumed dairy even before the advent of agriculture and civilization itself.
Before humans ever cultivated fruits, vegetables, and grains in prehistoric Africa, they were actively utilizing dairy cattle to sustain themselves.
While these early dairy farmers did not appear to drink fresh raw milk, they did use it to make butter, cheese, and yogurt.
Julie Dunne of the University of Bristol, the lead author of this important archaeological study, found the first direct evidence of dairy being of prime importance in the diet of the prehistoric people of the African Sahara.
These people used cattle for their milk many thousands of years ago. This was long before the cultivation of plants in this region.
Milk is one the very few foods that give us carbohydrates, fats and proteins in one go. So being able to use milk like these people did would’ve made an enormous difference to their health. It would’ve provided food for life. (1)
Archaeologists found the initial evidence in rock art images. These pictures illustrated domesticated cattle from the Wadi Imha, in the Tadrart Acacus Mountains of Libyan Sahara.
Scientists have dated these images between 5,000 and 8,000 years old.
Additional evidence came via analysis of organic residues from pottery fragments. They were excavated from the Takarkori rock shelter in Saharan Libya.
Fully half of the vessels inspected were used to process dairy products! (2)
While it seems implausible that dairy cattle could have once roamed the Sahara given its harsh and arid conditions today, Dunne notes that this region was completely different 10,000 years ago.
In fact, it was much wetter and greener than most people realize.
So the next time someone uses the “cow milk is for baby cows” line, casually mention that in the location of humanity’s earliest roots, people sustained themselves using dairy as a staple food.
This was long before humans began cultivating plants!
(1) First dairying in green Saharan Africa in the fifth millennium BC
(2) Once-Green Sahara Hosted Early African Dairy Farms
You can argue all day long about raw milk, but it healed me from chronically grave illness. Should I feel guilty for consuming milk from a cow? Well, I’ve seen the cows where the grassfed milk comes from–and they are happy animals. They all have names cause the farmer loves them. If those cows were wandering in the wild, they would be miserable comparatively. I would rather thank the cows and the farmer than curse the processed foods my body couldn’t handle.
Long story short is that the scientific community doesn’t really know how the whole timeline of agriculture and domesticated animals works out.
I had the good fortune to have studied paleolithic and neolithic times before the paleo diet/culture came on the scene and have been able to view this from the perspective of knowledge already gained, and not from the view point of defending or attacking a favorite diet or health idea.
Farming and domesticated animals came about between 8,000 and 10,000 years ago. There is ample physical evidence for this. And Paleo man segued to neolithic man somewhere in that same time period. There is ample evidence for this as well.
What they don’t have much actual evidence for is the existence of homo sapiens before 10,000 years ago. I’m not saying that they didn’t exist – we can argue about the merits of the currently accepted theories on evolution some other time. I’m just stating the facts that a sincerely curious person can find in any comprehensive text book on the subject. The available evidence prior to 10,000 years ago compared to the “modern” time period of the most recent 10,000 years is night and day.
Point being is that the scientific community only has a relatively small bit of physical evidence to work with when they’re trying to piece together their various theories on man prior to 10,000 years ago. So if someone is basing their health needs on whether or not dairy was used by paleolithic man, it’s really too much of a guess.
We do know with certainty that paleolithic man had some rudimentary forms of farming and animal usage leading up to the neolithic revolution that brought farming and domesticated animals to a degree that we would recognize today. So who’s to say that it wasn’t this “discovery” of the benefits of dairy that enabled paleo man to become neolithic man? The available evidence supports both theories. Those that say dairy usage was part of the beginning of the down fall of modern man’s health, they’re guessing, pure and simple. They don’t have the evidence to actually support that or to refute the possibility that it was the use of dairy products that enabled them to advance beyond the stone age and into the various metal ages.
Think of two ancient philosophers arguing about whether or not the earth revolves around the sun, or the sun around the earth. From their limited vantage point the evidence supported either view, and that’s where the scientific community is today.
I’ve been wondering for a while about the difference in raw vs. pasteurized milk when it comes to dairy allergies/sensitivities. My naturopathic doctor has me off my raw milk (and kefir and cheese) right now, as we try to address some thyroid, and adrenal problems and ulcerative colitis.(since dairy showed up as a moderate sensitivity on the blood test)
I truly believe in the benefits of raw milk, and it kills me not to drink it. So, I keep wondering if maybe the sensitivity/immune reaction the test is measuring might not be different in my body with raw milk vs. pastuerized.
any thoughts?
historically inaccurate? lol Not a strong argument if you ask me. There are many reasons to refrain from drinking milk from another species. Historical reasoning doesn’t mean it is safe or recommended. Bovine Aids, Bovine Leukemia, Mad cow dis-ease (which is not a live virus thus cannot be ‘killed’ with heat (for those who feel its safer to consume). Intuition )not fear( … African’s may have and continue to drink milk from cows … so ask yourself ‘why’ this is necessary in the first place – common sense is not that common these days
You can make water kefir, if you don’t want to use raw dairy. I make both. Love the raw milk kefir the best though :@)
Charlotte, I don’t think it was our family you read about (not to my knowledge anyway :)), though the outbreak made the news back in April, and the Oregonian wrote some very negative and misinformed stuff about the farming family.
I often drink watered down cream when we don’t have raw milk. Just a thought. I can barely tell the difference. Sally Fallon has said it is better to drink watered down cream than pasteurized milk. Just an idea for you! 🙂
Thanks for saying that, Joy. I have been reading all of these comments wondering about store bought milk. We don’t drink raw milk. I’ve been hearing that perhaps drinking milk was not a good thing for the reasons mentioned above. If you don’t drink raw milk should you still drink milk?
Tijana, are you the family I recently read about in OR? We’re in the metro area and my heart was so broken for that family. We drink raw milk and love it, make kefir and lacto ferment as well. I am so sorry for your ordeal. <3
My ex-Partner is from Tanzania. When we first tried homemade kefir last year ( with organic, non-homogenised milk since we can’t access raw dairy), he told me that it tasted exactly like a traditional food he grew up with. In traditional kitchens there is a large hollowed gourd hanging from the ceiling. Milk is poured in and swished around in there a few times per day. After a day or two the contents were taken out to serve for breakfast. They usually had it with sugar added (eek!). I don’t know any further details—he wasn’t allowed in the kitchen much himself as a boy.
I love your homesteading posts, and this was very interesting. I’m also a vegan. I am aware of the health benefits of raw milk. Like all people, we can’t all be stereotyped.:)
For me, the problem is factory farming, which I know from reading your blog, your also opposed to. If we could have raw milk without being arrested, and if dairy cows and their young could be kept on clean, healthy, humane family farms, I’d say…drink to your health folks!
But until that time, and things change in terms of the factory farmed dairy cows, I protest with my money and my lifestyle and will remain vegan.
Thanks you for the interesting raw milk information. I do wish people were allowed those benefits.
Great article Sarah (as usual). I learned SO much and feel even better about buying raw milk. Thanks!