When most people think about the rise of pasteurized milk in America, they tend to think of people getting sick and dying from raw milk in such numbers that a rapid transition to the “safety” of processed milk occurred out of the sheer necessity of preserving the public health.
This is simply not so.
As you can see in the picture above of an old time ice cream wagon taken by my friend Cynthia at the Florida State Fair last week, there was a time in American history when raw milk and pasteurized milk coexisted in peace.
If people wanted raw milk, they could easily obtain it. If they preferred pasteurized, that was available too.
This period was from about 1890 – 1940, a full fifty years of a raw milk/pasteurized milk truce!
There was no rapid and desperate movement to pasteurize except in the major cities where filthy, confinement dairies with sick cows fed distillery waste were producing a tainted, bluish milk that was making children very ill.
Pasteurization as a whole in America was a very slow process that gradually gained momentum beginning in about 1910. Led by businessman Nathan Strauss who, along with his powerful ally Abraham Jacobi MD, President of the American Medical Association, convinced states and municipalities across America and even Europe to adopt regulations requiring pasteurization of all milk that wasn’t “certified” raw milk to preserve the health of those living in the crowded cities where quality raw milk was not easily obtained.
As described by Dr. Ron Schmid, author of The Untold Story of Milk:
For Straus and those officials who backed him, pasteurization was a matter of economics and practicality. Most recognized that certified raw milk was safe and healthy, but it was expensive to produce and sold for two to four times the cost of ordinary milk. As a practical matter, the enforcement of strict rules of hygiene on the 40,000 independent dairy farms that supplied milk to New York City was impossible. Pasteurization was seen as a quick, technological fix that would make New York’s [dirty confinement] milk safe to drink.
By 1940, the uneasy truce that had existed between certified raw milk and pasteurized milk had ended. All out war on raw milk had been declared.
The powerful voices that had begun to call for compulsory pasteurization of all milk in 1912 had finally succeeded in their mission. Access to even certified raw milk began to disappear and by the 1950’s, most people could no longer obtain it not because certified raw milk wasn’t safe, but because it was the path of least resistance for government regulators and the most profitable step for an emerging and powerful corporate Dairy Industry.
With the Dairy Industry celebrating 100 years of pasteurization this year, it is important to note that raw milk consumption in America is once again on a rapid upswing after decades of repression with over 3% of the population in 2007 regularly consuming it.  The health benefits of raw milk from cows grazing on green grass has caught on with people from all income levels and walks of life with a glass of raw milk a powerful symbol representing the fundamental right to choose the nutrient dense, unprocessed, local foods of one’s choice.
Stay tuned. The “raw” ice cream man may yet again be seen in neighborhoods across North America!
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Source:Â The Untold Story of Milk, Dr. Ron Schmid
I feel so blessed to live in Portland, Oregon where obtaining raw milk is as easy as it was in the early 1900’s! I get Raw Goat milk from the co-op, thanks to farmers.
You are indeed fortunate. Count your blessings. Access to quality, nutrient dense food is more valuable than millions in the bank. Health is the FIRST wealth.
I first learned about the benefits of raw milk when I was living in New Mexico and another lady in the La Leche League I was in wholly practiced WAPF-style cooking (and eating). She taught us a nutrition class one night and I was amazed.
She told us that she was able to get raw milk in our area, but that it would be hard to buy it, because the farmers were nervous about getting in trouble for selling it. There were a few Mennonite farmers/ranchers in the area and I think she got some from them.
When we moved to Monterey, CA., I was so excited that we could buy raw milk at Whole Foods. One day, I went to buy some and saw that the shelves were empty and there was a notice that it wouldn’t be sold until it was proven to be safe. I think that’s when things really seemed to kick up in CA with Raw Milk Politics. Anyhow, federal agents were continually harassing Organic Pastures at that time and another company (which may have gone out of business?) Federal agents are still harassing them.
I think it’s a shame that raw milk has been so vilified and criminalized (and that there are so many raids on farms and coops). But I am so excited to see that many more people are drinking it! 🙂 It’s so good for the body!
How interesting that raw and pasteurized were sold alongside each other for so many years. I had no idea that they had popularly co-existed for that long of a period. Growing up, I had no idea that there was such controversy about raw milk. My family drank pasteurized, but farming families in my town drank raw. No one seemed to think anything of the farm families drinking raw milk. I guess I always just assumed milk from the supermarket was pasteurized so it would keep longer and that the farmers drank raw because they could get to it when it was fresh. I am thankful for the WAPF having taught me the true differences between the two!
Sarah,
Wondering if you happened to catch the Raw Milk Debate held at Harvard this past Thursday between DR. HEIDI KASSENBORG (Director, Dairy & Food Inspection Division, Minnesota Dept. of Agriculture) & SALLY FALLON MORELL (President, Weston A. Price Foundation) and DAVID GUMPERT (Author, The Raw Milk Revolution)?
I had hoped to do myself but realized too late that I did not have the right software installed to listen in! I bet it was a great conversation and will listen to the archives this weekend.
The video is archived at: http://www.youtube.com/user/HLSFoodLawSociety.
For more information:
Warmly,
Tara
Speaking of raw ice cream, any good recipes you may have to share?
Nevermind, found the link after clicking on your peanut butter ice cream recipe – https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/video-healthy-homemade-ice-cream/ 😉
Oh good you found my video on it 🙂 We make homemade raw ice cream all the time. Milkshakes are a big afterschool snack at our home. Provides great concentration for homework, wink wink.
I love Raw Jersey Cow Milk and Raw Goat’s Milk. Goat’s milk is naturally homogenized. I find Jersey Cow Milk creamier than Holstein Cow Milk. I also believe that it is healthier. So if you can find it, try to buy the Jersey Cow Milk first.
I’m a big proponent of healthy raw milk. I’m blessed that it is available in CA, tho i pay a hefty price for it. (The brand i prefer is over $4.50/qt – close to $20/gallon.)
My dad’s doctorate is in nutrition – both animal and human. He spent many years working to increase dairy production. He also is a big believer in pasteurization. When i think of how many gallons of wonderful Jersey milk we ruined by pasteurizing it when i was a child, i’m a little ill. When it comes to the pasteurization issue we had to “agree to disagree.” He speaks of having “the summer scourge” when he was a child, evidently a result of higher bacteria count in their unpasteurized milk. But none of his family died! He grew up with 6 brothers and a sister, they didn’t even eat all that healthy, and all of the children lived to productive and healthy adulthood. (My mother’s family had 11 children, and they all lived as well. These families didn’t have the large amount of deaths in infancy and early childhood that are often reported during that time.)
I will say that pasteurization was probably necessary in some of the milk 60 to 80 years ago. There were many dairies that didn’t do a good job of keeping their animals clean and tuberculosis was spread by animals with that disease. But it seems to me that we have the technology to screen for those kinds of things now days. I am all for health freedom and the ability to buy raw milk. I just wish it wasn’t so pricey.
Its so sad how big corporations have managed to suppress and spread propaganda about such a nutritious food.
@ Renee-
Hope this helps!!
http://www.realmilk.com/where03.html
Where can we purchase raw milk in Tampa Bay area? I’m actually in Pasco County / greater New Port Richey area.
I don’t post this information on my blog for the privacy of our farmers.
Renee, any luck finding a source for raw organic milk in Tampa, I live in Pasco as well.