A 2011 survey in Michigan published in this month’s Food Protection Trends revealed that the reasons raw milk buyers prefer unpasteurized milk products are complex; including culinary taste and the desire to support local farmers. A majority of respondents also perceived that raw milk improves health.
However, according to science, the nutritional value of pasteurized milk doesn’t differ from raw milk in nutrients such as protein and minerals, and because of supplementation during processing, pasteurized milk has added vitamin D.
A summary of the survey says the typical raw milk consumer in Michigan is a well-educated adult in his orher late 20s. Only 7.1 percent of survey respondents generally trusted recommendations made by state health officials regarding which foods are safe to eat.
The survey was the work of researchers at Michigan State University, where Dr. Ron Erskine, an associate professor in the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, recently published a commentary about the confusion and passion of raw milk drinkers.
Despite all the evidence that raw, unpasteurized milk can cause serious food-borne illness, some consumers are willing to risk disease in return for what they view as a more healthy way to consume milk, he wrote.
Erskine’s bottom line is a keeper:
While raw milk consumption presents a form of culinary roulette for all consumers, the concept of informed consent is not applicable to children. Ironically, the very segment of our population that benefits most from the dietary rewards of milk and other dairy products, is most at risk for the harmful consequences of raw milk consumption.
