>Hugh, > >"And we get some types we wouldn't have seen in raw milk, such as >Listeria and Pasteurella." - is wrong. Listeria is found, if found, >exclusively in raw milk. For that reason pregnant women are adviced to >avoid dairy products made from fresh milk (here in Norway few years ago >few dozens of women had miscarriages after eating French cammember >cheese). > >Also I would never test my immunity drinking milk that might have >tuberculosis. Strenght or weaknes of our immune system depends on so >many factors. > >Regards > >Zoran
Dear Zoran, Sorry. I stand corrected on the Listeria. Thanks. I don't think that anyone "tests their immunity" by deliberately drinking milk that might have tuberculosis in it. But, of course, there is some slight possibility of one's family milk cow having a touch of Johnne's Disease, otherwise known as bovine tuberculosis. There is a much better chance of it being in raw milk that is pooled from four or five dairies of a hundred cows each, which is what usually happens when milk is picked up in a tank truck. This means, of course, that pasteurization of commercial milk is very much the rule because there IS a fairly good likelihood of something like tuberculosis being present when you have hundreds and hundreds of cows involved. The point is that our immunity DOES depend on many, many factors,not all of which are known but some of which we know are in raw milk and are destroyed by pasteurization. Food researchers such as Sally Fallon often point out that laboratory animals raised on raw milk as compared to those raised on pasteurized milk consistantly prove to be healthier and more robust. I don't know of quite so much evidence comparing people raised on raw milk as compared to pasteurized milk. If one had the raw milk of good quality available and knew the difference I'd think a parent would be criminal to feed their children the pasteurized stuff. There used to be a disease known as undulunt fever that was transmitted by raw milk. I never hear of it any more, though a hundred years ago it was quite common. A person who got it might keep it for life, and it would flare up every once in a while. I think pasteurization can be credited for its virtual disappearance. On the other hand this is not the case with tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is all too common today and it hasn't been seen to diminish much because of milk pasteurization. The study I ran into that compared raw milk drinkers--who got no tuberculosis--with pasteurized milk drinkers--several of whom got tuberculosis--warrants further investigation. Are the immune factors in raw milk responsible for immunity to tuberculosis? Considering there are antibiotic resistant strains of tuberculosis that you definitely do NOT want to get, someone ought to look at this more. Best, Hugh Visit our website at: www.unionag.org
