Campaign for real milk

Over the weekend I went to Indy to visit an event hosted by the Indiana State Museum called the "Hoosier Harvest," where different farms and various food and health related groups from Indiana set up stands with their products and projects. I went specifically because Fields of Agape, where I've started volunteering (well, sort of, but I am paid with plenty of food!), was setting up a stand there. It ended up being really fantastic actually! But, what I really intended to write about here was this group starting a campaign for real milk. Here's there link to the real milk campaign:

http://www.realmilk.com

Another campaign they were advocating can be viewed here:

http://www.farmtoconsumer.org/

Real milk comes from cows who are fed their actual diet of "green grass in spring, summer and fall; stored dry hay, silage and root vegetables in winter." It is raw milk, which means not processed in any way- not pasteurized, homogenized or de-fatted. I will just highlight a few particularly important, interesting and/or possibly very surprising quotes here that you can read more about on the website:

"Vital nutrients like vitamins A, D and K2 are greatest in milk from cows eating green grass, especially rapidly growing green grass in the spring and fall. Vitamins A and D are greatly diminished, and vitamin K2 disappears when milk cows are few commercial feed. Soy meal has the wrong protein profile for the dairy cow, resulting in a short burst of high milk production followed by premature death. Most milk (even most milk labeled "organic") comes from dairy cows that are kept in confinement their entire lives and never see green grass!"

"Worse, consumers have been duped into believing that low-fat and skim milk products are good for them. Only by marketing low-fat and skim milk as health foods can the modern dairy industry get rid of its excess poor-quality, low-fat milk from modern high-production herds. Butterfat contains vitamins A and D needed for assimilation of calcium and protein in the water fraction of the milk. Without them protein and calcium are more difficult to utilize and possibly toxic. Butterfat is rich in short- and medium-chain fatty acids which protect against disease and stimulate the immune system."

"Galen, Hippocrates, Pliny, Varro, Marcellus, Empiricus, Bacchis and Anthimus, leading physicians of their day, all used raw milk in the treatment of disease. During the 1920s, Dr. J. E. Crewe of the Mayo Foundation used a diet of raw milk to cure TB, edema, heart failure, high blood pressure, prostate disease, urinary tract infections, diabetes, kidney disease, chronic fatigue and obesity. Today, in Germany, successful raw milk therapy is provided in many hospitals.

"Studies show that children fed raw milk have more resistance to TB than children fed pasteurized milk (Lancet, p 1142, 5/8/37); that raw milk is very effective in preventing scurvy and protecting against flu, diphtheria and pneumonia (Am J Dis Child, Nov 1917); that raw milk prevents tooth decay, even in children who eat a lot of sugar (Lancet, p 1142, 5/8/37); that raw milk is better than pasteurized milk in promoting growth and calcium absorption (Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 518, p 8, 1/33); that a substance present in raw cream (but not in pasteurized cream) prevents joint stiffness and the pain of arthritis (Annual Review of Biochemistry, 18:435, 1944); and that children who drink raw milk have fewer allergic skin problems and far less asthma than children who drink pasteurized milk (Lancet 2001 358 (9288):1129-33)."

These are merely three of many pertinent and informative quotes to be found on this website. There are TONS of links on the site to outside articles, scientific studies, safety analysis, health effects, political and legal issues, historical context, media involvement and coverage, books, blogs, videos, journals, newsletters and on and on. I've been somewhat familiar with the raw milk benefits and surrounding legal issues, but this presents some amazing information that isn't easily accessible to us, the consumers. Read on and spread the word!!