By Hugh Wilson

Could raw milk be the latest health craze?

The popularity of raw milk on America's West Coast is rocketing - and soon it will be coming to Britain. We ask if something which flies in the face of 200 years of medical science is any good.

Is raw milk the next superfood? (image © AP/PA Photos)

It can be tricky to get a drop of the good stuff in New York these days. Those who can’t do without a regular fix scan hush-hush websites for information. They meet at pre-arranged drop sites, grab a box, and drive hurriedly away. Two hours later, the sites are clear, with no evidence that any illicit activity went on there at all.

If it sounds a bit like the alcohol Prohibition of the 1930s, that’s because it is, but these drinkers aren’t after moonshine whisky - they’re after milk. No modern-day Al Capone has control of this white stuff racket, but the sneaking around is all too real. In many US states sales of raw milk – the unpasteurised, unprocessed stuff that comes straight from the cow - are either severely restricted or banned altogether.

Milk monitors
The same is true of Britain. In Scotland, you can’t buy it all. In England and Wales, raw milk is available, but not in the supermarket. You can only buy it direct from the producer, at farm shops and farmers’ markets or by direct delivery. When a Cornish shop started to stock the green-topped bottles a couple of years ago, the authorities acted to cut off the supply.

The rise of liquid foods

Which all begs the question, what’s so bad about raw milk? The answer, according to those who queue at English farm gates or in New York alleys, is nothing at all. Quite the opposite, in fact. Not only does raw milk taste far better than its pasteurised counterpart, it’s much better for you, too.

“In taste, it’s like the difference between real tomatoes and the watery, flavourless ones you see in all the supermarkets,” says Elizabeth Smeeton of the Association of Unpasteurised Milk Producers and Consumers. “Until you drink it you don’t realise just how flavourless ‘modern’ milk is.”

The healthy alternative
Smeeton also points to published research which shows that children brought up on raw milk have a stronger immunity to conditions like asthma and eczema than those who are fed ordinary milk. Sally Fallon, of the American Campaign for Real Milk, says the health benefits don’t end there.

Foods to eat every day

“Milk proteins…carry vitamins and minerals through the gut into the blood stream; they enhance the immune system and protect against disease,” she says. Pasteurisation distorts these proteins.

According to Fallon, pasteurisation also destroys key minerals and vitamins in milk. For example, Vitamin C levels are reduced by a whopping 77 percent, and iron levels by 66 percent. Given all that, it’s not surprising that raw milk has become something of a health fad on the other side of the Atlantic. In California, where sales are not restricted, over 300 outlets now sell raw milk.

A raw revival?
In this country, too, raw milk producers are sensing an opportunity. After all, raw milk is just the sort of product that picky consumers are turning to – unrefined, nutritious and straight from the farm. Like real ale and free-range chicken, raw milk could benefit from the trend towards natural, unprocessed food.

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Or at least, it could if it weren’t for the deep suspicion of authorities on both sides of the Atlantic. In the UK, raw milk even has to carry a cigarette-style health warning. “This milk…may contain organisms harmful to health”, states the Government message.

White Russian
In America, official advice is even gloomier. According to the Food and Drug administration, “drinking raw milk is like playing Russian Roulette with your health.” The FDA says that contaminated raw milk can be a source of harmful bacteria, such as those that cause dysentery, salmonella and tuberculosis.

But proponents of raw milk say that if responsible adults want to play Russian Roulette with their health, that’s up to them. After all, nobody has to knock back moonshine liquor in underground speakeasies anymore, and yet everyone accepts that alcohol is bad for you.

The next health craze?
And raw milk lovers think that official fears are way out of date anyway. Campaigners not only believe that raw milk is far more nutritious than its pasteurised counterpart, they also think that it’s at least as safe to drink. Raw milk dairies have to undergo regular and thorough hygiene tests; the milk itself is repeatedly tested for bacteria.

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In fact, according to the Campaign for Real Milk, statistics show that raw milk is actually less hazardous than pasteurised milk, as well as a range of other foodstuffs.

If supporters are right, raw milk could be a health craze waiting to happen. As we sip on soya milk and swap real cheese for non-dairy alternatives, wouldn’t it be ironic if the next so-called super food comes from the much-maligned cow?

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