All milk is yucky. Bleach!

Humans are not built to drink cow's milk, period. Our bodies have to be trained to be tolerant to cow's milk, and in my opinion, there is something wrong with that.

I prefer my milk pasteurized for the same reason I don't eat raw eggs or meat. It's a bodily fluid! Although putting it that way suddenly makes any type of milk unappetizing.

I only drink soy milk.

i love milk...1% only! 2% sometimes, and whole milk only at dessert gallery (they only have whole and skim...why even drink milk if it's skim? lol). But this sounds god awful...count me out!

Why is it that all other animals only drink their mother's milk in infancy? Added to that, humans drink the milk from another animal all together. Ew.

Another vote for soy milk.

All milk is digusting. Think about it: it's milk for baby COWS, not humans! Breast milk isn't used past a certain age.

My friend belongs to a cow share where she gets organic, raw milk and I've tried it. It's not gross. In fact it's my belief that IF humans actually are meant to get nutrients from cow's milk, then this is the only natural way to do it. If milk was really healthy, then we'd drink it in its natural form (not homogenized, pasteurized, enriched and skimmed). And also, raw milk contains enzymes that aid in digestion (just like breast milk does), but these enzymes are destroyed when milk is processed, hence the reason many people can't tolerate/digest "regular" cow's milk. It's also rich in healthy bacteria (which are killed in pasteurization). Similarly, yogurt made naturally from raw milk is very rich in healthy bacteria. It's killed when they pasteurize it and then they add other bacteria back in (sort of defeating the purpose of even fermenting it in the first place). I'm not a huge milk fan (I don't drink milk) but I am considering the raw approach. It's natural, local, eco-friendly and animal-friendly.

It just sounds bad.

I'll stick with my pasteurized fat free milk!

Well, if you think you can't drink milk from cows, I suppose you also don't eat yoghurt, cheese or ice cream?

? Guess I wasn't expecting the vegan brigade to be out here...I thought the question was about the availability of unpasteurized milk? Not whether or not humans should be consuming milk in general....but anyway...

I think it's fine to have unpasteurized milk, provided it's clearly labelled. There are some health risks, (hence the whole mass pasteurization movement), but if people know what they are getting into, and prefer the taste, I'm all for it. It's no different than sushi or carpaccio in that respect.

I put undecided. I just think about how many generations used milk straight from the cow before the whole pasteurization process happened and they seemed to survive. However, I also think that process was created for a reason. I am sure it also strips the milk of things that our body could use and would be good for us but... I don't know, I think our society has become overly paranoid about a lot of things. I am still undecided.

raw milk sounds gross.

I guess I'm lumped into what the previous post called the "vegan brigade," although I'm not vegan and never claimed to be vegan. As for staying on topic, I voted OTHER because I drink soy milk. I stated my reasons. Sorry if my post wasn't what you were "expecting."

I don't think it's a bad thing, provided the cows are well-cared for and antibiotic-free. I would personally boil it before I drink it, though.

For mass consumption, pasteurized milk is a much better option.

I'm not a vegan either, I just don't like milk. I do, however, like, cheese, yogurt and a little ice cream.

California is one of the few states where you can actually purchase raw milk for human consumption. I've had a it a few times, the flavor definitely is richer, but all of the warnings that come with it are a bit scary. However, I do think you should be able to purchase it. It seems that if it's properly labeled, why not?

I'm allergic to milk, so it's a darn good thing I never liked the taste of it! I drink soy, but only due to the allergy. I also only use it with lattes and cereal, the former of which I'm not drinking thse days.

I can't drink any milk, unless there's a chocolate cookie or a slice of sweet pumpkin pie.

I drank raw milk for a couple weeks, built up an unhealthy bacteria culture in my digestive tract, and spent a week on a hospital bed bleeding from where you wouldn't want to, vomiting and existing on an IV. I'll never touch the stuff again.

I put undecided. I like milk, but I've never had raw milk. I guess I can't knock it 'till I've tried it.

I don't like milk so there is no way I would drink raw milk.

I doesn't seem sanitary.

Ewe gross! I don't even like regular milk let alone one straight from the cow! I'll stick w/ soy milk. I stop drinking milk when I saw how the get it; it made me sick.

I guess I've been mislead all these years - I thougth milk was something humans have always been drinking. When and why did we start drinking milk, then? I figured we have always been drinking it, and there must have been a period of time when pasteurization wasn't in existence and people did okay.

I didn't realize there were arguments for NOT drinking milk! Any links??

im not a fan of plain milk bu i do like chocolate milk and milkshakes!

I don't like milk so I put other. I put it on cereal but that is all.

As a microbiology student, the idea of drinking unpasteurised milk will all the things you can catch from it just sends a chill down my spine.

I haven't tried it so I can't really say anything about it but I'd try it definitely. Although I have a preference for soymilk.

Not cool - they started the pasturization thing for a reason. why stop it?

Humans have been drinking milk from other animals for generations long before the modern era, so I think the whole "vegan brigade" is a little out there. I don't drink much milk to be honest, but I like cheese, yogurt, and ice cream (IMO, the soy versions of these don't come close to the real thing).

clarient -- it's from PETA (vegan extremists prone to inflammatory remarks and protests), so take it all with a grain of salt, but here is the link to their reasoning behind being anti-milk. i have been a vegan for 6 years, and off dairy for close to 10, and it's worked well for me. enjoy researching!

http://www.peta.org/mc/factsheet_display.asp?ID=98

soy milk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree with yumsugar. Also, it has been outlawed some places that you can't drink fresh apple cider. it comes with warnings for the elderly and babies. BUT fresh apple cider is the best tasting stuff ever! I used to stop by an orchard-roadside stand on my way home from school in the fall and buy a half gallon...i would drink it before i got home haha.

if some people want to have unpasturized milk, why not let them? knowing the warnings, if they are okay with it, i say go for it!

i´ve tried raw milk several times, and i must admit i like my low fat milk way better.

Milk...got to have it with chocolate cake and with cereal, but not this "straight from the cow" stuff. I tried it once at a friend's house who lived on a dairy farm...it was super thick and creamy...too rich and yucky!

My neighbors have milking cows, and when my siblings and I were younger, my dad would go over and get fresh milk. After a while, the cream would seperate from the milk, and then my parents would make butter out of it. And they would also use the buttermilk for cooking and stuff.
I don't really remember drinking it, but my parents said that we all liked it. Plus it was free and my neighbor milked the cow when my dad said we wanted it, so it was fresh.

I used to drink milk when I had cereals for breakfast.. but now I dont. I dunno.. thats pretty much how they drank milk during the olden times and they ended up ok so Im not sure what the big deal is.

another for soy milk. i'm not on any sort of vegan brigade though. :0

Raw milk is awesome ... and y'know, it's been around for thousands of years w/o being homogenized. =P

Haha it makes me laugh when I hear about people talking about "raw milk" I grew up on a farm, and all we drank was "raw milk"! We have just a couple of house cows that we get our milk from, and I find that normal, but other people find it strange! I prefer it to the processed stuff you buy.

clarient - Frank A. Oski wrote an entire book on the subject, entitled Don't Drink Your Milk!. He was the Director of the Pediatric division at Johns Hopkins, so he is not as crazy as the PETA people : ) Also, John Robbins wrote a book, Diet for a New America, where he discourages drinking any milk - AND he was the heir to the Baskin-Robbins fortune. www.notmilk.com has a lot of information, as well. I personally don't care if other people want to drink milk, to each her own! I don't want to be a part of any brigade.

If you're ever been on a dairy farm, they drink unpasterized milk all the time. I don't see the big deal if people like it. However, I've tasted it thought it's awful but maybe that's just because I had seen it coming out of the cows moments before!

raw sounds so negative. why not natural milk? It hasn't been enhanced with vitamins, superheated, sterilized, etc?

I don't see how natural milk is any worse than soda pop?!?
If it doesn't agree with you - don't drink it!

It's funny to see that they now start to make money with raw milk. I've grown up in the country and all my life we've bought the milk straight at the farmer's. Sometimes it was still even warm!

Nevertheless, I think it's the best milk you can get. Of course, there's more fat in it, and you can't store it for ages in your fridge, but it healthier than anything else.

And anyone who's screaming now of bacteria: there are no bacterias and germs in the cow's udder, milking is (or should be) a clean process, and usually the milk is cooled down right after the milking. From 38°C to 4°C in less than a minute. Depends on the milking machine.

Still, I think nothing's better than fresh milk, straight from the cow. At least then you know what you're drinking.

My ex boyfriend's dad runs a farm. I know quite a lot about that stuff. *lol*

its dangerous. period. if you want to risk your life for better tasting "raw" milk then go right ahead....if you are a milk drinker look into buying only organic milk...cows that werent treated with growth hormones and were fed an organic diet.

Raw (unadulterated) milk IS cool! It's way more than just cool, it changed my life for the better in every way and I'm glad to see an article on this site about it. I have been drinking raw milk for the past five years and my anemia is gone, my stamina has increased big time and I'm pretty sure I'm not lactose intolerant any more since I drink four gallons a week!!!

Also, some find this hard to believe but I have lost five pounds and increased my muscle mass - and I'm talking about clean, raw, full-fat milk from a beautiful jersey cow that gives halve cream, halve milk.

If anyone wants more info check out realmilk.com.

P.S. what other species besides humans milks a soybean?

ICK

Pretty sure that the consumption of raw milk is not strictly illegal anywhere; it's only the sale of raw, unpasteurized milk that is against the rules.

Shares and barter groups get around these silly laws (why not let people sell what people will buy?) buy allowing people to barter services or goods for goods that are illegal to sell, be it raw milk, homemade liquor, wine, beer, or mead, or whatever.

Power to the people, damnit.

The Mongols subsisted mainly on mare's milk and meat. And they conquered nearly all of Asia and parts of Eastern Europe.