The raw milk movement in England

Ever since I wrote my raw milk story for Salon last January, i've been curious about how Europe is handling the pasteurized vs. non-pasteurized debate.  This article from yesterday's Guardian UK doesn't turn up anything terribly new, but at least it shows that the raw milk movement (part of the larger trend of eating locally produced, unprocessed foods) has hit my native land. (And apparently, it's legal to buy raw milk on the farms, though not in stores.)
With thanks to my step-sister Sophie for sending along the link!

Comments

[Pamela Miles]

When I was in college oh-so-many years ago, I drove to the farm regularly to buy raw milk. When I was pregnant with my now grown son, we could buy Black Gate Farm unpasteurized milk at health food stores in New York City, and I did, regularly (he’s now 26). By the time I was pregnant with my daughter in 1986, unpasteurized milk was no longer commercially available. The main reason for pasteurization is so that the cows don’t have to be treated well. (Do farmers really prefer not to take good care of their cows?) This is an all too common situation in which the public has been hoodwinked by business-without-ethics values masquerading as public health issues.

Organic agri-business milk with the month long sale date is no replacement. In order for it to have that long a shelf life, it has to be dead. If we can’t get raw milk, we’re better off with minimally processed milk from small local farms such as Ronnybrook in the NYC area.