Your best option will be to find an Organic Dairy Farmer and try to buy direct from him. Whether or not he's allowed to sell it to you or whether he will is another story.

Hi Mummza,

you are right, I shouldn't make Holsteins the scape 'goats'. I simply mention them as they form the bulk of the UK dairy herd, the bulk of which are grain fed instead of being allowed to eat what cows eat naturally which is species diverse pasture land.

My reading suggests that the factory techniques used to produce ruminants such as cows makes it not only more likely, but quite probable that they will be affected by diseases that can pass into milk... making pasteurisation necessary... (I came across the figure of 1 in 4 factory cows in the UK needing antibiotics at some stage in their life?)

You say that "Salmonella, ecoli 0157 , Brucellosis , Campylobacter , Tuberculosis ,
Q fever , can sometimes be caused by drinking unpasteurized milk"

Personally I think that I should have a free choice in a democratic society to decide if I want to take a risk which could have great health benefits too - after all, I am free to go and buy tobacco products which may cause cancer, emphysema, death et cetera...

That's great Anna!

How often do people get ill from the Demeter milk? - I bet it's pretty rare!

Really enjoyed the video on the natural food finder link you posted - I'd recommend it to anyone who is interested in exactly what happens to the food we consume!

Baron Weasel

Hi Baron

I buy unpasteurised buffalo and cows' milk from my local farmers' market (www.lfm.org).

As far as I know the cows are all grass-fed, which is how you should buy your meat, too.

There may be some health risks, I don't know - I haven't experienced any or heard of anyone else who has. On the other hand there is no evidence to support humans drinking cows' milk full stop - it's not what cavemen did.

My motto is always if it's natural, then it's more than likely to be better for you. The less adulterated food is, and the closer to it's natural state the better.

I believe that conditions such as asthma and eczema are modern conditions caused by altered food. People who are often 'lactose-intolerant' are, in my opinion, intolerant to milk that is heat-treated which causes the milk to turn into nothing but sugary (lactose) water, with few nutrients.

If I cannot obtain unpasteurised milk, then I opt for organic soya milk - although I do question whether this is good for us or not.

It's also worth noting that many of the best cheeses are made from unpasteurised milk, and people don't seem to get ill from eating those cheeses.

I hope this helps.

Leila

Ask in your local farm shop, they will know if there is a dairy farm near you. I buy "at the gate" from a small farm 2 miles from me, they make the best ice cream too.