“I Like to Eat Whole Foods:” Why Some Tennesseans Choose Raw Milk

Despite the health risks and state law, many Tennessee residents choose to drink raw milk. In a riveting radio segment from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, reporter Michael Edward Miller investigates why.

In Tennessee, the sale of raw milk for human consumption is illegal – but consumers can legally obtain raw milk through herd shares. At one dairy farm, for example, customers pay $30 plus a monthly boarding fee to become co-owner of the farm’s five-cow herd. As co-owners they are allowed access to a share (one gallon per week) of the fresh milk.

In the segment, Miller looks at why Tennessee residents are willing to skirt the law or jump through hoops in order to have access to fresh, unpasteurized milk.

“I like to eat whole foods,” says one resident. “I like to buy my food at the farmer’s market, I like to grow my food. I am of the opinion that it’s healthier than what is provided to me by the industries.”

Raw milk drinkers emphasize the importance of knowing the cows from which they get their unpasteurized milk. Dairy farmers encourage customers to visit the farm to see how the cows graze, where they live, and the cleaning and safety measures behind the milking process. Both are quick to point out that while small, family-owned dairy farms are able to produce safe batches of unpasteurized milk, larger industrial dairies cannot. They agree with authorities that raw milk from large, commercial dairy farms is unsafe for human consumption and should not be allowed.

Listen to the complete broadcast here.

The Campaign for Real Milk is a project of the nutrition education non-profit, The Weston A. Price Foundation. Donate to help fund research into the benefits of nutrient dense foods.  http://www.westonaprice.org/lab