Pasteurization of milk not needed

The 2015 Montana legislature voted against the raw milk bill based on misinformation and incorrect data from opposition lobbyists, claiming more people have died from contaminated raw than pasteurized milk. 

The truth from CDC data: 0 deaths from fluid raw milk, vs over 80 deaths from pasteurized milk since 1972.

Before 1950, almost all food was produced locally; every community had at least one dairy that delivered raw milk to your door. Any cases of food poisoning were limited to local area, not spread across the country as today, because infected foods remained local.

Good practices are key to food safety, including cleanliness and free-ranging livestock. CAFOs are a breeding ground for food poisoning; the 2006 E. coli outbreak from infected spinach is a case in point (infected manure contaminated ground water used to irrigate nearby crops destined for shipment around the country).

That outbreak could have been avoided if the cattle were pastured instead of confined. Not designed to digest grain, their systems became too acidic, encouraging growth of mutant bacteria that would not have survived in the stomach of grass-fed cows.

While pasteurization has its place, its widespread use simply to improve corporate bottom line (through long-term warehousing, long-distance shipping, and skimping on cleanliness), degrades food quality and is harmful to our health.

Buying locally from a farmer you trust, along with your own good cleanliness habits, is the best way to ensure food and milk safety.

— Catherine Haug, Bigfork