by R. Renee Bembry

Created on: February 04, 2008

After banning interstate sales of unpasteruized or "raw" milk sales twenty years ago, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to warn consumers against drinking raw milk. Many consumers, not in agreement with the FDA's assessment regarding the dangers of consuming raw milk, however, continue to drink the beverage and vow to drink it for the remainder of their lives or at least until valid hard core evidence can be shown why they "really" shouldn't drink it.

Raw milk sales for human consumption is legal in all but fifteen states in the US; and the thirty-five states that allow raw milk sales to continue regulate the methods in which the product is bought and sold.

Examples of the demand for raw milk can be demonstrated through the gross sales made by Organic Pastures Dairy Company Clifornia's first raw milk dairy with certified organic pasture land - who sells raw milk to three hundred stores in California. Their sales were expected to reach the six million dollar mark in 2007. In addition to instate sales the company runs a raw milk mail-order service to the tune of eighty thousand dollars a month! Via mail-orders Organic Pastures ships milk, creams and cheese to all fifty of the United States an estimated thirty-five thousand of those customers are believed to be raw milk drinkers. A hilarious note about the mail-order end of Organic Pastures' business is that because the law only allows for interstate shipping of raw milk that is "not" intended for human consumption, Organic Pastures labels its raw milk orders "pet food"!

Aside from the fact that consumers say raw milk tastes better and has a smoother texture than pasteurized (sterilized) milk, many actually believe raw milk is better for humans than pasteurized milk. These advocates insist pasteurizing milk to kill potentially harmful pathogens like salmonella, listeria and E-coli destroys proteins, beneficial bacteria and enzymes including enzymes that increase many adult drinkers' abilities to digest milk. They maintain humans enjoy stronger immune systems and more efficient digestive tracts when consuming regular servings of milk in its natural state.

Raw-milk diets have been depended on to cure many diseases since ancient times. As recently as the early 1900s, raw milk was used at the Mayo clinic to successfully treat chronic conditions such as kidney disease, urinary tract problems, skin problems, weight loss challenges, allergies, prostate problems, chronic fatigue and even cancer. Despite its

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