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In addition to the reasons listed I understand that the pasteurization of milk was also part of the plan to eradicate TB. As such it played a successful part in this as, because of the method of keeping cows, that is, in large herds, questionable cleanliness, etc, the spread of this disease was rife and transmitted to babies and children quite readily. Along with vaccination and farmers now mostly keeping clean dairies, we have mostly eradicated this. But without question milk straight from the cow would be best. I would like to have a cow with calf in my large property but am mindful of many other factors. However there are several dairies near me that are, through deregulation and large imports of dairy products, in the process of closing down. I can't help thinking what a shame this is - we are losing too many of our agricultrural industries and the world has only now recognised, it seems, that in the not too distant future, the world, including Australia, will be food-stressed.

Thanks, Helen, for your timely and informative article.

I've been buying organic milk for the family for several years and find now that if I go to get it from a supermarket in the latter part of the day it's frequently sold out, so I've been assuming for a while that it's popularity is growing.

I myself have a dairy intolerance so was interested to read about the digestive enzymes being destroyed in the pasteurisation process. I will definitely give the raw milk a try and see if I can tolerate that. I have have been advised to before and did consider it, but must admit I've been conditioned to believe it was risky. I appreciated reading the history behind that mindset and why the risk today shouldn't be an issue.

I think more testing needs to be done. There's a wealth of literature that shows that raw milk is NOT SAFE.

It can transmit a number of diseases including polio, tuberculosis, scarlet fever and some suspect that prion diseases (such as mad cow) can be transmitted this way also!

Not enough research has been done to show the safety of raw milk or organic products in general and so I think they should not allow the sale of these products until they are PROVEN TO BE SAFE!

Bugsy, I respect your point of view. How about providing some evidence yourself concerning the proven risks of drinking raw milk?

By the way, what are the safety risks of organic food? Again, some firm evidence would be good. I know I'd prefer to take my chances on wholesome organically grown food than I would on food grown in lifeless soils full of synthetic fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides and which is then sprayed, snap-frozen, transported huge distances, irradiated and whatever else is done to it before we eat it.

It might look good and some of it might even taste good but the nutritional content in most of it is inferior to that grown organically. To gain the goodness you did in a 1950s apple, you now need to eat three from today's supermarkets

Thank you Helen for a long overdue article on the problems with milk.
You only have to taste real milk fresh from the animal a few times, and you dont ever want to go back to the rather tasteless product on the supermarket shelf. Nearly all foods are much more nutritious when eaten very fresh and as close to their raw, unprocessed state as possible for that food.
The problems that led to widespread pasteurisation are now under control by other means. There is little TB in Australia and milk is not a major way of the disease being spread. Herds are regularly tested nowadays, for brucellosis, mastitis etc.
Perhaps if a major epidemic of TB broke out in Australia the public could be alerted to boil their milk before using for the period of the epidemic.
I dont drink much milk (as my Dad used to say it is a food for baby cows) but when I do I certainly prefer organic, and my wife regularly obtains "raw" milk as she is a keen milk eater (not drinker).