The environmental (and personal) benefits of unpasteurized dairy
Dairy gets a bad rep, and rightfully so. The demand on the conventional dairy industry puts pressure on our planet. With this knowledge about the dairy industry and its harmful practices, consumers are looking for an alternative in substitutes like soy, oat and coconut milk. Although those are wonderful alternatives (if done properly), cow’s milk can still have its place amongst the list of sustainable (and healthy) choices.
Mega-dairy farms
The outrageous environmental footprint of large-scale dairy farms starts at birth and doesn’t end until the dairy products are curated. Between methane production, water usage and overgrazing, it makes us question why we need dairy in the first place.
The strain on the planet comes from the strain on the cow; you can’t have a healthy product or planet without a healthy ecosystem (which includes all beings, not just humans). These large factory farms house thousands of cows on an industrial scale, they’re milked around the clock, and are rarely out on fresh pasture. These conditions lead to infection, anxiety and aggression from overcrowding. The cows’ newborn babies are taken from them in order to produce the most amount of milk, and the cows are pushed to their physical limits for the sake of a product.
The effects on animals have a ripple effect. We feel it in the degradation of soil, in the pesticide leaks in waterways, in the greenhouse gases from produced methane, and in the quality of the dairy product and its impact on those who drink it.
The truth is: nothing at this scale can be done sustainably—not soy, not wheat and certainly not meat and dairy. When we’re talking about living beings and living in symbiosis with nature, scaling up without harm isn’t possible. The answer is always in the small producers who are pushing the envelope.
Small farmers are changing the narrative
Small farmers and individual homesteaders have questioned the industry, branched away from unsustainable dairy industry, and are opting for methods that work positively for the animals, the environment and the consumer.
It starts with the treatment of animals and how they’re kept. Regenerative farmers allow their animals to roam free in the pasture. and rather than feeding them unhealthy grains, they rotate their animals on large sections of land in order for the cows to constantly have access to fresh green grasses. Here, cows are able to stay with their babies for much longer while sharing excess dairy production with people.
Regenerative farmers are paving the way not only for their treatment of animals throughout the process but also in the rebuilding of soils and ecosystems while farming animals. The constant rotation of cows mimics herds migrating, allowing native grasses the time to regrow while also naturally fertilizing with manure and revitalizing the soils that were once degraded.
These farmers are also known to recycle water, use waste to generate electricity, and of course, use their own natural fertilizer from composted manure to keep the soil and pasture healthy.
With the increasing need for sustainable alternatives, many retailers have put fairer minimum prices in place for milk, making it achievable for smaller farmers to maintain their greener pastures. Not only have we seen an impact on the planet with regenerative farming, but with happier cows, we’ve also seen healthier milks. 
Photo by Nikolai Chernichenko on Unsplash
Is milk actually good for you?
If we’re talking about dairy from industrial farms, no. These cows are pumped with antibiotics, are eating pesticide-laden feed, and are beyond stressed—all of these things have an impact on the milk we’re drinking. In fact, many of the cases of lactose intolerance and overall aversion to milk comes from the chemicals put into conventional dairy. But it wasn’t always like this, and it doesn’t have to be like this in the future.
Our great-grandparents remember unpasteurized, raw dairy, and many of them lived with a higher quality of life for exactly this reason. Similarly to fermented foods, like kombucha and sauerkraut, there are many live bacteria that benefit our guts that live within raw dairy but are cooked out through pasteurization.
Although pasteurization decreases risk of disease, it’s also been found that the process kills enzymes and diminishes vitamins within dairy and instead promotes pathogens, and increases the likelihood of allergies, osteoporosis, arthritis, heart disease and cancer.
Raw milk use has been studied all over the world, and all across the board it has strengthened immune systems. Raw milk builds a healthy gut wall, prevents absorption of pathogens and toxins in the gut, and ensures the assimilation of all of the beneficial nutrients within cow’s dairy.
Safety is often an issue when raw dairy is brought up, which can be completely avoided with clean and safe practices. We have to look at the health of the cows, at their feed, at their confinement, and how the farmers are collecting the milk.
Many small farmers and homesteaders have recognized the importance of washing their hands, washing udders, keeping the collection area and equipment clean, and then refrigerating the milk soon after collection. The care of the cows becomes a more complex issue, but is just as important to the safety of those drinking raw milk.
Commercial cows, who are fed mostly grains, have higher levels of pathogenic bacteria in their milk. The feed is laced with pesticides and pellets with chicken manure in them, and all of these estrogens, antibiotics, and other toxins can make their way into the milk.
Milk is only as healthy as the cow; cows fed a healthy diet of grass supplemented with hay, silage and root vegetables in the winter months have milk with higher levels of beneficial bacteria such as lactobacillus, which keep bad bacteria like E. coli in check. In Sweden, they pasture-raise their cows and have little to no incidences of salmonella in their milk. These cows also live up to 15 years versus the six years that commercial cows live.
How can you get raw dairy?
With the constant legal battles for unpasteurized dairy, it’s important to acquire raw dairy as safely as possible. In 28 of 50 states, raw milk is becoming legal again, and in some remaining states, raw milk is available through cow-sharing. Sullifarm and Kitchen, a regenerative pasture in Texas, is one of the small farms advocating for the return of raw dairy in the mainstream and has collected testimonials from folks who were once lactose intolerant and are now drinking high quality, unadulterated, good-bacteria filled milk. Although many argue that like with marijuana we need to reevaluate why raw dairy has been illegal for so long, every city, town and province is different with their dairy laws, so it’s important to check.
Owning your own cow isn’t always possible, and that’s where a cow or dairy cooperative could be the answer. Co-operatives or cow shares allow a group to pay a farmer fees for maintaining and milking the cow and then they pick up the milk from the shared cow, but they don’t pay for the milk itself. If cow sharing isn’t allowed, some people have organized farm sharing, in which a group of people buy non-voting shares in a farm and therefore are able to obtain milk from the farm in which they own shares.
Being a part of a cow share gives milk drinkers a fresher product, the ability to choose reusable packaging, and promotes a greater connection to food and its production. Small farms in general are an important tool in the redistribution of wealth and improved economic, social and health outcomes across the board. They can heal the disconnect between food producers and food consumers, and help us be in closer contact with the person who produces our food, or encourage us to produce it ourselves.
Sustainability isn’t in one thing; it’s multifaceted. We all need to be doing what is best on a small scale in order to be able to get back to our roots and eat better (and drink better) food—yes, even dairy.