Today, the 6th of February, the Raw Milk Institute will be presenting Raw Milk Risk Management Training at the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) conference, to a large group of dairy farmers. The three hour intensive training will focus on how to produce the “ultra low-risk raw milk” the Raw Milk Institute-listed producers have become known for. See the flyers below.
This wasn’t always the case. When American consumers started to ask for raw drinking milk in earnest - which was around the year 2007 - most farmers did not know how to produce it.
They lacked training and education, and had little guidance on how to produce the low-risk, pathogen-free raw milk consumers were looking for.
Rational standards, farmer-friendly food safety plans and an organisational seal of approval were needed, read about it here. Initially, most of America’s 50 states refused to create the infrastructure or regulations needed, and as a result; there were black markets, under-the-table sales, and some outbreaks of illness. The authors of a new study point the finger at regulators for their lack of interest in training producers. A decade ago, most dairy farmers only knew about industrial dairy, but not about producing raw milk for human consumption. It was organisations like the Raw Milk Institute (started in 2011), the Weston A. Price Foundation and others, that started with the early educational outreach that dairy farmers and consumers so desperately desired and needed.
Fortunately there is now evidence that the empowerment of dairy farmers - with what was really required - have resulted in the number of illness outbreaks from raw milk being on a dramatic downward trend. A peer-reviewed 2018 study showed a dramatic decline from 2005 to 2017, and addressed some of the publication bias presented in medical literature, read about it in this article.
The new 2020 study credit the Raw Milk Institute (RAWMI), and Canada’s British Colombia’s Herdshare Association, with helping to establish and grow the culture of testing and strict HACCP-based on-farm standards, which farmers did not have access to a decade ago.
The desire for access to high quality raw milk shows no signs of decline, and it has been a saving grace for many struggling dairy farmers. See these two examples:
A Study: Raw Milk Producers with high levels of hygiene and safety
Research into the methods and results used by the Raw Milk Institute and the German Vorzugsmilch was published in the latest edition of the Journal of Epidemiology and Infection. They concluded that “raw milk can be produced with a high level of hygiene and safety.”
The new study was published by Cambridge University Press in January 2020 authored by two European researchers Cat Berge and Ton Baars.
Read the abstract below:
There is world-wide increasing interest in the consumption of unprocessed, natural food commodities including fresh (unpasteurised) milk and milk products. Consumers are actively seeking out raw milk, partly due to health reasons, but also for taste, freshness, closeness to the producer and to support local agriculture. The need for high levels of hygiene and safety in farms producing raw milk for direct consumption has long been recognised and has led to federal and industry-initiated systems for safe raw milk production. Raw milk producers in North America and Europe have demonstrated that raw milk, intended for direct consumption, can be produced safe and hygienic. The aim of this paper is to describe practices that have been developed for safe raw milk production. The German Vorzugsmilch is a federally regulated programme for legal raw milk production that was established already in the 1930s to provide raw milk with high hygienic standards controlled for zoonotic diseases to consumers. The Raw Milk Institute is a non-profit organisation established in California that has developed a voluntary safe raw milk programme in North America. RAWMI has developed a risk analysis and management system for raw milk dairy farmers to assist farmers in making individually tailored solutions for various production systems. In British Colombia, Canada, small herd share farms have employed good manufacturing practices, a risk management approach and performed monthly samples for pathogens and indicator bacteria to demonstrate safety and consistency. The major components of the raw milk systems applied, and the results of regular milk microbial indicator bacteria are presented. For the German system, the results from standard monthly pathogen tests are compared to zoonotic pathogen tests from other milk sources. The overall results indicate that raw milk can be produced with a high level of hygiene and safety in various systems.
Download and read the full document here.
Video: Spend six minutes and learn about the importance of fresh, unpasteurized milk and what the Raw Milk Institute plans to accomplish. Video published in March 2013.
Raw Milk Institute Flyers
Click on the individual images below for an enlarged view:
David Littleproud back as Minister of Agriculture
Today in Australia, we also see David Littleproud back as Minister of Agriculture, after the resignation of Bridget McKenzie. We sincerely hope he may be able to introduce essential policy change this year, because Australian agriculture is in crisis.
The world is watching closely to see if, and what kind of policy reform, economic growth, and rural development will be introduced; to ensure rural and urban communities have food security and a more sustainable future.
The Drum recently reported on water running out in some rural Queensland towns, and Four Corners showed the ferocity of the bushfires that had raged across Australia. This week ABC Q&A also had a deep probing panel discussion on the bushfires, and the impact on rural communities who already have limited economic prospects.
Raw milk from cows for human consumption is currently illegal in Australia, unless you own the animal. We need new sustainable farming systems, that incentivises farmers to avoid overgrazing, and not use chemicals, fertilisers and other practices that may hinder soil fertility, or long term farm profitability. We need new systems that make it financially viable for farmers to keep a biodiverse permanent grassland with deep root systems, and a green protective layer on the soil, that offers protection for the soil microbes and sequester carbon.
Desertification due to poor farm practices is a key part of the human-created crises. But regenerative agriculture has key solutions through restoring landscape functions and meeting the human health crisis with nutrient-dense, chemical-free food. We need policymakers to recognise this valuable opportunity, so that farmers are actually acknowledged for carbon sequestration. It’s not just about reducing carbon emissions.
Related Articles:
Very Quietly, the Risks of Getting Sick from Raw Milk Are Going Down
Study: Raw milk producers with high levels of hygiene and safety
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0950268820000060
Raw Milk and Dairy Products Presentation, and Free Raw Milk Training
Raw Milk: Like No Other Food on Earth
