By Joshua Reynolds (Age 11)

In a recorded interview with Mark McAfee, who is the owner of Organic Pastures Dairy, he said that in the 1800s, people that made rum in some cities started feeding confined cows the leftover grain after making rum because they needed to get rid of the waste. It was cheaper to feed the cows grain, than use grass. The cows were already unhealthy before eating the grains. When the people drank the raw milk from those cows, half of them died.

A French scientist named Louis Pasteur was theorizing that germs could cause disease. He brought attention to the idea of wanting to kill the bacteria before it causes us to get sick. He is credited for the process of pasteurization. Heating the milk to over 282 degrees kills all the bacteria (especially the good bacteria) and makes the milk pasteurized. Raw milk has enzymes that can actually kill E. Coli and other bad bacteria. If E. Coli gets into to pasteurized milk, drinking that milk can kill people. At pasteurization plants, the people that work there must wear suits similar to what doctors wear for surgery. They also use ammonia throughout the pasteurization plant. They must do that because once milk is pasteurized, it becomes highly vulnerable to bad bacteria. If any bacteria gets into the pasteurized milk, it will remain in the milk, and cause more problems for people. Raw milk protects itself. Raw milk is a healthier alternative than pasteurized milk.

[Our son, Joshua, is homeschooled, and this article is based on his nutrition studies.]