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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To switch to Raw milk?

180 replies

eggybreadyy · 17/04/2025 14:24

What are your thoughts on Raw milk?

With the current hot topic of ultra-processed food, and trying to reduce this. Mainly for healthy reasons. I am considering switching to raw milk.
Upon googling lots of advice why not to do this, especially for children.
I have seen that it can have lots of health benefits if sourced from a reputable raw milk farmer.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
5
Teisen1990 · 17/04/2025 18:47

eggybreadyy · 17/04/2025 14:39

Why are half the people on here so condescending and pretentious? 😂

Perhaps you could explain why you think this is a good idea? Then we can either agree with you're reasoning or save you from making a mistake

Kdubs1981 · 17/04/2025 18:55

Absolutely batshit. Pasteurisation does not equal ultra processed

ElleneAsanto · 17/04/2025 18:58

Cow's milk: the verdict

Cow's milk can be an useful source of calcium, protein, vitamins and minerals, and concerns about it being full of hormones and antibiotics here in the UK are unfounded.
The use of hormones to increase milk yields is illegal in the UK and EU, and antibiotics are only allowed to be given to cows to treat disease.
Milk is tested for traces of antibiotics before it reaches us to ensure it's safe for consumption.
If you're considering plant-based alternatives, look for options that are fortified, and make sure you check the sugar levels. See our full guide to plant-based milks for more.

www.which.co.uk/news/article/milk-myths-8-common-cows-milk-concerns-debunked-ad0070G46Mnl

BeMintFatball · 17/04/2025 19:05

Spectacularly bad idea. Dd and her partner went to a cow cuddling experience. As bat shit crazy as it sounds.

Farmer offered a taste of raw milk. Dd took a sip and got away with it. Her partner didn’t want to offend the farmer and drank the whole lot. He was very ill. Diarrhoea

Don’t do it

SporadicMincePieMuncher · 17/04/2025 19:08

Random sidequest: If you follow The Hoof GP on Instagram he often treats cows in the UK with gorey infected hooves. Often they will have already been injected with antibiotics to start treating the infection, and that cow will be marked with red on their rump and tail to make it clear that their milk should NOT go into the human food chain (They obviously still need to be milked to be comfortable but it gets poured away). Because we don't allow antibiotics into our food chain. Although watch this space if we renegotiate trade deals with America...

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 17/04/2025 19:19

US farming and UK farming are very different. Why do so many people watch US 'influencers' on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram and immediately assume what they're saying is (a) true anywhere and (b) applicable to the UK?

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 17/04/2025 19:26

LuckyShark · 17/04/2025 14:43

I had TB a few years ago.
We traced it back and believe i must have caught it when I drank raw milk as a child at a friend's farm.

100% do not recommend contacting TB

We were vaccinated in P6 here and I was told I didnt need it, so I was infected before age 10. It seems to be the only way I could have caught it.

We had unpasteurised milk for a few years in the early 1970s when we lived near the farm where it was produced. The farmer did the milkround. When I was 13 we were going to be vaccinated against TB at school. It was a two-stage process. First you had a test to see if you were already immune by virtue of having had exposure to TB. If you were, you didn't get the jab the following week. I was immune. I couldn't understand it but on reflection in the years since I think it must have been from the milk. I don't think I've ever had active TB. I do wonder why the nurse didn't say to get a chest X-ray just to make sure, though!

wastingtimeonhere · 17/04/2025 19:43

Weirdly one of the lads was talking about this today, he gets milk from a farm. Refuses to buy milk from a supermarket as its 'arla' and 'they' put chemicals in it apparently. It's all part of the plan to mass poison the population 🤔 along with chemtrails and geo-engineering

Misspacorabanne · 17/04/2025 19:45

I grew up on raw milk, I grew up on a farm! I was sick a hell of a lot as a child, in fact the whole family was, I thought it was just normal childhood sickness bugs but now I’m wondering otherwise! It’s only since having my own children that I now realise it’s not usual to be sick so often! So I’d avoid it op!

rainbowunicorn · 17/04/2025 19:52

eggybreadyy · 17/04/2025 14:39

Why are half the people on here so condescending and pretentious? 😂

Probably because you are equating boiling milk with UPF. It shows a pretty poor understanding of what a UPF is.
A quick Google would have given you plenty of reasons not to switch to raw milk.

jimmyhill · 17/04/2025 19:55

Enjoy your raw milk and whatever else is in it

To switch to Raw milk?
drspouse · 17/04/2025 20:06

Fluffyhoglets · 17/04/2025 16:39

I did not know that!
Thankfully I've never contemplated drinking unpasteurised milk!

This isn't true. It's BETTER at protecting from other types of TB which can actually be harmful but it's good on pulmonary TB.

FeministUnderTheCatriarchy · 17/04/2025 20:15

I had it all the time growing up in NZ, but I would only do so when I know the source. No one I know has ever been sick after drinking raw milk, but there are risks.

It is delicious though

Coolasfeck · 17/04/2025 20:21

This is the latest fad in ‘alt-right’ circles apparently. I read a piece by Elon Musks (twice) ex wife Taluluah Riley, who came across as deeply strange, talking about her love for raw milk and how she drinks it every day.

These types all follow these fads they’ve learned from odd science fiction type ‘philosophers’ i. e grifters who probably appear on various ‘registers’, in their quest to live forever and move to Mars or some such doodoo.

Mumofthree8 · 17/04/2025 20:25

Those living in the UK should really check out our legislation!! We have far stricter rules than the US, where many of the influencers are based. Concerns about cows milk being full of hormones and antibiotics here in the UK are unfounded.
The use of hormones to increase milk yields is ILLEGAL in the UK and antibiotics are only allowed to be given to cows to treat disease, the milk from previously treated cows is tested for traces of antibiotics before it can be sold to ensure it's safe for consumption. We test every cow and then the bulk tankers are tested again before it gets to the processing plant. So much misinformation. We drink our milk straight from the tank but I always ask guests their preference.

HairyToity · 17/04/2025 20:29

I grew up on unpasteurised milk (farmer's daughter), and it didn't make me ill. There was probably a risk but it was all we all ever knew, and never questioned it.

lunaemma · 17/04/2025 20:39

I had it as a child and was incredibly unwell after it
never again

Biffbaff · 17/04/2025 20:50

CromartyForth · 17/04/2025 15:45

Raw milk is delicious . There 's a farm near (ish) me that's all set up with vending machines for milk, milkshakes, butter, cheese and ice-cream. Just wish it was closer 🐄

Surely this milk is pasteurised - you must mean fresh rather than raw.

Plmnki · 17/04/2025 20:54

Well if you drink this milk and then die, you won’t be passing our your incredibly low IQ, so that’s a positive for future generations.

TheeNotoriousPIG · 17/04/2025 21:08

As someone with experience on various UK dairy farms, I know quite a lot of farming families that drink raw milk, taken straight from the tank. Saying that, though, farming families seem to have much more robust immune systems- possibly because they're exposed to muck and germs on a daily basis!

On every dairy farm I've ever been to, the cows, goats and sheep have their udders cleaned and dried prior to milking. Some cows do have very dirty udders, so they are sprayed with a hosepipe before being dipped, dried and milked. Their teats are then sprayed with a substance which allegedly encourages the teats to 'seal' and protect themselves from disease. Unlike goats (which do not pee or poo in the parlour, unless ill), sheep and cows have no issue with peeing and pooing in there. That's what the hosepipes are for, to wash down the milking platforms between sides, as well as teat cleaner and wipes.

Milk is taken either every day, or every other day, depending on the milk contract. A small sample of milk is taken and labelled by the tanker, which allows the processing plant to measure the bactoscan (how clean the milk is) and the somatic cell count (if it shows a high cell count all of a sudden, you're likely to have a cow or two with mastitis) and whether or not it contains antibiotics. You receive bactoscan and cell count readings on a daily basis, and you can be penalised if results are too high. You'll be alerted very quickly if you are suspected to have put antibiotics into the tank.

Antibiotics are not routinely given to dairy animals in the UK. They are only administered to treat health problems (e.g. infections such as mastitis), and those cows are then marked both in person and on the computer system. This blocks them from being milked into a normal tank. They are milked on dump buckets, and the milk is thrown away as it is unfit for consumption. Cows that have been treated with antibiotics will be barred from the tank until the withdrawal period has ended. This varies depending on the medication that they've been given. If antibiotics are found in your milk, farmers face large fines and may risk losing their milk contract if it is a regular problem. As milk cheques are a regular payment, nobody wants to lose their contract!

Growth hormones, or ones given to increase milk yield, are illegal in the UK. UK farming regulations are apparently among the strictest in the world, with higher welfare standards. There are penalties if you are in breach of any of these. I have only ever known for hormones to be administered in exceptional cases, to treat follicular cysts, which may cause issues with fertility. Obviously, dairy animals need to have calves to produce milk, so cysts must be treated.

In addition to all of this, milk is sampled on a monthly basis by the National Milk Records. A small sample is taken from every cow, and data is given to individual farms. You can use it to pick out cows which have high cell counts, which might be due to things like mastitis.

TB testing is usually carried out every six months. TB testing days are fraught with tension, because if you're found to have TB on your farm, you cannot sell or move livestock on or off your farm. I've never been on a farm with TB.

There are farms which sell raw milk directly to the public, but they're quite few and far between.

PartyGoose · 17/04/2025 21:50

wastingtimeonhere · 17/04/2025 19:43

Weirdly one of the lads was talking about this today, he gets milk from a farm. Refuses to buy milk from a supermarket as its 'arla' and 'they' put chemicals in it apparently. It's all part of the plan to mass poison the population 🤔 along with chemtrails and geo-engineering

"they" ....

To switch to Raw milk?
Panterusblackish · 17/04/2025 22:11

I really think you should go for it.

But then I'm a big believer in Darwinism and i think if someone is daft enough to ignore perfectly safe pasteurised milk to drink milk that is needlessly dangerous to their health, then perhaps as a species they're not our best bet.

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 18/04/2025 06:51

TheeNotoriousPIG · 17/04/2025 21:08

As someone with experience on various UK dairy farms, I know quite a lot of farming families that drink raw milk, taken straight from the tank. Saying that, though, farming families seem to have much more robust immune systems- possibly because they're exposed to muck and germs on a daily basis!

On every dairy farm I've ever been to, the cows, goats and sheep have their udders cleaned and dried prior to milking. Some cows do have very dirty udders, so they are sprayed with a hosepipe before being dipped, dried and milked. Their teats are then sprayed with a substance which allegedly encourages the teats to 'seal' and protect themselves from disease. Unlike goats (which do not pee or poo in the parlour, unless ill), sheep and cows have no issue with peeing and pooing in there. That's what the hosepipes are for, to wash down the milking platforms between sides, as well as teat cleaner and wipes.

Milk is taken either every day, or every other day, depending on the milk contract. A small sample of milk is taken and labelled by the tanker, which allows the processing plant to measure the bactoscan (how clean the milk is) and the somatic cell count (if it shows a high cell count all of a sudden, you're likely to have a cow or two with mastitis) and whether or not it contains antibiotics. You receive bactoscan and cell count readings on a daily basis, and you can be penalised if results are too high. You'll be alerted very quickly if you are suspected to have put antibiotics into the tank.

Antibiotics are not routinely given to dairy animals in the UK. They are only administered to treat health problems (e.g. infections such as mastitis), and those cows are then marked both in person and on the computer system. This blocks them from being milked into a normal tank. They are milked on dump buckets, and the milk is thrown away as it is unfit for consumption. Cows that have been treated with antibiotics will be barred from the tank until the withdrawal period has ended. This varies depending on the medication that they've been given. If antibiotics are found in your milk, farmers face large fines and may risk losing their milk contract if it is a regular problem. As milk cheques are a regular payment, nobody wants to lose their contract!

Growth hormones, or ones given to increase milk yield, are illegal in the UK. UK farming regulations are apparently among the strictest in the world, with higher welfare standards. There are penalties if you are in breach of any of these. I have only ever known for hormones to be administered in exceptional cases, to treat follicular cysts, which may cause issues with fertility. Obviously, dairy animals need to have calves to produce milk, so cysts must be treated.

In addition to all of this, milk is sampled on a monthly basis by the National Milk Records. A small sample is taken from every cow, and data is given to individual farms. You can use it to pick out cows which have high cell counts, which might be due to things like mastitis.

TB testing is usually carried out every six months. TB testing days are fraught with tension, because if you're found to have TB on your farm, you cannot sell or move livestock on or off your farm. I've never been on a farm with TB.

There are farms which sell raw milk directly to the public, but they're quite few and far between.

Thank you, this is a really useful and informative post.

KaToby · 18/04/2025 07:05

Milk isn’t a UPF. Hth