Hello saneters,
Very briefly I would like to emphasize a few points:
Milk is species specific but is a food by nature.
Milk is a source of infectious disease if cattle are infected or
handling methods are deficient. Therefore, it's indispensable to be
absolutely sure that cattle are free from zoonosis such as brucellosis
and above all, tuberculosis. If not, the risk is not worth the
benefits of raw milk, which are:
Better taste and higher nutritional quality. Once again - IF no
zoonosis is present and the milk is not contaminated during or after
milking there are benefits to those desiring to ingest cross species
infant food.
>> Can you tell me more about this brucellosis? I never heard of it.
A venereal disease in animals, not in humans, who get it mainly from
milk products. But brucella *will* penetrate intact skin, as a vet friend
found out when inseminating an infected cow without gloves.
Brucellosis had decimated some wild animal populations (i.e. mountain
sheep) but is controllable in domestic herds since only an infected
bull or cow can spread it to the rest. So check your herd and from
there is just a matter of checking the new animals brought in, if
they're of mating age. Calves not likely to be born with it, as it
causes abortions and the strain most common in cattle is brucella
abortus. Brucella melitensis is more virulent and will infect cows but
is more frequently found in goats.
Certified raw milk used to be available in 32 US states and the
certification meant that governmental inspectors came by daily.
Current laws apply mainly to milk for human consumption and raw mild
can be had if it's stated that the milk will not be used for that
purpose.
But the most serious risk is TB, prevalent in many areas, not always
noticeable and the most deadly infectious disease in the world, in
terms of the number of deaths yearly.
Douglas
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