Interesting information for those who are worried about the safety of consuming raw milk During the 1920s and early 1930s, several studies were carried out that compared the effects of raw versus pasteurized milk in children. In one study, 224 chilren at the Boston Dispensary were fed either raw certified milk or grade A pasteurized milk. (Archives of Pediatrics, 1926.) Those fed raw milk were healthier than those fed pasteurized milk, even when the pasteurized milk was supplemented with Cod Liver Oil. In a comparison of two groups of over 100 babies, those fed pasteurized milk had lower weight gain, more rickets and diarrhea and a greater mortality that those fed raw milk. (Archives of Pediatrics, 1929). And in a study of school children in Scotland, those given raw milk had better growth than those fed pasteurized milk. (Nature, 4/18/31). In a number of studies involving rats over several generations, researchers Scott and Erf documented normal growth, good health and gentle disposition in rats fed an exclusive raw milk diet. Rats fed pasteurixed milk were anemic, had slow growth, rough coats, loss of vitality and weight, and were very irritable, often showing a tendency to bite when handled (Jersey Bulletin, 1931 Vol 50) In studies of Guinea pigs carried out by Wulzen and Bahr, animals fed whole raw milk had excellent growth and no abnormalities; those fed whole pasteurized milk had poor growth, muscle stiffness, emaciation and weakness and death within one year. Autopsy of pasteurized milk fed animals revealed atrophied muscles streaked with calcification and tricalcium deposits under the skin and in the joints, heart and other organs (American Journal of Physiology, 1941). According to statistics posted at the US government’s centre for Disease Control Website, those consuming raw milk are 2.5 times less likely to contract food borne illness than those consuming pasteurized milk and 3.5 times less likely to contract food borne illness from consuming other foods. Raw milk contains numerous components that kill bad bacteria and strengthen the immune system. In the infant, these components provide immunity for life to any pathogen to which the baby is exposed. These components are mostly destroyed, or greatly reduced, by pasteurization. Since 1999, Organic Pastures Dairy in California has sold 40 million servings of raw milk and raw milk pruducts, without one reported illness; during the same period, there have been at least 20 recalls of pasteurized milk products in California. The most occurred in May, 2006, when 13000 inmates at 11 state prisons contracted gastroenteritis from campylobacter in half-pint cartons of pasteurized milk.