Patrick Langan

Science of food and cooking

10 January 2014

Pasteurization

                Pasteurization has become a commonly practiced technique to remove bacteria in milk.  By simply heating milk to 145° F for half an hour, all bacteria is killed and is safe to drink.  Some raw milk enthusiasts argue that there is a great amount of nutritional value in unpasteurized milk that should be utilized.  There have been cases of raw milk coming in handy with problems such as asthma, and allergy difficulties.  Although there seems to be a chance of benefit, health authorities question the ethics of the sale of the product if it is not consistently safe.  I disagree.  If an individual would like to take a chance at trying the product for potential benefit, they should have the freedom to do so, especially when there are potential benefits for sick individuals seeking wellness.  Although pasteurization is a guarantee of “clean milk”, I do not think it would be ethical to outlaw this product. 

                As an American, there are many freedoms we are blessed with.  Living in the capitalistic society we live in today, it is important to realize that there are products we have the freedom to buy that might not necessarily be the healthiest for our bodies.  Cigarettes and alcohol are sold in stores and they are proven to be one of the worst things you can ingest into your body.  The country we live in is founded on freedom, and to have the freedom to buy milk revoked because it might make you sick does not seem ethical when there are products on the shelves that not only have no health benefits, but also will guarantee health problems later in life with continued use.  They might not directly lead to acute diseases after one use, but they are not used for their potential health benefits either.  The fact is that there are good bacteria in milk as well as bad bacteria.  While pasteurization kills the bad bacteria in the milk, it also kills the good bacteria that is has potential to help fight health ailments. 

                Living in an urban type area growing up, I actually never even heard of anyone drinking raw milk.  My impression of this product is that it is not consumed on a regular basis by the majority of the population for obvious reasons.  The risks are very apparent that when drinking unpasteurized milk there is potential for dangerous health issues following consumption.  That being said, I would assume that more often the individuals searching for raw milk products would be looking for a potential health benefit that has been observed in the past.  If the individual looking for the product is sincerely looking to better themselves by drinking raw milk, they must be pretty desperate because in modern medicine there are many alternatives that could be safer.  As long as the product has labels on the packaging that reiterates the warnings to the buyer of the potential bacterial problems, I think that it should be legal to sell.

                Food safety news reported that raw milk has very serious potential dangers and the ethics of the sales are coming into question by health authorities.  The weaker immune systems are most often affected by these problems including children and the elderly; in recent proximity to the publication of the article, 9 children were suffering from health problems that were attributed to the consumption of the raw milk.  Five of the nine children were hospitalized, three of which actually developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, which is a serious kidney problem.  The Tennessee Department of Health State Epidemiologist Tim Jones remarked, “Milk from the healthiest-appearing cows in the cleanest dairy operations can still contain deadly microorganisms”.  This process is just too inconsistent to gamble with peoples’ lives.  Food safety experts also argued that the health benefits discussed from raw milk were not actually based on science, but rather anecdotal claims.  Although there are clear dangers of using this product, the ban from legal sale is unethical because people are free to be able to buy products if they believe they will receive help from the product.  Even if they do not believe they will receive health benefit (cigarettes), they are still legally able to buy dangerous products.  Capitalism is motivated by the drive to sell unique products with unique uses.  Also, although the product can be dangerous in certain cases, it can also be tested before sold.  With the questionable ethics of the sale of this product, one would think that there would be some method to test whether the batch of milk is contaminated or not.  People should be able to pursue their own remedies within certain boundaries, and the sale of raw milk seems completely ethical in my opinion. 

                The question of ethics in this situation is clear.  Although there are health risks, the majority of the population will not be pursuing this beverage and if there are potential health benefits it should remain legal.  If a technique to test batches of milk prior to sale, it would resolve this problem as well.  If I was suffering from allergies and had tried all other options, I would like to give raw milk a try to see if it aided my problem.