Humans have been consuming raw milk for thousands of years. Vessel artifacts from the earliest civilizations have contained milk residue. The Sumerians consumed milk products such as butter, yogurt, and even cheese. The ancient Egyptians had clay pots filled with milk held within their tombs. And the land of milk and honey repeatedly mentioned in the bible was most likely that of clabbered milk or yogurt, as early milkers had no way to keep milk cool.
So how did we go from consuming milk in its most natural form to the processed version we have today?
Back in the 1800’s cities were booming, increasing the demand for fresh milk in the newly developed urban setting. As civilization moved from having their own milk cow on land to living in cities, transporting milk directly from the farm to homes in a timely manner was important. But cities weren’t the only thing growing in popularity, drinking fluid fresh milk straight from the cow became the new trend compared to the yogurts and cheeses that were made in the past. So farmers decided to move cows to the city for easier milk transport, creating the infamous “swill dairies.”
*It’s important to note before proceeding, that this time in our history was different than how we live today. Indoor plumbing wasn’t in place yet, so proper sanitization of milking supplies was near impossible. Cooling milk was also a concern as iceboxes weren’t created until the 1860’s, with modern refrigeration as we know it today not coming to the scene until the 1930’s.
Swill dairies were usually located in the town square or behind the town brewery. The cows were fed spent grains from local distilleries and lived in very unsanitary conditions. They were nutritionally deprived and often lived only a few months, many being milked even when they couldn’t stand. The milk they produced was grey and watery and became known as “swill milk.” Farmers would add chalk, flour, eggs, and even plaster to the milk in an attempt to make it more appealing in color and consistency. It was then sold to the public as “Pure Country Milk” even though it was anything but.
An illustration of a sick swill dairy cow from Frank Leslie’s 1800’s Illustrated Magazine.
Over the coming years, due to the poor living conditions and deteriorated health of the cows, milk from swill dairies made thousands of people sick. Diseases and heavy bacteria loads from the milk caused major intestinal upset. Sadly, many children died. This led doctors and scientists down a path to demanding “certified milk” with the desire to improve milk quality.
Groups of doctors would go to farms and inspect the cows, their feed, environment, water sources, and how the milk was handled. But this process was costly, not available everywhere, and not all farmers wanted to abide by new regulations. So in 1862 Louis Pasteur discovered and implemented pasteurization. Pasteurization is the process of heating milk to 162 degrees fahrenheit (or higher) to kill off any potentially harmful bacteria. In order to educate the public on this new process, Macy’s, the country’s largest department store, began a marketing effort in 1889 to help mothers understand “proper infant hygiene.” Mothers could come with their children, listen to presentations, see the pasteurization process, and purchase milk on site.
And so pasteurization became mainstream. A pivotal moment in our food history, where we decided to blanketly address the issue instead of demanding all farms to produce clean milk from healthy cows. Humanity has been consuming raw milk for thousands of years, yet our concept of its safety has changed within a matter of a few generations due to a group of farmers with pitiful practices.
With improvements in sanitary conditions, our modern knowledge of pathogens, and the evolvement of refrigeration, shouldn’t we be allowed the option to choose our food source?
*Raw milk is only available for pet consumption under a commercial pet food license in the state of Alabama.