Question About Milk vs Goat Milk

Please do not give your children raw milk. There are many very dangerous pathogens that can be harbored in raw milk, and children with immature immune systems are acutely sensitive to diseases caused by these pathogens.

The CDC reports that from 1998 to 2005 there were 39 outbreaks associated with unpasteurized milk or cheese. These outbreaks resulted in an estimated 831 illnesses, 66 hospitalizations and 1 death. Note that these are just the reported outbreaks; actual numbers of illness are probably much higher.

Below are some links that outline the dangers of raw milk and raw milk products. (In response to a previous poster, yes, E. coli is in fact one of the pathogens implicated in human disease caused by raw milk. Recent outbreaks of disease caused by E. coli in raw milk products occurred in Washington state, California, and Ontario.)

Here are a couple links with basic information:
http://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/cheesespotlight/cheese_spo...

http://www.doh.state.fl.us/chdJackson/Documents/raw_milk_...

Here's a list of actual recent disease outbreaks that have been associated with raw milk:
http://www.foodsafety.ksu.edu/articles/384/RawMilkOutbrea...

Here's a link to a page compiled by a lawyer who works with food-borne disease outbreaks (LOTS of info here):
http://www.marlerblog.com/admin/mt-xsearch.cgi?blog_id=63...

Even if you consider the risks of food-borne pathogens to be too small to worry about (which may be true until YOUR child becomes one of the statistics), there's a "grossness" factor to raw milk that becomes evident with a little investigation. I'm a veterinarian, and I've been in many dairy barns and I've seen plenty of cases of mastitis (udder infection) in cows. Granted farmers *might* not milk a cow with mastitis, but what about the day before her infection becomes severe enough to be noticed?

Are you familiar with the term "somatic cell count"? Somatic cells are basically pus, in layman's terms, and an elevated SCC is an indicator of mastitis. An SCC of 300,000 cells per milliliter indicates infection with "significant pathogens"; currently the United States requires that the SCC of a bulk tank be less than 750,000 cells/ml. In comparison, the standard in Canada is less than 500,000 cells/ml and most European countries require less than 400,000 cells/ml.

Here's an informative article about milk quality:
http://www.uwex.edu/MilkQuality/PDF/milksecretionandquali...

The bottom line is, I think serving raw milk is similar to playing Russian roulette with your child's health. Is it really worth the risk? Pasteurization is our friend.

**Added in response to another poster who said "the studies between raw milk and pasteurized/
homogenized milk say all there needs to be said on the matter." What studies are these??? I'm curious.

I looked up a few studies of my own- here are some links:
http://jds.fass.org/cgi/content/abstract/82/12/2620
http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=2091970
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16772561
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-###-###-####.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3053547?ordinalpos=1&a...
http://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/abs/10.2460/ajvr.2000.61...
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/299/4/402?maxto...

The bottom line? Milk has lots of bacteria. You wouldn't eat raw meat, why would you consider consuming the raw body fluids of a cow? Yuck.

3 moms found this helpful

My boys didn't move to cows milk at a year, and they are both the picture of healthy. They nursed beyond a year, and around 18mos I intro'd a little 1% milk and goats milk, and we moved to almond milk almost exclusively. I do use 1% for cooking/baking, but the boys use almond milk on their cereal and they drink water.

Cows milk isn't necessary. Our bodies were meant to process calcium and other nutrients from foods, not cows milk. Greens, veggies, fruits contain the nutrietns and vitamins your body needs. Just 10mins of sunlight a week contains all hte vitamin D your body needs, and its processed 100% when it comes naturally.

Keep nursing her as long as you wish. Your milk grows and changes with your daughters needs. Especially this time of year when your milk provides antibodies against illnesses, you are giving her the best protection ever.

2 moms found this helpful

My whole family has been drinking raw milk and we love it! We drink cow's milk as I personally don't like the taste of goat's milk.

A great book you might read is called, "The Untold Story of Milk."

I think raw milk is an awesome option, you couldn't pay me to go back to conventional milk, you may as well just give me water because conventional milk has no nutritional benefits. I know there will be plenty to argue that point, but do your homework, it's there in black and white.

2 moms found this helpful

My family drinks raw milk and we're pretty far from crunchy granola-types. I can't tolerate pastuerized milk (lactose intolerant), but thrive on raw milk. There aren't any risks if you buy from a clean, reputable farm. You are far more likely to get e. coli from cooked ground beef than to get a bacterial infection from raw milk (raw milk doesn't harbor e. coli). FWIW, my mom just had a horrible e. coli infection this past summer from a hamburger and I had salmonella poisoning from the Schwan's push-up outbreak in the 90's. It was bad, and I'm extremely careful about the meat/eggs/poultry I buy (I will Never buy ground beef from a mass distributor again), but I'm not concerned at all about our raw milk. Plus it tastes wonderful and is fantastic for cooking!

1 mom found this helpful

I'm sure you will be getting more responses that will try to scare you BUT our family has been drinking raw cows milk for 7 or 8 years now.

I can't stand pasturized milk anymore. I tend to get bathroom troubles when I do! Our bodies can't digest pasturized milk but raw cows milk or goats milk is great! (We've never tried the goats milk but are planning to within a couple years.) We farm so we drink our own milk but as long as you know you are getting milk from a reputable farm I'd say go for it! Make sure they don't use BST. Ask them if they get any quality awards for low somatic cell count. I would NOT drink milk that has a high somatic cell count...... I'm weary about drinking other raw milk unless I truely know where it came from and how well they take care of their cows. So just check the farm out!

I've heard of many people who can't drink store milk and are able to handle raw cows or goats milk. So there is definitely something to this.

I also breasfed. Our first till 6 or 7 months and our second STRICTLY till 9 months and then weaned at 18 months. Congrats on your decision to make your family healthier!

1 mom found this helpful

We just changed to organic milk, it is more than twice the price, but it stays good longer. I like how it tastes better than plain ole milk. It seems more like the "straight from the cow" stuff to me.

Hi S.,
I've heard that goat milk is much more digestible and closer to breast milk. Didn't think of this 15 years ago. Would like to get goats milk to drink myself. :)
Enjoy your 2 girls! I was home with my son since he was 2.
Blessings,
S.
mamasource home business owner.

you can definatly do goats milk. kids who are allergic to cows milk have no problem with goats milk. also, remember that cows milk is made specifically for baby cows who gain 80 POUNDS in the first year. our babies are not meant to have that rate of growth, so what im saying is that there is FAR too much fats and etc in cows milk. goats milk i dont know what kind of growth is expected to compare it, but obviously, cows grow a lot bigger than goats!

so i would go with goats milk. :)

S.,

I've heard good things about goats milk for those who don't tolerate regular cow's milk. When I was a baby, my parents (who would have registered on the "back to the land hippy" scale got a goat to milk for me since I didn't do well with the raw milk from their cow :) Oh - those were the days.

I've nursed my 3 babies, and have not had any problems switching to whole milk at a year. I purchase the kind without growth hormones, or organic (when I have a coupon). My kids nursed to about a year and a half, and by then were drinking a nice amount of milk.

Good luck!
Jessica

If I were to go raw, I'd go with goat milk (I have a casein allergy and can't do cow). Soy is high in estrogen, and many people are unaware that they are intolerant to it; most soy is also GMO. I'd also recommend goat over milk; goat is easier to digest, and many kids are allergic to cow milk, but it goes undetected (it's suspected I've been allergic to cow milk my whole life; I didn't find out until I was 40 years old and very sick).

To any naysayers who say don't drink raw--there is nothing wrong with raw milk, as long as it comes from grass-fed cows who aren't given antibiotics or hormones. The reason the FDA had commercial milk pasteurized had to do with allowing farmers to let their animals live in squalor; it has nothing to do with "keeping us safe" from harm and, in fact, kills most of the good stuff in the milk. Homogenization was done to extend the shelf life of milk--and leaves milk a dead thing; there is nothing of value in milk after it's been both pasteurized and homogenized.

People can argue with me until they're blue in the face, but the studies between raw milk and pasteurized/
homogenized milk say all there needs to be said on the matter.

Raw milk, on the other hand, is full of lots of beneficial stuff that's good for your body. Keep doing your research; you'll find that eating fresh, organic food is the best thing you could possibly ever do for your body, as is eating raw food.

Our food supply is horribly depleted in nutrients these days; we can thank AgriBusiness, Big Pharma, Big Corporations, the FDA, and a multitude of others for the pitiful food we're left to nourish our starving bodies with. It's all part of the greater plan to keep us sick and in need of Big Pharma's meds. After all, when you go to the doctor when you're sick, they never, ever talk about food and nutrition and what you can take naturally to heal your body, do they? No, they always want to write out a prescription for a drug. Believe me; I've spent two years educating myself on the whole "sick-care" culture of our medical system as I attempt to heal myself. No one will ever convince me that there isn't a conspiracy afloat to keep me sick through the food I eat. Which is why I refuse to buy food in a grocery store. No thanks.

You're a wonderful mom for wanting to give your children the best there is; raw milk is a wonderful start. Bless you.

Goat's milk is the closest thing to breast milk. It is deficient in Folic acid though so you can buy capsules of folic acid and open it up and stir it into yogurt, applesauce, etc. My son was on goat's milk from about 9 months old (supplementing for breast milk b/c I was running out)up to 2 years old. We bought ours at health hut in a half gallon. You can also buy it dry in a can....James did not seem to like that way. Also make sure your dd is getting vit d. have a super day!

You can try either, but you don't NEED to if y ou don't want to! Your milk has everything she needs Having a nursing toddler is VERY relaxing-- you don;t have to worry about pumping or supply because they're eating good, and the days they don't eat you don't worry because they'll just nurse more that night! Not to mention all the flu stuff...

Our family drinks organic raw milk from grass-fed cows. It's the best!!! It's not dangerous as some think as long as it's from a good source. There's even a homemade baby formula recipe using this milk that I've made before.

I'm sure if you've been doing your homework, you know this is pretty controversial. While it is gaining in popularity, there are plenty more people and experts (medical and otherwise) who contend drinking raw milk and other unpasteurized products is dangerous to say the least. Especially for children and pregnant women and their unborn babies.

Proponents of raw milk say it's health benefits outweigh the risks of contracting a deadly bacterial illness such as E-coli or listeria. Propenent say it builds up the immune system and is a great alternative for those with dairy allergies.

I have several friends who drink raw milk and goats milk, and also give this to their children. They swear by it as many of them have children with food allergies.

Though my friends were rather put off that I don't let my kids eat or drink any of their food made with the milk, I have good reason to be wary.

I had e-coli before, but not from raw milk or goats milk. I almost died and can tell you that experience was worse than the hives outbreak or any other illness I've ever experienced. I was in the hospital for a week on IV drips and will spare you the details what this bug did to my insides. I went septic and my organs went haywire. I even had a ruptured appendicitis all brought on by the bacteria. That was enough for me to not want to risk my children or myself ever going through anything like that with unpasteurized milk..

I have provided several links that provide information from both sides of the issue. I have several links that detail why it's good and all of the benefits of drinking raw milk.

I also have links to sites that warn of it's dangers. I even found a link to one mom's blog that recounts a terrible story of two families that got very sick from drinking raw milk while visiting a farm.

I know I didn't provide any clear answers, but hopefully the information here will provide some food for thought, no pun intended.

http://www.naturalnews.com/024259_raw_milk_food_health.html

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/576782_2

http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/2008/04/articles/raw-m...

http://www.realmilk.com/appeal-jun06-testimonials.html

http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/living-well-usn/...

http://www.westonaprice.org/children/rawmilk.html

Hi S.! My daughter has been drinking goat's milk since she was 12 months old. She was mostly breastfed and we supplemented formula which clued us in to a milk sensitivity. We went straight to goat's milk due to the fact that the casein ratio in goat's milk is smaller/ fat globules are smaller than cow's milk and easier for a human to digest. My daughter loves it and I can tell a marked difference in, particularly, her bowel habits when she drinks cow's milk instead of her usual goat's milk.

As far as raw goes, I am all for it. The pro's for raw are much greater than the con's. We use Meyenberg's brand just because I can't find a local farmer who sells goat's milk and I am NOT EXCITED about milking a goat myself! ;)

Good luck in your research and your decision!

Hi, when my daughter was "moving on" past the breast we switched to goats Milk and at times mixed it with soy. She loved it! I have now learned that soy is high in estragen but she turned out fine.... and healthy. No ear infections or illnesses of that nature. My Midwife suggested that goat is more similar to breast...that is why we went that route. Good luck!