Raw milk and the rise of ‘food freedom’
Dairy farms have been in decline for decades, but you wouldn’t know it looking at Mark McAfee’s. Based in Fresno, Calif., his business has grown substantially since 2020, he said, and is on track to hit $30 million in sales this year. His company, Raw Farm, is the largest supplier of unpasteurized milk in California.
Gwyneth Paltrow is a fan of the brand, whose products can be found at the specialty grocers Erewhon and Sprouts. Podcast hosts and social-media personalities have fueled demand, claiming that raw milk is creamier, more nutritious and easier to digest than pasteurized dairy. “Influencers have really driven us in the last four years to new levels we never imagined," McAfee said in an interview.
The Food and Drug Administration has long warned Americans against drinking unpasteurized milk, which can expose consumers to salmonella, listeria and E. coli, and has the potential to cause rare and serious disorders. The FDA has said raw milk is not healthier than pasteurized and, in fact, raises the risk for harm.
Selling raw milk is legal in California and more than half of U.S. states, but its sale across state lines has long been banned by the FDA, which warns that drinking unpasteurized milk can cause bacterial outbreaks that have resulted in miscarriages, stillbirths, kidney failure and death. It can be particularly unsafe for children, the elderly, immunocompromised people and pregnant women, the agency says.
This year, the FDA warned about the risk of bird-flu contamination amid an outbreak that has infected dairy cows. Twenty states have laws on the books prohibiting raw milk in some form. But in many corners of the internet, raw milk is presented as healthy, wholesome and cool.
Read more on livemint.com
