United States | News & Politics

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• Raw Milk on the Rise: Driven by political shifts and wellness trends, unpasteurized milk has moved from a fringe obsession to a widespread movement rooted in institutional distrust.
• The Myth of Safety: Despite stringent hygiene efforts, contamination from deadly bacteria like E. coli and salmonella remains an inherent, unavoidable risk in unpasteurized dairy.
• A Political Shield: As raw milk continues to sicken consumers, high-level lawmakers and government officials are championing the industry’s expansion rather than curbing the danger.

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If you trust 150 years of bedrock science, [raw milk] offers little reason to consume. By definition, it has not been pasteurized, the simple process of heating milk to kill off harmful bacteria. Before the practice was widely adopted a century ago, thousands of babies died each year from illnesses linked to contaminated dairy. Today, most scientists and health experts agree that raw milk has no significant, proven nutritional benefits over its sanitized counterpart, cannot treat or cure disease and subjects its consumers to over 100 times the risk of foodborne illness, which can be especially dangerous for young children.

And yet, McAfee’s farm, the largest raw-milk dairy in the country, is pulling in about $30 million a year, meeting a growing demand from customers who say they want food that hasn’t been robbed of health benefits by industrial processing.

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Regulators have linked Mark McAfee’s raw dairy farm to more than a dozen recalls and outbreaks that left hundreds of people ill.

“I’ve put a couple kids in the hospital ...,” McAfee acknowledged... “But here’s the thing: I’m a pioneer.”

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