5. Regarding children, consuming raw milk complete with intact natural microbes (microbiota) is beneficial to health.
a. Just as children benefit from raw breastmilk and its protective microbiota, children (and adults) also benefit from raw cow milk complete with its protective microbiota that enhance health of gut, immune, nervous, and respiratory systems (Coleman et al., 2021; Dietert et al., 2022).
b. No child has died in the US from consuming raw milk in recent decades based on CDC data for 2005-2020 (Stephenson et al., 2024).
c. Children with allergies to pasteurized milk tolerated raw milk consumption with no adverse effects while smaller volumes of pasteurized milk triggered adverse effects (Abbring, 2019).
d. Children consuming raw milk in multiple large studies developed no diarrheal illness, significantly fewer respiratory and ear infections, protection from inflammatory disease including atopy, asthma, and eczema, and improved immunologic and lung function later in life (Perkin and Stranchan, 2006; Depner et al., 2013; Loss et al. 2015; von Mutius 2016; Wyss et al., 2018; Brick et al., 2020; Dietert et al. 2022).
6. Claims that raw milk is ‘inherently dangerous’ and that ‘risks exceed benefits’ are unfounded and not supported by the body of scientific evidence.
a. Recent trends in unpasteurized fluid milk outbreaks, legalization, and consumption in the United States (Whitehead and Lake, 2018). CDC data from 2005-2016 documents 1,903 illnesses associated with pasteurized milk and 1,735 illnesses associated with raw milk. The rate of raw milk related outbreaks is decreasing, meanwhile the consumption of raw milk is increasing. The authors concluded that, “Controlling for growth in population and consumption, the outbreak rate has effectively decreased by 74% since 2005.” The study suggested that the improving food safety record is the result of expanded safety training for raw milk dairy producers.
b. Examining Evidence of Benefits and Risks for Pasteurizing Donor Breastmilk (Coleman et al., 2021). Seventy-one studies were cited documenting evidence for benefits and risks of raw breastmilk for infants. Evidence of benefits was clear, convincing, and conclusive, while evidence for infectious disease risks to infants consuming raw breastmilk was limited. Supporting studies provided evidence of plausible mechanisms of benefits of ‘seeding and feeding’ the infant gut ecosystem, notably providing ‘colonization resistance’ or protection against pathogens and stimulating balanced development of infant immune systems.
c. Nourishing the Human Holobiont to Reduce the Risk of Non-Communicable Diseases: A Cow’s Milk Evidence Map Example (Dietert et al., 2022). The study cited 135 studies illuminating raw bovine milk as a superfood complete with its natural microbiota intact and chosen by humans for 12,000 years. Study noted consistent evidence of raw bovine milk benefits (promotion of gut, immune, and lung health; protection from infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases) but limited evidence of risks of infectious disease.
d. Trends in Burdens of Disease by Transmission Source (USA, 2005–2020) and Hazard Identification for Foods: Focus on Milkborne Disease (Stephenson et al., 2024). The study assessed trends for CDC data from all transmission sources for 2005-2020 and found that the burden of illness and mortality was dominated by person-to-person transmission. Foodborne disease accounted for 21% of the disease burden with no increasing trend. Foods representing the greatest hazards were identified for campylobacteriosis (pasteurized and raw milk), illness from Shiga toxigenic E. coli (leafy green vegetables and beef), listeriosis (melons and pasteurized solid dairy products), and salmonellosis (poultry and leafy vegetables). Fatal foodborne disease was dominated by fruits, vegetables, peanut butter, and pasteurized dairy. No increasing trend of raw milk illnesses were observed overall or for any state, nor did rates of illness increase after legislation to allow greater access to raw milk.
This is an excerpt from Peg Coleman’s article, “'Dread Reckoning' And 'Blind Spots' for Oral Transmission of H5N1”. Peg Coleman is a medical microbiologist, microbial risk analyst, and a Fellow of the Society for Risk Analysis. Peg Coleman is on the Advisory Board for Raw Milk Institute. You can view Peg’s full article here: https://www.colemanscientific.org/blog/2025/5/21/dread-reckoning-and-blind-spots-for-oral-transmission-of-h5n1
References
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