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milk. Regardless of your family’s decision on this matter, pasteurization should not be used as a substitute for poor farming practices. Please read the sidebar “What Happened to My Milk?” ( page 38 ) for further discussion.

    HOMOGENIZATION
    Milk straight from the cow, when left undisturbed, naturally separates into milky water topped by fatty cream. Homogenization is a mechanical process of spinning the milk at such a high velocity that it breaks down the fat molecules into smaller particles so that the milk no longer separates. The purpose is largely for aesthetics and functionality, and there is controversy over the impact of the smaller protein molecules on our digestive system. Given that Mom and I don’t mind giving a bottle of milk a shake before pouring a glass, and consider it a safer option, we always choose nonhomogenized.
    RAW
    Raw milk is any milk that has not been treated by pasteurization or homogenization. It comes straight from the cow and is loaded with natural digestive enzymes. When choosing raw, the health of the animal and the careful practices of the farmer are critical. Get to know your farmer! All milk was sold raw in the United States before routine pasteurization began in the 1920s. To utilize the beneficial enzymes, you’ll see that we use quality raw milk products for all dairy recipes that are unheated, such as our Homemade Milk Kefir, Homemade Whole Milk Buttermilk, and Homemade Crème Fraîche (pages 42–45).
    IN SUMMARY
    Sometimes in the grocery store aisles, navigating milk products feels difficult and complicated. Therefore, to simplify this process, we suggest you locate and purchase milk products from a responsible, grass-based farmer. More often than not, the milk they sell is grass-fed, organic, whole-fat, unpasteurized, nonhomogenized, old-fashioned … raw milk.
    “WHAT HAPPENED TO MY MILK?”
    by Sandy Schrecengost
    As a kid, I never analyzed milk. I just drank it. Big words like
pasteurized
and
homogenized
meant nothing to me. I loved milk, fired straight from the cow by my grandpa, or scooped from the milk house cooler in the heat of summer.
    How times have changed. It’s no longer easy—and in some states even illegal—to buy raw milk. Even the term
raw
is new. Milk just used to be milk; now it’s heated and treated and stuffed with additives and antibiotics. Make no mistake, Molly and I support safe, healthy farming practices. Animals carry pathogens. We get that. Consequently, cows need to get to pasture and their spaces must be clean. Farm sanitation isn’t something to be taken lightly. Yet it turns out some of these genuine attempts to ensure safe milk are complicating that effort and diminishing nutrition in the process.
    The downside of such a broad stroke like pasteurization is that while it can be helpful, it can also be harmful. The high-heat processing destroys the healthy enzymes and beneficial bacteria which are present in raw milk and critical for digestion and assimilation of dairy. Pasteurization also significantly alters the very make-up of milk by altering the milk protein, and even diminishing milk’s inherit vitamin content (see www.westonaprice.org ). This kind of processing ultimately puts Nature’s wisdom up against man’s ever-changing knowledge.
    When farm practices are healthy and the inherent needs of the animal are respected, consuming raw milk holds great advantage over processed milk. A study published in the highly respected journal
Lancet
showed raw milk reduces tooth decay—even in kids who eat sugar. A study published by Ohio State University showed that raw milk also promotes calcium absorption, which is so important amid the challenges of osteoporosis, and also results in far less allergic skin issues. But a staggering reason to consider raw over pasteurized is asthma. This unfortunate condition is reaching frightening proportions in our own nation’s children. Yet another
Lancet
study showed that raw milk consumption greatly