The benefits: it contains bacteria common in mammalian breast milk, and none of the proteins have been changed by the heat of pasteurization. Many people drink

The benefits: it contains bacteria common in mammalian breast milk, and none of the proteins have been changed by the heat of pasteurization. Many people drink it as a probiotic food, and for the taste. As for the risks. An industrial milk farm skipping pasteurization would be a catastrophe. That's because some small percentage of the cows have harmful bacteria on the utter or in the milk duct, and industrial farms mix all the milk together. Bacteria multiply in the milk so even a small amount would taint the whole batch. In order for raw milk to be safe, farms have to keep the milk from each cow separate and test it. Testing for specific bacteria is reasonably accurate and cheap. When you buy a bottle of raw milk, it should be from 1 cow tested independently. That's the modern safe way to do it, not everyone is doing it right. Small farms have pivoted to raw milk because they can charge more for it. Large farms are unable to do this since they have invested heavily in processes that mix all the milk and heat it. That is the real reason for the raw milk controversy. It's bad for the milk lobby's bottom line. You would be right to think people's choice in milk is a ridiculous thing for everyone to care about, and no one really does; it just seems that way in the media and on the internet.