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Its very tasty. I used to be able to buy raw milk from a local farm but its largely been killed off by regulation (in the UK). It is highly unlikely to be dang

Its very tasty. I used to be able to buy raw milk from a local farm but its largely been killed off by regulation (in the UK). It is highly unlikely to be dangerous enough to have a significant, or even measurable, effect on life expectancies.

bluGill 1y ago
> It is highly unlikely to be dangerous enough to have a significant, or even measurable, effect on life expectancies. Assuming you are a normal healthy adult who gets plenty of nutrition - like someone in the modern world. If you are eating near starvation your immune system won't be as strong. If you are otherwise unhealthy the potential bacteria can overwhelm you...
- Spooky23 1y ago
  So, do you leave your burritos out for 3 hours so the listeria can grow? Online arguments about anything like this since COVID boil down to “if you don’t die, it’s ok”. An old or sick person can easily die from food poisoning. If you are hearty and hale, you’re going to feel like crap and get stuff like violent diarrhea.
  - bluGill 1y ago
    most milk doesn't even have anything growing in it. If you take care in storage - refrigeration, clean containers, and use it fast you are probably safe. Probably is of course odds and so if everyone did it there would be deaths - but most people would never be sick
    - Spooky23 1y ago
      Most chicken doesn’t either. Yet we don’t eat rare, juicy chicken. It’s a risk. There’s a long history of sick and dead people associated with raw milk.
      - graemep 1y ago
        its not a comparable risk, not even remotely. 26 deaths, 356 hospitalised, and less than 1% of food borne disease outbreaks over a 26 year period in England and Wales: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6805749/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6805749/ ANY food would be safer cooked, but most people eat quite a lot raw.
- graemep 1y ago
  The thing about milk is that its usually pretty obvious if its gone off. The risk lies in certain diseases (TB is the highest risk) which can kill. However, there is a TB vaccine.
  - HankStallone 1y ago
    And some entire US states have been declared TB-free and/or brucellosis free, and cows are routinely tested under various circumstances to ensure that they stay that way. So some of the risks of the past, whether or not they've been exaggerated, are no longer an issue.
  - giardini 1y ago
    Yes, the BCG vaccine for TB: https://www.cdc.gov/tb/vaccines/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/tb/vaccines/index.html The BCG vaccine is not commonly used in USA.
miltonlost 1y ago
Oh my god, wrong wrong wrong. Stop drinking raw milk. Louis Pasteur is spinning in his grave. https://arstechnica.com/features/2025/07/its-shocking-massive-raw-milk-outbreak-from-2023-finally-reported/ https://arstechnica.com/features/2025/07/its-shocking-massiv...
- mothballed 1y ago
  Does it still taste good if you pasteurize it yourself? Maybe in a more controlled way than industry does it? I'm wondering if it is the freshness that partially makes the non-pasteurized milk taste good, since it is illegal to sell over state lines and possibly to sell at all, it is probably much fresher.
  - graemep 1y ago
    Yes, it may well be the freshness. In the UK it has to he sold directly by the farm (either on premises, or they can take it to a market AFAIK). I think pasteurising it yourself would be worse as its harder to control temperatures precisely without the right equipment.
  - Spooky23 1y ago
    It’s more likely higher fat content.
    - graemep 1y ago
      I do not think pasteurisation affects fat content? Homogenisation is a separate process and it is possible (at least in the UK) to buy not homogenised pasteurised milk which should have the same far content. To me filtered milk (which is filtered to remove bacteria and other things before pasteurisation to keep it fresh for longer tastes very good, which favours the argument it is the freshness that matters.
      - Spooky23 1y ago
        It doesn't but processing does. I think some dairies extract the fat and re-add it later to a consistency. That's why I don't buy retail milk and do a farmer-consumer milk-man! :)
Spooky23 1y ago
Alot of the tastiness is cream content. Look for non-homogenized milk or some of the fancy milk varieties at Whole Foods or a coop. It usually tastes great and is often ultra pasteurized, as it’s a low volume product.
- graemep 1y ago
  It tastes better (and is not that hard to get here in the UK) but I prefer filtered milk which stays fresher.

bluGill 1y ago

> It is highly unlikely to be dangerous enough to have a significant, or even measurable, effect on life expectancies. Assuming you are a normal healthy adult who gets plenty of nutrition - like someone in the modern world. If you are eating near starvation your immune system won't be as strong. If you are otherwise unhealthy the potential bacteria can overwhelm you...

Spooky23 1y ago
So, do you leave your burritos out for 3 hours so the listeria can grow? Online arguments about anything like this since COVID boil down to “if you don’t die, it’s ok”. An old or sick person can easily die from food poisoning. If you are hearty and hale, you’re going to feel like crap and get stuff like violent diarrhea.
- bluGill 1y ago
  most milk doesn't even have anything growing in it. If you take care in storage - refrigeration, clean containers, and use it fast you are probably safe. Probably is of course odds and so if everyone did it there would be deaths - but most people would never be sick
  - Spooky23 1y ago
    Most chicken doesn’t either. Yet we don’t eat rare, juicy chicken. It’s a risk. There’s a long history of sick and dead people associated with raw milk.
    - graemep 1y ago
      its not a comparable risk, not even remotely. 26 deaths, 356 hospitalised, and less than 1% of food borne disease outbreaks over a 26 year period in England and Wales: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6805749/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6805749/ ANY food would be safer cooked, but most people eat quite a lot raw.
graemep 1y ago
The thing about milk is that its usually pretty obvious if its gone off. The risk lies in certain diseases (TB is the highest risk) which can kill. However, there is a TB vaccine.
- HankStallone 1y ago
  And some entire US states have been declared TB-free and/or brucellosis free, and cows are routinely tested under various circumstances to ensure that they stay that way. So some of the risks of the past, whether or not they've been exaggerated, are no longer an issue.
- giardini 1y ago
  Yes, the BCG vaccine for TB: https://www.cdc.gov/tb/vaccines/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/tb/vaccines/index.html The BCG vaccine is not commonly used in USA.

miltonlost 1y ago

Oh my god, wrong wrong wrong. Stop drinking raw milk. Louis Pasteur is spinning in his grave. https://arstechnica.com/features/2025/07/its-shocking-massive-raw-milk-outbreak-from-2023-finally-reported/ https://arstechnica.com/features/2025/07/its-shocking-massiv...

mothballed 1y ago
Does it still taste good if you pasteurize it yourself? Maybe in a more controlled way than industry does it? I'm wondering if it is the freshness that partially makes the non-pasteurized milk taste good, since it is illegal to sell over state lines and possibly to sell at all, it is probably much fresher.
- graemep 1y ago
  Yes, it may well be the freshness. In the UK it has to he sold directly by the farm (either on premises, or they can take it to a market AFAIK). I think pasteurising it yourself would be worse as its harder to control temperatures precisely without the right equipment.
- Spooky23 1y ago
  It’s more likely higher fat content.
  - graemep 1y ago
    I do not think pasteurisation affects fat content? Homogenisation is a separate process and it is possible (at least in the UK) to buy not homogenised pasteurised milk which should have the same far content. To me filtered milk (which is filtered to remove bacteria and other things before pasteurisation to keep it fresh for longer tastes very good, which favours the argument it is the freshness that matters.
    - Spooky23 1y ago
      It doesn't but processing does. I think some dairies extract the fat and re-add it later to a consistency. That's why I don't buy retail milk and do a farmer-consumer milk-man! :)

Spooky23 1y ago

Alot of the tastiness is cream content. Look for non-homogenized milk or some of the fancy milk varieties at Whole Foods or a coop. It usually tastes great and is often ultra pasteurized, as it’s a low volume product.

graemep 1y ago
It tastes better (and is not that hard to get here in the UK) but I prefer filtered milk which stays fresher.