Pasteurization & Refrigeration

If you go to your local grocery store all dairy products are pasteurized and some (like cream) are ultra-pasteurized.

Pasteurized milk that you can buy at the store is heated to at least 161 degrees for 15 seconds.  Ultra pasteurized milk heated to at least 280 degrees for 2 seconds!

Does it matter?

Let’s have a little history lesson on pasteurization, so sit back with your cup of warm vanilla soother and enjoy the ride.

In the 1860’s, pasteurization was invented by Louis Pasteur, initially to prevent wine and beer spoilage.  Pasteurization is effective in killing bad bacteria.  However, it does not distinguish between harmful bacteria and probiotics and kills (most) everything.  Milk naturally has many naturally occurring vitamins, minerals, probiotics, and more that pasteurization destroys.  The dairy industry realizes this which is why their milk is at times fortified with artificial vitamins.

In the 1920’s, less than 1% of homes had refrigeration.  It took a couple of decades before most households had refrigeration.  It was also during this time that pasteurization became common and milk-related illness started to become less common.  However, I find it very interesting that people do not tend to mention that refrigeration was becoming available simultaneously with pasteurization.  Pasteurization gets all of the credit - but should it?

I should be clear that I believe that we need to distinguish between raw milk and "unpasteurized milk”.  Yes, there is a difference.  If you drink milk from the bulk tank at a conventional dairy prior to it being pasteurized, that is not “raw milk” and is dangerous to drink.  

Milk intended for pasteurization is from cows that are raised completely differently than those from small farmers who raise their cows intentionally intending to sell it as raw.  They are generally in large feed lots and are milked 2-3 times per day to maximize yield and profit.  Even “pastured” or “grass fed” dairies at this scale usually cannot logistically have their cows graze in fresh pasture.  Rather, they haul in hay, but the cows don’t get to experience lush green pastures or nature as God designed them to.

In 1934, there were 24.6 million milking cows on 5.2 million farms in the US.  In 2017, there were 54,599 dairies with 9.5 million cows.  

When refrigeration and pasteurization were just starting to become common, the average dairy had around 5 cows.  83 years later, the average dairy had 174 cows!  Because of this, milk also has to be shipped many miles to be distributed.  It is much easier for a dairy to cut costs and herd standards and then kill the milk so it can be stable enough to ship across the country.

There are even dairies that use virtual reality headsets, so the cow thinks that it is in a better environment than it is.  It has shown that this relaxes the cow which increases milk yield.  How much more so if the cows were experiencing real pastured life rather than VR?

Really, what is this world coming to?  It reminds me of a story we listened to as a child where a criminal stated “It’s all about the money…”  That is the sad truth - at the expense of our health.

The US healthcare system is broken.  Today, Americans spend much more money on healthcare than other developed countries but have a considerably shorter life expectancy.  

I believe that the commercialized focus on cheap food in America has directly affected the health and wellness of this nation.

Yet there is hope!  We are striving to provide nutrient dense raw milk, cream, and eggs for your family!  

Your farmers - the Schrock Family