Sales of raw, unpasteurised milk are rising across the United States, according to Morning Brew, even as public health authorities continue to advise against drinking it, particularly for children and pregnant women. Unlike milk sold in most grocery stores, raw milk is not heated to kill harmful pathogens through pasteurisation. Farmers across the country have reported growing raw milk sales in recent years, with gallons sometimes selling for more than $20, and lawmakers in dozens of states are now pushing to loosen restrictions on its sale, according to the Associated Press. A bipartisan bill introduced in the House of Representatives this year would allow raw milk to be sold across state lines, something currently prohibited under federal law.
The trend is driven less by taste, though some drinkers cite its creaminess, than by a wider movement among health influencers and anti-pasteurisation advocates, many aligned with the Make America Healthy Again movement, who argue raw milk is healthier than pasteurised milk. Public health experts say that claim is not supported by evidence. The drink has drawn support from prominent figures, including US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who drank raw milk at the White House during the release of a MAHA report promoting it, and the Norwegian footballer Erling Haaland, who has said he drinks it regularly and believes it benefits his stomach, skin and bones. Supporters argue that consumers should be free to weigh the risks themselves.
The documented risks
The risks are well documented. Between 1998 and 2019, bacterial outbreaks linked to raw milk sickened 2,600 Americans and were tied to 225 hospitalisations, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A separate study found that products made from raw milk are 45 times more likely than those made from pasteurised milk to cause hospitalisation. Raw milk advocates argue the product has become safer as more farmers adopt precautions such as bacteria testing. The Raw Milk Institute, an advocacy organisation run by a California farmer whose raw milk business sells an estimated $30 million worth of product annually, has developed safety protocols for producers to follow. Even so, the US Food and Drug Administration linked nine recent E. coli poisoning cases this year to raw milk and cheddar cheese produced on that same farm, according to the AP.
Sources: Morning Brew, Associated Press
