Disease From Goat Milk

As with any milk product from milking animals such as cows or sheep, goat's milk is susceptible to bacterial growth in its raw state. Dairy products that contain bacteria can cause serious disease. Most goat's milk is pasteurized by law. However, some people insist that unpasteurized goat's or cow's milk produced in modest batches by small farmers is perfectly safe. What's more, it's more nutritious than the processed milk from large dairy operations, according to NaturalNews.com.

Significance

• Raw goat's milk is taken directly from the goat without processing. Goat's milk is naturally homogenized, unlike cow's milk, which will separate without processing. Critics of unprocessed milk, such as British Columbia's Ministry of Health, argue that raw milk tends to be produced by farms that are not monitored or inspected by the government, which they argue makes the milk more susceptible to infestations of E. coli, listeria and salmonella.

Instances of Disease

• Public health authorities in Canada report sporadic outbreaks of illness from the drinking of raw milk from both cows and goats. According to British Columbia's Ministry of Health, kindergarteners visiting a farm on Central Vancouver Island came down with Campylobacter, which causes diarrhea. A separate group of schoolchildren were infected with E. coli after a similar trip in which milk was sampled. Two children were hospitalized. A woman of 35 from the Kootenays who drank raw milk was hospitalized long-term from a Brucella infection, which causes severe flu-like symptoms.

FDA Warning

• NaturalNews.com says that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration strongly cautions the public about the dangers of consuming raw milk. The administration reports findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that between 1998 and 2008, 800 Americans were made ill from raw milk or cheese. However, according to NaturalNews.com, some argue that the figure is actually quite low.

Considerations

• The FDA makes very clear on its website that raw milk and raw dairy foods contain the kind of harmful bacteria that can cause severe illness in anyone who consumes those products. It is especially important to be aware, says the FDA, that bacterial agents in raw goat's or cow's milk can be particularly harmful to women who are pregnant and also to small children, older people, and those whose immune systems are compromised.

Benefits

• Without the heat treatment that pasteurization introduces, raw goat's milk retains the beneficial bacteria that are good for digestion. It's a complete protein, containing the full array of amino acids. Goat's milk is high in B vitamins (including folic acid) and vitamin C. It's a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, among other nutrients, that pasteurization obliterates. Calcium and magnesium are more potent and more readily absorbed in raw milk. According to NaturalNews.com, substances that fight arteriosclerosis, arthritis and high cholesterol are contained in raw goat's milk.