Milk

[[File:Milk.jpg|thumb|165px|Nothing like a carton of ice cold milk to quench your thirst.]]
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'''Milk''' is the substance produced from the mammary glands of [[mammal]]s, intended for the nutrition of young mammals. [[Humans]], not content with the milk their own [[species]] produces, are known to sometimes consume the milk of other animals, mainly from cows, yaks, camels, and [[goats]]. Since its purpose is to provide the nutrients necessary for young mammals to grow, milk in general has many fats, [[proteins]], and the [[vitamin]]s and minerals necessary for young mammals to thrive and grow.<ref name=dairychem><!-- Technically, this is only about cow milk, but I figure it's good enough until some milk researcher extraordinaire shows up --> [https://www.uoguelph.ca/foodscience/book-page/dairy-science-and-technology-ebook The Dairy Science and Technology eBook,] [https://www.uoguelph.ca/foodscience/book-page/dairy-chemistry-and-physics Dairy Chemistry and Physics,] Professor H. Douglas Goff, University of Guelph, Canada Retrieved September 26, 2014</ref> 

==Cow's milk==
{{main|Lactase persistence}}
Cow's milk is consumed by humans, and contains a number of vitamins and all of the minerals considered essential for the human diet.<ref name=dairychem></ref>

==Promotion of milk==
Milk is heavily promoted in the [[United States]], by both the milk lobby and the government. For example, schools participating in the National School Lunch Act are required to provide milk with their meals,<ref>[http://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp/history_5 National School Lunch Act,] Gordon W. Gunderson, USDA Food and Nutrition Service Retrieved September 26, 2014</ref> and a nationwide commercial campaign featuring the slogan "Got milk?" was funded by the [[California]] Milk Processor Board.<ref>[http://www.aef.com/on_campus/classroom/case_histories/3000 got milk?] Douglas B. Holt, L'Oreal Professor of Marketing, Advertising Educational Foundation Retrieved September 26, 2014</ref> The claim that milk makes for strong bones and reduces fractures has been criticized. Walter Willett, MD, PhD, professor of epidemiology and head of the nutrition department at the Harvard School of Public Health, claims that there is no evidence that milk consumption reduces risk of fracture, and that countries where little milk is consumed have low rates of fractures.<ref>[http://www.webmd.com/diet/healthy-kitchen-11/dairy-truths?page=1 The Pros and Cons of Milk and Dairy,] Peter Jaret, webmd.com Retrieved September 26, 2014</ref> Peter Jaret, a pediatrician, gives an impassioned argument about owning up to milk being a lot less good for you than we think it is.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzyFZcuHmeI The Milk-Industrial Complex] by [http://theincidentaleconomist.com/about/about-aaron/ Aaron E. Carroll, MD, MS]</ref>

A 20-year long epidemiology study of 60,000 [[Swedish]] women found that those who drank the most milk had almost a 2-times increased death rate vs. the lightest drinkers. Women who drank the most milk were slightly more likely to die from [[cancer]] or to break a hip (but overall fractures were comparable). Evidence suggested that the sugar D-galactose (which is metabolized from the lactose in milk) may be the culprit. In mice, D-galactose causes "chronic inflammation, oxidative stress and rapid aging".<ref>[https://www.sciencenews.org/article/heavy-milk-drinking-may-double-womens-mortality-rates Heavy milk drinking may double women’s mortality rates]</ref>

==Raw milk==
{{main|Raw milk movement}}
Raw milk is unpasteurized milk, which is to say milk that has not undergone the process of swift heating and cooling meant to reduce microbes in milk and other products. Critics of the pasteurization process say that it destroys nutrients present in the milk, and indeed 10-30% of the vitamins [[vitamin C|C]] and B<sub>1</sub> present in milk are destroyed during pasteurization.<ref name=quackwatchraw>[http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/rawmilk.html Why Raw Milk Should Be Avoided,] Stephen Barret, M.D. quackwatch.org Retrieved September 26, 2014</ref><ref name=dairychem></ref> However, raw milk has been linked to a number of outbreaks of illness.<ref name=quackwatchraw></ref> Out of all self-reported cases of dairy-associated outbreaks between 1998 and 2011, 79% involved raw milk.<ref>[http://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/rawmilk/raw-milk-questions-and-answers.html#related-outbreaks Raw Milk Questions and Answers,] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Retrieved September 26, 2014</ref> Advocate claims that the cows' udders could be washed with antiseptic prior to milking was countered by the claim that [[bacteria]] were also present inside the udder.<ref name=quackwatchraw></ref>

===The terrible price of pasteurization===
{{main|Louis Pasteur}}
[[Image:Saint-Nectaire.jpg|right|thumb|This is what we have to lose.]]
There is more to raw milk than the risk of disease and trivial nutritional benefits. Certain cheeses, when made with pasteurized milk, can come out radically different. One example would be {{wpl|St. Nectaire|St. Nectaire.}} Normally, St. Nectaire cheese, produced in the Auvergne region of [[France]], has a grey moldy crust, and is delicious.{{Template:Nofact}} However, when created with pasteurized milk, St. Nectaire has a white, smoother, crust, and while palatable, has a markedly different taste.<ref>[http://www.inao.gouv.fr/public/produits/showTexte.php?ID_TEXTE_CONSOLIDE=1529 Décret du 30 mars 2007 modifié relatif à l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Saint-Nectaire »] Institut nationale de l'origine et de la qualité Retrieved September 26, 2014</ref> In addition, the [[FDA]] recommends against the consumption of unpasteurized cheeses such as {{wpl|brie}} and {{wpl|camembert}}<ref>[http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/consumers/ucm079516.htm The Dangers of Raw Milk: Unpasteurized Milk Can Pose a Serious Health Risk] US Food and Drug Administration Retrieved September 26, 2014]</ref> and has halted the import of a number of cheeses that did not meet their bacteria standards,<ref>[http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-new-fda-regulations-cheeses-20140903-story.html FDA restrictions keeping some great cheeses out of stores,] Janet Fletcher LA Times Retrieved September 26, 2014</ref><ref>[http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/cms_ia/importalert_9.html Import Alert 12-10] US Food and Drug Administration Retrieved September 26, 2014</ref> and requires certain cheeses to be aged for a minimum period before importation is allowed.<ref>[http://www.cheesesociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/PPT-Nsofor-Working-Proactively-to-Mitigate-Risk.pdf] FEDERAL REGULATION OF
RAW MILK CHEESE Obianuju Nsofor, PhD Dairy and Egg Branch Office of Food Safety Food and Drug Administration American Cheese Society Retrieved September 26, 2014</ref>

==Autism==
[[PETA]] launched a facepalm-inducing campaign linking the consumption of milk to [[autism]]. The problem is that there is zero evidence for such a link. They were (rightfully) called out on it by several news outlets, websites and, of course, by people on Twitter.<ref>[http://time.com/2798480/peta-autism-got-milk/ Got Credibility? Then You’re Not PETA] Jeffrey Kluger, Time Magazine Retrieved September 26, 2014</ref><ref>[http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/diet-and-fitness/autism-link-outrage-as-peta-declares-war-on-milk-20140530-zrjl3.html Autism link: Outrage as PETA declares war on milk] Rose Powell, The Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved September 26, 2014</ref><ref>[http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/peta-embraces-autism-pseudoscience/ PETA Embraces Autism Pseudoscience] [[Steven Novella]], Science-Based Medicine Retrieved September 26, 2014</ref>

==See also==
*[[Bait-and-switch]] (a.k.a. "milk before meat")
*[[Bovine growth hormone]]
*[[Fun:Cheese]]
*[[Melatonin#Night_Milk|Night Milk]]
*[[Milky Way]]

==Don't see also==
*[[Margaret Thatcher]], milk snatcher.

==External links==
*[http://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/rawmilk/raw-milk-questions-and-answers.html Raw Milk Questions and Answers]
*[http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/rawmilk.html Why Raw Milk is Bad for You]
*[https://www.uoguelph.ca/foodscience/book-page/dairy-science-and-technology-ebook The Dairy Science and Technology eBook]

==References==
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[[Category:Diet woo]]

Categories: Food woo, Diet woo