08/11/2026
So lets look at the other side of this - realistically.
1. Pasteurized milk is dead milk. Honestly I agree with this. Pasteurization's entire purpose is to kill whatever is living in the milk. That doesn't mean it has no nutritional value, it just means that the naturally occurring beneficial bacteria are just as dead as the potentially pathogenic bacteria. It also means the structure of the milk - the proteins and enzymes change form because that is what the heat does that kills the bacteria. It's not right, it's not wrong, it just is. Raw milk and Pasteurized milk are 2 completely different products.
2. Commercial milk is full of antibiotics - this farmer is 100% correct in pushing back against this lie. I'm a Grade A Raw for Retail dairy and I'm tested for the same things they are. ANY DRUGS in the milk will get you shut down. Full stop. Period. There are no antibiotics in the milk.
3. Commercial cows are pumped full of hormones and steroids - Again, this commercial farmer is correct. We may use hormones from time to time to help things like ovarian cysts, we may use steroids to reduce inflammation from injury or illness - but this is always under veterinary guidance and again - no. Their milk is just as "clean' as mine.
4. Commercial management practices get labeled as abuse - this is frequently true that it gets LABELED as abuse, but it is not abuse. Stressed cows (and goats in my case) do not make milk. Stressing them costs money, it's a financial loss. Happy, well cared for, relaxed animals that are eating and drinking their fill and receiving good nutrition from the get go are FAR LESS EXPENSIVE to care for than abused animals, and they are far more productive. Are there "farmers" that abuse their animals - yes, unfortunately there are. There are far more who take great pride in being successful, and that success is 100% dependent on the health and well being of the herd.
5. Natural gets confused with safe - I agree wholeheartedly. My raw milk may be more "natural" (unprocessed) than pasteurized milk, but that does not inherently make it safe. What makes it safe is the processes and procedures that are used to produce it. I live life covered in bleach and iodine for a reason. Professional grade milking equipment is expensive for a reason - it doesn't have corners and welds and rolled edges for bacteria to hide in like the cheap stuff does. Attention has to be paid so that it is both natural AND safe.
6. Evidence-based veterinary medicine gets treated like the enemy - I agree, and this doesn't just apply to pasteurized milk operations. Good management prevents problems. Good nutrition is part of good management. I do encourage lezpedeza to grow in my pastures because SCIENCE has shown that it has anti parasitic advantages for the animals that graze it. But when good management fails, I will absolutely turn to veterinary medicine to control suffering and cure illness when that is the option. Allowing an animal to suffer and/or die a slow death when proper medical care can offer immediate relief is disgusting and inhumane.
7. Commercial Farmers are portrayed as people who don't know or care about their cows - I agree, this is a common accusation. Sometimes it's deserved, most of the time it's not. I know the name and history on every single one of my does. I was there for the birth of most of the kids on my farm, but I am a MICRO dairy. I have 30-50 head, not hundreds, not thousands. I choose to be a micro dairy because that is the lifestyle I want, and yes that affords me a much more personal relationship with girls but honestly - those girls are just as happy being healthy, well cared for, and living their best lives without me around. "I" like the personal one on one time, they just want to be goats, scritches and animal crackers are just icing on the cake for them.
9. Industrial dairy gets used as if there aren't human beings behind the bulk tank - true. Industrial dairy is not an inaccurate term - they are mechanized and automated in ways I will never be able to access as a small farm. BUT those are still farmers there and they are still living the farm life - which means every single day goes sideways in unexpected ways because biological systems do not care what your plans are. They're still exhausted, overworked, and "plans" are more like "hopes and wishes" than something guaranteed to happen.
Don't disrespect farmers. If you don't like my product, buy theirs. If you want my product, I'll happily sell it to you, but these people are my people and they work just as hard as I do to make sure what they sell is healthy - because this is how we feel we contribute to the world, it's how we do "good' and care for others, because that's where we find self worth. I respect them and their hard work. Full stop.
~signed, a raw dairy producer
WHY DO SOME COMMERCIAL DAIRY FARMERS GET SO FRUSTRATED WITH THE RAW MILK MOVEMENT?
I’m going to wade into dangerous territory today. 😂
First, let me make something very clear:
I am not against family cow owners. I am not against people choosing raw milk.
But if you’ve ever wondered why some commercial dairy producers immediately bristle when the subject of raw milk comes up, there are reasons.
And frankly, parts of the raw milk movement have contributed to that relationship.
Here are a few reasons why.
1. “Pasteurized milk is dead milk.”
No. Pasteurization is a food-safety process. You can prefer raw milk without pretending the milk sitting in the grocery store has no nutritional value.
2. “Commercial milk is full of antibiotics.”
This one drives dairy farmers absolutely crazy.
We have withdrawal periods. Milk from treated cows is withheld from the bulk tank. Milk is tested for antibiotic residues. A mistake can have serious financial consequences.
Responsible antibiotic use is part of modern animal care—not evidence that commercial milk is swimming in drugs.
3. “Commercial cows are pumped full of hormones and steroids.”
Again, this gets repeated constantly, usually by people who have never managed a commercial dairy.
You don't have to invent a pharmaceutical horror story to explain why you prefer raw milk.
4. Commercial management practices get labeled as abuse.
Calf hutches.
Calf separation.
Freestalls.
TMRs.
Milking parlors.
Large herds.
None of those things, by themselves, tell you whether cattle are being cared for well.
There are excellent and terrible managers in virtually every production system.
5. “Natural” gets confused with “safe.”
Nature produces some wonderful things.
Nature also produces E. coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter and Listeria.
Good sanitation and excellent herd health can reduce risk. They cannot turn microbiology off.
Acknowledging that doesn't make someone anti–raw milk. It makes them honest about food safety.
6. Evidence-based veterinary medicine gets treated like the enemy.
I have watched people recommend herbs, oils and home remedies for conditions that need legitimate veterinary treatment.
Meanwhile, the commercial producer who promptly treats a sick animal with an appropriate medication gets accused of “pumping her full of antibiotics.”
No.
Sometimes good animal welfare means treating the animal that is standing in front of you.
7. Commercial farmers are portrayed as people who don't know or care about their cows.
This might be the most insulting one.
We watch feed intake. Milk production. Manure. Rumination. Body condition. Locomotion. Reproduction. SCC. Temperatures. Behavior.
We notice when a cow looks at us differently than she did yesterday.
Commercial doesn't mean disconnected.
8. Food-safety regulation gets portrayeded as some evil government conspiracy.
Commercial dairy producers live with regulation every single day.
Inspections. Testing. sanitation requirements. Milk quality standards. Drug withdrawals. Records.
Some regulations may absolutely deserve criticism.
But food-safety standards didn't appear because everyone involved was bored and needed paperwork.
9. “Industrial dairy” gets used as though there aren't human beings behind the bulk tank.
Many commercial dairies are family businesses.
There are people behind those cows working Christmas morning.
Working through thunderstorms.
Pulling calves at 2 AM.
Treating sick cows.
Fixing equipment.
Making hay.
And working seven days a week because cows don't recognize weekends.
Calling everything you don't like “industrial agriculture” can erase the families actually producing your food.
10. And finally—fear has become a marketing strategy.
This is where I have the biggest problem.
There is a perfectly legitimate way to sell raw milk:
"Here is how we produce it. Here are our sanitation practices. Here are the potential benefits people seek. Here are the known risks. Make an informed decision for yourself."
You don't need to convince someone that commercial dairy farmers are poisoning them first.
You don't need to trash pasteurization.
You don't need to claim grocery-store milk is full of antibiotics.
You don't need to portray commercial farmers as animal abusers.
Your product should be able to stand on its own merits without destroying someone else's livelihood to sell it.
So if you're a family cow owner or raw milk consumer and you've wondered why a commercial dairy farmer sometimes seems defensive around this subject...
This is part of the reason.
They've been hearing some version of these accusations for years.
That doesn't mean commercial agriculture is above criticism.
We're not.
And it doesn't mean every raw milk producer believes these things.
They don't.
There are responsible, intelligent people on both sides of this conversation.
But if we actually want commercial producers and family cow owners to learn from one another, we're going to have to stop treating “different” as synonymous with “wrong.”
There is room at the table for both.
Just quit throwing rocks across it.
