Raw Milk: New Video with Mark McAfee
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Raw milk. I talk about it a lot. Not only is it a thousand times more delicious than conventional milk, it’s also a whole lot more nutritious.
I also can’t get enough of Mark McAfee, founder of Organic Pastures Raw Milk Dairy here in California. I buy all of our milk from Mark and dairy, and all of our cream and much of our butter (not to mention some ground beef and cow hearts, and I love their kombucha).
It makes me feel so good to know that the milk we drink and the ice cream we eat comes from cows who are enjoying a happy life on pasture, eating green grass all year long. It makes me even happier to know that my daughter is getting lots of vitamin K2 from that ice cream and butter — something she won’t get from conventional milk.
Here’s a new video interview with Mark McAfee of Organic Pastures Raw Milk Dairy from Sickly Cat:
Baby, I Like it Raw from Sickly Cat Network on Vimeo.
How Come Raw Milk Tastes So Good?
I love how the host, John, a “raw milk virgin,” says (at the very end) that the milk “tastes like ice cream”. That is EXACTLY how I always describe Organic Pastures raw milk! It’s just like drinking ice cream, only not as sweet. Compare that to your Horizon Organic. Or worse, conventional milk. Uh, yeah, there’s NO comparison.
Oh, and by the way, Mark was here in town at our local WAPF meeting this weekend, educating folks at a Hollywood preschool about the benefits of raw milk from cows on pasture. I said, “Mark, how come your milk tastes so much better than milk from grass-fed cows that’s pasteurized?” (I had recently done a taste test with Strauss — which is primarily grass-fed but it is pasteurized.)
Mark said that the pasteurization is what changes the taste. When he said that, a light of recognition went off in my mind.
Raw Milk Cheese in Paris
A few years ago, I went to Paris with some of my girlfriends (this was the year before I got pregnant with my firstborn). On New Year’s Eve, we spent the afternoon shopping for our banquet, which was comprised of mostly soft raw milk cheeses, local baguettes, and I forget what else — because, really, everything else paled in comparison. Oh, yeah we had a bunch of good wine and some French Champagne.
I will tell you right now that I have never in my life had such amazing and delicious cheese. It was a transcendent experience. And I’m not the only one who noticed it. I had about 5 girlfriends with me that night and we all agreed — I’ll say it out loud — this cheese was right up there with sex. (And yes, this is why my blog is called CHEESESLAVE.)
Now, one of the cheeses, my favorite cheese, is Époisses. This is one of the cheeses we bought that night in Paris. There is nothing in my mind as good as Époisses. Trust me, it will knock your socks off.
But the American version of Époisses is sh*t compared to real French Époisses. There is no comparison. Why? Because the American version is pasteurized.
Liquid ice cream from a local farm versus weird-flavored, funny tasting, lactose-intolerance-causing swill you get at the supermarket. Real French Époisses that shoots you straight to the moon versus the bland American stuff that tastes pretty good but, eh, nothing special. Not like that stuff in Paris.
It’s got to be raw.
PS: And by the way, how awesome is John’s wife? Don’t you love her spirit? “I don’t want to have to change your diapers when you’re 45.” LOL! You go, girl.
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18/07/2010 at 11:32 pm Permalink
that’s strange, i once tasted raw milk from a farmer here in austria and i thought it tasted a lot like COW, nothing sweet and icecreamy. are there different types of raw milk? because i can remember drinking raw milk when i was a little child. it was still warm and i can remember that it tasted sweet
19/07/2010 at 8:02 am Permalink
Markus – Yes there are different types of raw milk! It totally depends on what the farmer feeds the cow.
19/07/2010 at 9:10 am Permalink
@Markus: I had the same reaction the first time I drank raw milk! It tasted warm and animal and a little grassy. But I was determined to make raw milk a part of my diet so I put Dagoba chocolate and stevia into it for about two weeks. Chocolate raw milk for breakfast is made of YAY!
I must also say that I didn’t start out with Organic Pastures, I started out with the other raw milk that was (then) available at Whole Foods. Since then I have had both in my refrigerator at various times and I love them both (though, OP is still my favorite).
I just wish I could afford their products as often as I consume them.
19/07/2010 at 9:11 am Permalink
P.S. The Organic Pastures Skim Milk is a G-R-E-A-T source for making whey to use in lacto-fermentation. It’s hella cheap and I don’t mind using the whole bottle for whey.
19/07/2010 at 10:21 am Permalink
Miranda – I’m not sure if the other one is grass-fed. So that may explain why it didn’t taste as good.
I never thought of using the skim milk for whey — what a great idea!! I’m going to start doing that.
19/07/2010 at 11:39 am Permalink
Yesterday I gave my son, who is 25, a glass of raw milk to try. He is not a milk drinker, but I told him to give it a try as he might be surprised with the taste. He was very impressed with the good taste was excited about how it did not create phlegm, which store bought always did. I was so pleased!
19/07/2010 at 12:14 pm Permalink
I’m over here in CO, and I have a cow share for my raw milk. We love it! I absolutely love the changes in the seasons because the milk taste changes as well. It’s a small farm that we drive up to to get our milk shares…I’ve made butter from the cream, paneer from the milk, buttermilk, yogurt, ice cream, you name it…and it tastes so much better than anything else. My favorite way to drink it: A little bit of Vanilla Agave syrup in it, just before bed…it’s like melted ice cream, and the high calcium levels put me right to sleep. It has also helped with my asthma and allergies, and I notice it when I miss a day or two!
19/07/2010 at 12:17 pm Permalink
Oh, btw…the shareholders at our farms get to help name new calves. It’s also a great community place to get grass-fed beef, kefir, highly cultured yogurt, local eggs, etc (I could keep going). Our cows are fed only grass, no grains or soy products (the owner has soy and gluten allergies), and are antibiotic and hormone free. I’ve stopped by on numerous occasions during milking time, and they’ve let me hang out and watch, and have shown me around the facility (they test each batch too).
19/07/2010 at 12:39 pm Permalink
Melody – I drink it before bed, too!
19/07/2010 at 12:49 pm Permalink
I love raw milk. I watched this earlier, and was impressed at how excited he was about raw milk. A sure sign his raw milk is good. I also sent an email to our local WAPF ETN Chapter online group with a link to this; just in case anyone wanted to watch.
19/07/2010 at 1:00 pm Permalink
I know, my husband passed by when I was watching it and said, “He sure is excited.” LOL!
But you know, it’s not the raw milk he is excited about, really — it’s people’s health that is being transformed. Mark McAfee worked as an EMT for 30 years before he “retired” to become a farmer. He spent decades rescuing sick and dying people who were victims of the standard American diet. People having strokes and heart attacks, etc.
Now he’s watching people’s lives change after they start drinking raw milk and changing their diets to a healthy whole food diet. It really is something to be excited about!
19/07/2010 at 1:15 pm Permalink
Hi….I am new here and am very intrigued by this whole new way of eating. I’m doing lots of reading…..besides the fact that this just seems to make SENSE! I am wondering…a local told me that buying raw milk for human consumption is illegal….that it HAS to be pasteurized. In order for them to sell, it’s purpose would be for animal consumption only. Is that true? I do live in TN so maybe it’s different state by state.
Thank you
19/07/2010 at 2:25 pm Permalink
Hi,
It was good listening to Mark. . . Another great book to read. . .is Good Calories Bad Calories by Gayr Taubes, who also explains why the Government has a disconected to what we really should be eating.
Anyway, back to Raw Milk. I use to drink it, hoping for benifits, but I found out that I have Casein Sensitivities, which is different from the Lactose. Which means I can’t drink the Raw Cow Milk or Goat of Sheep Milk because of the Casein. I keep hoping something will change, because I do love raw milk and yogart and cheese and so on and so forth. . .and I miss all of it.
19/07/2010 at 3:11 pm Permalink
YEAH!…Love this….we have 3 sweet nubians and raw milk is AWESOME!!!! It’s the best! Love your blog and the info you dish out….
I’ll post this and link back to you! xoxo lylah
19/07/2010 at 4:38 pm Permalink
Mark is an awesome guy – we’re so lucky to have him be “local” for us! (His dairy is about 20 minutes from my house.
) He’s also been such a blessing to my co-chapter leader and I here in the Fresno/Madera WAPF. It’s great to have someone like him on our side! 
19/07/2010 at 7:11 pm Permalink
We love Organic Pastures’ milk and usually get it twice a week from two farmer’s markets here in Fresno. Our four kids won’t drink anything else
19/07/2010 at 7:55 pm Permalink
To those who can still get raw milk, be thankful. See the attached link from Grist for some frightening stories on raw milk and other farmers: http://www.grist.org/article/food-five-tips-for-surviving-a-raid-on-your-farm-or-food-club/PALL
20/07/2010 at 5:22 am Permalink
I have a question – for those of us who can’t get raw milk, what would you reccommend? I just don’t buy it – I get organic yogurt, cheese, kefir and ice cream (grass fed/pastured if I can find it) – but I don’t really buy milk. Should I? What brands?
I’m just getting into the whole Nourishing Traditions thing, so the amount of information out there is overwhelming.
20/07/2010 at 7:17 am Permalink
Ali -
If you can’t get raw milk (what state are you in?) then I wouldn’t buy milk. The proteins get denatured from the high heat of pasteurization so I wouldn’t drink pasteurized milk regularly.
Try to get grass-fed cheese, yogurt, butter and ice cream. The grass-fed stuff has all the fat soluble activators like vitamin K2 as well as CLA.
20/07/2010 at 7:54 am Permalink
I’m in Ohio – there is a farmer’s market where I can get organic, non-homogenized milk, but it’s still pasteurized. I can get fresh goat’s milk from time to time, but that’s not a regular thing. There are a few cow shares or low-heat pasturized places, but they are 3+ hours from where I’m at and I don’t have the time/money to travel that far for it.
21/07/2010 at 7:42 am Permalink
Raw milk is hard but not impossible to acquire in my state. It can be sold on-farm only and the producer can’t advertise. This has led to coops that will have it’s members take turns picking up from farms around the state and deliver to a city for pick-up by it’s members – certainly not something quick and easy to try out. I have just found a local dairy farmer who produces for the standard milk companies but will fill bottles with raw on the farm. He does feed grain to some degree – I don’t know what. I think this is the only way he can produce through the winter. I believe he grows his own grain organically, and supplements with it year round. Cows do have access to and graze in pasture too. I’m not sure what testing is done yet for the raw consumption. Would you drink this?
21/07/2010 at 3:15 pm Permalink
Phenomenal!
21/07/2010 at 4:40 pm Permalink
Ali –
If it were me, I would not drink milk if I couldn’t get raw milk. It’s funny because I never used to drink milk back in the days before I knew about raw milk. Just in my coffee and tea.
If I couldn’t get raw milk, I would just buy grass-fed cream (pasteurized, but not ultra-pasteurized) for my coffee.
21/07/2010 at 4:42 pm Permalink
Jay – I wouldn’t drink it unless I knew he was testing clean.
23/07/2010 at 11:52 pm Permalink
I have a question, I found a small local family farm near me that sells raw goat milk, but they say it is for animal consumption only. Is this only to get around the law?
I had some almond butter and jelly sandwiches with noooo milk. I need me some raw milk!!! I may have to go to the OP hub store some day too! I bought a half gallon of skim raw milk from sprouts, organic pastures brand and it was pretty good but I left it for about 4-5 days in the fridge and it got sour and a little smelly but I continued to have one cup a day until I finished it, obviously it was just super smelly and sour but I’m wondering if it was normal? I had no problems with my stomach and I think it improved my bowel movements. Could it be the more sour and smelly the more friendly bacteria is teeming inside?
24/07/2010 at 8:35 pm Permalink
When you say you wouldn’t drink unless it is testing clean, what tests are you referring to? Thanks.
01/08/2010 at 1:12 pm Permalink
The milk lobby is very strong in Washington. It was milk money from a slush fund that funded Nixon’s Watergate crime.
01/08/2010 at 4:25 pm Permalink
I also have casein intolerance and it’s so sad cause I love all dairy products….I hope that one day my body will heal enough to be abel to tolerate dairy again, but it’s annoying cause I can’t use the healing power of raw milk to help me heal….so frustrating…
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