Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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254 of 261 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful book, March 28, 2004
A great book full of hard-to-find information on milk. Well-written and compelling. it tells a sad but all too common story of large corporations ruining a once marvelous product in the name of industrialization and profit-maximization. Small family farmers got screwed in the process.Raw milk is it! I had raw cream for the first time a couple years ago. Had to buy it illegally since its illegal here in Virginia (its also illegal to ship across state lines-thanks Ronald Reagan!). its quite amazing and provides a warm tingle in the belly. People I know that react to dairy in bad ways tolerated the raw stuff. So I tend to agree with Schmid that pasteurization may be the real culprit when it comes to dairy allergies. Raw milk contains enzymes and beneficial bacteria that aid in its own digestion. Raw cream sours naturally into something akin to sour cream; it doesnt putrefy like the pasteurized stuff. Raw milk contains as much vitamin C as orange juice. Unfortunately, its mostly destroyed by pasteurization. I imagine its probably completely gone after ultra-pasteurization. You can get sick from any food thats contaminated, including pasteurized milk. if raw milk is produced in sanitary conditions it is quite safe and resistant to infection (unlike pasteurized milk). People have died from eating lettuce contaminated with bacteria, but I dont see anyone demanding pasteurization of all lettuce (thank God). Why is milk singled out for compulsory destruction? People deserve to make their own health choices and health freedom. Small farmers ought to be able to sell unprocessed, unpasteurized foods to consumers. Compulsory pasteurization laws ought to be repealed. Full-fat dairy products dont cause heart disease, contrary to the review above. Neither saturated fat nor cholesterol have been shown to cause heart disease and many cultures around the world eat large quantities with no ill effects. Sat fats are actually quite good for you. See "The Cholesterol Myths" and books by Bruce Fife. There is a compelling case that pasteurized milk causes heart disease. it goes like this: Homocysteine causes heart disease, and homocysteine is reduced by vitamins B6 and folic acid. Guess what happends to vitamins B6 and folic acid during pasteurization? Thats right-they are destroyed.
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117 of 119 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This Book Will Save the Family Dairy Farm, March 12, 2005
I am a dairy farmer and have been drinking my own milk for years straight out of the bulk tank and without pasteurization. I was doing it to save money. I always put my cows on pasture as much as possible for their health and wellbeing. I just finished reading this book and am delighted to find out that I was doing so much good. My milk goes to a big dairy to get pasteurized and made into cheese. I am excited at the idea of selling milk directly to my customers via a cow share program. Cut out the middleman and I can finally make a living at dairy farming. No wonder the powers that be want to prevent this.
I recommend this book to all dairy farmers and to anyone concerned about their families health. I especially recommend this to all public officials. These ideas will save the family farm and dramatically reduce the cost of health care in this country.
I gave this book a 4 rating because Dr. Ron needs to clarify a number chapters. I would like to see more in the enzyme chapter on the basics of enzymes, a clear explanation of closed modern milking systems showing why they keep milk clean, his recommendations for winter feed for dairy cows when grass is not available, and his suggestions for the most important areas of research to update the work of Price, Pottenger and the others.
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390 of 414 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
facts not urban myths - update August 2009, July 15, 2004
Milk is bad for you. No mammal needs milk after being weaned. Raw milk is dirty, dangerous, and a major health hazard. Only pasteurized milk is clean and only ultra-pasteurized or irradiated milk is really safe. Pasteurization was created to make the milk supply safe. Raw milk has no greater health benefits than pasteurized milk. People want pasteurized milk, and prefer it over raw.
Supposedly educated people will tell you these things and be dead serious. Unfortunately, they are dead WRONG on every single point above, and the health of tens of millions suffer greatly for their ignorance or intentional deceit.
Ron Schmid is one of the most important proponents of traditional diets. His first book, Traditional Foods Are Your Best Medicine, is the best introduction to the nutritional research of Weston Price currently available. With this new book, he once again proves his voice is a beacon of intelligence and clarity in a sea of disinformation and corruption.
This book is a scholarly, well researched and documented look into the trials and tribulations of milk use in society. While its primary focus is on the raw milk issue and the scientific and political shenanigans surrounding the milk business, it also delves into the related issues of the history of milk use and traditional diets.
There is a great deal of information in this book. Schmid traces the history of milk use from the distant past to current times. He cites considerable research and published works regarding the healing power and nutritional value of milk from healthy animals. He examines in detail the use of the raw milk cure, milk in traditional diets, and the political/economic battles around milk production in this country during the last century. An immense amount of hard work went into the writing of this book, and it shows. (Good job, Ron.)
Schmid unmasks the unscientific propaganda in the raw milk debate and gives the clearest and most objective report to date on the real science and history of this issue. His analysis of the research is in-depth and thorough, and his presentation of the information is calm and balanced. This stands somewhat in contrast to the other major work on the issue, The Milk Book, by William Douglass, which contains some factual errors, suffers from many typos, and can come across as snide and derogatory when it is intended to be humorous. (It is still quite worth reading, however, and I recommend it as well.)
Schmid's book is level-headed, comprehensive and powerful. He addresses all the issues of the raw milk debate in detail; disease, cleanliness, quality, politics, economics, nutrition, and health attributes. He adroitly dismantles the lies, propaganda, incompetence, and villany of the powers that seek to deny the American people one of the most potent health foods on the planet, and addresses the science and historical facts in an irrefutable manner. This is currently the definitive work on milk. It is difficult to believe that one could do a better job. It is an easy 5 stars.
There are many lies and urban myths about milk, and the real history of the milk industry is every bit as tawdry as most other histories of corporate interference in our lives. The scare tactics and other, considerably less ethical, manipulations of industry and of government agencies who are too often the bought dogs of industry, are shown to frequently be extreme distortions or outright lies. The behavior of some of the agencies and people described in the book is just about the strongest argument for capital punishment I have ever seen. (And I oppose capital punishment!) It amazes me that such people are allowed to walk the streets, much less wield such unchecked power over the health and lives of the citizens who trust them and pay their salaries. Bad dog. Bad, bad dog.
Every statement in the opening paragraph of this review has been proven false. Raw milk from clean, healthy, grass-fed cows is not only healthy, it has nutritional properties that could help alleviate many illnesses that currently plague our society. Even one of the founders of the Mayo Clinic used raw milk therapy to cure serious illness. (But you cannot patent milk. At least, not yet.)
It is vital in this day and age for people to take charge of their own health, and to do that they must have good information. If you want to know the facts about milk and the history of the milk industry in this country, get this book. It is a wonderful antidote to the urban myths and lies about milk that pervade our culture.
UPDATE August 2009:
There is a new second edition of this out. Very well done update, well worth getting.
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