dairy farmer Joe Wright

Raw milk is touted as being more nutritious than pasteurized milk…but is it? Proponents of raw milk say it’s safe to drink…but should you drink it and give it to your family?

You don’t want to miss this week’s podcast.  I dig into the questions about raw milk that you have asked and get answers from dairy farmer Joe Wright. Questions such as:

• Joe…you’re a dairy farmer. Do you drink raw milk or pasteurized milk and why?
• There is a large underground market for raw milk with people selling it as pet food yet humans consume it. Would you explain this?
• Some farmers sell both raw milk and pasteurized milk…is that correct?
• Can you really insure that raw milk or cheese made from raw milk is pathogen-free?

Joe has traveled a very interesting path from the firm to the farm. He grew up in Florida and attended the University of Florida law school. Ok, so I went to The University of Tennessee and he IS a gator…but I won’t hold that against him. While practicing law specializing in health care, he met his wife, the daughter of a dairy farmer. The rest, as they say, is history.

After spending time working with his father-in-law on the farm, he knew he could never go back to an office. Passionate about dairy farmers and active in their industry, Joe serves as first vice president of Dairy Farmers, Inc., Florida’s milk promotion group.

Raw milk has been making headlines lately from proponents who feel it’s not only safe to drink but boosts the immune system and shouldn’t be banned. On the flip side were reports in the media last week of an outbreak of campylobacteriosis in Michigan from raw milk with symptoms of diarrhea, fever and abdominal pain.

If you ask 10 people if raw milk is safe to drink, you would probably get 10 different responses. So today and next week we’re delving in to what the evidence-based science says about raw milk and whether it’s safe to drink or a setup for illness which could be potentially deadly.

Listen to this week’s podcast