What's Milk Got? - Health Risks and Environmental Issues

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, Oct, 2002 by Rose Marie Williams

In some instances pasteurization is less than successful in destroying harmful bacteria and viruses as occurred in Chicago in 1985. A processing plant incorrectly pasteurized one day's supply of milk, which resulted in four deaths and 150,000 salmonella poisonings. The tainted batch of milk might also have contained live leukemia virus, tuberculosis virus, and a large assortment of other infectious organisms. "No records were kept to monitor subsequent cases of encephalitis, meningitis, or leukemia." (2)

Homogenization may increase the risk of arteriosclerotic heart disease. The enzyme, xanthine oxidase, is present in all milk, and is digested when raw milk is consumed. Homogenization breaks up the fat into tiny droplets, which surround and protect the enzyme. It is then carried into the bloodstream where it produces a chemical that damages the arteries. Plaque builds up at the injury site, thereby contributing to atherosclerosis. Even young children in the US are showing signs of hardening of the arteries. Cultures that consume no milk products, including the Yemenites, the South Vietnamese, the Atiu Mitiaro, and the Hunja remain free of arteriosclerotic heart disease. (7)

Early research conducted on feeding pasteurized and homogenized milk to cats "caused profound and rapid degeneration in all species tested." These conclusions have yet to be refuted. (8)

Antibiotics

The meat and dairy industry are the biggest users of antibiotic drugs. Some 52 known drugs are used to treat mastitis alone. According to Consumer's Union, only 30 of these drugs have been approved by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA claims several of the "illegal" drugs are generic versions of the 30 approved substances. (2)

Drug residues often go directly into the animal's milk. The milk from one treated cow can contaminate an entire truckload with drug residues. A withdrawal time should be observed during which milk is to be discarded until the drugs pass out of the cow's system, in as much as four to seven milking periods. That means money down the drain. The dairy industry is supposed to observe a withdrawal time before allowing milk from treated cows to reenter the milk pool, but this is not always done. About one-third of milk products are contaminated with antibiotic residues. Of the myriad drugs used, the FDA only requires residue tests for four. (2,4,9)

For some drugs, approved withdrawal times have never been established, so farmers or veterinarians using these drugs to treat dairy cows don't know how long milk can be contaminated. Some drugs used in dairy production are capable, even at low levels, of causing allergic reactions in a small number of milk drinkers. Milk is the most common cause of food allergy. Michael Jacobsen, author of Safe Food, suggests that in some cases the drugs in milk products may prove to be the offending substances, rather than the milk itself. (9)

The escalating use of drugs in dairy production has been blamed for the increase in antibiotic resistant bacteria. Some critics believe that government has done little to protect the public. Some veterinary drugs such as sulfamethazine along with other sulfa drugs may slightly increase cancer risk for humans. In spite of repeated assurances by the FDA that the milk supply is safe, the General Accounting Office (GAO) has concluded the FDA doesn't really know if it is safe or not. (9)