Raw Milk & Health

“Identifying raw milk benefits and distinctions”

In this presentation attention is paid on the possibilities to distinguish between milks from different origins (organic, grass-based, mountains, seasons, etc). Additionally an update will be presented on scientific evidence about if and how raw milk protects our health. Both large scale studies and case study reports will be used to show the impact of the raw milk consumption. Special attention will be paid to fermented raw milk products, known over centuries by shepherds and farmers and which act like probiotic food.
Ruminating animals like cows and goats have co-developed over 8,000 years with human beings, many of whom depended on fermented raw milk products. Nowadays we are warned against all kind of milk consumption. We are told that milk makes you fat, causes heart disease and that milk should not be meant for grown-up adults. Additionally raw milk consumption is falling worldwide due to fears about food borne disease. Modern science, however, shows that raw milk protects against asthma and allergies, that the intake of high fat milk products makes you lean and that fermented milk like kefir and yoghurt protects for all kinds of disease. What we need to learn, is how we can learn to differentiate milk qualities. Some milk is meant for pasteurisation, other milk can be consumed raw milk. Some milk has very poor fat quality, whilst grass-based animals produce a fat profile that supports human health.

New research methods no longer analyse single milk components, but analyse milk as an orchestra. Due to these methods, milk origins can be distinguished and therefore we should speak of milk in plural, just as Inuit people can distinguish over 20 qualities of snow, necessary for their survival in the Arctic. Research will be presented to demonstrate that raw milk products, like raw milk kefir and raw milk cheeses improve the quality of life of a range of people suffering on bowel and digestion problems, asthma, skin problem, etc. We will discuss a range of bio-active peptides, fatty acids plus an unchanged enzyme pattern are contribute to these positive health effects.

Professor Ton Baars (Netherlands) is a researcher for milk quality in relation to animal and human health aspects. Since 2011 he held a position at The Research Institute of Organic Agriculure (FiBL) in Frick (CH) as well as a research position at the biodynamic farm Juchowo Farm (Silnowo, Pl). In Poland he is building up a research institute for applied organic research.

As a trained agronomic ecologist he worked 25 years in The Netherlands at applied research in organic animal husbandry, and later he held a position as Professor for biodynamic Agriculture at Kassel University (2005-2011). At Kassel University research projects have been taken up about raw milk quality and human health. His main focus is on ways to develop raw milk products, which are safe for direct consumption and has a high inner quality to protect and support human health. Websites: www.fibl.org; www.rawmilkandhealth.com; www.juchowo.org