Exploring the risks, the benefits, and the real reasons behind the raw milk revival
Raw milk is having a moment.
You’ll see it at farmers markets, hear about it in wellness podcasts, and maybe even spot glass jars in your neighbor’s fridge. Supporters praise its enzymes, flavor, and “realness.” Critics call it risky and outdated. Depending on who you ask, raw milk is either nature’s perfect food—or a public health disaster.
So what’s the truth?
At Delve, we don’t sell raw milk. But we do connect people with the farmers who produce it—and the questions that come with it. So we’re digging into what raw milk is, what the science says, and how to think critically about the hype.
🐄 What Is Raw Milk, Anyway?
Raw milk is milk that hasn’t been pasteurized—meaning it hasn’t been heat-treated to kill bacteria. It’s fresh from the animal (usually cow or goat), filtered and chilled, but not processed.
Pasteurization became standard in the early 1900s to reduce outbreaks of foodborne illness like tuberculosis, typhoid, and brucellosis. Today, almost all milk sold in grocery stores is pasteurized and homogenized.
But raw milk never fully disappeared—and in recent years, it’s seen a quiet (and sometimes controversial) comeback.
✅ Why People Love It
Ask a raw milk enthusiast why they drink it, and you’ll hear:
“It tastes better."
Many people describe raw milk as creamier, sweeter, or more “alive” than store-bought milk.
“It’s more nutritious.”
Some claim that raw milk retains beneficial enzymes, probiotics, and vitamins that are reduced or destroyed by pasteurization.
“It doesn’t upset my stomach like regular milk.”
Anecdotally, some people who struggle with lactose intolerance say they can digest raw milk more easily—possibly due to enzymes like lactase that may survive in unpasteurized milk.
“It’s local and ethical.”
Raw milk often comes from small-scale farms where animals are pasture-raised and treated humanely. Many consumers prefer supporting this system over industrial dairy.
⚠️ What the Science Says (and Doesn’t)
Here’s where things get trickier.
📉 Pasteurization does reduce some nutrients—slightly.
Vitamin C and some B vitamins are lowered, but milk is not a major source of these to begin with. The overall nutritional impact is modest.
🦠 Pasteurization does make milk safer.
Raw milk can contain harmful bacteria like E. coli, Listeria, Campylobacter, and Salmonella. While good farming practices reduce the risk, they don’t eliminate it entirely.
According to the CDC, raw milk is 150 times more likely to cause foodborne illness than pasteurized milk¹. Children, pregnant women, and immunocompromised people are especially vulnerable.
That doesn’t mean every glass of raw milk is dangerous. But it does mean the risks are real—and unevenly distributed.
🧪 Claims about enzymes and probiotics are under-researched.
It’s true that pasteurization kills enzymes and beneficial bacteria—but it also kills pathogens. Whether the enzyme or probiotic content in raw milk provides meaningful health benefits hasn’t been conclusively proven².
⚖️ Is Raw Milk Legal in Texas?
Yes—but with limitations. In Texas, raw milk sales are allowed only directly from licensed farms to consumers. You can't legally buy it in a grocery store, and farmers can’t ship it across state lines.
This makes raw milk part of a growing “know your farmer” movement—and part of why many people associate it with transparency and trust.
🧠 How to Think About Raw Milk—Without the Hype
Raw milk isn’t magic, and it isn’t poison. Like many foods, it’s context-dependent—meaning your values, risk tolerance, health status, and local options all matter.
Here’s how to think it through:
| If You…Then… | |
| Prioritize maximum safety or have a vulnerable immune system | Pasteurized milk is the better choice. |
| Have access to a small farm with transparent practices and sanitation | Raw milk may be an option—just know the risks. |
| Like the idea of raw milk but want to reduce risk | Look for low-temp pasteurized, non-homogenized milk. It’s a middle ground. |
| Care most about ethics and local sourcing | Visit your dairy. Ask how the animals are raised, how the milk is handled, and how often it’s tested. |
- 🧭 Want a thoughtful long read? We appreciated this perspective from Barn Raiser: “Could Raw Milk Reinvent the Future of Dairy?” by Abby Rockefeller. It explores how the raw milk debate is less about nutrients and more about scale, trust, and the future of local food systems.
🌱 Delve’s Take
We don’t tell you what to eat. But we do help you ask better questions.
Our job is to introduce you to the people behind your food—the farmers, cheesemakers, and educators who live this every day. If you visit a dairy through Delve, you’ll get to see how the milk is made, how the animals are cared for, and what decisions go into it all.
It’s not just about taste—it’s about trust, transparency, and being part of the system that feeds us.
📚 Want to Go Deeper?
Explore more food-and-farm posts on the Delve blog:
Or browse farm visits and dairy experiences in Texas:
📚 Resources
Raw Milk Safety & Illness Risk
- CDC: Raw Milk – What You Need to Know: Updated as of 2025, the CDC outlines health risks associated with raw milk—especially for children, pregnant people, and those with weakened immune systems.
- CDC / MMWR (2025): Salmonella Typhimurium Outbreak Linked to Raw Milk: A multi-state outbreak in 2023–2024 linked to raw milk sickened 171 people, reinforcing concerns about bacterial contamination.
- FDA (2024): Misconceptions and Dangers of Raw Milk Consumption: FDA explains why common health claims about raw milk—like lactose intolerance relief or “immune support”—aren’t supported by evidence.
Nutrition & Enzymes
- Journal of Dairy Science (2011): Effects of Pasteurization on Milk Nutrition: Pasteurization slightly reduces some B vitamins and vitamin C, but overall nutrient impact is minor.
- Stanford Medicine (2025): Raw Milk and Emerging Viral Risks: Pasteurization is shown to inactivate viruses like H5N1, prompting renewed warnings during bird flu outbreaks in U.S. dairies.
- American Society for Microbiology (2025): Raw Milk Microbiology – Unfiltered and Unfriendly: Details why beneficial microbes in raw milk are often outweighed by risk of pathogens, and why pasteurization remains a public health safeguard.
Legal Context & Local Access
- Texas DSHS: Raw Milk Sales and Licensing: In Texas, raw milk can only be sold directly from licensed farms—no shipping, delivery, or resale.
- Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund: Raw Milk Laws by State (2024): Overview of raw milk access across the U.S., including Texas’s direct-sale-only model.
Food System & Trust Perspectives
- Barn Raiser (2023): Could Raw Milk Reinvent the Future of Dairy? by Abby Rockefeller: Explores the broader context of the raw milk movement—less about nutrients, more about decentralization, transparency, and scale.
