Why do people drink raw or unpasteurised milk?

Whateverpedia, I didn't see a link to any news story, but appreciate the additional info. I was merely answering the question he posed in the title of the thread, as well as in his post - i.e. why do people drink raw or unpasteurized milk.

Yes, there are occasional stories of children becoming deathly ill from drinking raw milk, and that is heartbreaking (but what you describe is entirely different - he didn't make that clear in his post). Most of the time it's due to unsafe or unclean milking and / or handling procedures.

It sounds like the store selling the product is mostly to blame for putting a product not meant for consumption in the food section. Very unfortunate.

Thanks for the link, Whateverpedia. However, the article title is a bit sensationalized and misleading, since this wasn't regular raw milk meant for consumption. It doesn't really clarify the difference between "raw milk for bathing" and "raw milk meant for drinking" - so The Guardian is essentially lumping them together unfairly.

The story would be quite different if the headline had indicated this was a cosmetic product that had been consumed by children...

Unfortunately, whenever there's any incident whatsoever, despite the extremely low risk (I'm talking about raw milk for drinking, not bathing), it gets major media attention and turns into fear mongering. Personally, I resent the laws making raw milk illegal - the demand for it is there, but getting lawmakers to listen and honor consumer's ability to make intelligent choices for themselves is very difficult.

There have been multiple petitions here in the states for the legalization of raw milk (it's legal in a few states to varying degrees - in my state you have to buy a herd share from one of the small number of farms who offer it (in addition to the cost of the milk), and then go pick it up each week - you can't buy it in the store here).

Our food is so grossly over treated in various ways due to so-called safety issues. In the name of protecting everyone from every possible germ and so on, we've pretty much destroyed the vast amount of nutrition in so many of our foods via irradiation, pasteurization, other types of heat processing, bleaching, and other sterilization / decontamination / purification procedures - not to mention genetic modification or the toxic chemicals often used to grow it. Many of these"safety" procedures themselves trigger or contribute to myriad serious health issues, especially as those foods are consumed over time.

Another good example of this is almonds - you can't buy raw almonds in the U.S. due to a very small number of people getting sick at some point from eating them, even though that risk is extremely small. The problem is, as with milk, pasteurizing almonds destroys vital nutrients.

We do this to so much of our food it's nothing short of ridiculous. No wonder we've become increasingly sick, fat, and unhealthy. You can't thrive on dead food.

It's ironic that many kid's foods - particularly cereals, beverages (sodas, juices), and candy - are loaded with toxic chemicals, preservatives, and dyes - but such a big deal is made over the dangers of raw milk. Raw milk is quite safe - if it comes from healthy cows and is handled properly.

(Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now...!)

Here in New York you can buy raw milk from the farm (or at farmer markets) as long as it has been inspected first.
Like you I grew up drinking raw milk straight from the cows teat.
In fact when I would go outside to play as a kid I carried one of those collapsible cups in my pocket just for that, well that and drinking water from one of the many springs around here.
I'd also bring home a quart or two from the farm up the road when I'd help milk their cows.
I also really like Goats milk and have been thinking about getting a couple goats just for the milk.