🌊 Inside the Raw Milk Renaissance

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By Max Towey

Drinking raw milk is one of the hottest and most controversial health trends in the US today. Many love it for its taste and purported health benefits. But federal health authorities – from the FDA to CDC – warn that drinking raw milk can be fatal. 

So what’s the truth? For this newsletter, we interviewed the leading representatives of both sides of the debate to find out.

On a single block in New York City, you can buy an assortment of unhealthy things: Weed, cigarettes, the new Skittles drink, and a 1,200-calorie Crumbl cookie. 

There is no block, however, where you can buy raw milk.

New York State law makes it illegal for any store or supermarket to sell raw milk. If you want to buy raw milk, you have two options: The first is to leave the city and drive to one of the state’s registered raw milk dairies to buy directly from the farmer; the second is to arrange for a dealer to deliver it to you – as if it were a drug deal.

New York is not alone in this regard: Roughly a dozen states allow the sale of raw milk in stores. The rest either ban it outright or permit it only on the premises of registered state dairies. 

But the raw milk tides are turning: Utah, North Carolina, West Virginia, Illinois, Arkansas, and Delaware have all relaxed their raw milk laws in recent years. And it’s hardly a red vs. blue issue: You can buy raw milk in health food stores in California and Washington. In fact, blue states tend to be more permissive. RFK Jr.’s appointment to lead HHS is likely to only accelerate this shift toward raw milk.

So what’s going on? Why is raw milk making a comeback? Is it no longer dangerous? Was it ever?

To answer these questions, we talked to perhaps the best representatives for each side of the argument: Mark McAfee, the founder of the world’s largest raw milk dairy and a man who has been floated as RFK Jr.’s “raw milk czar,” and Dr. John Lucey, a food scientist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a leading raw milk researcher. 

But first, some history.

Editor’s Note

With all this in mind, we want to hear from you: What do you think about raw milk? Have you tried it? Do you believe it’s dangerous or a hidden gem of health benefits? Let us know by replying to this email.

And in case you’ve missed this week’s stories, find them below:

• Does America Need a Caesar?

• US Army recruitment is booming

• A look into the widening Gen Z gender partisan gap

• How Welfare Weakened Europe

• Inside America’s Booming Blood Business

Thanks for reading! Enjoy your Saturdays.

–Max and Max