Raw milk is gaining ground among American consumers, but a series of recent disease outbreaks linked to the product has intensified concern among public health officials.
The American Academy of Pediatrics added to the debate last week by urging the United States to prohibit the sale of unpasteurized milk.
Doctors say the trend has been fueled by influencers promoting raw milk’s supposed benefits, former advocacy by US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr and growing distrust of government regulators.
The FDA and other public health organizations say there is no scientific evidence that raw milk eases lactose intolerance, cures allergies or strengthens immunity. Raw milk producers argue that pasteurization diminishes flavor and nutritional value, while health officials maintain that heating milk is an essential safety measure.
“I’m concerned about people consuming raw milk because while it isn’t a guarantee that you will get sick from it, there is a relatively high likelihood that you can get a pathogen, a bacteria that will make you sick,” said Petra Levin, a biology professor at Washington University.
Pasteurization became common in US businesses in the late 19th century. The process heats milk to eliminate disease-causing bacteria and pathogens. As adoption spread and regulators began requiring it, infant mortality dropped sharply. The FDA banned interstate sales and distribution of raw milk in 1987, although state laws continued to determine whether it could be sold within state borders.
Raw milk consumption has grown during the 21st century, as several states have relaxed their regulations over the past decade. Sales rose 17.6% in 2024, according to market research company Circana.
Before becoming secretary of health and human services, Kennedy told an audience that raw milk was the only kind he drank. He also promised that the “FDA’s war on public health is about to end”, including what he called the agency’s “aggressive suppression” of raw milk.
After taking office, Kennedy shared a shot of raw milk with Dr Paul Saladino, a psychiatrist and author of The Carnivore Code. However, to the disappointment of some raw milk advocates, he now appears to have stopped promoting it. The Trump administration is instead emphasizing whole milk.
Ben Beichler developed an interest in dairy cattle while working as a farmer. He and his wife later established Creambrook Farm in Virginia, where they now milk 150 cows. The couple legally sells raw milk through a “herd share” arrangement, under which customers purchase a share of a cow.
Beichler calls the Covid-19 pandemic a “massive gamechanger” for the farm, saying it prompted people to think more carefully about how they could avoid illness.
“For better or worse, I think there is a skepticism in society that didn’t exist pre-Covid, and people are willing to question things more than they used to. So that has made people question a lot of their dietary needs,” Beichler said. “I’m not necessarily saying that skepticism has been a good thing.”
He said Creambrook Farm’s sales have climbed by between 30% and 50% each year since 2020.
Beichler and other raw milk supporters cite research such as a 2011 study published in the journal Clinical & Experimental Allergy, which reported that “consumption of farm milk may offer protection against asthma and allergy”.
The FDA says advocates have overstated the study’s conclusions. Roughly half of the farm milk consumed by participants had been boiled, and the researchers acknowledged that they could not compare pasteurized and raw milk because there was no objective confirmation of whether the samples were actually raw.
“At this stage, consumption of raw farm milk cannot be recommended as a preventive measure,” the study’s authors concluded.
Beichler said Creambrook tests every batch in its own laboratory before sending samples to an independent third-party facility. He declined to identify that laboratory publicly but said he would share its name with customers who request it.
The farm has received nothing but five-star reviews on Google.
“An honest and wholesome family who can provide safe and nutrient dense milk to the many people who are drinking raw milk these days,” one reviewer wrote.
Even as a strong supporter of raw milk, Beichler said consumers must be “judicious” about “where they are getting” it.
This summer, more than 100 people became sick after consuming raw milk, and 11 were hospitalized, according to National Public Radio. An E coli outbreak this year in California, Florida and Texas was also linked to cheese from the country’s largest raw milk distributor, Raw Farm. Most of those who fell ill were children ages three and younger.
Dr Brian Dawes, an infectious disease specialist at Stanford University, said raw milk is especially dangerous for children because “they have weaker immune systems, less overall physiological reserves, so when they get these infections, they tend to get much sicker”.
He supports a ban on raw milk. He said he also thinks public health leaders “have our work cut out for us to really regain public trust in the systems that have worked for milk for over 100 years, keeping people safe”.
