RAW Farm USA, a family-owned company that produces non-GMO, humanely unpasteurized milk, knows what it's like to face a bully.

The team, including founder and CEO Mark McAfee, his daughter Kaleigh Stanziani, son Aaron McAfee, and son-in-law Josh Stanziani, has faced its share of adversity since its inception in 1998. Hits have come mainly from conspiracy theories and accusations from many people, including those who believe pasteurization is crucial for health safety.

These last two weeks have sent another storm of adversity the company's way.

On December 3, officials with the California Department of Public Health declared and secured a recall of all RAW Farm products, claiming that the products are contaminated with multiple detections of bird flu, specifically the H5N1 avian influenza viruses. "Raw Farm milk products have tested positive for bird flu at both retail and dairy storage and bottling sites in recent days," the department declared in a statement.

The state officials placed the farm under quarantine and suspended any new distribution of its raw milk, cream, kefir, butter, and cheese products produced on or after November 27. Furthermore, they stated that "customers should immediately return any remaining product to the retail point of purchase" and "pasteurized milk remains safe to drink."

RAW Farm disputed the claims. On the same day of the California announcement, the team posted its stance on social media, stating "there are no illnesses associated with H5NI" in any of their products and "there are no food safety issues" or consumer safety concerns.

The team's critical rebuttal included another remark: the recall is a political issue. "Our family has faced many political challenges before and we are resilient," RAW Farm continued.

The recall caused a flurry. Customers loyal to the RAW Farm’s products swarmed social media, posting images of empty milk shelves and asking the brand to bring back the milk and followers not to be fooled by the headlines.

The state of California did not actually find any contaminated products, despite its recall actions.

More than a week after the state recall, Kaleigh Stanziani, who heads RAW Farm's marketing and branding, posted on the company's Instagram stories that the ordeal was a game of "political tug of war" and that RAW Farm has complied with the state's demands. "Nobody wanted this; we didn't want this," said Stanziani. "Why it happened to begin with is definitely timing. It's definitely because they were trying to defame and diminish and discredit."

She added that the company has passed many hurdles and is working tirelessly to get its milk back on shelves and ultimately to its customers—a feat she says is looking "extremely optimistic."

The Claims Against Raw

Raw milk has long been a target.

Centuries ago, all dairy was raw. But after the Industrial Revolution, a steady rise in city living came with increased infestations of germs, mold, viruses, and bacteria—much of which was contaminating foods, including milk. French scientists were the first to find that heating milk could kill much of the germs, and in the early 19th century, New York City officials mandated that all milk be heat-treated to keep it safe. (This mandate followed the harrowing swill milk incident, where people in New York fed their babies milk from dairy cows that were fed mucous and germ-laden mash leftover from alcohol distilleries.)

So, pasteurizing was seen as gold because it kept contamination contained. However, as the decades passed, this came at the expense of raw milk and impacted small farmers who were responsibly producing healthy, untainted raw milk. All the while, the giant corporate dairy industry, known as 'Big Dairy,' gained more and more power, and it spewed out propaganda stating the so-called benefits of pasteurized milk. (Meanwhile, large swaths of milk produced by big dairy come from animals abused and given copious amounts of antibiotics and growth hormones, not to mention pesticide-laden feed.)

Today, there's both a staunch stance for and against raw milk. And as Stanziani said, it is political. The CDC believes raw milk can lead to health consequences and heat treating it is crucial for killing germs and keeping milk "safe." Those in favor of raw milk—(which includes all of us at PrimaFoodie, in full transparency) see its myriad benefits, including the live digestive enzymes, rich essential fats, and bioavailable vitamins and minerals, all of which pasteurization commonly reduces or kills. As Mark McAfee told us previously, when milk is pasteurized, its natural nutrients "are destroyed, inactivated, or denatured," he says. Some raw milk enthusiasts simply love its taste, which is richer and creamier than pasteurized milk.

But there's more. Some see raw milk as a way to break with convention. It's a means to opt for something truly natural in our overly processed, corporatized world, and push against the politically charged machine of the USDA, FDA, CDC, and others. So yes, it's political. Raw milk is legal in just over a dozen states, with some additional states allowing for its sale on-farm only.

It is critical to point out that raw milk can contain germs, but that is if it comes from a farm and facility that does not actively take measures to prevent this. This is true for any food, be it dairy, salmon, vegetables, eggs, or something else. Copious other foods have held places on do-not-eat lists created by the CDC, including rare steak, runny eggs, and raw cookie dough. And yes, for reasons linked to illness, including salmonella poisoning, a real issue, these foods come with warnings. Still, how many people use their judgment and order a medium-rare steak or a sunny-side-up egg at brunch? And are eggs and steaks getting walloped? No. When we interviewed McAfee earlier this year, he told us that RAW Farm tests every vat of their milk for E. coli, Listeria, Salmonella, Campylobacter, and other bacteria and contamination.

Drinking with Eyes Wide Open

RAW Farm’s recent challenge is a cautionary tale to all of us consumers to always look between the lines. If a fully transparent, family-owned farm creates a pure product, why is it targeted? What are the motives behind this recall?

Perhaps the big corporate food industry dislikes people genuinely wanting to buck the profit-focused processed food world. Maybe it’s a threat to their bottom line when people want to consume real foods from farmers and producers who put health, humans, and the planet first.

Stanziani was cautious in her Instagram statements not to explicitly say too much, but the underlying message was clear: the big corporate food world does not have our backs. "There are still a whole lot of threats all around," she said.

Still, she stressed that the entire RAW Farm team is hustling to get their products back, even in the face of all the adversity.

"When you are a pioneer, every hurdle can be overcome,” she said.

rBST-free. Grass-fed. Organic. Dairy milk has many descriptors. On one hand, this is good. More dairy distributors and small farms are offering high-quality dairy products free of antibiotics and growth hormones commonly given to animals.

On the other side, these denominations on labels are confusing. What is grass-fed milk and why is it important? As we know, so much of the vocabulary slapped onto food labels is part of a marketing ploy meant to mislead us. That’s why in our PrimaFoodie Guide to Dairy Milk we’re clarifying the dairy nomenclature.

Defining “Dairy” Milk

These days, “milk” encompasses a wide variety of drinkable goods, including a growing amount of plant-based liquids. In this guide, we’re breaking down dairy milk, which is the liquid that comes from the mammary glands of animals. Naturally high in fat and protein, dairy milk is a staple ingredient for other products that fall into the dairy category, such as butter and yogurt.

Many animals secrete a nutritious liquid from their mammary glands that humans can consume, such as cows, sheep, goats, and camels. We’re not concentrating on the type of dairy milk here; rather we’re clarifying the labeling jargon found on the packages, which mainly describe the most common dairy milk products consumed in the west: milks from cows, goats, and sheep.

Dairy Milk Labeling

Organic

This is a PrimaFoodie must. USDA certified organic dairy milk considers the wellbeing of the diary livestock and the quality of the finished product. This label means the diary animals are allowed to regularly graze on grass (on land that is of at-least a certain acreage), are fed food without chemicals or pesticides, and are not given antibiotic or hormones of any kind (including rBGH hormones) and other potentially harmful chemicals. Also, there are also no additives put into the milk once it’s been secreted.

Grass-Fed

This denomination shares similarities to that of grass-fed meat: the dairy animals are allowed to naturally graze on grass terrain. While grass-fed is ideal, this terminology is sometimes used to mislead. (I.e. the cows may be allowed to graze but are still given hormones.) Always aim for grass-fed to be coupled with “certified organic.”

Raw

Simply put, raw milk has not been pasteurized, which is a heating process that kills bacteria. There are generally two schools of thought when it comes to raw milk. One believes raw milk to be more nutrient-rich as it hasn’t been through any processes that are believed to kill the beneficial good enzymes. (Some people find these enzymes to be beneficial for digesting milk proteins. Also, some of have issues digesting pasteurized milk choose raw.) The other believes raw milk to be potentially risky as it could contain harmful bacteria.

DHA-Added

A member of the polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acid family, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) is an essential nutrient. Research shows DHA to be particularly beneficial for healthy eyes and cognitive health. Milk that is DHA-added has had this nutrient included after it’s been milked from the animal.

A2 Milk (also called A1-free milk)

A2 dairy milk comes from cows that only produce the A2 protein, which many feel is easier to digest. Some background: Cows produce two types of proteins that are found in milk—A1 and A2. While every person is different, digestion issues related to dairy are commonly linked to the A1 protein. (Intolerance is also commonly linked to lactose, milk’s natural sugar, but that is a separate issue.) Some farmers have bred the A1 out of their cows so the dairy they now produce exclusively has the A2 protein.

rBST-Free

This is a genetically-altered synthetic hormone given to dairy cows to up the body’s natural production of milk. rBST stands for recombinant bovine somatotropin (bovine somatotropin is a naturally occurring hormone in cows, so the “r” denotes the human-made version of this, which was originally created by Monsanto.) In the early 1990s, the FDA approved the use of rBST and did not mandate that dairy manufacturers provide any mention of this on their labels. The use of rBST is contested, as is whether the labeling of rBST-free should be permitted. The European Union, including many other nations, ban the use of rBST in dairy cows. Our take? Go certified organic, which means rBST-free, or—at minimum—look for rBST-free.

PrimaFoodie-Approved Dairy Milk Companies:

We always recommend first sleuthing your local farmers’ market and cooperative market for organic dairy farmers in your area. When this isn’t an option, the following brands are more readily available in local markets, each of which follow strict hormone-free, humane, organic standards:

RAW Farm Raw Dairy Products (previously called Organic Pastures)

Strauss Family Organic Creamery

Alexandre Family Farm

Maple Hill Organic Creamery

Lifeline Farm