For a brief time during my childhood, my parents purchased milk directly from a neighboring farm. It came in recycled glass bottles rather than commercial cartons or jugs, but on my bowl of cereal, it tasted the same as store-bought milk. I cannot help but remember that during the summer months the milk actually had a green tint due to the pasturing of the cows. Little did I realize (or care) that I was drinking "raw" milk. Eventually, for convenience and consistency, or perhaps because the neighbors' cow went on to greener pastures, my parents switched the family over to store-bought milk.
Raw milk is "unpasteurized" milk. The state of
A person may not offer, display for sale, sell, deliver, or have possession of with intent to sell or deliver milk or milk products for human consumption unless every particle of the final mixture of the milk or milk products used in processing or manufacture has been thoroughly pasteurized by equipment approved by the [Board of Animal Health].
I have heard of many attempts to circumvent the state's pasteurization requirement. I have seen raw milk offered for sale to "pets." And I have heard of cow-sharing arrangements, where individuals purchase a percentage of a cow, thus entitling the person to a percentage of the raw milk. I offer no opinion as to whether these methods for delivering raw milk to consumers are legal. But anyone providing raw milk to someone else should understand that there certainly are legal risks.
