Raw milk: healthy or hazard?

Raw milk. As in unpasteurized. As in straight from the cow.

It’s what an Edmonton-area couple is fighting for. Judith Johnson and Henry Pudlow are even getting ready to launch a constitutional challenge.

They were before the courts Wednesday on charges of selling unpasteurized milk, something that’s against provincial laws due to health risks. They are trying to convince the court they aren’t actually "selling" the milk. Johnson and Pudlow are copying a model which was successful skirting Ontario laws.

Here’s how it works: farmers are allowed to drink raw milk from their own cows, so they’ve developed something call a "cow share" program. They sell shares in their cows, that way, each shareholder is part owner of the cow and can drink the milk. The money which changes hands is for upkeep of the cows. A way around the rules, perhaps, but is it safe?

Proponents of raw milk claim it is healthier, saying that heating milk to pasteurize it destroys healthy enzymes. They also say people who are lactose intolerant and can’t drink pasteurized milk – are able to digest the raw milk.

Medical experts are pretty clear on their position: raw milk is dangerous. They say it can cause any number of illnesses such as salmonella, listeria and e. Coli. Those at greatest risk are people with pre-existing conditions and the very young.

The farmers will be back in court next month.