Is it safe to drink raw (unpasteurized) milk? The short answer is a resounding yes — provided it comes from healthy, organically raised, grass-fed, or pastured cows, that is.

Dr. William Winter, who is eminently qualified to speak on this topic, expounds on the health benefits — and safety — of raw milk in this interview. He’s not only a veterinarian; he’s also a livestock nutritionist, holistic herd health consultant, and a chapter leader for the Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF).

He’s also written a book for veterinarians called The Holistic Veterinary Handbook, published in 1986 (currently out of print).

Originally trained as a horse veterinarian, Dr. Winter started his career working in a large animal practice in Missouri. There he honed his skills in emergency surgery before eventually switching gears to focus on holistic veterinary medicine.

“Being a horse vet, you’re not working on horses all the time,” he says. “There were plenty of broken down cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats that I worked on. So, I got a full range of experience.

One day, a book appeared to me, [written by] Juliette de Baϊracli Levy, the herbal grandmother…

She taught me through this book about natural rearing, which is a natural diet. It was no vaccines, no wormers, no antibiotics, and no drugs whatsoever. That was my epiphany…

A lot of this stuff we do now, they used to know how to do before the ‘40s. As soon as antibiotics came in, there was this mass amnesia… all the great wisdom was kind of forgotten because it was too hard…

But I read the book, and I became unemployable. No vet in their right mind would hire me because all day I talk people out of vaccines, wormers, and antibiotics, all the things that you actually make money on. So I found myself having to start my own vet hospital.”

He ended up selling his practice in 1999. At that time, it was the biggest holistic veterinary hospital in the United States.

He’s still involved with the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association (AHVMA) though, which he co-founded. The AHVMA primarily focuses on pets, so Dr. Winter founded another version of it for livestock, which is still in its infancy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScCfRjfrDJ4