Are there benefits to drinking organic milk and is organic milk pasteurized?
Aside from supporting organic agriculture and the humane treatment of cows there also appear to be health benefits to drinking organic milk.
According to a study performed by the Danish Institute of Agricultural Research that tested milk from cows who were farmed both organically and conventionally organic milk was higher in Vitamin E, beta carotene, the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthine and omega 3 essential fatty acids.
Although organic milk is available both raw and pasteurized most of the organic milk we find on our supermarket shelves is pasteurized. It is illegal to sell raw milk in numerous states because raw milk poses the risk of transmitting bacteria such as listeria, E. coli and salmonella. Still many feel that raw milk is a healthy choice because heating milk to temperatures high enough to kill harmful bacteria may also kill beneficial bacteria, destroy enzymes and reduce vitamin content.
You can rest assured that pasteurized organic milk is as safe to drink as pasteurized conventional milk because the pasteurization process destroys harmful bacteria.