American Academy of Pediatrics renews its call for a ban on drinking raw milk

The American Academy of Pediatrics renewed its call for a ban on the sale of raw milk and dairy on Oct. 5 because of the life-threatening illnesses it can cause, especially in babies, children, pregnant women and those who are immunocompromised, reports Ellyn Vohnoutka for U.S. News. The AAP said claims about raw milk’s health benefits are false. Currently, 27 states allow the sale of raw milk, and more are pushing to do the same.

Many at the forefront of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again campaign tout the benefits of drinking raw milk and are behind efforts to allow the sale of it. Anemona Hartocollis writes for The New York Times that raw milk advocates believe it is healthier than pasteurized milk because it's less processed, and might support the efforts because of that. She added that alignment with the MAHA movement, which favors autonomy over regulated vaccines, often overlaps with this belief.

“Pasteurization heats milk to a set temperature for a minimum amount of time... [and] kills bacteria, viruses and parasites that once made milk a leading source of food poisoning and infant deaths,” Vohnoutka writes. When milk isn't pasteurized, it can carry bacteria like salmonella, listeria and e. coli.

The AAP is also following the trend of drinking raw cow's milk as a possibility for transmitting bird flu. Birds can transmit flu to dairy cows, and so far, it has only infected a few cattle workers. In 2024, it appeared in raw milk samples. While bird flu hasn’t spread to humans through the consumption of raw milk yet, the AAP does regard it as a concern.