6 THE MILK QUESTION 



somewhat higher than this. At the price stated the total 

 value of the milk produced in the United States is about 

 eight hundred and fifty million dollars a year. 



Milk an emblem of purity 



Milk everywhere and always has been held up as an 

 emblem of purity. The fact that it is the sole food for 

 babies during the first few months of life, its bland nature, 

 and wholesome character, lend countenance to this belief. 

 Its veiy whiteness helps to give it a good character. It 

 therefore comes as a shock to know that the pure whiteness 

 covers dark dangers and that the land of milk and honey 

 may be a valley of death and disease. 



There are a number of reasons why milk is sometimes 

 harmful. The way we use milk to-day is an artificial prac- 

 tice, if not an unnatural one. When we go against nature 

 we must suffer the consequences. Nature never intended 

 the milk of one animal to be used by the young of another. 

 It is further quite evident that nature intended the milk to 

 be partaken of while fresh at the fountain of its production. 

 To separate the mouth of the baby from the teat of the cow 

 by several hundred miles is often a serious matter for the 

 baby, — for in the mean time the milk has deteriorated 

 and may have assumed dangerous properties. Many fac- 

 tors besides time, temperature, and bacteria hasten the 

 deterioration or influence the quality of the milk, such as 

 handling, aerating, straining, clarifying, separating, mixing, 

 transporting, bottling, and various sundry processes that 

 will be dwelt upon later on. All this may profoundly 

 modify the very nature of the milk. Dirt and bacteria 

 enter, decomposition proceeds, poisons may develop, 

 so that a glass of ordinary market milk may be very 

 unlike the food that leaves the mammary gland. We 

 shall soon learn that bacteria love milk. They love it 

 as much as the baby does. Milk is a perfect food for the 

 growth and development of germs. They grow in milk at 



