Sales of raw milk appear to be on the rise, despite years of warnings about the health risks of drinking the unpasteurized products and an outbreak of bird flu in dairy cows.
Since March 25, when the bird flu virus was confirmed in U.S. cattle for the first time, weekly sales of raw cows milk have ticked up 21% to as much as 65% compared with the same periods a year ago, according to the market research firm NielsenIQ.
That runs counter to advice from the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which calls raw milk one of the riskiest foods people can consume.
Raw milk can be contaminated with harmful germs that can make you very sick, the CDC says on its website.
As of Monday, at least 42 herds in nine states are known to have cows infected with the virus known as type A H5N1, federal officials said.
The virus has been found in high levels in the raw milk of infected cows. Viral remnants have been found in samples of milk sold in grocery stores, but the FDA said those products are safe to consume because pasteurization has been confirmed to kill the virus.
Its not yet known whether live virus can be transmitted to people who consume milk that hasnt been heat-treated.
But CDC officials warned last week that people who drink raw milk could theoretically become infected if the bird flu virus comes in contact with receptors in the nose, mouth and throat or by inhaling virus into the lungs. Theres also concern that if more people are exposed to the virus, it could mutate to spread more easily in people.
Bonni Gilley, 75, of Fresno, said she has raised generations of her family on raw milk and unpasteurized cream and butter because she believes its so healthy and lacks additives.
Reports of bird flu in dairy cattle have not made her think twice about drinking raw milk, Gilley said.
If anything, it is accelerating my thoughts about raw milk, she said, partly because she doesnt trust government officials.
Such views are part of a larger problem of government mistrust and a rejection of expertise, said Matthew Motta, who studies health misinformation at Boston University.
It not that people are stupid or ignorant or that they dont know what the science is, he said. Theyre motivated to reject it on the basis of partisanship, their political ideology, their religion, their cultural values.
CDC and FDA officials didnt respond to questions about the rising popularity of raw milk.
Motta suggested that the agencies should push back with social media posts extolling the health effects of pasteurized milk.
Communicators need to make an effort to understand why people consume raw milk and try to meet them where they are, he said.