Greening Austin Daily

Beekeeping and Raw Milk on NPR

19th July, 2010 - Posted by carsi - No Comments

This morning, I heard two interesting local-food-related stories on NPR. The first was about the health benefits of honey and the increase in popularity of beekeeping. Beekeeping has become more popular recently in urban areas as more and more people become interested in growing their own food. The story went on to discuss the importance of bees in our agricultural system and how honey can provide antibacterial properties, although the allergy-preventing claims are mostly unfounded.

The second story was about the debate about raw milk. Raw milk is also seeing a rise in popularity due to the local and natural food movement. Proponents claim that raw milk is more nutrient-dense than pasteurized milk, and the woman interviewed for the story claims her kids no longer have allergies after making the switch to raw milk. However, critics of raw milk point to the increase in likelihood of the presence of bacteria in raw milk versus pasteurized milk, and they believe that the nutritional benefits don’t outweigh the risks.