The idea that there is “pus” floating around in cow’s milk is an urban legend that continues to resurface on the Internet, as overblown and gory as ever. This is a particularly nasty urban legend perpetuated by groups such as Mercy for Animals (MFA), PeTA, the Animal Liberation Front, and others – To quote MFA: “There is pus in your milk. And the U.S. has more pus in its milk than anyplace else in the world.” Yuck! But as badly as these groups want to gross you out of drinking milk, repeating something over and over again doesn’t make it true.
Disgusted by the thought? Probably – and that’s the point!
They are trying to gross you out of drinking milk by telling you it’s full of “pus,” but they are either misinformed or being deliberately dishonest. What they are doing is equating pus—the accumulation of dead white blood cells we may see around an infected site, with a cow’s somatic cell count (SCC) — simply put, the number of living white blood cells in the milk they produce. These living white blood cells (SCCs or leukocytes) are the cells that both cows and humans we all have floating around in our system. This is, of course, a very important – and conveniently ignored – distinction to make if we’re going to have an honest discussion about drinking milk! These are important cells that patrol our body to locate a foreign invasion and to summon other white blood cells to the site. Indeed, there is a leukocyte count in the saliva of the healthy human mouth. When there is an infection, the SCC count increases, so when it comes to SCCs, a low count is better, and something farmers strive for. Higher SCC counts are an animal welfare concern, reduces production levels and quality of milk, and above a certain count, means milk cannot be sold to consumers at all. But these SCCs are not “pus.”’
“You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”
Whether you love or loathe milk is entirely a personal matter, but we believe it is a matter that should be based upon an honest presentation of the facts.
Which groups are painting a picture of milk and dairy as “gross,” and why?
NAIA focuses on improving animal wellbeing and preserving the human-animal bond. To accomplish this goal, it is necessary to provide fact-based explanations of complex, often emotionally charged animal issues, while exposing the hype and misinformation that often surrounds them. If our perception is not shaped by reality, even the best and brightest among us cannot reach sound decisions. We created Consider the Source to assist people as they seek factual information about widely misunderstood and controversial issues.
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