Mark McAfee co-founded the world’s largest organic raw milk dairy in 1999 named Organic Pastures Dairy. Today, it sells it’s raw products safely across the United States in over 900 store locations. The Raw Farm brand estimates to feed over 50,000 families in California, alone.
Mark founded the Raw Milk Institute in 2011 to assure that farmers had a resource to assist them in producing very low risk raw milk for their consumers. He is a premed-trained retired EMS Paramedic and acute care medical educator with a background in organic farming, and he has lectured on the safety and gut biome benefits of raw milk at USC, Stanford, UCSB, Rutgers, University of Guelph, UVIC BC Canada, UCLA, CSUF, Chico State and other Universities and medical schools in Australia, USA and Canada.
Mark begins by talking about his background in paramedic medicine for about 17 years. It was a great experience for the first chapter of his life, but it was exhausting work. When his grandparents passed away, Mark was ready for a change, so he took over the family farm.
For Mark, raw milk is a team effort and a family affair. He says they don’t just sell it, they teach it!
Since the pandemic, Mark explains that raw milk sales have exploded. In fact, they are the number one milk in all natural food stores in California. As he says, “we have changed history by giving options to dollar voting consumers to be able to make a choice for their health.”
There are so many immune system issues here in the US and throughout the world. However Mark explains that raw milk is a powerful food for building up the immune system.
Mark says raw milk is one of the most anti-inflammatory foods on the planet. He says we are mammals, and we are defined by breast milk.
Breast milk helps the baby organize the gut, nourishes the baby and protects the baby. This is the result of the plethora of bio-actives in the milk, such as enzymes, probiotic bacteria, specialized sugars, stem cells – and more are discovered every year! These same wonderful bio-actives are found in raw milk, unfortunately most of them are destroyed during pasteurization.
In the end, Mark talks about the importance of living a life of purpose beyond self. He is a humanitarian with a huge heart. For Mark, it’s a we project, not a me project.
Let’s dive in to this fascinating conversation with raw milk farmer Mark McAfee!
You can check out Mark’s Raw Farm products here
And this is the Raw Milk institute here
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