[verve_rat]

I'm aware. I have milked cows before. I would imagine no one is milking by hand in western countries. It, quite literally, gets sucked out of the cows and into a vat. Farmers generally take good care of the milk and clean all the equipment, it is their income after all.

Not that I'm suggesting that raw milk is a good idea. I've drunk milk from the vat, and it is the cream content that gives it the different taste. But we invented civilisation for a reason.

And if someone is milking into a bucket, stay the fuck away from that stone age shit.

[cute_boi]

Farmers generally take good care of the milk and clean all the equipment, it is their income after all.

This is a big assumption w/o any sort of evidence. However, this only applies if farmer are drinking milk themselves. Kinda reminds me of agricultural practice where farmer don't put pesticides on the food they eat, but they add a lot of pesticides that goes into sales for high income.

[verve_rat]

I can only speak to the NZ dairy industry but, milk is tested... a lot. If if doesn't meet standards set by the dairy company then the farmer doesn't get paid. Even worse, if bad milk causes milk from other farms to get dumped (milk from many farms in one milk tanker) then the dairy company can fine them for that too.

Farms are businesses and the dairy industry is an industry. Food safety is taken seriously, at least where I live.