☕ Unpasteurized

Why are raw milk sales surging? Presented by [LMNT]( [May 19, 2024]( | [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Farming rice in China] Farming rice in China. STR/AFP via Getty Images  BROWSING  [Classifieds banner image]( The wackiest headlines from the week as they would appear in a Classifieds section. Careers EXPERIENCED BAND FOR HIRE: After tech CEOs spent the last year trying to convince us that we want AI in our everyday lives, the suits at Chuck E. Cheese are taking away the only robots anyone actually likes. The chain is [retiring]( the animatronic animal band at all but two of its locations by the end of the year. NO THUMBS ALLOWED: Did you catch the finger wrestling match in Germany last Sunday? “Fingerhakeln” is a traditional Bavarian and Austrian [competition]( that involves two men looping one finger through a leather loop and pulling to determine who has the strongest phalanges. Personal ISO PIZZA REMAINS: An NYC nonprofit is [placing]( recycling bins around the city specifically designed to fit your old pizza boxes. The receptacles are intended to replace previous disposal methods of leaving them on the top of your fridge for months. ANYTHING CAN BE A BURGER: Even pizza. Pizza Hut [created]( a new Cheeseburger Melt by slapping two slices of hamburger pizza together. If Taco Bell launches a chicken sandwich, McDonald’s will start to feel threatened and release its Commando Grimace. DREAM MAN: The most interesting thing about L.E. Bruun wasn’t his massive butter empire—it’s his wildly expensive coin collection. Bruun, who’s been dead for over 100 years, amassed a coin collection that’s been called the most valuable to ever come to market, and it will be [auctioned]( off this fall for an expected price tag of $72 million. For sale ANNOYING CAP: Coca-Cola created a sustainable bottle cap in Europe that stays [attached]( to the plastic bottle, but some soda drinkers say the new caps are scratching and hitting their face while they drink. The only way to fix the problem is to be brave enough and chug the entire Coke in one gulp. BONUS FOUL BALL: A Seattle Mariners fan caught [two consecutive foul balls]( at a game this week. He’s planning to buy a lottery ticket, stay outside during lightning storms, and write the song of the summer for TikTok.—MM  PRESENTED BY LMNT Let’s take this outside [LMNT]( The sun is out…finally. Now your workouts can thrive in the great outdoors. Workouts(ide), if you will. Just make sure you stay hydrated. Need a thirst quencher that can also help boost those valuable electrolytes? LMNT’s [tasty electrolyte drink mix]( is packed with everything you need and nothing you don’t. No sugar, no coloring, no gluten, no fillers—no junk. What it does have is key benefits like: - the prevention and elimination of headaches, muscle cramps, fatigue, sleeplessness, and other common symptoms of electrolyte deficiency - boosted performance and recovery Want a taste? [Get a free sample pack with any drink-mix purchase]( and discover your faves. Ready, set, [go get ’em](.  SNAPSHOTS  [Photo of the week](#) [Mural of a speedboat ]KSBW Etienne Constable of Seaside, CA, was [ordered]( by the town to build a six-foot fence in front of his boat because sometimes people are haters. Not one to break the law, Constable built the fence and enlisted an artist neighbor to paint a realistic version of the boat on the fence, which put him in compliance with the order and made him the funniest person in at least a 100-mile radius. This marriage of rebellion and comedy has not surprisingly made the fence go viral and left the city without a response—Constable has yet to hear from officials since gaining internet fame, but he probably has something clever up his sleeve if he receives new orders.—DL  SCIENCE  [Dept. of Progress](#) [Willem Dafoe saying ]Spider-Man/Sony Pictures Here are some illuminating scientific discoveries from the week to help you live better and maybe even eat that food you hate, for the greater good. Suspicious people aren’t so suspicious of conspiracy theories. The believers of the most out-there, tin-foil-hat allegations tend to be people with [skeptical mindsets]( according to a new study on how conspiracy theories affect democratic societies. “Conspiracy mentality,” as the researchers called it, is more strongly linked to believing in implausible conspiracies (e.g. a government staging a false flag terrorist attack) than more plausible theories (e.g. wealthy elites trying to manipulate the stock market). People who showed better critical thinking skills were less likely to buy into the implausible conspiracy theories concocted for the experiment. Picky eating is costing your brain. Score one for people with a traveler’s palate: New research on the diets of 182,000 older Brits revealed that people who enjoy a broad range of foods show [better mental well-being]( and cognitive performance than those who prefer to eat only some categories of foods. For example, participants who liked to eat more fruits and veggies but less protein, or more protein but less fiber, were more likely to report symptoms of anxiety and depression—though the study only found correlation, not causation. So if you want to feel your best, you might want to make sure your diet includes veggies, fruits, cereals, nuts, seeds, pulses (seeds from legumes), eggs, fish, and a middling amount of dairy. Endurance may have evolved from chasing prey. Thank your ancestors for your half-marathon PR. A new report on how ancient humans hunted animals suggests that modern people are able to run long distances because of millennia spent chasing down big game like antelope and moose, possibly causing the development of arched feet, efficient muscle fibers, and the ability to sweat. Anthropologists uncovered nearly 400 instances of early hominins [pursuing prey]( to exhaustion rather than staking them out, which is more than previously thought.—ML  FROM THE CREW [The Crew]( Give your desk an Excel makeover. Want to impress your boss without saying a word? We've got the [Excel shortcuts deskpad]( phone charger, and the Freak in the Sheets mug available at a discount when you buy them together. [Get the bundle]( that lets your coworkers know you've got your sheet together, now $25 off.  NEWS ANALYSIS  [Why are raw milk sales on the up?]( [Line of dairy cows]( Crom/Getty Images If parkour on a skyscraper ledge isn't your cup of tea, raw milk is the latest way to live on the edge that influencers can’t stop talking about. Unlike the supermarket stuff that’s heated to kill harmful bacteria in a process known as pasteurization, raw milk is unaltered after it leaves a cow’s udder With grassy notes and creamy richness, to many raw milk tastes like idyllic countryside living in simpler times when barn-to-table was the standard. But food safety experts warn that indulging in the silky sweetness comes with the risk of ingesting pathogens like E.coli, salmonella, and most recently—exposure to the bird flu that’s been infecting cattle nationwide. This newest bacterial threat hasn’t hampered the drink’s rising popularity—it’s even made some dairy daredevils [more eager]( to take their milk raw. So, we’re giving you a distillation of the fringe but rapidly growing appeal of the unbridled cow nectar, and the science on how it could affect your health. Bird flu feeds raw milk fever Though the spotlight has been extra bright recently, raw milk has been making a comeback for a while. Decades of state restrictions and a 1987 federal ban on selling raw milk across state lines limited consumption mostly to people living in farming communities. But milk that hasn’t been treated with heat is now more popular than it's been since pasteurization became the gold standard for dairy safety in the middle of the last century. - Sales of raw milk rose 21% since bird flu was first detected in US cattle in March and have spiked 65% over a comparable period last year, per NielsenIQ. - Many raw promoters point to a lack of evidence that a human can contract the virus from drinking cow milk. For some, bird flu makes it more appetizing: Dairy farmer Mark McAfee, who founded the Raw Milk Institute, told the LA Times he’s seen [demand explode]( among customers who think it could give them immunity from the bird flu. The recent surge in interest comes after raw milk was embraced in the early 2000s by new age urbanites who brush their teeth with charcoal and willingly overpay for anything with the word “artisanal” in it. It was even sold in Whole Foods until at least 2010. More recently, however, opposing restrictions on raw milk sales has become a [cultural crusade]( for conservatives who believe that health experts are exaggerating the risks, with some advocates touting its supposed benefits for the immune system and gut biome. But experts say think twice The folks in charge of making sure our food doesn’t poison us have long cautioned that raw milk is a gamble: Alex O’Briend of the Center of Dairy Research likened it to “playing Russian roulette with your health,” per NBC Bay Area. - The CDC says that 2,645 people fell ill and 228 were hospitalized in outbreaks linked to raw milk between 1998 and 2018. - The agency found that areas where selling raw milk was legal experienced 3.2 times more outbreaks than places where it was outlawed. - While few people have died, the FDA says that symptoms of food poisoning tied to raw milk can range from diarrhea to life-threatening events like a stroke. The spread of bird flu among cattle, which is currently extremely rare but [highly deadly]( for humans, might raise the stakes. So far, bird flu has been detected in 49 cow herds across nine states, with dead fragments of the virus (which the FDA says are harmless) found in pasteurized milk. Though there’s no certainty about whether people can get it from drinking raw milk, ingesting the live virus adds to the chances that it’ll evolve to jump from mammal to mammal. Meanwhile, experts say claims that raw milk provides health gains to its drinkers are dubious. Researchers at UC Davis didn’t find much beneficial bacteria in raw milk samples, but they did discover that raw milk stored at room temperature is a [breeding ground]( for antibiotic-resistant microbes that could pose a risk to human health. Raw is still rare…though 11 million Americans reported drinking unpasteurized milk at least once a year in 2022, it still accounts for just a tiny fraction of all the milk sold in the US.—SK  BREW'S BEST  # [Recs] Do you have a recommendation you want to share with Brew readers? Submit your best rec [here]( and it may be featured in next week’s list. Bake: Gooey homemade [peanut butter granola bars](. Cook: One benefit of eating alone is you can make this [shrimp scampi for one](. Work out: How to avoid [hurting yourself at the gym](. Watch: In Bodkin, a “ragtag crew of podcasters” investigate mysterious [disappearances](. Listen: Billie Eilish’s new album is getting rave reviews. [Listen for yourself](. Learn: Ever wonder how automatic windshield wipers work? What about pinball machines? [Find out here](. Thanks to Cary from San Antonio, TX, for the suggestion. Aspiring #RichPeople: Tune in to [The Money with Katie Show]( a weekly podcast drop about money that won’t put you to sleep.  DESTINATIONS  [Place to be: Svalbard](#) [Pictured taken on May 16, 2024 from a boat shows the view of Longyearbyen, located on Spitsbergen island, in Svalbard Archipelago, northern Norway.]Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP via Getty Images It’s a big world out there. In this section, we’ll teleport you to an interesting location—and hopefully give you travel ideas in the process. There’s a practically untouched [parcel of land]( for sale that possesses untold riches—and it could be yours. All you need is $323 million and a willingness to never see the sun rise for a few months. If you’re independently wealthy or you and your roommates want to split it, consider 14,830 acres of land on the extremely remote Svalbard archipelago, located halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. You’ll have to endure extremes when it comes to light and dark—there’s constant sunshine from April to August but it’s more like the fourth season of True Detective between October and February (but you can see the Northern Lights). What makes this property so valuable? - The Arctic holds ~13% of the world’s undiscovered oil resources, according to the US Geological Survey. Its owners have not done a geological survey for oil, making it a real Let’s Make A Deal situation where potential buyers could find oil or nothing at all behind door No. 1. - It’s already a tourist destination for extreme travelers. Rising temperatures and melting glaciers have opened up new sea routes for more vacationers looking to access the remote outpost. One caveat: There’s no homeowners association keeping tabs on when you take out your recycling, but buyers must abide by the 1920 Svalbard Treaty, which recognizes the sovereignty of Norway and forbids using the land for military purposes.—DL  COMMUNITY  [Crowd work](#) Last week, we asked: What’s the name of a sports team that doesn’t exist, but needs to? Here are our favorite responses: - “The Philadelphia Phoenix exist (in the Ultimate Frisbee Association) so I would start the Phoenix Philadelphians to confuse everyone.”—Brad from San Francisco, CA - “I grew up in West Texas, which is growing quickly due to oil-generated wealth. My city (Lubbock) made headlines years ago for a massive dust storm called a haboob. Just west of Lubbock is Hockley County. How about them Hockley Haboobs? Professional hockey team, of course—hockey’s Hockley Haboobs.”—Jared from Kentucky - “The Orlando Roller Coasters, with a signature cheer of the wave.”—Meredith from Florida - “The Texas Toasters would be great in any sport to be honest.”—Ali from Oman - “Seattle needs to have the Supersonics. That would be a great name for maybe a basketball team.”—Michael from Renton, WA This week’s question What is an immediate skip on any wedding playlist? Neal, Matty, and Molly’s response to get the juices flowing: “Uptown Funk.” [Share your response here](.  SHARE THE BREW  # [Share Morning Brew]( with your friends, acquire free Brew swag, and then acquire more friends as a result of your fresh Brew swag. We’re saying we’ll give you free stuff and more friends if you share a link. One link. Your referral count: 0 [Click to Share]( Or copy & paste your referral link to others: [morningbrew.com/daily/r/?kid=4904f90a]( Written by Dave Lozo, [Matty Merritt]( [Cassandra Cassidy]( Sam Klebanov, and [Molly Liebergall]( Was this email forwarded to you? 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