In the investigative documentary Milk?, American Sebastian Howard goes in search of an answer. As a child he was told that there was little healthier than drinking a large glass of milk. A genuine way to keep children healthy and strong, or an all-out lie by the dairy industry to boost sales?

It doesn’t take Howard long to find both advocates and opponents of milk. And they are not just consumers with an opinion, but scientists who have conducted exhaustive experiments that prove beyond a doubt that milk is healthy/unhealthy.

 

The controversy goes deeper than that, however. What about modern milk production and the growth hormones cows are given in the industrial farming system? Does that make organic milk healthy? Others say that the problem lies in the pasteurisation process: to keep milk fresher longer and free of bacteria, it is heated. But is that a good thing? Are those who drink unpasteurised milk dangerous lunatics or the only ones with any sense?

 

The question mark in the title is justified. It is hard to imagine any other such common product about which there is so much disagreement. But the more Howard looks for answers, the more questions he faces.