Milk-borne pathogens could be prevented by humbly returning to cows eating grass and milk pails being judiciously and vigorously scrubbed with hot soapy water. In hindsight, it seems like such a simple fix, but in the context of the day, lacking bacterial understanding and infrastructure, it was easier just to boil the milk. After all, if food and life were fundamentally mechanical, what difference did it make whether the milk was heated or not? It still looked the same.
