A sign posted at a farm store run by a C.A.R.E. buying club farm member. Been pretty quiet the last few days here in blogsville. Almost feels like a holiday or, more likely, lots of people are attending the Weston A. Price Wise Traditions conference near Philadelphia.
Indeed, the attendance this year was up more than 20%, to about 1,500 from 1,200 last year. Pretty amazing, when you consider that we’re in the midst of a recession, and the conference fees are not trivial ($400 for members, though the fee includes bountiful and delicious Weston A. Price-style meals). I can tell you from hard experience that rooms with refrigerators are at a premium at these conferences; this year, I had a choice: a room with a window or a refigerator, but not both. I chose the latter.
A couple of food matters stirred up debate. First, raw milk (surprise!). Yes, even at a Weston A. Price Foundation event, there were complaints, and here it was about what some participants perceived as a less than consistent approach to the matter.
The organization had, until last year, been true to its heritage, serving raw milk and other dairy products from a number of farmers at meals, and allowing them to sell raw dairy products. But then last year in Chicago, WAPF pretty much avoided serving raw milk, apparently out of concern about violating Illinois and federal prohibitions (on the latter, over bringing raw milk in from, say, Wisconsin).
This year, in Pennsylvania, it allowed one dairy, Your Family Cow, to sell raw milk, and it served that dairy’s milk at some meals. But no other farmers–and several who produce raw milk were exhibiting at the show–could offer raw milk or other dairy products for sale. Moreover, no farms, including The Family Cow, were allowed to bring any other raw dairy products, such as yogurt, butter, and cream. The cream served at meals was pasteurized.
As one of the show’s organizers, Paul Frank, explained it to me, WAPF decided out of an abundance of caution that only dairies with Pennsylvania raw milk permits could sell milk. It limited Your Family Cow to milk only because the state’s raw dairy permits are limited to milk. The other farmers prohibited from selling raw milk or other dairy don’t have Pennsylvania raw milk permits, but rather sell only to members of food clubs, such as C.A.R.E.
“We were trying to protect these farmers,” Frank explained. “We didn’t think there would be any problem here at the show, but we didn’t want a situation where these farms had problems a few weeks after this show, because they sold milk here.”
Because the show is so huge, the farmers shut out weren’t happy. One told me that sales from raw dairy accounted for half or more of his revenues at past shows, so her wasn’t pleased about paying for a booth, and losing half his potential sales in the process.
The second issue that came up was concern about being caught in a government raid. Those fears were stoked by the screening of segments of Kristin Kanty’s documentary, “Farmageddon”. (There’s a new trailer that provides a flavor of the film.)
I moderated a panel discussion following the screening (including Kristin Canty, Gary Cox of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, Mark McAfee of Organic Pastures, and farmer Linda Fallaice), which was attended by about 300 people. Most of the questions were about how to react during a government raid of a food facility, and what a farmer’s rights are. “You have the right to tell government agents to get off of your property,” said Gary Cox. And if they return with a search warrant, farmers and food club managers have the right to review the search warrant and hold agents to the limits of the warrant. Mark McAfee advised farmers to have video cameras at the ready to record every aspect of a government search.
A number of food club overseers told me they are screening prospective members very carefully, staying on the lookout for government undercover agents. One recalled to me how recently a motorcycle cop pulled up to her club’s dropoff point. “My heart stopped,” she said. Not to worry. It turned out he was there to pick up raw milk for his family.
***
Michael SchmidtCanadian dairy farmer Michael Schmidt has gotten a fair amount of attention for his refusal to allow an Alberta dairy farm into his new association of cowshares known as Cow Share Canada.
I caught up with him at the Weston A. Price Foundation conference, and he wasn’t the least bit regretful about his actions, which are at odds with the approach of some American raw milk supporters, who refuse to publicly criticize any raw dairies, even if they operate under questionable conditions. “I got flack from some free thinkers,” Schmidt told me. “They’re asking, ‘Are you the new milk mafia?'”
But without providing details of the problems he saw at the Alberta dairy in question, he argued, “This [letting the dairy join Cow Share Canada] will fly in our face if someone gets sick.”
This isn’t to say Schmidt has lost any of his passion to challenge government authorities on the raw milk obstacles. He last week issued something he called “The Edmonton Declaration”, which says in part:
“We have been battling the raw milk issue now for over 16 years. We have offered the Government more than once our cooperation to explore the legalization of raw milk. New hope arose for many after this years court ruling in Ontario, which recognized the right of educated and informed private individuals to opt out of the apparent responsibility of Government protection.
“Across Canada Provincial Health agencies are now cracking down on cow share operations.
Since it is deemed legal by the courts in Ontario there is no reason why other Provinces could not follow. I am calling on farmers and consumers alike to join in to openly challenge our bureaucrats and put our elected officials to task.
“I will be wherever there is help needed.
I will keep challenging unjust laws.
I will not rest until we have discovered once again our power to resist, to challenge and to stand on guard for Canada and it’s fundamental values of true freedom and responsibility.
I do not want to be asked by my grand children; why did you not prevent this dictatorship of thoughtless bureaucrats when you still could?”
***
While demand for raw milk climbs sharply around the country, much of the academic community remains mired in the muck. But there are some glimmers of enlightenment.
A new academic journal article examining a 2008 outbreak of illness from contaminated raw milk in Connecticut in which 14 people got sick, is predictable in its conclusion: “In states where pasteurization or a total ban on raw milk sale cannot be enforced because of the strong opposition of raw milk advocates, alternative control measures need to be implemented to protect public health.” Interesting that the authors fail to point out that the 2008 outbreak was the first in at least 15 years in Connecticut.
Even more interesting is a commentary on the study in the same journal by Michele Jay-Russell, a food safety expert at the University of California, Davis, whom I interviewed and quoted in my book, The Raw Milk Revolution. She says, “Despite a wealth of scientific data supporting the effectiveness of pasteurization in protecting the public from milkborne illness, there is a presumably small but vocal segment of the population that desires to consume raw dairy products. In lieu of bans, regulatory standards and education may be the best approaches to protect the public from exposure to contaminated raw milk. Regulations should include provisions such as pathogen testing, sanitation standards, and warning labels.”
And then this zinger for public health professionals: “In summary, it is important for health
professionals to educate themselves about the debate surrounding raw milk consumption
and be prepared to answer questions from the public about both safety and health benefit claims.”
Isn’t that a radical notion–public health officials educating themselves about raw milk and answering public inquiries in straightforward and honest ways.
I do indeed answer questions about raw dairy (most of my patients had raw dairy as children), I also answer questions about vaccinations, medications,processed foods-review chemicals in those processed foods, etc. If I have written information, I give that too. I also tell them it's their responsibility to be informed consumers for their care and that includes nutrition. Haven't many highly educated people stated; that the least processed a food is, the more nutritious it is? I believe this is a true statement.
If there are many who have been diagnosed with lactose intolerance, and those who have this DX can consume raw dairy without side effects then the many patients were either misdiagnosed or there is truth in the fact that raw dairy is different than pasteurized dairy in make-up.
http://www.purdeyenvironment.com/medhyp2006.htm
http://www.purdeyenvironment.com/web%20site%20film%20page.htm
especially you should watch the video "Mad cows and an Englishman"
On a different note, I found the 2008 Connecticut raw milk outbreak report filled with facts that are worth noting.
1. Attention was brought to this outbreak because two children were diagnosed with HUS within the same week. One was cultured confirmed and one was not. Both drank raw milk from the same source. These are identical facts to the 2006 OPDC outbreak.
2. The report included whether the victims were given antibiotics. None of the hospitalized children who developed HUS (3) were given antibiotics. All three received dialysis.
3. Two children became ill who did not consume raw milk. The first child was a sibling of an ill child who consumed the raw milk. The 2nd child was a neighbor who was in close contact with sibling who became ill. They refer to this as secondary and tertiary transmission of an E.coli infection.
I met the adult who became ill from this outbreak. She developed TTP. She was able to put into words the pain level that is endured from victims with E.coli 0157:H7. She has given birth and said the pain from a severe E.coli 0157:H7 infection was worse than childbirth.
Mary McGonigle-Martin
I am sure that Marler has it.
When will you start damning anti biotics and other medical and PMO CAFO practices for the emergence of bad bugs????
As for antibiotics, Im not sure what you are referring to. I purchase only organic and/or hormore/antibiotic free poultry. I dont philosophically or financially support CAFOs.
The use of antibiotics on human beings is another issue. There is a time and place for its use and for certain illnesses it can be life saving.
As for the emergence of bad bugs, like you, I believe the cause has been the way we have mass produced our food and the horrific treatment of animals that has lead to this nightmare. I dont have the link, but Ive read somewhere that between 80-90% of antibiotics produced are given to animals to prevent them from becoming ill due to their disturbing living conditions.
Unlike you, I dont believe raw milk is the cure all for sad shape of our food supply. The same bad bugs in CAFOs are the same ones that show up in raw milk produced by cows that eat grass. Youre kidding yourself if you think differently.
Mary
Yes, Those who have this knowledge should teach others so that the end product: whether raw dairy or any other food is sold in its optimal state.
Agreed that the three hospitalized children with HUS were reported to NOT have been given antibiotics. However, the case lady that developed TTP (thrombotic thrombocytopenia purpura) "had received antimicrobials after illness onset and was hospitalized within 1
week of receiving antibiotics with diagnosis of TTP". The amount she was charged for her medical expenses (not actual medical costs) was $209,571.25, which is 287% higher than the average actual medical cost for the other hospitalized patients. Which makes me think she had the more severe illness.
I find your failure to include her case in discussion of antibiotic administration to be misleading, particularly since you wanted us to know how painful her illness was.
This article left me with a number of questions. First, the investigators used community case controls to rule out whether other foods or factors were causing the outbreak. For the five confirmed cases known at that time, they selected ten community controls. Is two controls per case sufficient to rule out other possible culprits?
The report mentions the presence of a biofilm inside the portable tank. Later on it says that 39 environmental samples were taken, but no mention is made as to whether the biofilm was sampled. If it was sampled and not significant, why mention the biofilm? Or was the biofilm even sampled?
They mentioned the use of restriction enzymes for PFGE matches, but didn't say how many were used. I have learned from MIguel's posts that the number of restriction enzymes is critical in accurately determining if there is a match. Shouldn't the paper's authors give us this important number?
They said that 11 of 23 (46%) known consumers of raw milk investigated in this outbreak got sick. But they didn't know who all the consumers were. Their assumption is that if a complete listing of consumers were known, this percentage might have been higher. I'm thinking that if anyone else had become seriously ill, they would have gone to a doctor and thereby would have become identified. Therefore I think it's more likely that the percentage of consumers who became ill was actually smaller.
And how about the 54% of known consumers who didn't become ill? Does anyone ever investigate the healthy consumers to find out why they stayed healthy?
The authors' conclusion: "Although the exact mechanism of raw milk contamination
cannot be determined, we suspect that fecal contamination with E. coli O157 from at least 1 asymptomatic cow occurred during milking or the handling of milk." And therefore, since good practices were followed and people still got sick, they advocate for pasteurization being the only real solution.
The government solution seems to always be more control. They've stopped looking for the root causes because they think they already have the fix. What was the real cause of the problem in Connecticut?
There have been many discussions on this blog about antibiotic use and HUS. I pointed out that three children were not given antibiotics and still developed HUS.
I can not speak about TTP. I know it is similar to HUS, but I dont know enough to speak on this topic. A few thoughts on antibiotics being given:
1. There are specific types of antibiotics that should never be given when someone has E.coli 0157:H7, but there are some that are O.K. We dont know what kind this person was given.
2. Just because someone was prescribed oral antibiotics doesnt mean they were able to take them and keep them down. This is very difficult to do when you are vomiting repeatedly.
3. For the sake of argument, lets say the antibiotics triggered the TTP. In this outbreak, there was a 25% chance of getting HUS/TTP if antibiotics were given and 75% chance of getting it without antibiotics given.
4. The intense pain involved with a severe E.coli 0157:H7 infection is the cramping. She experienced both child birth and the cramping involved with E.coli and said the pain of E.coli was worse. Children cant give you a comparison. I read another account by a woman who said it felt like pieces of broken glass were inside her cutting her up every time she had a bowel movement. Once my son was given intravenous antibiotics, all the pain and diarrhea stopped.
Have fun ripping apart the article. I'm sure you, along with others, will still find a way to believe it wan't the milk that caused the illnesses. That's what this game is all about.
Mary
1) practices to reduce or eliminate contamination of the raw milk, or
2) not drinking raw milk
C'mon, it is not reasonable to suggest that producers should be able to sell raw milk -or any other food – contaminated with E. coli O157, and too bad if the consumers fall ill due to their immune system or the doctors or the FDA or bad luck.
No, the responsibility ultimately lies with the person producing and selling the raw milk (or any other food). It is a huge responsibility to be a food producer on many levels – food safety, quality, sustainability, welfare….on and on. But, if you sell raw milk with Campylobacter, Salmonella, E. coli O157 or any other pathogen in the bottle – it is your fault, not the fault of the person who trusted you and bought the milk.
Kudos to Michael Schmidt for promoting standards that emphasize responsibility of the producer (not the government, and presumably not the consumer's immune system or their doctor).
That is just a shame. I am disappointed . WAPF, at the forefront of the fight for raw milk rights caves to an abundance of caution. I will make no friends with this statement, I am aware of that, but jeeze, where are the collective guts?
(not attendant legal issues).
http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AboutFDA/CentersOffices/ORA/ORAElectronicReadingRoom/UCM231080.pdf
Ron
In Illinois, last year, the only reason we didn't have raw milk as a beverage, was because we couldn't find donors. I found one or two in-state donors, no one had that kind of volume.
This year, we all enjoyed 300 gal. of FRESH raw milk over 3 days. 'twas heaven.
We had 150 exhibitors (and likely 600 willing exhibitors). Most exhibitors are just happy to have a piece of that loyal customer base. Some grumbled, but most danced their way to the bank.
I'm sure some folks would prefer we made a stir, but quite frankly, it's the farmer who's going to get the heat, and we love our farmers enough to go without raw cream or raw butter for a weekend. Most people I talked to were cool with it, when they understood what was at stake.
Also, don't you think it's better to give participants the educational experience of doing without raw processed products like cream, butter and yogurt, and tell them why? I think we created many new activist this weekend.
Better not to pretend or be naive about possible consequences to the farmer.
Mark Nolt told me, when he declined an exhibit space,.that PDF wouldn't make a fuss (in front of 1,500 fans) during the conference, but send the heat later, by letter or raid to the farm.
He told me, that he didn't want to exhibit, and he'd happily give way to the guys with permits for this show. I would never say he didn't have guts, or caved in. Nor would I use those words about WAPF.
I think both WAPF and farmers showed discernment and discretion.
The highlights for me were:
Mike Schmidts speach on the activities in Canada and the emerging role of safety standards in a previously "Canadian wild west underground raw milk market".
I loved seeing Joel Salatin. The first time for me was in 2004 in Seatle when we were both speaking in Washington state. Joel's key note speech was awesome and brought it home for all of us. His grounded perspective on the organic movement and how the industrial CAFO concept was funded by the excess of wars and profits of corporations was very revealing of our current crisis in America. Ed SHank's raw milk in Pennsylvania was another sign of hope. His energy and passion shown through to his consumers. Most importantly, you could see the energy he was getting from his new role as whole food practioner…his consumers were energizing him and this was evident in the halo of good vibrations all arround his raw milk booth. The raw milk was knock-out delicious!!!
The Farm to Consumer Defense Fund was selling all sorts of activist shirts and speak truth to power…I bought a bunch of them for our OPDC team.
My wife Blaine could not help herself and bought Amish Christmas stuff for our grandkids. My daughter Kaleigh manned our booth and sold OPDC "Get Raw Milk!!" Shirts to hundreds of people.
I was particularly jazzed to see Kristin Canty and her Farmagedon ( movie trailer ) epoc
( clipped short to not reveal itself completely until the debut early next year ). It has evolved into serious competion for "Food Inc" and any other foodie activist movie. She has stepped out of her comfort zone to document and artistically tell her story….the "story of us". All of us in the food movement. But now the movement has taken a new turn….guns are being pulled on farmers and store owners and even god fearing consumers. I am so very proud to be a part of Farmagedon and this wonderful work. Farmagedon is one of the sands of change that is flowing from one end of the farms-food- health hour glass to the other. As the grains of sand flow through the eye of the storm "the times will" and have changed. each little bit we all do….adds to the movement. I can not recognize what we are today compared to just six years ago.
I returned to CA to find everything clean and green. Our RAMP program under the leadership of my son Aaron was performing perfectly….
Channel Five TV in SF carried this Raw MILk story. Not bad but the professor at CAL Berkley needs to take a course from Dr. Joe Heckman at Rutgers or Dr. Mike Pollan across campus. I guess he did not "get the memo" in 2008 from CDFA about the strict California standards for raw milk. Dr. John Schwartzburg just did not know about the other ( original ) raw milk in America. The one that has low bacteria counts and is tested to assure zero pathogens. I am trying to meet with Dr. Schwartzburg to bring him up to speed and deliver the missing memo myself. His quotes are right off John Sheehans script. He has Rawesome illegal milk and CDFA raw milk all confused. How convenient!!!
OPDC Sales rage….!!! Quality and safety are my highest priorities. I know that American raw milk consumers and raw milk farmers, the FDA and industry are looking for OPDC to blink or hit a speed bump. I am doing everything in my power and in concert with mother nature to not let that happen.
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/category/watch-listen/video-on-demand/?clipId=5282432&flvUri&partnerclipid&topVideoCatNo=195882&c&autoStart=true&activePane=info&LaunchPageAdTag=homepage&clipFormat=flv
GOT MILK? is turning over in its dead milk grave. Dollar voting is bankrupting conventional CAFO PMO dead dirty milk with ever decreasing sales. If pasteurized milk was so easy to drink or good for you….sales would climb. I can not wait to see the news when Johnes disease is found to be the Crohns causing origin….and the MAP ParaTB is heat resistant!! A tragic day indeed. It is already happening and the American rat experiment consumers are denied the information by the FDA.
Got Milk? now has "Got Problems?" perhaps Got Truth might be something for the Food Inc PMO CAFO people to think about. Lies come back to hurt eventually. It is not only not nice but down right dangrous to try and fool mother nature.
Get Raw Milk !!!! is being stripped from shelves.
The WAPF food was off the charts as always…thank you Sally great work!!
Mark
Lykke, your emphasis on producer responsibility is valiant however when one considers the numerous and varying methods used by farmers around the world with limited and often government sponsored resources, would it be possible for you to share with us your opinion as to what is the responsible approach and how you intend to implement it and sell it to the powers that be.
We have opened up a Pandoras Box in our attempts to wrestle control of natural process hence our ability to acquire reliable knowledge with respect to cause and effect has been stifled due to ever increasing complexities.
Let me reiterate what C.S. Holling, the internationally recognized ecologist has pointed out; most problems are systemic, nonlinear and are evolutionary in character. Both social and biophysical problems are dynamic and complex and consequently seldom lend themselves to technological solutions or control management. Nearly every observant farmer knows this all too well.
Michael Bortnick, based on a statement you made a few posts back I would suggest that not everyone is convinced. I personally reject much of the propaganda surrounding the belief that raw milk is responsible for causing sickness and stand firm behind my belief (dogma) that raw milk is a natural healing food to be relished. Pasteurized milk on the other hand is a toxic substance to be avoided. The milk we drink in our household is neither regulated nor inspected and that is the way I intend to keep it.
Ken Conrad
Here is some food for thought.
In Oklahoma City in Mid-September 2006 there were more than 10 children sickened when they drank a green smoothie made from CA spinach. They also drank some local raw milk ( not OPDC raw milk ). The FDA refused to include those kids in the database of Spinach illnesses because the spinach DNA finger print did not match that found in other spinach illnesses even though it came from CA just like all the other CA spinach that sickened 200 and killed 3.
I suggest that there were multiple spinach DNA finger prints ( at least 3 ) not just one as suggested and demanded by the FDA and others.
This Oklahoma Weston A Price Chapter leader called me in October 2006 to report this to me…I met her in person over the weekend in PA. Her name is Kathy Gibb…perhaps you should call her. Perhaps Marler got a settlement from the wrong raw milk dairy and his bluff and scare tactics worked well for the insurance companies…but the truth was lost and trampled… literally.
It is kind of like sending a person to death row only to find out later that the facts ( including DNA ) are incomplete or in error and the DA suppressed the evidence to advance his own FDA agenda and carreer.
Perhaps the truth of it all is very inconvient. Does it make sense at all that OPDC would have perfect pathogen tests and no illnesses for ten years running on its raw milk except for one day that just happened to occur coincidentally exactly during the height of the CA Spinach crisis and both the kids in CA ate spinach and got sick.
This stinks even more now that I spoken once again with Kathy Gibbs.
Think about it. Little by little the truth will come out. Maybe this will be the first case where Marler will have to repay the insurance companies. He surely has enough money. His fake video stuff and other unethical activities nearly lost him is BAR membership. When an attorney walks closely over the line and then goes over it to create evidence….that is where liability for that attorney begins. I will be writing a letter to my insurance company about this new evidence even though this matter is settled and nothing will likely come of it. It appears that it was suppressed during the investigations and discovery process.
Mary…the more you push me, the more you stir the old crap, the more I think about this case, and the more I ask more questions, and the more I discover stuff that does not fit conveniently. You could perhaps be your own undoing.
Mark
Let the spinach go. It does not explain the other 5 children that became ill in the outbreak that all had matching blueprints of E.coli 0157:H7 and who did not consume spinach. LH did not eat spinach.
What did I do to push you and what fake video are you referring to?
Mary
I don't understand why you think I believe it wasn't the milk that caused the illnesses, because I never said that. I think you now see the issue of unpasteurized milk in such black and white terms that you can't see that there are legitimate unanswered questions in the journal article and many issues that weren't addressed in the investigation. I suspect even the investigators and journal authors are aware of deficiencies and unanswered questions. They probably did the best they could within their time and money constraints. Pointing out concerns is not ripping apart the article.
When I asked what was the root cause, I wasn't asking whether E. coli 0157:H7 was the direct cause of the illnesses. I was referring to the broader issues that Ken Conrad raised subsequent to my post. I'm disappointed that the investigators resorted to the tired refrain that the only solution is pasteurization. But when that's their agenda to start with, their findings are not a surprise.
Do you think we all think this is a game? I don't, because I know the consequences can be deadly. I don't think anyone denies there is risk, despite what you, CP, and Lykke often assert. But we balance that risk against what we perceive to be the benefits, even though TPTB don't want to acknowledge any benefits. I feel like I reduce my risk by culturing all my raw milk and cream into kefir and yogurt. Maybe I'm being naive in that belief. I would really like a good study to examine that issue.
[This part was supposed to precede my last post. I had problems with the site when posting.]
We both see different facets of the issue of what happens when antibiotics are administered to patients with E. coli 0157:H7 and other pathogenic bacteria. I don't think we should confine the discussion to just HUS or children, but you focus just on those factors because of your personal circumstances. IMO the best practice seems to still be unsettled and we need all data points in determining what each of us might do if faced with that situation ourselves.
Regarding your first point, that we don't know what kind of antibiotic the TTP case was given, and that some specific types of antibiotics should never be given to E. coli 0157:H7 patients and some others are okay. So if the particular kind of antibiotic does make such a difference, why didn't the authors of the article tell us what kind was given? From what you say, that is important information.
Regarding point two, do you know if the TTP patient was vomiting repeatedly?
Regarding point three, four patients is much too small a sample to establish a meaningful conclusion.
Regarding point four, the results of using IV antibiotics with E. coli 0157:H7 appears to yield mixed results, with the positive side evidenced by your report of Chris's pain and diarrhea stopping after IV antibiotics, and the negative side evidenced by reports of the only patients in prior outbreaks advancing to HUS were the ones where antibiotics were administered.
What is your opinion of the state of knowledge regarding antibiotic use with E. coli 0157:H7? Is it mostly guesswork or are there good guidelines out there? How would a doctor know which antibiotics shouldn't be given and which ones are okay? How well disseminated is that information?
She is really pointing to all the touch points in our raw milk reality. The one thing that is missing is the acceptance of the value found in raw milk consumption.
No one wants to talk about the 800 pound medical gorilla in the raw milk room.
Nearly everyone that drinks raw milk has a medical story to share. They are really powerful and very compelling. Asthma, Osteoporosis, IBS, Crohns, Excema, Colds, Allergies, Ear infections, Cholesterol levels and CRP values that drop like a rock!! Not to mention that more and more Americans can not and will not drink pasteurized milk because of Pasteurization Intolerance. Fluid dead milk consumption curves show this declining trend even though Tom Cruise looks pretty darn cool with his milk Mustache and lots of nearly naked chicks swimming in pools of Mootopia Milk has done nothing to stop the consumer exodus from the dead fluid milk market.
http://www.ers.usda.gov/amberwaves/june03/datafeature/
No one ever wants to talk about that stuff. But the medical stuff is exactly what is driving raw milk sales.
The FDA has a rope arround the medical claims and food laws and people are refusing to take the FDA Pharma cool-aid anymore.
That is exactly the place I target…each and every day on each and every tour at OPDC and each and every "Share the Secret" Presentation I make….it is the medical applications for raw milk and the Yale and MIT studies and even the NIH DHHS and FDA websites that dare speak of " ancient milks that we fermented that prevented immune related diseases of the modern times".
"Ancient Milks" are FDA code for Raw Milk because they can not bring themselves to say or speak the words "raw-milk" lest they be struck dead by the NCIMS PMO CAFO Lords or their Food Inc Pharma bed buddies.
The FDA must really hate the First Amendment…I mean really hate it. I can not post the thousands of testimonials I have from our dear consumers about what raw milk has done for them…but I can share with anyone that i want using my First Amendment rights.
Michele Russel….please tell Dr. Mike Payne ( the CDFA go to guy that works in your same GOT MILK? funded little fake research department at UC Davis ) to stop harrassing the Girl Scouts in Fresno. He is trying to scare them away from OPDC raw milk. The Girl Scouts know better and partnered with us for a reason. You can try to scare them….but you can not convince them that their allergies are are going to get better with your highly allergenic dead white stuff.
Do not forget to tell Dr. Payne that the last people to die in the US from milk was pasteurized milk and not raw milk ( in 2007 ). Tell him also that the CDC has exactly zero deaths from raw milk in the last 37 years.
The reason I bring Dr. Payne into this conversion is this…..after Dr. Payne dropped email bombs on the OPDC relationship with Girls Scouts, I emailed Dr. Payne and he has not responded. I have given him lots of time to respond. He sent what he thought was a bunch of nasty stuff to the Girls Scouts in Fresno to try and destroy the new partnership we have formed with them.
There may be peace in California between CDFA and OPDC…but the CDFA sarogates and operatives are as active as ever. I guess it is a cold-war raw milk time in California….no action among the nations…just the spies and the ongoing covert plausably deniable operations.
Mark
Cheese is a more flavorful, elegant, and durable means of conveying the nutrients in milk than milk in its fluid form.
Cheese making is also the most ANCIENT form of dairy processing and milk consumption (along with other fermented forms of milk)
I'm all for drinking raw milk… that is if you live within a 20 or 30 minute drive of a dairy farm.
But cheese brings milk to a whole new level. And traditional cheeses can also be good pro-biotics, with the multiplicity of various ripening organisms (beyond just the lacto-bacillus) inhabiting the rind of the cheese.
I guess my point in all of this decreasing fluid milk stats review stuff is that…CA Got Milk? wants to increase fluid milk consumption and has invested millions to do just this….it does not work. I agree, Yogurt and Good cheeses are a wonderful way to consume dairy.
Maybe the PMO CAFO dairy industry should go with the partially resuscitated half alive cultured products ( yogurt and cheese ) and stop trying to push the completely dead liquid stuff. That is the way the stats show the public sees it and digests it.
Mark
Does this blog have a way to subscribe to comments?
Yes, there is a way to subscribe to comments (and posts). Info is here:
http://www.thecompletepatient.com/faq/subscriptions/how-do-i-subscribe-to-new-posts-or-comments.html
David