What are we to make of the latest outbreak of illnesses attributed to raw milk?
In Wisconsin, some 35 illnesses from campylobacter seem to have been linked via testing on consumers and cows to raw milk provided to consumers who are leaseholders at Zinniker Family Farm. I couldn’t reach anyone at Zinniker Family Farm for comment.
The consumers have become ill with campylobacter, which is generally less severe than other pathogens, like E.coli O157:H7 and listeria. But occasionally individuals do become very ill from campylobacter, via a complication known as Guillain-Barre syndrome, and there are reports that one of the victims in this outbreak has GBS.
It seems to me there are three possible responses by all concerned:
One is the approach being taken by the authorities: use this for more fear mongering, as conclusive evidence that consumers shouldn’t drink raw milk. Wisconsin officials have done that and gone a step further, suggesting that herd share type arrangements shouldn’t be allowed.
A second approach, by the dairy owners and raw milk advocates, is to deny that the outbreak was caused by raw milk. I haven’t heard anyone among the pro raw milk contingent claiming that. In fact, Pete Kennedy, head of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, told me that in the state’s view, this looks like “an open-and-shut case” of illness linked to raw milk.
A third approach is one we rarely hear about on the part of authorities: Let’s figure out what might have gone wrong at Zinniker Family Farm, and help them and others correct the problems. Moreover, let’s help our raw milk dairies produce safe raw milk as a way to support dairy farming in the U.S., since conventional dairy farming is nearly untenable economically for small dairies.
I’ve suggested this economic development approach to regulators from a number of states—when I attended the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) session in July and the National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments (NCIMS) session in April. Everyone I mentioned it to looked at me as if I was crazy. The comments were to effect, “We have to worry about safety.”
But when you think about it, that’s not how regulators treat other foods. They take the attitude that spinach, lettuce, and beef producers need to find ways to minimize illness, so they can continue as viable businesses.
Indeed, there were comments following my previous post about a federal initiative to liberalize meat distribution from small slaughterhouses, to enable interstate shipments. In other words, government officials taking a common-sense approach to make life easier for small producers, and give consumers wider access to specialized products from small producers.
Why not the same approach to raw milk?
It get back to ideology. The fact that there is an outbreak of illness from raw milk shouldn’t be taken as an excuse to make life more miserable for raw dairies. Yet that is what happens.
I’ve actually seen convincing evidence that the regulators welcome situations like what we are seeing in Wisconsin (more on that in a future post). They are aggressively trying to stamp out raw milk production, so every case of illness they can attribute to raw milk is further “evidence” for their cause, another piece of propaganda.
They’re not trying to improve safety, they’re waging war. So even when raw milk proponents like Pete Kennedy come clean, that doesn’t satisfy their concerns. They want more. They want total victory.
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If you’d like a cogent explanation of the connection between raw milk and the food safety debate currently ongoing in Congress, take a look at the popular food blog, La Vida Locavore. There, Jill Richardson does a pre-publication review of my book, The Raw Milk Revolution, to provide as expert an explanation as I’ve seen, about the double standard imposed by regulators on raw milk versus other Big Ag foods.
Having been a target of Wisconsin Department of Ag Trade and Consumer Protection in the interest of full disclosure here are the facts.
1. no campylobactor has been detected in Zinnikers milk by DATCP labs or Zinnikers private lab Test done at Siliker labs in Chicago.
2. Campylobactor was cultured out of stool samples from 14 of 30 cows at the Zinniker farm and a number of the ill customers of Zinniker farms.
3. Zinniker farms have to request which 14 cows had a postive test to look for any lines commonality, like maternial links, purchased cows from many years back, pasture lot assignment near an on farm stream ect.
4. the Zinnikers have nearly 200 families and only 35 members have been targeted to have become sick, while some of those 35 who have become sick did not drink the milk due to vacations in the time period that DATCP has said these illnesses have originated.
5. With my farms experience with DATCP & CDC with the same type campylobactor outbreak reported to come from my farm Clearview Acres (even after 14 months of campylobactor testing and 7 other pathogen negative results..)CDC askes Datcp what program they plan to implement to isolate the problem..DATCP to this date had refused to do so in the Clearview Acres case and now at the Zinniker farm.
6.Datcp in its press release on the Zinniker farm has now claimed that an approved program by Datcp for 5 years is now by there whim deemed "illegal" and now eveyrone who has followed the negociated program known as Farmshare to be breaking the law.
7. it is widely known that the raw milk movement in Wi. has the ear of the Governor and movement is gaining momentum to broaden the availability of raw milk..and now we seem to have a problem with the oldest raw milk dairy farm in Wi….sound familar.
8. Shortly after the Walworth county fair.. Wi State Fair these illnesses began to show up but at true to health department investiagations go…no other possible link is investigated when a raw milk farm is related to any of the people who have become ill.
It would do well by those who care about there source of raw milk form the Zinnikersfor an invesitgation..phone calls simply to area hospitals and clinics to see just how many more of these illnesses are occuring and not looked into by Datcp or the local health services.
Tim Wightman
Will they shut down that mega dairy that polluted all those wells? Will that dairy have to pay for water and clean up? Will they compensate all those people?
Mark Zinniker & I talked about that extensively and the State only checks wells for Coliform with a Grade A permit yearly.
Mark is going forward with Pathogen tests on the well and the stream which originates just off his property but no development of any size has happend in the 65 years on the marsh of origin.
This farm is self contained grows its own feed, is bio dynamic so the contamination possiblities are very few.
The timing of this outbreak worries me the most, and the fact that sickness has happend out of the time frame of Datcps claim.
Just too many parralels from my situation 8 years ago….and remember Wisconsin is the only state in the union that has "thee" central lab operated by DATCP to perform all county investigations related to pathogen testing as well as cultures on fecal & manure samples.
And if cows are carriers, as we know from large herds they can be in stressed situations.. it is an easy fix by introducing more correct diet & rumen bugs to offset any bad whom have been placed or taken up residence.
Tim Wightman
As America sterilizes itself this is what happens.
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/257/1/43?maxtoshow=?&HITS=10&hits=10…
This study takes care of the Raw Milk Campy argument hands down!!
The road to sterility is paved with good intentions, dead foods, long shelf life and lazy immunity.the road to virility is much rougher and tougher but ends in strength because of the fight.
Stats and studies show that once exposed to Campylobacter you are immune for a long period of time or perhaps life. It makes me sick to see the FDA and State Health people trying to make some hay out of this event. Tens of thousands of people die every year from immune depression and pharma created, CAFO created superbugs….where is the ourcry from these deaths!!!!!!!!
Raw milk in its biodiverse wonder is the food that our bodies long for….our internal ecosystems demand it for strength and the ability to fight Campy and the other pathogens lerking about awaiting an opportunity to ambush that ever more available and present immune depressed and un protected American.
Drink Raw Milk…and avoid the idiotic unconscious sheep slaughter of the germophobic and weak.
Mark McAfee
David, while I agree with you premise…your reasoning for it is absolutely WRONG. The gutting of the conventional dairy industry by the co-ops who have increased their profits (and milk protein imports), and have systematically reduced the viability of domestic conventional dairies should have absolutely NO BEARING on helping make raw milk dairies safer. They are two separate issues, and unless you want to see hordes of conventional herds being ‘switched’ over to raw milk sales (which in fact would be a nightmare) I can’t see the logic of joining the two…. Raw milk sales shouldn’t ‘replace’ conventional milk sales (after all, choice is the most important thing)…raw milk should be able to stand alone, on it’s own, in the marketplace, and serve those who CHOOSE to drink it.
Very disappointing that you fall into the trap of thinking it’s an either, or situation, and even more incredulous that you might think that the answer to the ‘raw milk shortage’ is the conversion of grain slopped, concrete dwelling, conventional commodity dairies. Give it a break…you do raw milk a disservice when you promote this.
It’s obvious what is going on here in Wis…we’ve seen this MO before. Hopefully the piece of the governors ear is large, and the right for urban dwellers to own a stake in a farm, and their food supply, won’t be diminished….after all, reducing choice is really what the food safety ‘nuts’ are after.
I hope your book gains a lot of attention and helps move the raw milk debate forward in a positive direction for farmers and consumers.
Milk Farmer, I don’t think I made my point clearly enough. I wasn’t talking about safety as much as I was talking about economic development. I’d like to see conventional dairies offered the information and education to transition to producing raw milk, as a way out of the conventional-milk death spiral. I would never advocate that conventional dairies just begin selling their milk unpasteurized–that would be a potential public health disaster. In my view, safety should be part of the transition educational process, together with appropriate feeding, animal health, milk packaging, and marketing. The dairy farmers who are tired of the dead-end conventional system whereby the co-ops, distributors, and retailers reap the profits, and still want to remain in the dairy business, could explore an alternative system. State agriculture departments are supposed to be promoting agriculture as a form of economic development. Here is an obvious opportunity for them.
David
Grass based herds…those that haven’t been selected for production on concentrates, aren’t a dime a dozen. Who will insure that the ‘right’ herds, the ‘right’ farmers are the ones who will jump at the chance to make good money selling raw milk. What if the gmo grain, commodity cows in concrete stalls farmer down the road wants to convert his 500 head mud caked dairy to raw (for the money)…
No the conversion of conventional herds to raw MUST be the exception to the rule…that is if we, those that produce raw milk for human consumption, give the slightest inkling to maintaining the standards for our product. Bringing in some from ‘the other side’ will only encourage those who practice the art of fear and disinformation to work more aggressively at reducing consumer choice.
Myself, my parents, and two children just started on raw milk two weeks ago. My daughter has experienced no ill side effects. All the rest of us, however, got a case of something similar to the stomach flu. I have done some research on our symptoms, and it appears we could all be suffering from Giardia. I am a firm believer in alternative medicine, natural health, organic foods, co-ops, etc. I am very thrown by this one. Could it just be our bodies going through the healing crisis? Could it be the fact that the DATCP visited this farm on several occasions and ‘accidentally’ placed a live culture of parasites in the water? Could it be the raw dairy is not being processed properly? Could it be a few cows came down with something?
I really don’t know as much as the people on here do about raw milk, and would appreciate some feedback on this one. Thank you!