There was so much comment about the Los Angeles Times magazine article about Mark McAfee and Organic Pastures Dairy Co. that I wanted to get Mark’s reaction.
What I got was enough of an earful to not only make me wish I had obtained my degree in biology rather than political science, but to want to engage a team of biological researchers to handle all the potential followup trails. That’s how complex the science and measurements around the testing and theory are, or at least how they appear to me.
“I have mixed feelings about the article,” Mark said. He was apparently expecting some kind of expose about the ordeal the agriculture and public health officials put him through last September and October when they shut his dairy for more than two weeks.
What he got was “this super story” about the illnesses affecting five children, in which he claims there were “some inaccuracies.” For example, he says, the E.coli from only two of the five children matched up as genetically identical.
But he seems to corroborate the thrust of the story when he says, “We don’t know what happened…It’s possible our milk made the children sick.”
The evidence in the case continues to unfold. He tells me that just this week he received a report back from California health officials about the stool samples taken in October from 219 of his cows (via the long arm thrusts described in the LA Times article). It’s here that things become especially intriguing.
None of the milking cows showed any of the E.coli (0157:H7) identified with sickening the children. However, three nonmilking cows had the suspect 0157:H7 bacteria. Yet that E.coli “did not match genetically with that found in the kids.” McAfee thinks these cows may harbor potentially dangerous E.coli because they graze on different pasture and eat a different variety of alfalfa than the milking cows.
Moreover, “The state veterinarian said he was very concerned that our cows’ stool samples were highly consistent with high levels of antibiotics…which is crazy, because we absolutely don’t use any antibiotics.” McAfee speculates that the grass-fed cows have looser stools than grain-fed cows, which confused the health authorities.
McAfee also bemoans “the lack of responsibility taken by the medical community” for improper treatment of E.coli cases in which antibiotics are administered. For two of the five children who became sick after consuming Organic Pastures’ products, the administration of antibiotics led to a serious worsening of their condition from toxic substances produced by bacteria that had been killed off. Doctors who have been trained more than five years ago tend to be unfamiliar with the dangers associated with antibiotic treatment in such cases. Antibiotics should be avoided, and the focus in such situations should be on “fluid replenishment,” he said. If antibiotics are avoided, the diarrhea usually clears up in a couple or three days. He also suspects that diarrhea can occur in children and adults whose digestive systems have been depleted of beneficial bacteria by poor diets, and then consume raw milk with its 25-30 beneficial bacteria.
When I suggested he consider providing cautionary instructions to customers about going easy with their children consuming raw milk early on, he said, “We advise, Dixie cups first for a couple of days. The kids usually love (the raw milk), but you have to restrict them at first.”
He said he has received about 20 emails following up on the LA Times article from people saying they want to go out and buy raw milk, based on the article. And sales are stronger than ever.
“Bottom line,” he says, “There’s a lot of political-medical stuff about who blames whom (for sickness from raw milk). And in that respect, there’s a disconnect with the growing numbers of consumers who want to keep themselves healthy. "People want to take responsibility for their health.” Which translates into lots of fertile research questions. All that’s needed are some scientists or other experts to provide answers.
What I like about Mark is that, even without the research, he is actively working to educate. Theories aren’t the same as solid research, but they’re all that’s available to explain a complex chain of events. While the LA Times article likely planted some seeds of fear, it still was better than most of what’s written simply because it didn’t have all the FDA’s "Russian roulette" stuff.
One footnote: Mark says that a complaint by the Los Angeles Board of Health against Organic Pastures for selling raw milk in unlabeled containers at a farmers market “went away. Our lawyer told them to stop harassing us, and they stopped.” In Mark’s world, that was a minor nuisance.
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