romney2.jpgI had a dream last night that I was trying to explain raw milk to, of all people. Mitt Romney. Somehow I was giving him a ride somewhere, or giving him directions (talk about a guy who needs direction!) to get to a campaign appearance. (The photo at left is of a Romney sheep–thanks to Meg for the suggestion.)

Now, a few people have wondered to me over the last couple weeks if I’m ever going to write about anything other than raw milk. It somehow seems that every time I think about writing about something else, I get drawn back to raw milk by some event or another…and now a dream.

I think this dream was a partial answer to that query, since I was explaining to Romney that raw milk is important as a proxy for other health-related issues. I then launched into a monolog about how it is symbolic of a holistic view that nutrient-rich foods can foster good health, as opposed to the traditional medical establishment view that technology and Big Pharma rescue us from the lurking clutches of disease.

I then found myself using as an example something I have been reading about in several venues—the phenomenon of wealthy individuals devoting themselves to eradicating a disease that has affected them or a member of their family. One example is Andy Grove, the former CEO of Intel, who has committed $22 million and his managerial talent to drive scientific researchers to come up with a cure for Parkinson’s disease. His campaign began a few years ago, after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s.

In my explanation to Romney, I wondered why people like Grove are so convinced Big Pharma has the answers to such conditions, why these individuals don’t seem ever to want to fund examinations exploring the influences of lifestyle and nutrition. I didn’t say it, but I have watched a close relative and a good friend die from complications of Parkinson’s, and from all I could see, the drugs they took seemed to exacerbate their conditions after a time, and then wore off pretty much entirely after a few years.

As I was going through my explanation, Romney actually seemed to be listening. As I said, it was a dream. (And I couldn’t bear to publish the obvious illustration for this posting–a photo of Romney.)