Monday, April 07, 2014

Some Libertarians are so anti-government that they are willing to risk their health on non-pasteurized milk.

Courtesy of the Washington Post:  

An alliance of food activists and anti-regulation libertarians is battling to legalize raw, unpasteurized milk, despite warnings from health officials about the rising toll of illnesses affecting adults and children alike. 

As the popularity of raw milk has grown, so too have associated outbreaks. They have nearly doubled over the past five years, with eight out of 10 cases occurring in states that have legalized sales of the unpasteurized product, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. Public health officials have also documented how pathogens in raw milk have produced kidney failure in more than a dozen cases and paralysis in at least two. 

But distrust of government and a thirst for the milk have helped fuel the movement to do away with federal and state restrictions despite the warnings. In states where raw milk remains banned, black and “gray” markets have emerged for enthusiasts seeking “moonshine milk” in the belief that bacteria-killing heat from pasteurization also kills powerful enzymes and eliminates other properties that can cure allergies, asthma and even autism. 

During this legislative session, 40 bills have been introduced in 23 state capitals, all seeking to legalize unpasteurized milk within state borders. 

It is illegal for raw milk dairy farmers to sell and transport their product across state lines — a ban the FDA is charged with enforcing. But every day, thousands of gallon-sized glass jars filled with raw milk move from state to state, arriving at consumers’ front doors through co-ops, buyers clubs and from friends and relatives who sometimes pack the milk in dry ice and ship it via FedEx. 

Consumers pay as much as $12 a gallon for raw milk from cows and goats. 

Yeah what's a little paralysis and a few stomach parasites when you can stick it to the government?

Gee and to think that Louis Pasteur spent all of those years working to keep milk from killing people, only to have his efforts rejected by a bunch of self destructive idiots who think that anything the government touches immediately takes away their freedom on contact.

41 comments:

  1. Anonymous2:07 AM

    Raw milk is not that bad when you know where it comes from, that means from healthy cows from a clean environment and i don't think you have many facilities like that in the US.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous6:30 AM

      Also, cheese made out of pasteurized milk is tasteless.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous6:43 AM

      I agree. I'm nowhere near conservative (I'm a regular reader here and post occasionally, and voted for President Obama twice), and yesterday, I bought a half gallon of raw milk from a small local dairy at my farmer's market. It's legal in my state. I drink it as a probiotic, and it is immensely helpful for my sensitive tummy. Pasteurized milk removes all the good stuff. You do need to know the source, which I do.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:28 PM

      Sorry G don't agree. Greedy Dairy farmers who don't keep clean cows absolutely HAVE to pasteurize their milk b/c it contains PUS from mastitis etc. Dairy farmer who don't pasturize their milk have to keep their cows Very clean & Healthy to prevent bacteria from getting into the milk. And Homegenzation is one of the HUGE reason we have all the heart disease! Milk that is homogenized the fat globules are to large to get into the cells, there are tons of info out there on this. Raw milk is illegal where I live but I drink homogenized Goat milk. Full fat milk.
      info:Raw Milk
      http://www.realmilk.com/audio-and-video/
      G You need to update your nutritional info check out the Westin Price foundation....Raw milk is not for Con wackos its for people who want to be healthy!
      http://www.realmilk.com/about-us/wapf/
      Again its all about $$
      Factory farms treat their cows like shit and often the milk contain PUS! But when they pasteurize it the pus goes away. And Organic Farmers keep their cows very clean and healthy feed them grass, cost more money to have healthy, grass feed cows.
      If I had a choice, I would pay more for RAW Unpasteurized Grass fed cow milk.
      I won't drink the low fat crap they pass off as "milk".

      Delete
    4. Anonymous2:10 PM

      Should be "isn't" homogenized...

      Delete
    5. Anonymous3:49 PM

      Milk is made for one purpose, to make infant mammals gain weight quickly. It should be avoided by mammals that are past the age of suckling.

      If you are over the age of 3, and not still sucking milk from a mammalian teat, I'd suggest Almond Milk.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous3:00 AM

    sorry to disagree: I am neither a libertarian, nor anti-govt, but a far left liberal, and I have been drinking raw mile for over 3 years without any problem. I do it for health reasons and if you read the literature, there are indeed benefits to raw milk which I have experienced myself. The milk lobby is very powerful, and anyone who is even mildly anti-large corporations or lobbies should be able to see the forces at work. If you buy your mile thru a milk-share from a small local farm, you're safer than buying produce from a third world country.

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  3. Anonymous3:04 AM

    Here in VA, you can get around the raw milk ban by owning a share of a cow. Mighty expensive, too. One fella I know has gotten the cost of one cow 6x over.

    But some of us have our own cows, don't sell milk or shares to others, & still don't pasteurize. Of course, we also know EXACTLY what the cows are eating, know our cows' health & we practice good hygiene when milking. Been drinking raw milk a long, long time.

    However, if you are selling to an unsuspecting public, you should abide by health rules. Unless I knew the farmer used the same stringent practices as I do, I would never buy fresh milk from someone else. Soap is pretty cheap, & so is water.

    Now if you'll excuse me, I need to pull on my wellies & muck up to the barn to tend to the livestock. The sun's about to come up, & this little farmer has a full day ahead of her.

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    1. Anonymous9:04 AM

      I remember well the saga of a woman in Virginia who wanted to sell her goats' milk. I forget how many ways she went about it until she came up with the shares solution. Must've been 20 or more years ago, now.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous3:26 AM

    I actually grew up drinking unpasteurized milk.It wasn't because of trying to stick it to the man but I grew up on a dairy farm so we had the freshest milk around.Never got sick once, and many of my friends were the same way.While I agree with pasteurization drinking raw milk isn't a death sentence.I'm living proof so to speak.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous5:25 AM

      Good point. But what is with your lack of space between your periods and the beginning of the next sentence?

      Do not start a trend. It's awful.

      Delete
    2. Olivia6:19 AM

      5:25, I don't like it either but there is a debatable standard.
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentence_spacing

      Delete
    3. The debate is between one space and two spaces. You should never have no spaces.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous8:37 AM

      I thought the debate was between raw and pasteurized milk..

      Delete
    5. Anonymous8:40 AM

      Anon 5:25 do not start a petty bitching trend. It is awful.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous12:30 PM

      Anonymous8:40 AM

      Anon 5:25 do not start a petty bitching trend. It is awful.
      *****
      Ditto!
      And really stupid, we are commenting on a blog not writing a book!

      Delete
    7. Anonymous12:35 PM

      Sorry folks.I'm not a trained typist. Just an old farm boy with an opinion

      Delete
  5. Anonymous3:37 AM

    Gee, does the ACA cover them when they get sick and can't work? Slackers!

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  6. Most alternative medicine folks say only babies were meant to drink milk anyway, so who cares? Well, cream is nice in coffee, but a whole glass of the stuff -- you've got to be kidding! Well, maybe chocolate milk... and cream of tomato soup...

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous4:30 AM

    IDK I'm kind of torn on this one. My ex and his family all grew up on raw milk, and let me tell you they have the strongest bones and are the healthiest people I know. I know that doesn't really mean anything though.

    Also I am a real food junky. I prefer to make everything possible myself when feasible rather then eat processed garbage , and raw milk is the only way to make some cheeses. So I guess my advice would be "know your source".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous9:14 AM

      Remember Kyle Beus of Dairygate fame at the Matanuska Creamery in Wasilla? He went to a two week cheesmaking class in Wisconsin, came home to Wasilla and used raw milk which resulted in 30,000 lbs of cheese with E. Cole, Salmonella and Listeria. Yup.....one of $arah Palin's dairy experts.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:50 PM

      Kyle Beus had no bushiness being in the dairy bushiness. Know where your milk comes from. When you buy factory farmed Homogenized pasteurized milk it is milk dumped all together from countless anon cows.
      And Mat Maid dairy in AK???? I love cows, what's her name? friend of stoopid?

      Delete
  8. Anonymous5:44 AM

    Human adults do not need milk of any kind. Your calcium content is mainly due to calcium intake, genetics, and the exercise you do. You can calcium other ADULT calcium rich foods.
    http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/calcium-full-story/
    Adults drinking any milk is an ADVERTISING gimmick brought on by the dairy folks. My dad grew up on a farm and never had milk after he became a teen. He was as strong as an ox, had huge bones and got his calcium from other sources. My mother drank milk her entire life, was as frail as a daisy, and couldn't do a lick of work to save her life.
    the difference? GENETICS.
    There are also risks in drinking milk: Lactose intolerance, high fat content, increase in ovarian and prostate cancers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. An European Viewpoint1:44 AM

      How come your mother, "frail as a daisy", "who couldn't do a lick of work to save her life", manage to outive 9 months of pregnancy and the expulsion of a live child from inside her ?

      Do you think that's just a small easy feat, just because it's a female who did it ?

      Go back to worshipping your penis and stay out of the conversation of adults, you ungrateful mother-dismissing moron.

      Delete
  9. Cows' milk is good for baby calves.

    This is another way of getting rid of the dumbasses.

    Thin them out.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous6:26 AM

    Geesh, Gryphen. Not everyone who wants a choice is anti-government. This post plays into the conservative line that we progressives want government in everything. I like to make my own choices in regards to my reproduction, even though GOP politicians want to "protect" me with regulations. And I'm fine with folks having the choice to buy raw milk if they want. No one is suggesting these people want to put an end to pasteurization. They're just wanting the OPTION of drinking raw milk if they want. I know dairy owners who sell it and they are very careful about sanitation and quality.
    Sometimes your posts......Geesh.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous7:45 AM

      Better regulating would be a good start. Educating people on the dangers and let them make an informed choice.
      I personally think the benefits of pasteurization outweigh the risks, but then I also think milk and all it's additives wasn't meant to be a part of our diets naturally as adults.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous3:18 PM

      Absolutely. With respect to Gryphen, the loads of antibiotics pumped into cows - and milk - by the modern dairy industry is far more concerning than the drinking of raw milk. But the government is fine with pumping our kids full of chemicals so I guess that's OK.
      We don't want to go overboard. Government is not the enemy, but it's not always acting in our best interest, either.
      Gryphen missed the mark completely with this post.

      Delete
  11. Olivia6:26 AM

    When my daughter was small, she couldn't tolerate cow's milk until we found a farmer and began to purchase it direct from the farm. We were told it wasn't the milk she was sensitive to, it was the residual chemicals from processing in commercial milk. We have all since adopted the attitude that cow's milk is for baby cows and use very little of it.

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  12. Anonymous7:30 AM

    *Louis Pasteur

    And, I would agree with most of the other posters that this isn't an issue involving crazy libertarians.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous8:26 AM

    Ah ha the daily industry must be feeling some pain from people going back to "real" milk. Dr. William Douglass says it best. "Don't let the milk industry murder you and your family! Get the inside scoop on the most crooked gang of thieves in the country-they're getting rich selling you milk flavored poison.

    Pasteurized, homogenized milk is brewed up in big factories, boiled beyond recognition and so chemically "enhanced" that by the time it gets to you it's just milk-flavored poison I wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole-let alone serve it to my child."
    Once you drink the real thing you will NEVER try the chemical stuff passed off as "milk".

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous2:47 PM

      Anonymous8:26 AM
      *****
      Exactly!!!

      Delete
    2. sewnup4:59 PM

      Indeed, the dairy industry is a moving factor behind the anti-raw milk movement. An interesting read is " The Untold Story of Milk, Revised and Updated: The History, Politics and Science of Nature's Perfect Food" by Ron Schmid. And you thought commercial pasteurization came about to prevent folks from becoming ill from raw products? Uhhh....no.

      These same corporate behemoths are a large part of the push to raid farmers and do away with their livestock, confiscate their farming equipment, terrorize their families, etc...in some cases when they aren't selling milk at all but only consuming it within their own families. And you meat lovers had better keep an eye out; the same attitudes are moving into that area now, this time in the name of preventing diseases like mad cow disease (which they simultaneously swear on their precious bibles does not exist in this country), brainworm, etc. Money is power and they don't want that messed with...

      Delete
  14. Anonymous9:00 AM

    I think some consideration has to be given to the times when pasteurization was begun, and now. I had dairy goats. My herd was a closed herd. No new animal would be introduced until it had tested negative for TB and Brucellosis and had been quarantined through a deworming cycle. I had my goats tested every year just the same. I sampled each goat's milk every day for any sign of mastitis. And my milking equipment was sterilized. The milk was great. But I never gave it to anyone not in my immediate family/friend circle. They mostly turned green at the very thought of goat's milk anyway. But I did get calls, via the goat underground, from people wanting goat milk for themselves, their baby, their kids because of allergies to cow's milk. I always refused, with much apologizing. I'd rather have fresh from the animal milk than the crap that's sold in stores. It isn't the product that is the problem; it's the care given the animals and taken by the milker.

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  15. Anonymous9:17 AM

    When I was a young teenager in the 70s, I was an Adele Davis health food nut. I drank draw milk from a certified dairy, and I even wrote a letter to the late Senator Alan Cranston urging him to protect our right to do so. He did. I'm still a health food nut, and I don't drink milk anymore -- but if I did, I would drink raw milk from a certified dairy. (Old school: two spaces after the colon, and two after the period.)

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  16. sewnup10:58 AM

    As part of the group that got the Virginia laws passed (thank you, Francis Chester!!), I have to say that there's been a group of politicians that have ever since been resentful and lurking around trying to get rid of the so-called cow-share program. Lately they've been all fired up again (no discernible reason I know of) and I wouldn't be surprised if they aren't at least a part of what's triggered that article.

    I grew up on raw milk, as did my 20 full, step, and half-siblings. We were the healthiest kids around and by the time we were finished with school we were the only family in the township (=school district) which had a perfect attendance record: every kid there every day of school for his/her whole 12 years.

    Now far past 70, I'm still far healthier than those around me, last had the flu 43 years ago and don't remember ever having a cold...still drinking my raw milk. Raised my kids on it and they are similarly healthy so far, now in their 40s and 50s. But we don't eat other processed foods, either, and I suspect that plays a giant part....find yourself a good safe farmer/gardener and ditch the processed stuff. And leave the friggin' laws alone. People can choose to smoke cigarettes; they should be able to choose to drink raw milk. No one's trying to force it on anyone, only to make it legally available. Articles like that one only point out the willing ignorance of the writer. End of rant.

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  17. You can't make cheese out of ultra pasturized milk. And that's pretty much all you can find now.

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  18. Anonymous2:00 PM

    I grew up drinking raw milk, as did most of the kids in our rural community. Our cows were healthy, tested annually for tb and brucellosis and we were scrupulous about practicing safe milk handling procedures. It was wonderful stuff and nobody got sick from drinking it.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous6:30 PM

      Same here Anon 2:00 PM
      .. I lived in So. California at the time. Yes, it cost more money, but it sure tasted wonderful and no, we didn't get sick from it either.

      Delete
  19. An European Viewpoint5:38 AM

    Gryphen, it's Louis, as in Louisiana.

    From his understanding of molds as not spontaneously-created life (something widely believed then) but as coming from spores deposited on foodstuff, and his understanding of microbial life, Pasteur derived two major works : one on vaccines (the saving-lifes bit) and one on food conservation, aka pasteurisation (the industry-promoting bit).

    While I see why someone unfamiliar with Pasteur, or with raw milk from well-cared for cows, would think of pasteurisation as one of the life-saving bits, it's not.

    The problem with raw milk is not illnesses, it's that it's not keepable. Leave it for one day outside of the fridge and it will go sour, which is great for cheese making but really bad for milk drinking, so bad that nobody with tastebuds will want to drink such milk. And that's pretty bad for milk trade. So, pasteurisation was a major leap towards drinking milk in the cities, instead of making cheese out of most of it - no health issues attached.

    As for US raw milk vs cooked milk controversies, it's well known that US are paranoiac with food safety, as long as it's not US-corporatedly-enhanced food, where there are lax to a fault.

    In Europe, France is isolated too in not banning cheese made from raw milk. Which are the best. I mean, I can understand why the UK can't stand the idea : there are UK (and US) petting farms so filthy as to provoke feces-bug poisoning just by visiting them. And several children die each year from feces-bug poisonings from school food in the UK.

    But there are also plenty of places where the regulations on germs are followed, and one should be allowed to buy raw milk from there.

    ReplyDelete

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