Our next door neighbor, on learning yesterday that I’m a food safety microbiologist, asked me whether there were any foods I avoided. “I don’t eat raw sprouts,” I replied,”And I don’t drink raw milk.
One month ago today, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services reported that raw milk supplied to a school event by a local farm infected 16 people with Campylobacter jejuni. The identical strain of Campylobacter was recovered from stool samples obtained from the 16 victims and from milk samples collected from the farm’s bulk milk tank.
According to a July 15th report in Food Safety News, a parent of one of the Wisconsin school children went to a relative’s farm and collected raw milk from the farm’s bulk milk tank to bring to the event. The farm does not sell raw milk to consumers; it supplies milk to a licensed dairy for pasteurization.
On June 27th, the Alaska Division of Public Health reported on a cluster of 4 cases of Campylobacter; all four victims were infected with the same strain of Campylobacter jejuni. All four people reported drinking raw milk from the same cow-share farm in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley – the only common element. Two of the 4 victims reported that a total of three family members also had experienced symptoms of acute gastroenteritis, but had not sought medical treatment. The three unreported victims also had consumed raw milk from the same farm.
Yesterday, FDA announced that it was investigating – in conjunction with officials in North Carolina and South Carolina – three confirmed cases and an additional five probable cases of campylobacteriosis in people who drank raw milk from Tucker Adkins Dairy in York, SC. One of the three confirmed victims was hospitalized. The eight confirmed and probable victims all report having consumed raw milk obtained from the dairy on June 14, 2011. The victims come from three different households.
Most Campylobacter infections are relatively mild and short-lived. Nevertheless, Campylobacter, which is one of the most common causes of diarrhea in the USA, sometims produces severe illness – including bloody diarrhea – and is estimated to cause approximately 124 deaths annually in the United States. Campylobacter also is responsible for as many as 40% of the cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome reported annually in the US. Guillain-Barré is an autoimmune disease typified by paralysis that lasts for several weeks, and usually requiring intensive care.
FDA is urging consumers not to drink raw milk from Tucker Adkins Dairy. In my opinion, that warning doesn’t go far enough. To understand the risks, please check out Real Raw Milk Facts.
When you’re done, perhaps you will appreciate why I don’t drink raw milk.
eFoodAlert 
This is America! Freedom of choice was written into the constitution. It should be everyone’s right to choose what they want to eat and drink. It is truly a very sad situation that most people do not choose to inform themselves about the food/drink/medical care (drugs etc.)that they consume and accept. Only with knowledge which encompasses much time to research alternatives as opposed to the status quo will the health situation in this country start to reverse itself. This country was founded by people who passionately believed in freedom of choice in all areas of life and the government should not be considered as a “Parent” to determine what is right for us. Read drmercla.com, herbdoc.com, danielvitalis.com to name some of the top sources to inform yourself on the correct healthy choices to make. With information, you do not need to run to the doctor for every little ache and pain or even run to the dentist to take care of teeth!!! It is truly empowering when you can be independent of the so called “experts” telling you what
dis-ease you have and what you must do to become well. Finally, to spend the end part of your life in vibrant health instead of in a nursing home or hospital bed taking your last breath, or being sent home by the “experts” telling you and your loved ones that “there is nothing else we can do for you” is more than ample reasons to become informed and mostly to share your knowledge so others can die with dignity and peace.
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Eating food has risk in varying degrees. Raw milk has a low risk compared to deli meats and several produce items. Given the nutritional value of raw milk properly harvested from properly reared cows, I accept that small risk and feel that privately exchanged raw milk should not be regulated or needs very, very little regulation. Consumers and the face-to-face relationship will regulate the risks.
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Living milk (RAW) heals, and promotes life and healing. It contains contains naturally ocurring PROBIOTICS (beneficial bacteria which destroy harmful bacteria). Dead (non-probiotic), diseased milk (PASTEURIZED) sickens, and promotes disease and physical degeneration. The important key is that to be safe, raw milk must come from properly pasture raised, grassfed (NOT GRAIN as this makes cows sick-with sick milk!)cows who are carefully taken care of. Naturaly, this costs a fair amount of money to produce. Greed must be kept out of the equation. This is usually a small farm whose main goals are safety, cleanliness and care of animal and milk and happy customers willing to pay what these things are and really worth (more money to fairly compensate the farmer for his time and energy). Big, greedy agricorporation CAFOs and mega-dairys cheat and skip on through safety, cleanliness, true care and even use controversial(disease causing) groth hormones (rBGH) in relentless pursuit of more,ill-gotten, easier dollars. This is GREED plain and simple, it is cheating by compromising quality for dollars. The only “milk” this system can produce is DISEASED, DEAD milk and it also creates the need to pasteurize this foul, diseased fluid which is the natural result of of this GREED. Like produces like.
Many of us will not stand for this kind of wrong any longer. We are willing to educate people about truth. We are willing to stand up to the institutions who actively try to hide this truth and put dollars before health. Many of us are willing to fight the ignorance, deciet and greed. If you care about health, truth, helping people, animals and the environment, please join us because YOU JUST CAN’T STOP US!
Incedentally, there are many industries which the above concepts equally apply to.
Nobody is forcing us all to buy raw, organic, high quality, healthy milk. But plenty of powerful intere$ts are trying to force us to buy pasteurized, diseased milk while trying to demonize and outlaw living, raw milk. Who is being decietful? Who is greedy? Who is pushing in a warlike fasion? Is it the big agricorporations and those who allow them (and help them) to continue thier fraudulent, greedy practices, while poisoning the public. Is it the conscientious small organic farmer providing raw, healthy milk to the knowledgeble consumer? Is it the regulatory folks who are supposed to be protecting the public? Is it the knowledgeble and healthful consumer demanding a safe, traditional, raw, living food/drink?
I (and a LARGE group of area locals here) have to drink black market raw milk right now (because my State is confused about the truth- thank $big agra dollar$) and will fight for the RIGHT to legally access what I believe is the healthiest RAW MILK choice for my family without having to be made to feel like a criminal. And yes, I am slightly upset that our rights are being trampled by big dollar intere$ts, aren’t you? There are millions of us. *Industry insiders- please follow your conscience, do the right thing and stand with those trying to help. Look around, there is a food revolution happening.
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The continued lack of sophistication of the raw milk movement will lead to it’s demise. The apparent lack of pragmatism with respect to taking the necessary steps to ensure a safe product is delivered to customers is baffling. At what point does the practice of delivering milk to the public that is not tested become negligence? When a vegetable is pulled from the ground and delivered to a customer the expectation is that product is dirty and must washed, or if eaten without cleaning there is some risk. When raw milk is taken from cows there are many avenues by which contamination can get into that milk in addition to from a diseased cows udder. If raw milk is not tested then it should carry a warning and let the consumer take the risk, without the warning then is should be tested with some level of frequency that ensures safety and freedom from pathogenic bacteria. Raw milk sellers typically have the ability to get very good money from for their product, the should spend some of that wisely and test.
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