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| Sunday, May 3, 2009 |
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Some Recent Raw Milk Developments
By Monica @ 9:51 AM   
Possible contamination at CO raw dairy
About a month ago, an outbreak of campylobacter may have been linked to a raw dairy in Colorado. I say "may have been" as non-raw milk drinkers also succumbed to the illness, and only about 6% of the shareholders originally reported illness. I believe the investigation is still ongoing and the dairy is still shut down. You can find the specifics on David Gumpert's blog, The Complete Patient, here and here. The comments lines of these threads are informative.
It's no surprise that the vast majority Freeman's shareholders are standing with him, and to the health department's surprise, most people just want their milk supply to start flowing again. This speaks to the fact that the majority of raw milk consumers understand the potential risks, yet see the benefits as outweighing those risks. It also highlights the importance of having a good independent association of raw milk consumers and producers, such as RMAC, committed to producing safe milk. When one buys food from a local farmer, a personal connection is usually forged. This creates the ultimate incentive to produce safe food: the farmer's reputation. The power of market forces is really more than enough to ensure safe food from local farms.
I do not wish to diminish the gravity of some serious food-borne illness cases that may have been tied to raw milk in recent years. However, one must keep perspective. There may be as many as 3 million raw milk drinkers in the United States. Some people are extremely susceptible to food-borne illness. I've never experienced a case of food poisoning in my entire life. I know several other people who have experience several cases each of food poisoning just this year. So, there is individual variation in immune response. Not everyone exposed to a pathogen will become ill.
Second is that the raw milk program under Guidestone Farms has been operating safely in Colorado for 30 years. There are now around 30 independent raw milk dairies in Colorado that have been operating for several years. Despite this incident, the record is still quite good.
Third, it's important to remember that even in a free market, accidents and mistakes will still happen, especially with newer operations. That doesn't mean we need government regulators to come in and "solve" the problem.
Interstate raw milk shipments
In other raw milk news, Mark McAfee of Organic Pastures Dairy in California recently made a pitch to a government-industry juggernaut, the National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments, to lift a ban on interstate raw milk shipments. (Ron Paul is also a sponsor of a bill that would legalize interstate raw milk shipment.) The proposal was unanimously vetoed. Here are statements from two milk industry representatives:
Robert Byrne of the National Milk Producers Association, said “the federal ban (on raw milk shipments) should be extended to include an intrastate ban.” In other words, a national ban on raw milk.
Jim Howie of something called the Southern Marketing Agency, a consortium of Southeastern milk processors, scoffed at McAfee’s claims about the economic advantages of raw milk. “This should not be a marketing issue...I market organic milk. Organic milk is not raw, and raw is not organic. Yes, there is a black market for raw milk. I cringe when I see it. Use the laws they have to close that black market...If someone gets sick (from raw milk), the newspaper article will not say raw milk, it will say milk...will hurt dairy farmers around the country. This proposal would be a step backwards.”
Of course, what the industry reps fail to note (although they know it full well) is that increased availability of raw milk would make them less relevant and their market share would decrease. And of course the milk industry is adamantly opposed to anyone in the milk industry -- raw milk producer or not -- besting what amounts to a government-run cartel. If you wonder why I call NMPA a government-industry juggernaut, you should read this article and see how these government-run milk cooperatives attack any milk producer that attempts to defy federal milk marketing orders. Federal milk marketing orders result in production quotas and price fixing in order to "support" milk producers. In other words, it protects them from competition and raises prices above what they would be in a free market. Agricultural marketing orders date back to the FDR era. This is another minor reason I buy raw milk. I would not buy raw milk if it was an inferior product. However, it is a superior product in my opinion. And if I can help it, I won't willingly give money to a bunch of thugs who think they have the right to keep a 75 year old government-supported cartel in business.
An interesting conversation with the biggest milk regulator of all
Finally, Gumpert reports that he was finally able to meet John Sheehan in person at this meeting after doing lots of investigation, without much fruit, to try to figure out more about Sheehan's professional background. John Sheehan is the FDA's head of milk safety who has repeatedly stated that drinking raw milk is like playing Russian roulette. According to David, here is the conversation with Sheehan after snapping a couple of photos of him at the NMPA meeting: “Hi, I'm David Gumpert.”
“Yes, I know who you are.”
“I wonder if we could chat for just a few moments.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don't want to.” Well, you have to give the guy credit for being honest... He just doesn't want to be f****ing bothered. If a guy doesn’t want to talk to you, not much you can do, even if you do help pay his salary.
Obviously, it's high time our government officials were reminded that they are supposed to work for us -- not the other way around.
A closing note
I highly recommend David's blog, The Complete Patient. He covers raw milk regulatory issues quite well. One finds strong support for individual rights in his writing and in many of the blog comments. Although there is often disagreement on the concrete specifics of raw milk benefits and safety in the comments, most of the commenters are quite intelligent. While the exchange can get heated, the tone is usually remarkably civil for such a controversial issue as raw milk.Labels: "Safety", Raw Milk
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 E-mail Monica
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| Saturday, February 7, 2009 |
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HR 778: Repeal the Interstate Raw Milk Ban
By Monica @ 8:16 AM
From the Weston A. Price Foundation:
Dear Members,
We are pleased to announce that Congressman Ron Paul has introduced a bill (HR 778) that would repeal the current ban on raw milk and raw milk products for human consumption in interstate commerce. The ban has made it more difficult for consumers to access raw milk and has hurt the ability of raw milk producers to make a living.
Passage of the bill into law would go a long way to stopping the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in its efforts to completely shut down the supply of raw milk.
To be successful, HR 778 must have co-sponsors. Your help is needed. Now is the time to mobilize consumers and farmers across the U.S.
Background
On January 28 Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) introduced HR 778, a bill "to authorize the interstate traffic of unpasteurized milk and milk products that are packaged for direct human consumption." Under the bill, the federal government "may not take any action...that would prohibit, interfere with, regulate, or otherwise restrict the interstate traffic of milk, or a milk product, that is unpasteurized and packaged for direct human consumption solely on the basis that the milk or milk product is unpasteurized...." The bill defines "interstate traffic" as "the movement of any conveyance or the transportation of persons or property...from a point of origin in any State or possession to a point of destination in any other State or possession...."
Passage of the bill into law would repeal the federal regulation prohibiting raw milk and raw milk products for human consumption in interstate commerce. That regulation (21 CFR 1240.61) provides, in part, that "no person shall cause to be delivered into interstate commerce or shall sell, otherwise distribute, or hold for sale or other distribution after shipment in interstate commerce any milk or milk product in final package form for direct human consumption unless the product has been pasteurized...."
The regulation is judge-made law having been issued in response to a 1986 court order requiring FDA to prohibit the sale of raw milk and raw milk products in interstate commerce. The people's branch of government, the Legislature, had no input in the issuance of the regulation.
The bill honors States' rights and would not force a State to legalize the sale of raw milk by producers within its boundaries nor would it force a State to allow the sale of raw milk from out-of-State producers in its retail stores. As the law currently stands, raw milk cannot even be shipped from a State where its sale is legal into another State where the sale is also legal. The bill would enable consumers to enter into transactions to obtain raw milk and raw milk products from other States without the transactions being in violation of federal law.
The consumption of raw milk is legal in every State, yet its sale is currently illegal in about half the States. HR 778 would enable those living in States where the sale of raw milk is illegal-and those living in States where the sale is legal but sources are not present-to be able to exercise their legal right to consume raw milk. As Congressman Paul stated in introducing the bill, "Americans have the right to consume these products without having the Federal Government second-guess their judgment about what
products best promote health. If there are legitimate concerns about the safety of unpasteurized milk, those concerns should be addressed at the state and local level.
Personally, I don't even think that states or local governments should have anything to say about a person's right to obtain raw milk. The people at the FDA can be tyrants but so can local and state officials, as evidenced by the Lorain County (Ohio) Health Dept. raid on the Stowers farm and co-op, Manna Storehouse. "But how can we guarantee the safe supply of raw milk without government standards?" it is often asked. Well, here in Colorado we have a wonderful independent organization of producers and consumers, the Raw Milk Association of Colorado, that has guidelines for the safe production of raw milk. It is a perfect example of the type of self-regulating organization that would emerge in a laissez-faire, capitalist milk market. And it works wonderfully. There hasn't been a single food-borne illness outbreak from raw milk in Colorado in the entire time the raw milk program has been operating for approximately 30 years. Such organizations could exist in any state or county and would set far more objective standards with regard to raw milk than government officials, whose standards are too often arbitrary and changing whims based on bad science or political pressure. We've seen that type of pressure even at the state level. This isn't an issue of states' rights. It's an issue of individual rights. However, I'll still take concrete progress on this issue if we can get it, and this bill would definitely mean progress.
WAPF continues:
FDA's position is that "raw milk should not be consumed by anyone, at any time, for any reason." The agency is working to impose this belief upon those who would disagree. FDA is currently pushing some States to toughen their laws on raw milk production and sales while trying to move other States to ban the sale or other distribution of raw milk altogether. Rather than meddling in the States' exercise of their police powers, FDA should be focusing its resources and attention on the many problems that exist in our faltering industrial food system.
Raw milk producers stand to benefit significantly from the passage of the bill. Nearby and accessible markets would be opened up to them with the passage of the bill. Small dairy farms, whose continued existence is threatened, could be enabled to survive with the additional customers that would now be available to them. Conventional small dairies suffering from the collapse in milk prices paid them by dairy cooperatives could transition to selling or otherwise distributing raw dairy products with a greater likelihood of success. Lifting the ban would also promote the local food movement by connecting consumers with producers who happen to live just across state lines.
Action to Take
HR 778 has been assigned to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Those supporting the bill should contact members of the Committee as well as their own Representative to encourage them to sign on as co-sponsors for the bill. See links and committee members below.
Supporters of the bill are encouraged to write letters and make phone calls. Letters of one page or less can be sent to each member by email and then sent by postal mail. Suggested points to make in the letter are as follows.
1. The bill upholds consumer freedom of choice. The consumption of raw dairy products is legal in all fifty states. The bill enables consumers to exercise their legal right in States where the sale of raw milk and/or raw milk products is illegal or where there are no in-State sources.
2. The bill upholds States' rights. Decisions about the safety of raw milk should be made at the state and local level, not by the federal government.
3. The bill supports family farms by expanding their markets for raw dairy products. The bill increases the chances of survival for those dairies that are no longer able to subsist solely on the income from the dairy cooperative system.
4. The bill promotes the local food movement by connecting consumers to producers who happen to live just over state lines.
5. The bill would free FDA to focus on the pressing problems in our food system, e.g., tainted imports, under-inspected large-scale food processors.
The status of the bill can be tracked on the internet by entering "HR 778" in the Search field at www.thomas.gov; be sure to select "Bill Number" instead of "Word/Phrase".
Visit www.farmtoconsumer.org for more information and links. The committee list below (in order by State) was compiled from www.energycommerce.house.gov and www.visi.com/juan/congress/. Each member has an electronic mail webpage as well as a personal homepage. Other members of Congress can be found at http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/index.html.
Please join me in writing your members of the House depending on the state in which you live. I will be focusing on point one -- an individual's right to purchase raw milk -- in my letter, encouraging my representatives to sponsor this bill. Below are members of the commerce committee. Above are all members of Congress should you wish to write all your representatives.
Energy & Commerce Committee Members
Mike Ross, AR
Michael A. Ross (D-AR)
The Honorable Michael A. Ross
United States House of Representatives
2436 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-0404
DC Phone 202-225-3772
DC Fax 202-225-1314
http://ross.house.gov/?sectionid=77�iontree=7677
http://www.house.gov/ross/
John Shadegg, AZ
John B. Shadegg (R-AZ)
The Honorable John B. Shadegg
United States House of Representatives
436 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-0303
DC Phone 202-225-3361
DC Fax 202-225-3462
http://www.house.gov/formshadegg/emailtemplate.htm
http://www.house.gov/shadegg/
Anna Eshoo, CA
Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA)
The Honorable Anna G. Eshoo
United States House of Representatives
205 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-0514
DC Phone 202-225-8104
DC Fax 202-225-8890
http://eshoo.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=447&Itemid=
http://eshoo.house.gov/
Doris Matsui, CA
Doris Matsui (D-CA)
The Honorable Doris Matsui
United States House of Representatives
222 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-0505
DC Phone 202-225-7163
DC Fax 202-225-0566
https://forms.house.gov/matsui/webforms/issue_subscribe.htm
http://matsui.house.gov/
George Radanovich, CA
George P. Radanovich (R-CA)
The Honorable George P. Radanovich
United States House of Representatives
2410 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-0519
DC Phone 202-225-4540
DC Fax 202-225-3402
http://radanovich.house.gov/Contact/email.htm
http://radanovich.house.gov/
Henry A. Waxman, CA, Chair
Henry A. Waxman (D-CA) [Chairman]
The Honorable Henry A. Waxman
United States House of Representatives
2204 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-0530
DC Phone 202-225-3976
DC Fax 202-225-4099
http://www.house.gov/waxman/contact.htm
http://www.house.gov/waxman/
Jane Harman, CA
Jane Harman (D-CA)
The Honorable Jane Harman
United States House of Representatives
2400 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-0536
DC Phone 202-225-8220
DC Fax 202-226-7290
http://www.house.gov/harman/contact/email.shtml
http://www.house.gov/harman/
Jerry McNerney, CA
Jerry McNerney (D-CA)
The Honorable Jerry McNerney
United States House of Representatives
312 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-0511
DC Phone 202-225-1947
DC Fax 202-225-4060
http://mcnerney.house.gov/contact.shtml
http://mcnerney.house.gov/
Lois Capps, CA
Lois Capps (D-CA)
The Honorable Lois Capps
United States House of Representatives
1110 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-0523
DC Phone 202-225-3601
DC Fax 202-225-5632
http://www.house.gov/capps/contact/send_an_email.shtml
http://www.house.gov/capps/
Mary Bono Mack, CA
Mary Bono Mack (R-CA)
The Honorable Mary Bono Mack
United States House of Representatives
104 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-0545
DC Phone 202-225-5330
DC Fax 202-225-2961
http://bono.house.gov/Contact_Mary/ContactForm.htm
http://bono.house.gov/
Diana DeGette, CO
Diana DeGette (D-CO)
The Honorable Diana DeGette
United States House of Representatives
2335 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-0601
DC Phone 202-225-4431
DC Fax 202-225-5657
http://www.house.gov/formdegette/zip_auth.htm
http://degette.house.gov/
Christopher Murphy, CT
Christopher Murphy (D-CT)
The Honorable Christopher Murphy
United States House of Representatives
412 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-0705
DC Phone 202-225-4476
DC Fax 202-225-5933
http://www.house.gov/formchrismurphy/ic_zip_auth.htm
http://chrismurphy.house.gov/
Cliff Stearns, FL
Cliff Stearns (R-FL)
The Honorable Cliff Stearns
United States House of Representatives
2370 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-0906
DC Phone 202-225-5744
DC Fax 202-225-3973
http://www.house.gov/writerep/
http://www.house.gov/stearns/
Kathy Castor, FL
Kathy Anne Castor (D-FL)
The Honorable Kathy Anne Castor
United States House of Representatives
317 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-0911
DC Phone 202-225-3376
DC Fax 202-225-5652
http://www.house.gov/writerep/
http://castor.house.gov/
John Barrow, GA
John Barrow (D-GA)
The Honorable John Barrow
United States House of Representatives
213 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-1012
DC Phone 202-225-2823
DC Fax 202-225-3377
http://barrow.house.gov/ima/contact.htm
http://barrow.house.gov/
Nathan Deal, GA
Nathan Deal (R-GA)
The Honorable Nathan Deal
United States House of Representatives
2133 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-1010
DC Phone 202-225-5211
DC Fax 202-225-8272
http://www.house.gov/deal/contact.shtml
http://www.house.gov/deal/
Phil Gingrey, GA
Phil Gingrey (R-GA)
The Honorable Phil Gingrey
United States House of Representatives
119 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-1011
DC Phone 202-225-2931
DC Fax 202-225-2944
http://www.house.gov/formgingrey/IMA/issue.htm
http://gingrey.house.gov/
Bruce Braley, IA
Bruce Braley (D-IA)
The Honorable Bruce Braley
United States House of Representatives
1019 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-1501
DC Phone 202-225-2911
DC Fax 202-225-6666
https://forms.house.gov/braley/webforms/issue_subscribe.html
http://braley.house.gov/
Bobby Rush, IL
Bobby L. Rush (D-IL)
The Honorable Bobby L. Rush
United States House of Representatives
2416 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-1301
DC Phone 202-225-4372
DC Fax 202-226-0333
http://www.house.gov/rush/zipauth.shtml
http://www.house.gov/rush/
Janice Schakowsky, IL
Janice Schakowsky (D-IL)
The Honorable Janice Schakowsky
United States House of Representatives
2367 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-1309
DC Phone 202-225-2111
DC Fax 202-226-6890
http://www.house.gov/schakowsky/email.shtml
http://www.house.gov/schakowsky/
John Shimkus, IL
John Shimkus (R-IL)
The Honorable John Shimkus
United States House of Representatives
2452 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-1319
DC Phone 202-225-5271
DC Fax 202-225-5880
http://www.house.gov/shimkus/emailme.shtml
http://www.house.gov/shimkus/
Baron Hill, IN
Baron P. Hill (D-IN)
The Honorable Baron P. Hill
United States House of Representatives
223 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-1409
DC Phone 202-225-5315
DC Fax 202-226-6866
http://baronhill.house.gov/IMA/issue_subscribe.shtml
http://baronhill.house.gov/
Steve Buyer, IN
Stephen E. Buyer (R-IN)
The Honorable Stephen E. Buyer
United States House of Representatives
2230 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-1404
DC Phone 202-225-5037
DC Fax 202-225-2267
http://www.house.gov/writerep/
http://stevebuyer.house.gov
Ed Whitfield, KY
Edward Whitfield (R-KY)
The Honorable Edward Whitfield
United States House of Representatives
2411 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-1701
DC Phone 202-225-3115
DC Fax 202-225-3547
http://whitfield.house.gov/contact/index.shtml
http://whitfield.house.gov/
Charlie Melancon, LA
Charlie Melancon (D-LA)
The Honorable Charlie Melancon
United States House of Representatives
404 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-1803
DC Phone 202-225-4031
DC Fax 202-226-3944
http://www.melancon.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=205
http://melancon.house.gov/
Edward Markey, MA
Edward J. Markey (D-MA)
The Honorable Edward J. Markey
United States House of Representatives
2108 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-2107
DC Phone 202-225-2836
DC Fax 202-226-0092
http://markey.house.gov/index.php?option=com_email_form&Itemid=124
http://markey.house.gov/
John Sarbanes, MD
John P. Sarbanes (D-MD)
The Honorable John P. Sarbanes
United States House of Representatives
426 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-2003
DC Phone 202-225-4016
DC Fax 202-225-9219
http://sarbanes.house.gov/federal.asp
http://sarbanes.house.gov/
Bart Stupak, MI
Bart Stupak (D-MI)
The Honorable Bart Stupak
United States House of Representatives
2268 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-2201
DC Phone 202-225-4735
DC Fax 202-225-4744
http://www.house.gov/stupak/IMA/issue2.htm
http://www.house.gov/stupak/
Fred Upton, MI
Fred Upton (R-MI)
The Honorable Fred Upton
United States House of Representatives
2183 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-2206
DC Phone 202-225-3761
DC Fax 202-225-4986
http://www.house.gov/writerep/
http://www.house.gov/upton/
John Dingell, MI, Chair Emeritus
John D. Dingell (D-MI)
The Honorable John D. Dingell
United States House of Representatives
2328 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-2215
DC Phone 202-225-4071
DC Fax 202-226-0371
http://www.house.gov/writerep/
http://www.house.gov/dingell/
Mike Rogers, MI
Mike Rogers (R-MI)
The Honorable Mike Rogers
United States House of Representatives
133 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-2208
DC Phone 202-225-4872
DC Fax 202-225-5820
http://www.mikerogers.house.gov/Contact.aspx
http://www.mikerogers.house.gov/
Roy Blunt, MO
Roy Blunt (R-MO)
The Honorable Roy Blunt
United States House of Representatives
2229 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-2507
DC Phone 202-225-6536
DC Fax 202-225-5604
http://www.blunt.house.gov/Contact.aspx
http://www.house.gov/blunt/
G.K. Butterfield, NC
G. K. Butterfield, Jr. (D-NC)
The Honorable G. K. Butterfield, Jr.
United States House of Representatives
413 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-3301
DC Phone 202-225-3101
DC Fax 202-225-3354
http://butterfield.house.gov/contactinfo.asp
http://butterfield.house.gov/
Sue Wilkins Myrick, NC
Sue Myrick (R-NC)
The Honorable Sue Myrick
United States House of Representatives
230 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-3309
DC Phone 202-225-1976
DC Fax 202-225-3389
http://myrick.house.gov/zipauth.shtml
http://www.house.gov/myrick/
Lee Terry, NE
Lee Terry (R-NE)
The Honorable Lee Terry
United States House of Representatives
2331 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-2702
DC Phone 202-225-4155
DC Fax 202-226-5452
http://www.house.gov/formleeterry/IMA/issue.htm
http://leeterry.house.gov/
Frank Pallone, Jr., NJ
Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ)
The Honorable Frank Pallone, Jr.
United States House of Representatives
237 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-3006
DC Phone 202-225-4671
DC Fax 202-225-9665
http://www.house.gov/pallone/contact.shtml
http://www.house.gov/pallone/
Anthony Weiner, NY
Anthony Weiner (D-NY)
The Honorable Anthony Weiner
United States House of Representatives
2104 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-3209
DC Phone 202-225-6616
DC Fax 202-226-7253
http://weiner.house.gov/email_anthony.aspx
http://weiner.house.gov/
Eliot Engel, NY
Eliot L. Engel (D-NY)
The Honorable Eliot L. Engel
United States House of Representatives
2161 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-3217
DC Phone 202-225-2464
DC Fax 202-225-5513
http://www.house.gov/writerep/
http://engel.house.gov/
Betty Sutton, OH
Betty Sutton (D-OH)
The Honorable Betty Sutton
United States House of Representatives
1721 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-3513
DC Phone 202-225-3401
DC Fax 202-225-2266
http://sutton.house.gov/about/emailform.cfm
http://sutton.house.gov/
Zachary Space, OH
Zack T. Space (D-OH)
The Honorable Zack T. Space
United States House of Representatives
315 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-3518
DC Phone 202-225-6265
DC Fax 202-225-3394
http://space.house.gov/?sectionid=61�iontree=2661
http://space.house.gov/
John Sullivan, OK
John Sullivan (R-OK)
The Honorable John Sullivan
United States House of Representatives
434 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-3601
DC Phone 202-225-2211
DC Fax 202-225-9187
http://sullivan.house.gov/contact/write.htm
http://sullivan.house.gov/
Greg Walden, OR
Greg Walden (R-OR)
The Honorable Greg Walden
United States House of Representatives
2352 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-3702
DC Phone 202-225-6730
DC Fax 202-225-5774
http://walden.house.gov/ContactGreg.Home.shtml
http://walden.house.gov/
Joseph Pitts, PA
Joseph R. Pitts (R-PA)
The Honorable Joseph R. Pitts
United States House of Representatives
420 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-3816
DC Phone 202-225-2411
DC Fax 202-225-2013
http://www.house.gov/pitts/contact.shtml
http://www.house.gov/pitts/
Michael Doyle, PA
Michael F. Doyle (D-PA)
The Honorable Michael F. Doyle
United States House of Representatives
401 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-3814
DC Phone 202-225-2135
DC Fax 202-225-3084
http://doyle.house.gov/email_mike.shtml
http://doyle.house.gov/
Tim Murphy, PA
Tim Murphy (R-PA)
The Honorable Tim Murphy
United States House of Representatives
322 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-3818
DC Phone 202-225-2301
DC Fax 202-225-1844
http://murphy.house.gov/Contact/zipauth.htm
http://murphy.house.gov/
Bart Gordon, TN
Bart Gordon (D-TN)
The Honorable Bart Gordon
United States House of Representatives
2306 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-4206
DC Phone 202-225-4231
DC Fax 202-225-6887
http://gordon.house.gov/contact/index.shtml
http://gordon.house.gov/
Marsha Blackburn, TN
Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
The Honorable Marsha Blackburn
United States House of Representatives
217 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-4305
DC Phone 202-225-2811
DC Fax 202-225-3004
http://blackburn.house.gov/contactform/
http://blackburn.house.gov/
Charles Gonzalez, TX
Charles A. Gonzalez (D-TX)
The Honorable Charles A. Gonzalez
United States House of Representatives
303 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-4320
DC Phone 202-225-3236
DC Fax 202-225-1915
http://www.gonzalez.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=170
http://www.house.gov/gonzalez
Gene Green, TX
Gene Green (D-TX)
The Honorable Gene Green
United States House of Representatives
2372 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-4329
DC Phone 202-225-1688
DC Fax 202-225-9903
http://www.house.gov/green/contact/
http://www.house.gov/green/
Joe Barton, TX, Ranking Member
Joe Barton (R-TX) [Ranking Member]
The Honorable Joe Barton
United States House of Representatives
2109 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-4306
DC Phone 202-225-2002
DC Fax 202-225-3052
http://joebarton.house.gov/ContactJoe.aspx?Type=Contact
http://joebarton.house.gov/
Michael Burgess, TX
Michael Burgess (R-TX)
The Honorable Michael Burgess
United States House of Representatives
229 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-4326
DC Phone 202-225-7772
DC Fax 202-225-2919
http://burgess.house.gov/Contact/Offices/
http://burgess.house.gov/
Ralph Hall, TX
Ralph M. Hall (R-TX)
The Honorable Ralph M. Hall
United States House of Representatives
2405 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-4304
DC Phone 202-225-6673
DC Fax 202-225-3332
http://www.house.gov/ralphhall/IMA/zipauth.htm
http://www.house.gov/ralphhall/
Jim Matheson, UT
James D. Matheson (D-UT)
The Honorable James D. Matheson
United States House of Representatives
2434 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-4402
DC Phone 202-225-3011
DC Fax 202-225-5638
https://forms.house.gov/matheson/contact.shtml
http://matheson.house.gov/
Rick Boucher, VA
Rick Boucher (D-VA)
The Honorable Rick Boucher
United States House of Representatives
2187 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-4609
DC Phone 202-225-3861
DC Fax 202-225-0442
http://www.boucher.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=645&I
temid=
http://www.house.gov/boucher/
Donna Christensen, VI
Donna M. Christensen (D-VI)
The Honorable Donna M. Christensen
United States House of Representatives
1510 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-5501
DC Phone 202-225-1790
DC Fax 202-225-5517
http://www.house.gov/writerep/
http://www.donnachristensen.house.gov/
Peter Welch, VT
Peter Welch (D-VT)
The Honorable Peter Welch
United States House of Representatives
1404 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-4501
DC Phone 202-225-4115
DC Fax 202-225-6790
http://www.house.gov/formwelch/issue_subscribe.htm
http://www.welch.house.gov/
Jay Inslee, WA
Jay Inslee (D-WA)
The Honorable Jay Inslee
United States House of Representatives
403 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-4701
DC Phone 202-225-6311
DC Fax 202-226-1606
http://www.house.gov/inslee/contact/email.html
http://www.house.gov/inslee/
Tammy Baldwin, WI
Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
The Honorable Tammy Baldwin
United States House of Representatives
2446 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-4902
DC Phone 202-225-2906
DC Fax 202-225-6942
http://www.house.gov/formbaldwin/IMA/get_address.htm
http://tammybaldwin.house.gov/Labels: De-regulation, Raw Milk, Trade
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| Friday, January 30, 2009 |
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The Real JunkFoodScience
By Monica @ 10:18 PM
A silly article about raw milk has been recently published in Clinical Infectious Diseases that ends with a completely inappropriate threat to medical professionals:
"...physicians, veterinarians, and dairy farmers who promote, or even condone, the human consumption of unpasteurized milk and dairy products may be at risk for subsequent legal action."
Every few years Clin Infect Dis publishes an article like this. I think such articles and news pieces will become more frequent as raw milk becomes more popular. The acknowledgments to this particular article thank none other than John Sheehan, BSc, Jd and FDA head of safety for milk and eggs and a raw milk foe, "for valuable discussions on the subject during the preparation of the manuscript."
I don't believe crediting a government regulatory agent is necessarily proof of ignorance or corruption. I am sure there are many honest people who work for regulatory agencies and I don't believe every piece of research produced or funded by government is evidence of corruption. However, the Weston A Price Foundation has already, point by point, rebutted Sheehan's Powerpoint slides on raw milk in a 71 page PDF file. It's quite a read and anyone interested in the whole "controversy" around raw milk should take a look.
Oftentimes bias it is not evident in news media pieces or peer-reviewed articles. This is the case with the current Clin Infect Dis article. It appears to be well-written and most of the points are likely true in the context of grain-fed confinement cows. But the authors of the article make several mistakes, so that the article winds up reading more a like a political position paper than an honest evaluation of the science. Let's go through the major points.
First, they don't really understand the microbial ecology of a milk product in the context of grass feeding. For instance, Listeria monocytogenes is relatively fragile in the face of other protective factors in unpasteurized milk such as lactoferrin and beneficial coliforms that outcompete pathogens. These factors are destroyed by pasteurization and sometimes allow remaining L. monocytogenes to take off. This is why the FDA has considered making ultrapasteurization mandatory. Heat resistant strains have evolved and regular pasteurization is no longer good enough. Almost all organic milk on the retail market is now ultrapasteurized.
Second, the authors are mired in the reductionistic pseudoscience of nutrition that ignores the effect of pasteurization on the function of various proteins in the milk (lactase, phosphatase, immunoglobulins). Good science is timeless, and these authors haven't gone to older papers demonstrating the benefits. Many people anecdotally report reductions in asthma, allergies, and lactose intolerance on raw milk vs. pasteurized milk. Actually, it's not even so much that the mainstream doesn't recognize the existence of these proteins. They do, because the pasteurization test is a negative phosphatase test. Instead, they simply claim that these proteins aren't necessary and don't add any value to the consumer, nutritive or otherwise. This is paternalism on steroids.
No mention is made of the difference in grass-fed milk and grain-fed milk with respect to vitamin content, particularly a vitamin first discovered by Weston Price in the thirties, now believed to be vitamin K2 M-4. Price showed that K2 M-4 was dependent on the method of feeding and was highest in the dairy produced from cows on rapidly growing spring grass. This is widely known among those knowledgeable about pastured methods of raising animals but it still relatively unacknowledged or unknown in medical and government circles (though not unknown in the medical literature at this point).
The authors also ignore the significant difference between milk from Holsteins used for all pasteurized grocery store milk and milk from other older breeds usually used for raw milk. The latter has higher butterfat content, and thus, fat-soluble vitamins. "Milk is milk and it all comes from cows" is the FDA's position. That's demonstrably wrong.
Finally, they ignore that while there may be more outbreaks from raw milk, such outbreaks are small and easily identifiable, unlike food-borne illness outbreaks from pasteurized milk. They also don't discuss the relative risks of various foods, and give the impression that raw milk on a per serving basis is more dangerous than pasteurized milk. I don't believe we really know what the relative risks are, but my understanding is that they are about the same on a per serving basis. The WAP Foundation presents some interesting numbers on this in their two rebuttals, linked above and below.
The Weston A. Price Foundation has recently released a rebuttal to the recent Clin Infect Dis article. Unfortunately, people like Sandy Szwarc at JunkFoodScience obviously haven't seen the rebuttal. Ms. Szwarc's piece is simply a point by point regurgitation of the Clin Infect Dis article. This is curious because from what I can see of her blog she usually looks for an opposing view and does not buy into hysteria. I think this speaks to the power of conventional wisdom in creating a bias in a person's mind.
"Sound science" is not a conspiracy, Ms. Szwarc says. Most science often isn't a conspiracy, but that's really irrelevant to evaluating whether the science is actually sound and unpoliticized. The "science" used by the mainstream researchers to justify their biased thoughts about many aspects of our food is not sound. It is based on faulty assumptions that have since been disproven either in the medical literature or by simple logic and/or it is too reductionistic. Most seriously, it is almost always performed outside the context of evolutionary biology or even the history of food science in the past century. Most nutritional science simply does not operate within an evolutionary framework. It's bad science. Ms. Szwarc's readers deserve a more critical analysis than the one she says she is providing in her blog header.
In the most recent Clin Infect Dis article, the authors state that raw milk consumers "unconsciously process information in a biased manner." They encourage public health officials and physicians to speak with one unified voice against raw milk, repeating the message over and over clearly until the consumer gets it.
In other words, the raw milk consumers are knuckleheads nearly unreachable by reason, while the conventional view is based in reason and science. As I've indicated above, the situation is more complex than the authors would like health professionals to believe. At the very least, the authors and health experts ought to be recommending that people source raw milk and heat it, or that the dairy industry ought to at least convert to grass-feeding to increase fat-soluble vitamin content so critical for development of children and continuing robust health into adulthood.
WAPF responds:
The authors suggest that unlike consumers with strongly held opinions, "experts" with strongly held opinions do not selectively seek out information supportive of their views or process it in a biased fashion, yet they themselves choose to discuss the ability of pasteurization to kill pathogens without acknowledging the ability of grass-feeding to prevent contamination; they themselves choose to discuss illnesses attributed to raw milk without admitting that more illnesses have been attributed to pasteurized milk; they themselves choose to discuss modern assays with little to no destruction of vitamins without accounting for older feeding studies showing dramatic reduction in their biological activity; and they themselves choose to conclude by threatening experts who do not select information and unconsciously process it exactly as they do with the heavy hand of the law. There is a word for this kind of double standard and it is called hypocrisy. Indeed. Just say no to bad science.
Labels: "Safety", De-regulation, Government Idiocy, Individual Rights, Modern Ignorance, Nutritional Guidelines, Pastured, Raw Milk, Vitamin K2
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| Monday, December 8, 2008 |
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Government Regulation of Raw Milk
By Monica @ 3:27 PM
If you’ve read my other blog or Diana’s blog, you might be asking yourself, “Raw milk, raw milk. What’s the deal with raw milk?” Well, I don’t consider FA/RM to be the place to advocate raw milk. For that you can visit realmilk.com and get much more information that I can provide. We drink raw milk in our household, as do about 5 other Objectivists I know, and I believe it is a far superior product in taste and nutritional quality. There are valid scientific reasons to drink the stuff but I won’t get into that in detail here. One of the purposes of this blog is to advocate that people become educated about their own food, whatever choices they ultimately make. Whether you are a raw milk drinker or not, individual rights in food production and consumption is what we’re about. That includes unpasteurized products if consumers so choose. The FDA disagrees. They say, “...raw milk, no matter how carefully produced, may be unsafe.”
Yes, that's true. Substitute almost any food product for the words "raw milk", and you'll get a much better picture of the false sense of security about food that the FDA is trying to provide. Let's see.... Pasteurized milk was responsible for 2 food borne illness outbreaks in 1997. (And now, most milk is ultrapasteurized because of the evolution of heat resistant strains of bacteria. Next time you buy milk check the label.) Eggs? 3 outbreaks. Chicken? 9 outbreaks. Fruits and vegetables? 15 outbreaks. Salads? 21 outbreaks. The salad outbreak affected 1104 people. Let’s not forget the outbreaks of salmonella on alfalfa sprouts and tomatoes recently, not to mention the numerous E. coli outbreaks in beef leading to massive recalls last year.
The real questions are these. First, “Does the government have the right to deny people a product that they want to buy, for whatever reason?” The answer is “no” so long as that purchase does not violate anyone else’s rights – and it doesn’t. The second question that must also be asked is, “How dangerous is raw milk compared to other foods?” The answer to this one is more difficult. There don't seem to be very reliable statistics on how many raw milk drinkers there are in the United States, which is unsurprising given the government harassment of raw milk producers. The drinking of raw milk is uncommon but is likely to be higher than any government report would indicate, since many people are probably drinking it illegally. Even so, if a 2003 joint report by the FDA, CDC, and USDA can be believed (and that's a big if), that report indicates that deli meats and hot dogs are about 10 times more dangerous on a per serving basis than raw milk.
According the FDA's, the CDC's, and the USDA's own document, these inspected products currently sold retail are 10 times as likely to cause food borne illness than raw milk – a product that is largely illegal and if not illegal, usually greatly restricted. So why all the fuss about raw milk?
This is not about food safety. It's about the fact that once government gets control of something, they don't give it up easily. And control of the milk industry (in the form of pasteurization and price controls) have been around for a very long time.
Raw milk is still illegal in about half of the states in the US. However, raw milk drinkers are making progress at de-regulating raw milk. See here for information about your state.
Labels: De-regulation, Government Idiocy, Raw Milk
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