In 2012, the FDA conducted a controversial survey to detect
illegal drugs in the US milk supply
The study results have yet to be released more than two
years later
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has
filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the survey
data, wondering what the FDA is hiding
By Dr. Mercola
In 2012, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conducted a
survey to determine whether illegal drugs were finding their way
into the US milk supply. The study was only green-lighted after a
more than year-long “negotiation” into its terms with the dairy
industry and state governments.
Why the FDA, which is charged with protecting the public health,
would need to negotiate study terms with an industry it is supposed
to police is only one murky aspect to this story…
Even more unsettling is the fact that in 2014, more than two
years after the study’s completion, the FDA has yet to release its
findings. Surely in two years the FDA has had ample time to analyze
its findings and prepare a report. What did they find that they are
hiding?
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) intends to
find out… it has filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the
survey data. Said CSPI senior food safety attorney David Plunkett:1
"Consumers have a right to know what's in their milk, and
if there are dangerous drugs in it, they need to know what FDA
is doing about that … Why are those dairies that either can’t or
won’t follow the rules allowed to continue to market milk?"
Got Milk? You Might Have Drugs with That, Too
CSPI has reason to be suspect of drugs in milk. In 2011, they
reviewed drug-testing reports at slaughter plants and found that
dairy farms accounted for 67 percent of drug-residue violations. In
all, 17 different drugs were found in more than 735 drug-positive
tissue samples.
This included drugs that are banned for use in cattle, such as
the antibiotic gentamicin.2
When illegal drug residues are found in animals coming
from dairy farms, it’s an indication that drugs may be being
improperly used elsewhere on the farm, and possibly accumulating in
your milk as well.
Also in 2011, Spanish and Moroccan researchers used a highly
sensitive test to determine what types of medications could be found
in a variety of milk (cow, goat and human breast milk). They hit the
chemical jackpot. Medications used to treat diseases in both humans
and animals were revealed. Among the drugs and hormones detected
were:3
While all types of milk tested contained chemicals, cow's milk
contained the highest levels. Some of these drugs and hormones were
given to the cows directly, while others were likely ingested from
the cattle food or contamination on the farm.
The FDA has authority to require milk be tested if evidence
exists that drug residues may be in the milk supply. However, CSPI
notes that although the FDA has stopped some dairy farms from
selling their cattle for meat after drug residue
violations, this prohibition doesn’t typically extend to the milk.4
This is quite ironic, since the FDA, and other government
agencies, seems to have no problem going after raw milk farmers,
even when there is no evidence of contamination whatsoever…
Raw Milk Farmers Continue to Be Bullied
Raw dairy products from organically raised pasture-fed cows rank
among some of the healthiest foods you can consume. In California,
where raw milk can be sold legally and is tested and
state-inspected, it often far
exceeds pasteurized milk product standards without any heat or
processing.
In other words, raw milk producers oftentimes adhere to
stricter safety standards than CAFOs (confined animal feeding
operations) do. Still, the US Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) commonly warns against drinking raw milk, citing
numerous "outbreaks" linked to the product. But drinking
raw milk produced by
grass-fed cows from clean, well-run farms is actually far LESS
dangerous than drinking pasteurized milk.
In fact, not only does raw milk contain beneficial bacteria that
are essential for a healthy digestive system, raw milk also offers
protection against disease-causing bacteria. CDC data show there are
about 412 confirmed cases of people getting ill from pasteurized
milk each year, while only about 116 illnesses a year are linked to
raw milk.5
Research by Dr. Ted Beals, MD, featured in Wise Traditions,
the quarterly journal of the Weston A. Price Foundation, also showed
that you are actually about 35,000 times more likely to get sick
from other foods than you are from raw milk!6
Meanwhile, the CDC stays silent about the proven health benefits
linked to raw milk, like the GABRIELA study, which found school-aged
children who drank raw milk were 41 percent less likely to develop
asthma and about 50 percent less likely to develop hay fever than
children who drank store-bought (pasteurized) milk.7
Fort Worth Regulators Fine Raw Dairy Farmer Two Counties Over…
Despite the facts, aggressive regulators continue to attack small
farmers producing wholesome raw food products for loyal customers.
One of the latest cases is in Fort Worth, Texas, where Eldon Hooley,
who runs a “very clean raw milk operation” 40 miles south, is facing
thousands of dollars in fines for operating an “illegal food
establishment” and distributing “unfit food.”8
And get this: Hooley is licensed to sell raw dairy
products out of his farm. But because some members of a food coop
bought food there and then distributed it in Fort Worth, the city
regulators are coming after him.
The city is using an updated ordinance that now states even the
distribution of raw milk is prohibited… despite the fact
that these Fort Worth residents obviously appreciated the ability to
get farm-fresh raw food distributed to their neighborhoods without
having to drive 40 miles to get it. And Fort Worth is not the only
region trying to take these types of draconian control measures.
Illinois Proposes Restrictive Raw Milk Production Regulations
For over 30 years, the unlicensed on-farm sale of raw milk has
been legal by government policy in Illinois. It’s a policy that has
worked well and with no reports of foodborne illness attributed to
Illinois raw milk producers going back at least as far back as 1998,
if not further back. But the Illinois Department of Public Health
(IDPH) issued proposed regulations in September 2014 that a number
of raw milk producers believe would put them out of business.
The burdensome, restrictive rules include provisions that would
require a producer with even just one cow or goat to have a permit
and would be subject to regular inspections and testing; the rules
would also prohibit unlicensed dairy farmers from giving raw milk to
guests at their home!
A workgroup consisting mostly of IDPH officials and dairy
industry reps drafted the proposed rules; raw milk producers and
consumers were also part of the workgroup but their input was
ignored. The group wasn’t funded by the legislature but rather by a
grant from FDA, the same agency that has been sitting on data about
drugs in pasteurized milk for more than two years! An FDA
official who was part of that workgroup stated that FDA considers
all raw milk potentially adulterated.
Opposition by raw milk producers and consumers to the rules is
also understandable when you consider that the proposed rules would
place regulation with an agency (IDPH) that was complicit in an
attempt to ban raw milk in the state legislature earlier this year.
In March, a consortium of county health departments tacked on an
amendment to ban raw milk sales in a bogus bill. IDPH knew of the
effort but did nothing to stop the consortium when it had the chance
to do so.
This happened just a few months after raw milk producers and
consumers worked in good faith with IDPH to draft reasonable
regulations governing raw milk sales and production in Illinois. Wes
King, executive director of the agricultural advocacy group Illinois
Stewardship Alliance, said:9
"We're really left scratching our heads, wondering why
the department would propose rules that are going to hurt
farmers, they're going to hurt consumers and they're not
addressing any sort of emerging or evident public health threat
here in Illinois.”
Where to Find Raw Milk
There are several resources out there to help you locate raw milk
and other dairy products, and the
Farm-to-Consumer Legal
Defense Fund provides a state-by-state review of raw milk laws,
in case you don’t already know what your state’s rules are.
The Campaign for Real Milk has a
Real Milk
Finder, listing sources in various US states
Important Raw Milk Bills That Could Usher in More Food Freedom
Raw milk is the only food banned in interstate commerce.
This makes it challenging for small farmers to share their raw milk
products with people living across state lines. Such nonsensical
bans have resulted in an increasing number of violent
crack-downs on peaceful dairy farmers who want nothing more than
to provide their customers with high-quality food. Congressman
Thomas Massie of Kentucky has plans to introduce a series of “food
freedom” bills; he introduced the first two of those bills this
spring, legislation that could be a big step forward for the raw
milk movement. According to Massie, these bills are intended to
improve consumer food choices while protecting local farmers from
federal interference:
The Milk Freedom Act of 2014 (HR 4307): The
bill would prohibit the federal government from interfering with
the interstate traffic of raw milk products, offering relief for
small farmers who have been harassed, fined, or prosecuted for
distributing raw milk.
The Interstate Milk Freedom Act of 2014 (HR 4308):
This bill would prevent the federal government from interfering
with trade of unpasteurized natural milk or milk products
between states where distribution or sale of such products is
already legal.
Despite the FDA’s loyalty to Big Dairy, increasing numbers of
Americans demand healthier, more natural food from actual farms, not
factories, and they are moving proverbial mountains and prompting
real legislative change, not just in the realm of raw milk but in
many facets of food quality and freedom. Congressman Massie
explained:10
"Today, many people are paying more attention to the
foods they eat, what it contains, and how it is processed. Raw
milk, which has been with us for thousands of years, is making a
comeback among these discerning consumers. Personal choices as
basic as 'what we feed our families' should not be limited by
the federal government."
To protect food freedom and freedom of choice for all Americans,
I urge you to contact your government representatives, and ask them
to vote YES on both HB 4307 and HB 4308. The Farm-to-Consumer
Defense Fund has created an online petition to FAX your message
to your U.S. Representative and both Senators. Please take a
moment to sign the petition right now.
Copyright 1997- 2014 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.