By Dr. Mercola
It was around this time last year when reports of deaths and
illnesses due to listeria bacteria in Blue Bell ice cream
products began to surface. Consuming food contaminated with the
bacterium Listeria monocytogenes can lead to a
foodborne illness called listeriosis.
In healthy people, the illness is generally mild and causes
stomach symptoms, but it can be serious and even deadly for
pregnant women and fetuses, older adults, and people with
weakened immune systems.
It later was revealed that Blue Bell Creameries found strong
evidence of listeria at one of its plants in 2013 but failed to
improve its sanitation efforts.1
Today, Blue Bell ice cream is back on the market and, if you
didn’t read the headlines, it would appear as though nothing
ever happened.
This event is important because it perfectly highlights the
double standard and, some might say, the witch hunt regarding
raw milk.
A small farm that runs a private membership club selling
foods from grass-fed, pastured animals is the latest to have its
reputation tarnished due to allegedly false allegations over
listeria.
Federal Officials Blame Listeriosis 'Outbreak' on Organic Farm
On March 18, 2016, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) announced a multi-state outbreak of listeriosis
linked to raw milk.
The use of the word “outbreak” is a bit of an exaggeration,
as to date, only two cases of illness (including one death) have
been reported — one in Florida and one in California, both of
which occurred in 2014. According to the CDC:2
“Collaborative investigative efforts of state, local,
and federal public health and regulatory officials indicate
that raw milk produced by Miller's Organic Farm in
Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania, is the likely source of this
outbreak.”
The announcement claims that although the illnesses occurred
in 2014, it wasn’t until January 29, 2016 that the source of the
listeria bacteria was revealed. It continued:3
“ … [T]he U.S. Food and Drug Administration informed
CDC that whole genome sequencing of Listeria bacteria from
raw chocolate milk produced by Miller's Organic Farm showed
that it was closely related genetically to Listeria bacteria
from the two ill people described above.”
The CDC even claimed that public health officials interviewed
both the ill person in California and family members of the
deceased person in Florida and found both people had consumed
raw milk before they got sick.
Family of Victim Outraged at CDC, Says She Died of Cancer
The CDC’s investigation sounds legit until you dig a little
deeper. Peggy Stevenson, a family member and caregiver of the
deceased person claims that the CDC’s statement is false. She
said in a press release from the Weston A. Price Foundation:4
“My family member was diagnosed with and died of
cancer after a week of chemo … I am outraged that the CDC is
using our tragic situation to damage and try to destroy a
farm we love and support.”
It does seem strange, too, that there were no other reported
illnesses associated with Miller’s Organic Farm — not from
listeria or for any other reason.
Pete Kennedy, president of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense
Fund (FTCLDF) said, “This is a weak attempt to shut down
people’s choices … It shows this bureaucracy is getting more
desperate in trying to stop the growing demand for raw milk.”5
CDC Has a History of Twisting Raw Milk Data
Public health agencies had previously stated there were 21
reported illnesses linked to raw milk in Minnesota from 2001 to
2010. But that doesn’t exactly scream “danger,” does it? A CDC
study then claimed more than 20,500 Minnesotans were actually
sickened.6
How they arrived at this number demands scrutiny. If
a person was sickened by campylobacter, E. coli O157:H7 or
salmonella during the study period, and had consumed raw milk in
the week before, the illness was blamed on raw milk (even though
many foods could have caused the illness).
Even using the above criteria, this only raised the illnesses
to 530, which were then multiplied based on an assumption
that the illnesses were underreported. The Food Business News
article then goes on to make a statement that:7
“It seems in this day and age with food safety front
and center after Chipotle’s recent situations, and other
issues with Listeria in ice cream and cheese and E. coli on
leafy vegetables, consumers would want to err on the side of
caution.”
This explains the absurdity behind raw milk bans in a
nutshell. You can get sick from eating any food — a
burrito, a piece of cheese, a fresh salad or, yes, even a bowl
of pasteurized ice cream. Yet only raw milk is
continually targeted as though it’s a hazardous product.
Media Stirs Up Raw-Milk Controversy in West Virginia
Bills in favor of making it easier for consumers to obtain
raw milk are pending in at least a dozen states, from Hawaii to
Utah to Wisconsin. One such bill was recently passed in West
Virginia, which has historically been one of the least open
states to raw milk.
The legislation passed was Senate Bill 387 (SB 387), which
allows the distribution of raw milk in the state through
herd-share agreements. To celebrate the bill’s passing, some
delegates took a drink of raw milk.
Shortly after, a number of the delegates became sick with a
stomach bug, which the media quickly picked up and blamed on the
raw milk. What was not widely circulated, however, was that many
delegates became sick, including some that did not drink the
milk.
And, a stomach bug had reportedly been going around for
weeks. It wasn’t a case of tainted raw milk at all; it was a
case of
stomach flu — a virus. Even more outrageous, an
investigation was launched to find out who brought the raw milk
into the Capitol building.
The delegate responsible (who is said to be the bill’s
sponsor, Scott Cadle) received a letter from the state
Department of Health and Human Resources stating that he
violated West Virginia law by distributing raw milk, but because
it’s his first offense he will not be charged.8
Kelli Sobonya, of the West Virginia House of Delegates, told
FTCLDF:
“People I speak with are disappointed with the media
doing a report on a rumor. Irresponsible journalism. Had
they dug deep enough they would have learned of the numerous
legislators who were victims of the stomach virus.
One Putnam delegate consumed two glasses of the raw
milk and did not get sick. The delegate hospitalized was
told it was not a food-borne illness, but a virus.
Many were sick and are still getting sick from being
exposed to the intestinal flu. No wonder people are tuning
the news out and no longer tuning in. Universities should
start re-emphasizing responsible journalism in their
curriculum.”
How CAFO Foods Are Spreading Disease
The absurdity of targeting raw milk becomes even clearer when
contrasted with the real culprits in many cases of food-borne
illness:
concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs).
The majority of foods that are making people sick are coming
not from small organic farms selling raw milk products. They’re
coming from CAFOs and the mega-companies that use their
products. The Weston A. Price Foundation explained:9
“The FDA has spent years aggressively warning people
against drinking raw milk with the claim that it causes
hundreds more foodborne illness outbreaks than pasteurized
milk. Yet, there have been no cases of listeriosis
attributed to raw milk consumption going back forty years,
or more. Unlike raw milk, pasteurized dairy has been linked
to several deaths in the past ten years.”
Meanwhile, when animals are fed low doses of antibiotics on a
daily basis — common practice on CAFOs — it disrupts their
natural microbiome, allowing stronger, more antibiotic-resistant
bacteria to survive, multiply, and pass on their strength and
resistance to future generations.
There's little doubt that agricultural use of antibiotics for
non-medical use is one, if not the, primary driver of
antibiotic-resistant disease. Research published in mBio found
80 different antibiotic-resistant genes in five manure samples.10
And again, this antibiotic resistance is being spread not by
small organic farmers producing raw milk for their local
communities, but by the mega producers raising animals on CAFOs.
This Is an Issue of Food Freedom
Truth be told, many people should not consume dairy whether
it is raw or pasteurized, as they are allergic to the milk
proteins. Additionally, if you’re insulin resistant, you would
likely be better off avoiding raw and pasteurized milk, as it
contains the dairy sugar lactose, which can worsen
insulin/leptin resistance.
However, if you are healthy and want to drink milk, raw milk
from a high-quality source is generally superior in nutrition
and flavor. It will also help to decrease the likelihood of
insulin spikes from the milk sugar, courtesy of the
thick layer of cream on top.
But whether you’re a milk drinker or not, there’s no doubt
that you should have the option of choosing what to eat and from
what sources. This is why the fight over raw milk stands as a
symbol of the much larger fight for food freedom. Who gets to
decide what you eat? You? Or the FDA?
If the FDA and other government agencies are allowed to
impose their view of "safe food" on consumers, raw milk won't be
the only thing lost — all food will be pasteurized, irradiated,
and genetically engineered.
The effort to reclaim our right to buy and consume raw milk
is leading the way for everyone who wants to be able to obtain
the food of their choice from the source of their choice. So
please, get involved! I urge you to get involved with the
following action plan to protect your right to choose your own
foods:
- Get informed: Visit
www.farmtoconsumer.org or
click here to sign up for action alerts. To review the
raw milk laws in your state, see the Farm-to-Consumer.org's
Raw Milk Nation page.
- Join the fight for your rights: The
Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF) is the only
organization of its kind. This 501(c)(4) nonprofit
organization provides a legal defense for farmers who are
being pursued by the government for distributing foods
directly to consumers. Your
donations, although not tax deductible, will be used to
support the litigation, legislative, and lobbying efforts of
the FTCLDF.
- Support your local farmers: Getting
your raw milk from a local organic farm or co-op is one of
the best ways to ensure you're getting high-quality milk.
You can locate a raw milk source near you at the Campaign
for
Real Milk Website. California residents can find raw
milk retailers by using the store locator available at
www.OrganicPastures.com.
As with all foods, the source matters, and this is
just as true with raw milk as any other food. If you’re
interested in raw milk, here are tips for finding
high-quality raw milk sources.