The EAT FOR CHANGE Digest

Monsanto Says rbST Milk is just as Good as Organic!

2008-07-31T12:33:00.003-05:00

And the Journal of the American Dietetic Association is spreading the news in their July 2008 issue.

I’ll warn you now – this article is pretty much a personal rant, so I’ll make the drama optional by starting with my conclusion:

Buy milk from local, grass-fed farms where you can talk to the farmers about their practices and even go visit them if you’re willing to take a drive. Do so even if they are not USDA Certified Organic! This action supports the physical health of you and your loved ones, your local economy, the quality of life of the cows that make your milk, and the overall health of the planet.

Now on to the ranting!

First the fiction:

It is important for food and nutrition professionals to know that conventional, rbST-free, and organic milk are compositionally similar so they can serve as a key resource to consumers who are making milk purchase (and consumption) decisions in a marketplace where there are misleading milk label claims.

This is the final sentence of the article’s abstract. What I love most about it is how the fake truths are served up with a heavy portion of civic responsibility topped with a splash of empathy regarding how confusing it is for us poor consumers trying to make healthy choices. Wouldn’t it just be so much easier for us if these silly truth-in-labeling activists would just hush up and let milk be milk?!

Now for the fact. (I’m about to give Monsanto a little credit. Don’t expect it to ever happen again.) Before they slip into defining the milks as compositionally similar, the do make a more accurate statement:

Label claims were not related to any meaningful differences in the milk compositional variables measured.

See! If you include the implied “in this study” at the end of the sentence, it’s a more or less simple statement of statistically-biased truth.

But if you’re like me, you may be less than sure that you share the same ideas about what’s meaningful as Monsanto, so you might be asking, “What exactly did they measure?”

Did they look for pesticides and herbicides, since quite a few folks think that’s pretty much the point of ‘organic’ foods?

No.

Did measure amounts of mucous or blood or inflammatory mediators, the sorts of things that might indicate the overall health status of the animals producing the milk?

No. (And ew, gross!)

Did they look for any residual rbST (the synthetic version of somatotropin, a.k.a growth hormone?

Maybe. I’m not a biochemist, so I don’t know if testing for somatotropin also reveals levels of its synthetic counterpart. And I didn’t feel like paying $25 for the full article text to try and sort through nitty gritty details, so I also don’t know if they considered only total fat or if they looked at a profile of different fatty acids. Here’s what the abstract has to say:

A survey study was conducted to compare retail milk for quality (antibiotics and bacterial counts), nutritional value (fat, protein, and solids-not-fat), and hormonal composition (somatotropin, insulin-like growth factor-1 [IGF-1], estradiol, and progesterone) as affected by three label claims related to dairy-cow management: conventional, recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST)-free (processor-certified not from cows supplemented with rbST), or organic (follows US Department of Agriculture organic practices).

And, of course, their conclusion is that there is no functional difference between organic milk and conventional milk from cows treated with rbST.

But the real question here is, as far as I can see, “Did this study even begin with substantially different samples of milk?” Well, they were acquired from retail establishments in 48 states and separated based on their labels.

Another, and what I consider to be more useful, way to say this is, “Do USDA Organic dairy cows actually spend their lives walking through green pastures and eating grass?”

Again, maybe. And a pretty weak maybe at that.

The USDA National Organics Program is a long, tedious document written in legalese which is intended to simplify the great big quandary that is organic labeling in the U.S. The language is vague and open to interpretation, including such phrases as:

(1) Access to the outdoors, shade, shelter, exercise areas, fresh air, and direct sunlight suitable to the species, its stage of production, the climate, and the environment; (2) Access to pasture for ruminants;

Access?

This is what happens when you throw billions of dollars and countless hours at a question a 4-year-old could answer with one word:
Mom: “Billy, what do cows eat?”
Billy: “Grass!”

I really hope that we all know by now that such simplicity is long, long lost on the technological advancement that is conventional confined animal feeding operations. But isn’t organic supposed to mean something different?

It is supposed to, but reality is that the USDA operates on a shoestring budget with little funding for such eccentricities as enforcement of the National Organics Program. And, to top that off, they don’t seem to be dishing out justice for infractions when they are revealed. (Here's another article on this.)

So, I’m not surprised that Monsanto easily discovered no “meaningful differences” between rbST milk and organic milk in a certain Monsanto-chosen subset of qualifiers. And I don’t expect either Monsanto or the American Dietetics Association to share my views on the definition of healthy food.

But I still can’t help but be annoyed by the smoke and mirrors acts big agriculture is constantly throwing up to funnel consumers into their market share like cows led to slaughter.

Maybe someday I’ll evolve.

In the meantime, articles such as this remind me how grateful I am for the work done by the farmer’s hand that I shake every two weeks when I pick up my grass-fed meat, dairy products and eggs. He’s the one who makes my lifestyle possible. And he’s the one who gets my money. Maybe I don’t have as much money as Monsanto, but I think he appreciates it just the same.

Beatrice's Goat Got Her to College

2008-07-10T17:43:00.005-05:00

There was an op-ed piece in the NY Times last week by columnist Nicolas Kristof in honor of Beatrice Biira, the first person from her village in Uganda to earn a college degree in America. And now she's headed off for a graduate degree in Public Service.

Beatrice's life is probably the most famous success story for Heifer International, a non-profit that seeks to eradicate hunger and poverty by providing struggling families throughout the world with livestock. But they don't stop there.

Over the years Heifer has developed a comprehensive and holistic approach by which the entire community is educated on how to care for the animals, raise them in a manner that enhances rather than taxes the local environment and successfully market any products, such as milk or wool, that the animal produces. Animals chosen are always regionally appropriate, and the family that receives the animal commits to a contractual agreement in which the first offspring are passed onto another family in need in their community who has also completed all the necessary training.

Thus the recipients of Heifer's gifts are truly empowered in that they not only begin to create financial independence for themselves, they also help others in their community do the same. Heifer also creates empowerment by insisting that all members of a family are included in all aspects of a project, including decisions, so that traditionally disadvantages groups, such as women, are no longer passive recipients of their livelihoods.

So began the story of Beatrice. Her family received a goat and thus was able to begin saving money. It's quite likely that the money was then used to send Beatrice to school because the women in her family had gained equal say in how the family's money would be spent. Beatrice's hard work then won her a scholarship, and with the help of a few more Heifer friends, she was able to attend college in the U.S.

Beatrice has won herself quite some acclaim as well, not just the op-ed piece, she's been on Oprah. Her story is spectacular enough on its own, even without the bit of what I consider to be misplaced drama in Kristof's article He writes:

A crooked local official might have distributed the goats by demanding that girls sleep with him in exchange. Or Beatrice’s goat might have died or been stolen. Or unpasteurized milk might have sickened or killed Beatrice.

I'm sorry, I just can't let that little paragraph go without comment.

Let's start from the bottom. If pasteurized milk were required for humans to avoid illness or death, our species would been extinct long before we had the opportunity to begin studying science.

History suggests that the consumption of animal milk by humans began somewhere between 10,000 and 30,000 years ago. And Pasteurization was invented around 1865. Using the conservative numbers, that's more than 9,800 years of humans thriving on unpasteurized milk, compared to less than 150 years of pasteurization.

Personally, I was thrilled to learn that Beatrice's milk was unpasteurized. I've begun doing some volunteer work with Heifer myself, and I was afraid that I would one day learn that they too were pasteurization propagandists, even though I have no idea how that could be made practical in a small, impoverished village in Uganda.

As for the first statement about corrupt local government workers demanding sex in exchange for goats, I do not doubt that sort of thing happens in our world, probably much more frequently than I would even expect. But I can say with certainty that it doesn't happen on Heifer's watch. (I even called my local Heifer office just to make sure.)

And for the rest, goats do die sometimes, such is life. But Heifer projects aren't centered around a single family, they are centered on a community. So in addition to providing extensive training in animal care as a preventative measure, Heifer project support is there to assist the community in coming up with a replacement strategy for a family that has lost their animal for any reason.

So, it was never a "Hey Beatrice, here's your goat. Good luck!" sort of situation. The take home message is that when livestock are integrated into communities in a holistic and environmentally sustainable way, the humans in those communities have the opportunity to thrive.

Beatrice embraced her opportunity fully and in her success prepares to return to her childhood community and pass on her gifts.

NY Raw Dairyman Setting the Standards

2008-07-02T11:04:00.003-05:00

An excellent article on the Rodale Institute website highlights a NY raw dairy farmer who is working to demonstrate what kind of quality is possible when one puts their mind to it.

The farmer, Jerry Snyder, has 50 grass-fed cows and he's proposing a defined system of milk quality that will determine what avenues of distribution are allowed.

Snyder is targeting four levels of milk to give farmers incentive for achieving the highest possible quality, rather than to settle for the lowest threshold. Each higher level would have additional levels of testing (through frequency, specific pathogen testing or lower permissible limits). Ranked by increasing quality, these levels would be: conventional Grade-A pasteurized, organic pasteurized, raw permitted for on-farm sale, and raw through retail.

Consumers of 'raw through retail' milk would first visit the farm that produces the milk they want to buy and sign an affidavit ensuring that the enter into the agreement with full, conscious consent. Then they would pre-order and pre-pay to pick up their milk at a local store.

I think this is an absolutely brilliant system, designed to symbiotically support those of us who are delighted by the opportunity to visit the farm where our food comes from and farmers who are thrilled to go the extra mile to make the highest quality food possible.

Uncontrollable Intake

2008-06-27T11:18:00.003-05:00

How is it that some people can easily control their food intake while others constantly struggle?

I have first hand experience with how difficult it can be to try and regulate food intake or change life-long eating habits, and I find this process to be a continuous journey. But even beyond the difficulty of making the necessary changes to create a healthy lifestyle, there are also particular health conditions that can make people unable to stop eating.

With Adrenal Fatigue, the body cannot produce enough cortisol to respond to stress. This may sound like a good thing, since we hear about the detriments of high cortisol levels, but it is necessary in helping you cope with stress on a biochemical level. Cortisol stimulates the liver to release glucose, giving your body the energy it needs to handle stressful situations. Without this process, stress can just leave you craving carbohydrates.

Insulin Resistance is another condition that can leave you feeling hungry. In this case, no matter how much fuel enters your bloodstream, it isn't getting into your cells, so you still feel hungry.

Another possibility is dysbiosis, or an imbalance in the flora (bacteria, yeasts, etc.) living in the body. Having the right kinds of flora is absolutely crucial to health, and being over run by the wrong kinds can leave you with uncontrollable cravings. And two more possibilities include nutrient deficiency and hormone imbalance. And I'm sure there are other health conditions that create cravings as well, and we haven't even touched on emotional patterns surrounding eating.

I recommend you find a holistic practitioner who is experienced in diagnosing and treating the above conditions. Proper treatment can help bring you back to balance, which then makes it much easier for your to make and stick to the lifestyle changes that are needed to keep you healthy.

Nutrition for Healthy Skin

2008-06-09T09:22:00.003-05:00

Here's a great video spot on eating for healthy skin featuring a collegue and good friend of mine. Jennifer and I graduated with our nutrition degrees from Bastyr at the same time, and teamed up during the program to take improv classes together. All her hard work has really paid off, as she's becoming one of Seattle's foremost nutrition gurus.

Congrats Jennifer!!

Jennifer's website - RealizeHealth.com

Mercury in Fish

2008-05-23T12:38:00.003-05:00

Question:
Can you please tell me how many times a week it is safe to eat fish and if it matters what kind of fish? Thank you very much!

Answer:
To my knowledge, there is no proven standard for how much fish it is safe to eat. The amount of mercury exposure that can be tolerated varies between individuals, and it definitely matters which kind of fish as some have high mercury levels and others have none, and this is also subject to change. I recommend doing further reading to educate yourself. Here's a great place to start that also include many additional references:

Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood and Health Page

Hope this helps!
Shannon

Monsanto - Harvest of Fear

2008-05-20T16:21:00.002-05:00

This article makes me want to cry.

Monsanto: Harvest of Fear

Not sure what else to say.

So Then Which Water Bottle Should I Use?

2008-04-24T19:36:00.003-05:00

You may have already heard that the Canadian government is considering labeling plastic food and beverage containers containing the chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) as toxic, which would very likely lead to banning them entirely.

The evidence outlining the extent of the health risk from such containers is somewhat controversial, but I wouldn't let that interfere with making a choice that supports your health. The arguments in support of BPA that I've read seem to be on the "sure it's toxic, but only a little toxic and you'd probably never get enough of it in your system to make it really toxic" vein. This from the same people who put mercury, one of the most toxic substance known to man, in the vaccines given to children ("but it's just a little mercury...").

The biggest container industry this will effect is the plastic water bottle industry, but another commonly used food container is also of concern - cans - which are lined with plastic, like with canned tomatoes.

Personally, I prefer to avoid the worry all together. There is a simple alternative to plastic water bottles: the Klean Kanteen. Stainless steel, that's it. No coatings, no frills, just a lightweight metal water bottle.

And before you consider Klean Kanteen's competitor, Sigg (and this is so sad for me to say because I love the shape of my old Sigg bottle), it turns out they line their bottles with epoxy, which contains BPA. Of course Sigg says their bottles are safe, and that they don't leach, but they still won't say what's in the liner: "SIGG has perfected the formula of its proprietary inner liner over decades of scientific research and Swiss engineering. The ingredients (like the formula for Coca-Cola) remain secret and unavailable to 3rd parties so as to ensure SIGG retains its competitive advantage."

I guess if you don't want to spend the money on a fancy water bottle, you can use the same solution for your water and your 'canned' veggies - the good old fashioned glass jar. I've done that one in the past, and it eventually leads to a mess, but at least you don't have to worry about BPA.

Think You Have A Choice About Consuming Genetically Modified Foods?

2008-04-17T13:13:00.004-05:00

Think again. Contamination of the world's food supply is spreading at alarming rates.

On March 11 a new documentary was aired on French television (ARTE – French-German cultural tv channel) by French journalist and film maker Marie-Monique Robin, The World According to Monsanto - A documentary that Americans won't ever see. The gigantic biotech corporation Monsanto is threatening to destroy the agricultural biodiversity which has served mankind for thousands of years.

This film actually sat open on my desktop for a couple of weeks as I waited for an 'appropriate' time to watch it. I knew it was going to piss me off, so I finally just picked a day where I was already feeling irritated.

Even though I was already aware of many of the claims addressed in this film, the synthesis of the story was provocative nonetheless. I found the beginning, which explores Monsanto's relationship to the United States government and the greater scientific community to be, as expected - infuriating. And the ending, which examines a very small sampling of the effects Monsanto's biotechnology is actually having on people of developing countries - absolutely heartbreaking.

Here's some data from the film to whet your appetite:

90% of GMOs in the world belong to Monsanto, most of those are Roundup Ready

Monsanto weaseled out of compensating Vietnam Vets struggling with dioxin poisoning.

Monsanto was found guilty, twice, of falsely advertising Roundup as 'biodegradable' - once in NY in 1996 and then in France in 2007.

Roundup Ready soybeans make up 90% of the US soy market, and approximately 70% of the foods on US shelves contain GMOs, but you wouldn't know because it's not required that they're listed on the label.

And if that doesn't raise question enough to make you watch, there's also a scene with George Bush Sr. touring a Monsanto lab when he was Regan's VP.

The Relationship Between Blood Sugar and Will Power

2008-04-03T13:40:00.003-05:00

There was a fun article in the NY Times Op-Ed section yesterday exploring the apparently limited capacity of will power. Instead of some infinite power that we can apply at...well...will, consider your will power to be like a muscle - a muscle that can become fatigued and can be strenghtened over time.

So this affects food in so many ways, as anyone who has to put blinders on to walk through the candy display check out line at Blockbuster knows. But according to this article, it seems that if you spend all your will power avoiding purchases that your budget can't back, you may not have any left to keep your hands (or face) out of the cookie jar. And, as if that isn't bad enough, putting your hand in the cookie jar may offer positive reinforcement for completing other tasks:

In one pioneering study, some people were asked to eat radishes while others received freshly baked chocolate chip cookies before trying to solve an impossible puzzle. The radish-eaters abandoned the puzzle in eight minutes on average, working less than half as long as people who got cookies or those who were excused from eating radishes.

So does this mean we should run from the salad bar and straight to the vending machine any time we need to get something done? Well, no, but it may at least partially explain why the afternoon trip to Starbucks helps you make it through the rest of the day:

What limits willpower? Some have suggested that it is blood sugar, which brain cells use as their main energy source and cannot do without for even a few minutes. Most cognitive functions are unaffected by minor blood sugar fluctuations over the course of a day, but planning and self-control are sensitive to such small changes. Exerting self-control lowers blood sugar, which reduces the capacity for further self-control. People who drink a glass of lemonade between completing one task requiring self-control and beginning a second one perform equally well on both tasks, while people who drink sugarless diet lemonade make more errors on the second task than on the first. Foods that persistently elevate blood sugar, like those containing protein or complex carbohydrates, might enhance willpower for longer periods.

Regular meals centered around protein, now where have I heard that before?

Oh, and start brushing your teeth with your non-dominate hand. It's one of the ways to strengthen that will power muscle and who knows, maybe it'll help with the noshing and the spending.

Fresh Farm Milk: Assuring Safety and Consumer Choice

2008-04-01T11:38:00.000-05:00

Joint Senate hearings to be held April 15th

Raw Milk consumers are amassing to attend the Biggest Raw Milk event in History!!

Senator Dean Florez and Senator Maldonado are holding joint senate hearings on raw milk for California. It appears that CDFA and the FDA are sending their "Anti Raw Milk A-Team" to try and stop the rising tide of raw milk market interest in California. The chief of FDA dairy safety John Sheehan will be attending along with eight other PhD University food safety experts.

The Raw Milk Dream Team will include: Sally Fallon (president of the Weston A Price Foundation ), Jordan Rubin ( author of the Makers Diet ), Dr. Ted Beals MD, Dr. Mark Gebhart MD, Dr. Cat Berge DVM PhD and Walter Robb president of Wholefoods. Other powerful voices will also be attending to stand with raw milk in a science and consumer choice-based show-down that could quite possibly reset the destiny of consumer food choices for the next 100 years. Some of the experts will testify via remote video because they are from other countries. Raw milk experts will argue demonstrated California raw milk safety, superior nutrition and consumer choice.

1500 raw milk consumers are expected to pack this six-hour hearing. Many will have the opportunity to speak briefly about why they demand raw milk in California. Information collected from this joint hearing will form the basis for new legislation that will protect consumer choice as well as create sound standards for testing Fresh Farm Milk in California.

Date: Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Location: Sacramento CA State Capitol Building Rm #4203
Subject: Fresh Farm Milk-Assuring Safety and Consumer Choice Joint Hearing of: Senate Agriculture Committee and the Select Committee on Food-Borne Illness Senators Maldonado and Florez-Chairs 3:00 PM until 9:00 PM hours or until everyone has spoken John L. Burton Hearing Room (4203)

Interviews available:
Mark McAfee
Founder, Organic Pastures Dairy 559-846-9732

FDA HARASSES DAIRY COMPANY EMPLOYEES

2008-03-26T01:09:00.001-05:00

Grand Jury Investigation is Latest Government Tactic against Raw Milk

Special FDA agents and investigators from the US Food and Drug Administration aggressively interrogated two young female employees of Organic Pastures Dairy Company, the nation's largest raw milk producer, with questions focusing on the dairy's interstate sales of raw colostrum and raw milk for pet food.

The surprise interrogations took place after work in their private homes on the evening of March 19, just hours after Judge Tobias of the Hollister Superior Court issued a temporary restraining order against the California Department of Food and Agriculture. The state court ruling blocked enforcement of California's anti-raw milk AB 1735, which mandates unnecessarily stringent standards for beneficial coliform bacteria in raw milk. The temporary restraining order represents an important legal victory for raw milk producers and consumers in California and throughout the nation.

The federal agents threatened one employee with arrest if questions were not fully and truthfully answered about Organic Pastures' order fulfillment practices. Her answers reflected information that is readily available at the company's website, www.organicpastures.com. The other employee was told FDA would "make it worth her while" to "wear a wire" and record conversations with Organic Pastures president Mark McAfee. The employee refused the offer. "We are like a family, I would never do that to a family member," she said, reflecting her close relationship with the McAfee family.

Both employees were served subpoenas to appear April 3 for a secret grand jury investigation. In 2003, Organic Pastures received a confirmation letter from Larry Childers of the FDA, which clearly stated that interstate sales of raw colostrum are not regulated because colostrum is not milk. The FDA website notes that "pet food" requires no pre-market approval and is unregulated by the FDA.

The Bronx Zoo in New York and other zoos regularly order raw colostrum and raw dairy products from Organic Pastures to save babies of endangered species and keep other animals healthy. Orders stipulate that the milk and colostrum must be raw because pasteurized versions make them ill. Many veterinarians recommend raw milk for cats and dogs.

"FDA has gone on the record as 'hating raw milk' in any form," says Mark McAfee, founder and president of Organic Pastures. "The harassment of our employees and grand jury investigation is just the latest round in the government vendetta against Nature's perfect food. If Organic Pastures is doing something illegal, all FDA needs to do is come and tell us and we will make the necessary changes to our labels and procedures."

Organic Pastures will be represented in this action by the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund. Membership in the Fund helps support the defense of raw milk and direct farm-to-consumer sales. For further information visit www.ftcldf.org.

CONTACT:
Mark McAfee, President, Organic Pastures Dairy Corporation
mark(at)organicpastures(dot)com

Taaron Meikle, President, the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund
tgmeikle(at)aol(dot)com

HUGE RAW MILK VICTORY IN CALIFORNIA

2008-03-21T09:57:00.001-05:00

March 20, 2008. For Immediate Release: Raw milk consumers won a major victory yesterday as Judge Harry J. Tobias of the San Benito Superior Court in Hollister, California granted a temporary restraining order against the enforcement of AB 1735.

Described as a "stealth attack" against raw milk, AB 1735 calls for a strict coliform limit of 10 per ml or under in bottled raw milk. In court papers filed on March 6, Organic Pastures Dairy Company and Claravale Farms argued that raw milk from their dairies has a superlative safety record in California and that the new coliform limit would effectively put them out of business. Coliforms are beneficial bacteria found in raw milk.

The plaintiffs were represented by Gary Cox of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, which gives legal support to member farmers who provide raw milk and other farm products directly to the public.

Ruling from the bench after nearly two hours of oral argument, Judge Tobias concluded that the two dairies would both be irreparably harmed if the coliform standard imposed by AB 1735 continued to remain in effect, noting that existing testing data proves the dairies cannot meet the standard.

In issuing the temporary restraining order, Judge Tobias set the matter for a preliminary injunction hearing for April 25th to determine whether the temporary stay should remain in effect until the parties actually go to trial, which could conceivably be later this year. If Judge Tobias issues a preliminary injunction at the conclusion of the April 25th hearing, then raw dairy products will be safe in California until the parties go to trial.

"This is a huge win for raw dairy consumers in the State of California" said Taaron Meikle, president of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund. "With this ruling, consumers can continue to enjoy the health benefits of raw dairy. We are pleased with Judge Tobias' ruling and hope the stay remains in effect after the April 25th hearing."

The Legal Defense Fund argued on behalf of its members, Organic Pastures and Claravale Farm, that without an injunction, both dairies would go out of business. In addition, Fund lawyers noted the lack of evidence that any pathogens causing human illness have been found in any of the dairies' products.

"The Judge's ruling is consistent with the evidence and the law of the case," said Fund attorney Gary Cox. "We had provided evidence that our members would both go out of business should AB 1735 be enforced, and that there was no scientific or reasonable basis for using coliforms as the standard for safety and health," Cox further added.

The parties will now begin preparing for the April 25th hearing. At that hearing, both parties are free to submit declarations and affidavits as well as introduce live testimony with expert and lay witnesses. The hearing is scheduled for one day and a ruling is expected within a month thereafter. In the meantime, legislative efforts continue to gain momentum, as several concerned legislators have introduced bills to rescind AB 1735 and replace the 10 coliform limit with another, more reasonable and scientifically based limit.

Tax-deductible donations in support of the upcoming legal efforts may be made to the Farm-to-Consumer Foundation, www.farmtoconsumerfoundation.org.

CONTACT: Taaron Meikle, President, The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, (703) 964-7421

The Great Raw Milk Debate

2008-02-13T11:35:00.005-06:00

Apparently last month the FDA released a presentation to demonstrate their perspective on the health risks of the consumption of raw milk. Well the folks at the Weston A Price Foundation have prepared an excellent, slide by slide, response the FDA Raw Milk Powerpoint Presentation that shines a very bright light on how information can be skewed, glossed and ignored, all in the name of promoting a belief as 'truth'.

It's a long document, so I thought I'd offer some of my favorite highlights from the beginning.

Slide #5 of the presentation is titled Outbreaks and it reads: "The CDC reports that from 1998 to present there were 39 outbreaks in which unpasteurized milk or cheese made from unpasteurized milk were implicated. These outbreaks occurred in 22 states and two of them were multi-state outbreaks. An estimated 831 illnesses, 66 hospitalizations and 1 death were associated with these outbreaks. Not all outbreaks are recognized. Even when they are, not all are reported to CDC. Virtually impossible to capture all of the incidents of individual illness which might occur"

The beginning of the WAPF response reads: "These figures mean that raw milk products are implicated in 92 illnesses per year, seven hospitalizations per year, and one death every nine years. Between 1998 and 2005, there were over 10,000 documented outbreaks that contributed to 199,263 documented cases of foodborne illness. Raw milk was associated with 0.4% of these cases. While some illnesses due to raw milk may go unreported, the same is true for pasteurized milk and all other foods. Cases of foodborne illness are investigated with a systematic bias against raw milk. Many outbreaks in which raw milk has been “implicated” are almost certainly attributable to another cause."

FDA Slides 7 and 8 outline a salmonella outbreak that was attributed to a raw dairy in Ohio. They say, "The dairy has since voluntarily relinquished its license to sell raw milk." Part of the response to these claims includes: "On December 13, 2002, the Clark County Health Authorities ordered the farm to discontinue the sale of raw milk products in its food service areas. On December 23, 2002, the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) temporarily ordered the farm to discontinue the retail sale of bottled milk and milk products. On January 13, 2003, the ODA informed the farm that the “temporary” stop-sale order would remain in effect “until further notice” and recommended that the farm voluntarily relinquish its license. Three days later, the farm did so. The farm was serving 1.35 million customers per year. The outbreak, involving 40 customers, was much smaller than outbreaks of Salmonella that have resulted from contaminated pasteurized milk. Unfortunately, the authorities were more interested in closing down the state’s last raw milk dairy than working with the farm to make its raw milk safe by improving sanitation and quality control."

While I'm thrilled to have the sort of play-by-play debate this document provides, what I'd really love to see is all the FDA anti-raw milk soldiers really owning their feelings about the situation. (I just don't imagine that a person can make a decision to send military guys with guns to shut down a farm unless there is some sort of emotional charge there.)

I'm happy to admit that it's charged for me, happy to embrace the anger and fear I feel when I perceive a threat to my ability to choose the foods I believe will nourish my health. I suspect it's not dissimilar for others on the pro-raw milk side of life.

Slide #2 of the presentation, the first slide after the title, consists of an image of The Thinker and a quote from a text written in the 1st century BCE: "Through ignorance of what is good and bad, the life of men is greatly perplexed." Well since they so clearly demonstrate that they consider raw milk to be 'bad', then by proxy of my thinking it's good, they also label me as 'ignorant.'

I'm fine with the labeling. The people at the government can think what they like, but when I start getting mad is when, in their perception of my ignorance, they feel it is their duty and right to protect me from myself and systematicly eliminate my access to wholesome, unprocessed foods such as raw milk.

They legalize and regulate products that have nearly ubiquitous consideration as health risks, such as cigarettes, but when it comes to a food that humans have healthfully consumed for the thousands of years before pasteurization took hold in the early 1900s, well that's much to dangerous.

This is one of the many reasons I have no faith in the US governments ability to protect my food supply. From my perspective, they are the fox in the hen house.

Okay, enough ranting, here's one more good link, a WAPF Powerpoint on Safety, Health, Economic, and Legal Issues of Raw Milk.

Yay California!

2008-02-06T10:35:00.000-06:00

Once again, California is a national leader in creating consumer choice when it comes to food. When the FDA made their announcement this month that meat and milk from cloned animals and their offspring are 'safe', CA State Senator Carol Migden brought forth a bill that would require said comments to be clearly labeled.

Also in California, Plaintiffs Organic Seed Alliance, Sierra Club, High Mowing Organic Seeds, and the Center for Food Safety (CFS) have filed a lawsuit against the USDA over the approval of genetically engineered Roundup Ready sugar beets.

"Getting good food to people regardless of income"

2008-01-31T10:46:00.000-06:00

Here's an inspiring article of a CSA that restructured themeselves to be able to accept food stamps: Uprising Farms on Local Harvest.

An excerpt:

"Goldberg and her partner Brian Campbell founded Uprising with two intentions: saving heirloom and open pollinated seeds, and getting good food to people regardless of income. After three seasons as market farmers, Goldberg and Campbell started a small CSA last year. It exclusively serves low income people, and the members pay with electronic food stamp benefits, known as EBT."

Cooking Traditional Foods Forum

2008-01-24T08:25:00.001-06:00

If you want to take your questions on cooking traditional foods to an online forum:

Cooking Traditional Foods Forum

It's free, though they also have a Weekly Menu Mailer and a Recipe Archive, which cost money.

Another way to stay on top of food issues

2008-01-19T11:24:00.000-06:00

I have pretty much no trust that the government is doing anything useful to protect our food supply. If you feel the same, or if you're just interested in what might make a person feel this way, The Cornicopia Institute has a great blog that highlights the reality of governemental food management as opposed to the illusion that they choose to present.

Here's some examples:
Hello Dolly? FDA Calls Food from Clones Safe
Organic Dairy Report Card
Protect Fresh Leafy Greens and Family Farms

Whole Foods Co-President Drinks Raw Milk

2008-01-19T10:48:00.000-06:00

Whole Foods Co-President Walter Robb spoke out in favor of raw milk at a hearing regarding Assembly Bill 1604, a reversal to a piece of California legislature that would have forced some small dairy farms out of business.

From an article in the Fresno Bee:

"Among those speaking in favor of the bill was Walter Robb, president of Whole Foods Market, a chain based in Austin, Texas, that has nearly 60 stores in California and carries raw milk."

"Robb, a California resident, said he has been consuming raw milk for 30 years. He said the restrictive law "went through in the dark of night without any process. ... Raw milk is a small part of our dairy case, but a significant choice."

Also, here's an interesting 2006 interview of Robb by Bonnie Azab Powell - www.bonniepowell.com/wholefoods.html.

Nutrition in The Onion

2008-01-18T11:20:00.000-06:00

Very Specific Food Pyramid Recommends Two To Three Shrimp Scampis Per Year

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Agriculture unveiled an updated, extremely detailed food pyramid Monday, which may redefine the way...

I ate enough Cookie Crisp as a kid to last a life time of yearly quotas, thank goodness I needn't worry about that one.

Michigan Real Food Conference

2008-01-18T10:25:00.000-06:00

Michigan Independent Consumers and Farmers Association (MIICFA)

Presents the FIRST ANNUAL REAL FOOD CONFERENCE

January 26, 2008
8:00 - 5:00
Gaylord Evangelical Free Church
Gaylord, Michigan

Featured speakers include:
Sally Fallon: Weston A. Price Foundation Dr. Richard Olree: Minerals For the Genetic Code Greg Niewendorp: Michigan Independent Consumers and Farmers Association Dr. Ted Beals: TB epidemiology; Fresh milk Mark Purdey (by proxy): Living in a bio-security zone Randy Cook: Local, state, federal jurisdictional terrain on disease eradication Deborah Stockton: National Independent Consumers and Farmers Association Jim Moses: Morals and ethics of food Steve Bemis: Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund Nancy Bentley: "Get Around To It" - Local Foods Paul Keiser: Ecological Community Activism Gary Blackwell: Holding regulators accountable Gayle Miller: Sierra Club, Legislative Director Joel Welty: Michigan Cooperative Alliance

8:00 - 9:00 Registration and orientation
9:00 - 12:00 Speakers, Questions and Answers 12:00 - 1:00 Lunch (Bring your own bag lunch)
1:00 - 3:30 Speakers, Q/A, Panel discussion
3:30 - 4:00 Refreshments and peruse vendor tables
4:00 - 5:00 Organizing for Change
--Networking action groups for peacefully overcoming state/corporate coercion through non-compliance --Invoking our inalienable rights to stop the destructive effects of the corporate created National Animal --Identification System (NAIS) and Livestock Premises ID --The latest sound agricultural practices for disease control --Embarking on unregulated, relational based, home produced food sales --Organizing neighborhoods to stop irresponsible corporate behaviour (CAFOs) --Supporting MIICFA with a $25.00 annual membership

REGISTRATION: Pre-registration $10.00, or $20.00 at the door. Vendor fee: $30.

Vendors please register by January 15. NOTE: MIICFA must approve all vendors. Please contact Greg Niewendorp 231.536.7956 miicfa@earthlink.net for vendor approval.

REGISTER ONLINE: www.nicfa.org/MICHICFA/register.html

REGISTER by MAIL: Send check or money order to: MIICFA, 4185 Beishlag Road, East Jordan, MI 49727

LODGING: Because of seasonal activities area hotels fill early. Please arrange your lodging at once.

DIRECTIONS: Gaylord Evangelical Free Church. Located on East M-32 in Gaylord, MI, 2 miles east of I-75 and M-32.
Map: www.gaylordefree.org/locationandcontacts.cfm

MIICFA is an affiliate of the National Independent Consumers and Farmers Association www.NICFA.org

VISIT THE MIICFA WEBSITE: www.MIICFA.com

Martha Stewart Drinks Raw Milk!

2008-01-17T11:07:00.000-06:00

Hey, if it's good enough for Martha...?

Sadly I haven't found a way to watch the whole segment, but here's the episode where Martha visits the Smith Family Farm in Maine - the farm where she gets her milk.

She also has pictures of the farm on her blog, and here's a blog post about the farm from Jan 23 on www.eatmainefoods.org.

Do you want to eat cloned and genetically modified animal foods?

2008-01-16T19:31:00.000-06:00

If not, take action by following these links:

Support the Senate Bill to Label Food from Cloned Animals
From the Center for Food Safety:
"The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced last month that the Agency will likely approve the sale of cloned foods this year. FDA’s action flies in the face of widespread scientific concern about the risks of food from clones, and ignores the animal cruelty and troubling ethical concerns that the cloning process brings. What's worse, FDA indicates that it will not require labeling on cloned food, so consumers will have no way to avoid these experimental foods."

Stop the Approval of Genetically Engineered Fish!
From the Center for Food Safety:
"The Food and Drug Administration has made the informal decision to regulate transgenic fish under its authority to review new animal drugs. Given the potential toxicity, allergenicity, and aquaculture diseases posed by the commercialization of transgenic fish, CFS is demanding that the FDA adopt a pre-market regulatory review that does not ignore these potential human health safety concerns."

All Calories Are Not Created Equal

2007-10-11T09:06:00.000-05:00

"Journalists and their audiences were looking for clear guidance, not scientific ambiguity."

I can't even begin to tell you how affirming this statement is for me as a health practitioner and as a dissonant eater. I find myself continuously frustrated with the culture of, "I don't want to understand the why's, it's too much work and that's what I pay you for, just tell me what to eat!"

Well folks, as I have always said, it just ain't that simple. And placing your dietary faith on current scientific evidence and government recommendations is a recipe for disaster. (You do remember that these are the same people who not so long ago encouraged us to eat hydrogenated oils because they would be better for our hearts?) Clearly, an inclusive approach to evaluating evidence is just too much to ask.

And then there's that quote from this article, which is a brief commentary on this book. I loved the article, and though I haven't read the book yet it's at the top of my list. If you get to it first, let me know what you think.

Diet and Fat: A Severe Case of Mistaken Consensus NY Times, October 9, 2007
Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes

Raw Milk in Illinois

2007-09-18T14:06:00.000-05:00

Here's a great article and audio piece from Chicago Public Radio on the raw milk scene here in Illinois.

"Illinois stores can’t sell raw milk. That the stuff that’s unpasteurized—it hasn’t been heated up to kill bacteria. But it’s not illegal to drink raw milk, and plenty do..."