| Sorry for the cheesy Guys N Dolls lyric for the title. I went to bed last night feeling awful and woke up feeling worse. I've got a horrible cold. It was this low grade no big deal lingering thing until I decided to smoke some recreational herbs to commemorate my late brother's birthday two nights ago. I should have known better. When I finally felt human enough to pick up my computer, I found emails telling me that my Alternet article on raw milk was up and that there were threats to sue me from Mark McAfee. What?
I wrote this article because it seemed to me that the FDA - a highly underfunded arm of the government - was wasting a lot of time over nothing on raw milk. It's not that raw milk never made anyone sick. Rather, to me, it's a question of going after the biggest threats first and dealing with the little ones subsequently. In the case of raw milk, raw milk consumers very often have personal relationships with their farmers. Yes, some risk may be there, but the consumer is able to assess the risk much more effectively than when they buy products at the supermarket. There were many more deaths over peanut butter in the last year than raw milk. I'd rather just let the raw milk people drink their raw milk and have the FDA focus on bigger problems. A good compromise would be that raw milk follows safety regulations to make it as safe as possible while still keeping it legal.
To research the article, I spoke to both sides of the raw milk debate. I spoke to VERY PASSIONATE people on both sides. I tried to look for facts on both sides. Unfortunately, there was just about no way on earth to get the two sides to agree on one set of "facts." The regulators believed in safety data that the raw milk drinkers thought was bogus. The raw milk drinkers believed raw milk gave you health benefits that the regulators thought was, at best, irrelevant. So I tried presenting both sides and suggesting a compromise solution.
Throughout my research, one particular raw dairy stuck out - Organic Pastures, owned by Mark McAfee, the colorful California dairyman who is interested in sending me a letter from his attorney. He didn't stick out for being bad or good, just for being different. He's the largest raw dairy and he also holds a LOT of political power. Sometimes the debate over the broad question of raw milk gets hung up on issues that are McAfee-only issues, just because he engages in some practices that are unique to him. (I've drank raw milk from several sources and only McAfee's was available to me at Whole Foods, for example. Usually I get it directly out of the bulk tank at a dairy farm, for free because it can't be sold legally.)
You can read McAfee's comment below. By the time I woke up today it seemed that a huge commotion had come and gone. The Google alert for my story says "Got Raw Milk? Think Twice Before You Drink It." I didn't write that title. I didn't even make that point very strongly in my article. My writing was more about the balance between keeping consumers safe from unconscionable businesses vs. allowing consumers the freedom to take a risk if they wish to. By the time I got to the Alternet piece, the title was "The Battle Over Raw Milk: Let's Ditch the Hysterics and Give People a Choice." That's more in line with what I wrote. The subtitle said "Few foods provoke such strong reactions (for and against it) as raw milk. Find out why." That's also in line with what I wrote. Yet from the comments it seems that an earlier subtitle blamed raw milk for autism and asthma. That is the exact opposite of what I wrote. I wrote that evidence supports that it HELPS autism and asthma.
So here's what Mark McAfee wrote to me in the comments:
Please review your data and research. Raw milk and fermented raw milk helps autistic kids like no other food on earth. see www.californiarawmilk.org for testimonials from moms that say just that and more. Autistic kids have terrible disbiosis and GUT issues. One of the best food therapies is the reseeding and feeding of the missing gut bacteria. This bacteria comes from raw milk and fermented raw milks, not pastuerized dead milk or dairy products. Just like breast milk...raw milk heals like no other food.
Also...Organic Pastures Dairy has never ever bottled one ounce of another dairies raw milk...not one drop. This is a blantant lie and an untruth spoken to try and hurt OPDC and misslead our consumers.
I ask you to print a retraction or face a letter from our attorney.
Lastly....Dr. Mike Payne ( a "GOT MILK" CMAB PhD at UC Davis )has testified under oath that he does not think that raw milk is safe under any conditions. He stood against SB 201 along with CDFA and UC Davis. SB 201 established very strong HACCP type protections for raw milk in CA. SB 201 was vetoed by the governor after UC Davis ( Mike Payne ) and CDFA "back doored" the legislative process. SB 201 had passed both houses of the legilsature and was on the governors desk when it was vetoed...now Mike Payne demands a HACCP program for CA raw milk. This is an outrage and disingenious.... he speaks with forked tongue!!
Raw milk is a choice made by consumers and that is the end of the story. All of the crying and sniveling done by Mike Payne and others is irrelavent. The people drink raw milk and will defend that right at the legislature ( and they have already done so ). When the SB 201 hearings were held last year....the FDA and CDFA did not even show up ( Senator Dean Florez had invited them to please be present ) yet they did not even show.
The 50,000 people that consume raw milk in CA could careless what UC Davis or big ag sayes about their personal choices. Raw milk in CA must pass all of the standards for pastuerized milk with out being pastuerized. It is clean yet it is biodiverse,enzyme rich and very safe.
Jill....how come you never called me for an interview prior to posting this piece. It is poorly researched and is filled with political crap that is unsupported by fact or documented history in the legislature and the courts. Much of what you have said in your article is just not so....it is false.
Please call me anytime...I will give you the facts and you can confirm them.
1-877 RAW MILK....I take calls from all of our consumers everyday and I will take yours also.
All the best,
Mark McAfee
Founder OPDC
Fresno CA
Oh boy. |
