Raw Milk Myths
We received this response to the Harvest Haven Bulletin – Food Freedom Follow-up. There is much misinformation circulating about the “dangers” of raw milk. Marilyn’s letter addresses those concerns with the facts and first hand experience.
Hi Cheryl,
While you have given us your opinion about raw milk, I will give you the facts. I am addressing a number of the statements you make in your letter because you have been misinformed.
I have numbered the points within your letter, then answered them below:
Your letter:
1) Raw milk is milk from cows, sheep, or goats that has not been pasteurized 2) to kill harmful bacteria. 3) This raw, unpasteurized milk can carry dangerous bacteria such as Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria, 4) which are responsible for causing numerous foodborne illnesses.
5) These harmful bacteria can seriously affect the health of anyone who drinks raw milk, or eats foods made from raw milk. However, the bacteria in raw milk can be especially dangerous to pregnant women, children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems.
6) The result of these illness, rare or not, is an increased burden on our health care system, meaning more $$$$ in taxes. Therefore, 7) your food “choices” affect me negatively, and 8) regulation is the government’s job.
Regards,
Cheryl
My answer for each point:
1) Raw milk is milk from cows, sheep, or goats that has not been pasteurized – True.
2) To kill harmful bacteria – Pasteurization does not kill all the harmful bacteria. “This is a common misconception. Scientific studies have shown that pasteurization does NOT inactivate the shiga toxins released by e.coli O157:H7 (the toxin that killed people in Walkerton). Furthermore, other bacteria that are implicated in Crohn’s disease also survive pasteurization.” (source)
3) This raw, unpasteurized milk can carry dangerous bacteria such as Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria, - Not if it has been properly collected from cows fed organic grass and a minimum of grain. “Grass-fed milk has natural antibiotic properties that help protect it (and those lucky enough to drink it) from pathogenic bacteria.” (source)
What about the increased use of antibiotics in conventional dairies and the risk of antibiotic resistance? Over 80% of all antibiotics are used in the raising of factory farmed animals. A significant portion of this percentage is used in conventional dairies because the living conditions of the cows are so unhealthy. Because of unhealthy animals and less than sanitary conditions, pasteurization is required to deal with the product from these conventional dairies.4) Which are responsible for causing numerous foodborne illnesses – These pathogens do cause illnesses, but raw milk has seldom, if ever, been the carrier. This past summer there were the deaths and illnesses caused by cantaloupes from a contaminated warehouse in Colorado, but it is not illegal to buy cantaloupes. There was the serious problem with Listeria at the Maple Leaf processing plant that cost millions, but it’s not illegal to eat the mystery meat produced there. Even though the consumption of such processed meats causes many health problems, it’s not illegal to buy it.
5) These harmful bacteria can seriously affect the health of anyone who drinks raw milk, or eats foods made from raw milk. However, the bacteria in raw milk can be especially dangerous to pregnant women, children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems – There has been no documented evidence of this. Most information points to the benefits of raw milk for everyone, especially children. The US Center for Disease Control had to “admit earlier this year, after being pressed and warned of a potential Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request if it failed to comply, that not a single person has died from raw milk consumption in over a decade.”
Learn more: CDC Admits Not a Single Person Has Died from Consuming Raw Milk Products in 11 Years
And:
The Power of Numbers in the War Over Raw Dairy—How the CDC Came to Admit a Death Wasn’t Categorized Correctly6) The result of these illness, rare or not, is an increased burden on our health care system, meaning more $$$$ in taxes – With next to no illnesses and virtually no deaths from raw dairy consumption, but scores of sick people from legally mass-produced ground turkey, peanut butter, eggs, and leafy greens – not to mention alcohol, trans fats, tobacco, and the like – who is placing the true financial burden on the health care system? These products have been proven hazardous to health, yet they are all legal.
7) Therefore, your food “choices” affect me negatively – The truth is that the consumption of raw dairy products is beneficial to health and, therefore, affects you positively because there is a reduction of the burden on the health care system. “Unheated milk contains its full complement of enzymes and lactase-producing bacteria needed by our bodies to break down and assimilate the milk sugar lactose. These helpful bacteria are killed in the pasteurization/homogenization process.” (source)
Homogenization is another serious problem of pasteurized milk. “While research supporting the causal relationship between XO and hardening of the arteries is not clear-cut, one matter stands true: homogenization facilitates the entry of milk fat directly into the bloodstream that would otherwise be subjected to the digestive process in the GI tract.”
Read more about how serious that problem is:
Is Homogenized Milk Better or Worse for You?
Our choices do affect everyone – going to McDonalds, smoking, or buying a freezer full of processed meals costs all of us, as people get sicker and sicker. But it is not illegal to do these things.8) Regulation is the government’s job – Raw milk advocates welcome regulation... just not mandatory pasteurization. In Quebec it has been legal to sell raw milk cheeses since 2008. “The province's change is accompanied by strict new rules to ensure the safety of the raw-milk cheeses, including monthly quality checks of producers' milk and veterinary inspections of cattle herds.” Read more: Quebec to allow raw-milk cheeses.
I’m not talking about everyone being forced to buy raw milk, but giving those who understand the advantages of raw milk the freedom to eat this proven wholesome wonder food, backed by a tremendous track record going back to the days of "the land of milk and honey" and beyond.
If others want to buy milk from cows raised in unsanitary factory conditions, they can continue to support such operations. However, let it be known that they shouldn’t be permitted to do so.
Why?
One, factory farming isn’t humane to the animals.
Two, factory farm milk production necessitates the use of copious amounts of antibiotics. The consumer ingests these antibiotics with the milk, which makes the use of antibiotics to treat human illnesses ineffective and contributes to the evolution of superbugs, against which there are no antibiotics.
Three, not only does heat treating (pasteurization) kill only some of the pathogens that get into milk, it kills the beneficial bacteria naturally inherent in milk to help the consumer digest it. Lactose intolerance is often a problem not with the consumer, but with the product. We have personally witnessed this for ourselves.
Four, because of homogenization and pasteurization of milk and the proven substantial ill effects on consumers, a needless and not insignificant burden is laid upon the taxpayer in health care costs.
A sixteen-year old girl wrote an interesting essay about the issues of raw milk. It is a good read:
The Issues around Raw Milk as Seen by a Sixteen-year-old Canadian School GirlI include below a letter from another woman who had something to say about this most recent mail-out.
If you have any more questions or comments, please let me know. I hope this has helped.
Marilyn
www.HarvestHaven.com
Letter from Sharlene:
Hi Marilyn,
I would love to have your Harvest Haven Bulletins delivered to my email address. I am very happy to have connected with you and Sean. I have spent some time exploring your website and I have so much respect for what you do. I look forward to learning and sharing more in the future.
Thank you for supporting Michael Schmidt and the raw milk that has been instrumental in the health of my family. I will pass on the letter I wrote to Premier Dalton McGuinty and to Judge Tetly, so you can get an idea of how I have become so touched by this cause.
BTW I noticed your post on Facebook regarding the reply to the letter against legalizing raw milk access. You may start with the fact that Michael Schmidt is trying to create more safety around raw milk by teaching others how to produce it safely. He wants to establish regulatory standards so consumers can have confidence in the methods used by their farmers which would be set to match the standards that have kept safe milk flowing legally in Germany for over 100 yrs. In Germany they have had a voluntary set of raw milk certification regulations, and voluntary testing, and have not had a single illness in 100 years...now that is food safety. Compare that to approximately 11 million cases of food-borne illnesses reported annually in Canada and you can see where extra healthcare tax dollars are actually spent...cleaning up after industrialized foods is what I see. I trust the people at the farms I support far more than I trust Corporations or Government standards and inspections.
Hope this provides a bit of info you can pass on to support raw milk availability. Let me know if you need some other info and maybe we can help you more.
Sharlene’s letter to the Premier of Ontario, Dalton McGuinty:
Dear Dalton McGuinty,
I write to you today, one individual to another, requesting that you take mercy on Michael Schmidt and grant his request for a meeting. It is such a simple thing to do, to change the course of a man’s life. He is starving just to have an hour of your time.
I write to you today, one parent to another, that I was suffering and worried for my children’s health. No Medical Doctor could help me. My children refused to eat, and when they did eat it was very limited foods. They were in a category that the Medical Community could call “failure to thrive”, meaning they were not gaining weight as they should, and the cause was unknown. Neither of my sons are able to digest pasteurized milk, and soy was not possible either. My second son was also sensitive (much digestive upset) to other foods like wheat, corn, potatoes, squash, just to name a few. I was at wits end trying to use pea protein shakes to up their protein and calorie intake. I found out from a Naturopathic Doctor that my children were probably reacting to the protein in milk that is altered by modern pasteurization. He said it would be quite easy if we were in France, where the Doctor was from, to access safe raw milk, which would most likely be tolerated well by my children. While I had been trained in University (I actually have a degree in Nutrition and Dietetics from the University of Saskatchewan) that raw milk was dangerous, I began to research raw milk and weather it could be produced safely. I found out that both my parents had been raised on raw milk on their family farms. They, their families, and all their neighbours all drank raw milk and they were healthy and no one had ever been sick. After months of research I was convinced, that scientifically speaking raw milk could be produced safely and I knew we had to try it (but only from a source I could trust). I contacted Michael Schmidt, and told him my story. He responded with love. HE TOOK MERCY ON ME AND MY CHILDREN! He allowed us to join his Farm-share, bypassing an estimated 300 family waiting list, so that my babies could be helped immediately! From the first day they tasted it, it made an amazing impact and improved their health, even improved their appetite for other foods! Today, they are happy healthy and THRIVING!! We had gone for 6 months with no weight gain for my 2 yr old and in 18 months he has gained 10lbs. When I used to pray for ounces in weight gain…he now gains in pounds, and his little brother is right behind him!! When all other foods had been rejected by choice or by the pain they caused, RAW MILK has always been accepted and relished, and has been the building block of strength and vitality for my family. Please don’t take away this vital food from them.
Please HAVE MERCY ON MICHAEL SCHMIDT AND MEET WITH HIM TO SAVE HIS LIFE, if for no other reason than that you know he has done this for my family and would do the same for yours or any other that needed him to.
I have spoken today, one heart to another, please respond with you heart now and end this impass. Please meet with Michael Schmidt.
Sincerely,
Sharlene H.
Another:
Dalton McGuinty,
Premier Legislative Building
Queen's Park
Toronto ON M7A 1A1
27th October 2011
Dear Dalton McGuinty,
I am writing to ask you to consider meeting with Michael Schmidt of Grey County regarding the raw milk issue he has been fighting for many years.
I am afraid that the province of Ontario is making a grievous mistake by denying Ontarian's the right to choose for consumption, the foods that are best for them and their families. The persecution of Michael Schmidt for distributing raw milk to educated consumers puts Ontario’s Food Policy into the dark ages.
Please do not provide me with a history of raw milk contamination statistics. The number of reported illnesses associated with the consumption of raw milk pale in comparison to the number of reported illnesses associated with the consumption of products that government food inspectors and food policies have deemed safe.
Raw milk can, and is, produced and sold safely in First World Countries around the world, notably in England, France, Italy, Germany and many states in the US. In California alone 65,000 people consume safety tested and certified raw milk every day with a stellar safety record. Raw milk in California is batch tested and meets much stricter safety standards than pasteurized milk, tested after pasteurization. That alone makes your assertion that raw milk is a public health threat an utter falsehood. It, in fact, shows that pasteurized milk on the grocery store shelf is allowed to be sold with higher bacterial counts than raw milk.
I would also like to point out that over 87% of Canada’s dairy farmers consume their own milk raw. There is, after all, no law against this. There is certainly no issue with dairy farmers or their families and friends becoming ill and endangering the public. Because I cannot live on a farm and look after a cow I have different rights than those rural Canadians have? Both my parents and grandparents were and are farmers, raised on raw milk, and they are living proof of its safety.
I would like to know why it is that in Canada we can purchase and consume raw oysters, raw seafood, raw meats and eggs, not to mention raw spinach and cantaloupe, and deli meats, all of which are responsible for far more cases of food poisoning than raw milk in Canada (and in all countries around the world where raw milk is legal). We in Canada have seen the damage from the deli meats that were produced in government inspected facilities and sold in grocery stores across the country. We can legally purchase tobacco products, alcohol, and a myriad of food products and fast foods, all of which pose detrimental health risks, but cannot legally purchase raw milk from a clean, local operation, that regularly test both cows and milk for contamination. In Canada there are 11 million cases of food-borne illness from government inspected sources yet you choose to persecute a 150 farm-share where farmers have obtained their milk, cheese, fruit, vegetables, meat, eggs for 20 years without a single illness. This is an example of unprecedented food safety success. We owe him a debt of gratitude for those he has helped to keep out of the health-care system and we need to enlist his expertise.
The issue of food rights and specifically raw milk is gaining momentum and will be dealt with now or at the polls at some future date. A petition is being prepared. You can endear yourself to many Ontarians now by agreeing to dialogue with this man who has the real, simple answers. Michael is on a hunger strike to bring this issue to the attention of the public and to officers of the Crown. This is about the freedom to responsibly choose what we put into our own bodies as sovereign.
As an officer of the crown, it is important for you to know that Queen Elizabeth, who is now 85, recognizes the benefits of raw milk and insists upon it for herself and her children. And her mother before her drank raw milk and lived until age 103.In this Michael Schmidt and Queen Elizabeth are in agreement. I respectfully submit that you would not be compromising your position by agreeing to meet with him on something dear to the heart of the Crown.
Michael Schmidt has essential knowledge keys to producing safe, healthy milk for those who demand it. He is an extremely well educated man, who only wants to share his knowledge in open dialogue. He is worth listening to, and I, as well as many others throughout Ontario, will hold you in higher esteem if you just take the time to hear what he is saying.
Respectfully yours,
Sharlene H.
