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Update on the Raw Milk Situation at
Dee Creek Farm, WA
December 29, 2005
1. Summary of Dee Creek Farm Raw Milk and e.coli 0157 H7 Outbreak by
Chris Ostrander
On December 12, 2005 a quiet controversy in Washington State over the
right of self-regulated Shareholder Dairies became a very noisy one
when a cluster E. coli 0157:H7 illnesses were reported in the media
to be associated with a Shareholder Dairy in Woodland, WA. The dairy
is Dee Creek Farm, owned by Weston A. Price Foundation members Anita
and Michael Puckett and daughter Summer Steenbarger. To date, although
there
seems to be a relationship between Dee Creek Farm shareholders and the
reported cases, no E. coli was found in the milk that was privately
sampled immediately after the outbreak was suspected (when a shareholder
called the farm reporting an E. coli 0157:H7 illness). Additional private
samples as well as samples taken by the Washington State Department
of Agriculture are still being analyzed.
This event is really unfortunate. Some of those affected, mostly
children, became very sick - some were hospitalized with serious
complications. Two of the children are still in the hospital and showing
signs of improvement. Everyone is hoping for their full recovery. Our
thoughts also need to be with the families who run the farm in Woodland.
They are careful, conscientious farmers for whom this crisis is devastating.
They and their family with nine dependents are now living with the fear
of losing their home and their farm that they have worked decades to
acquire and improve. Despite the hold harmless clauses that each Dee
Creek
shareholder signed, it appears that the predatory personal injury law
firm of Marler and Clark is trying to persuade a couple of shareholder
families to sue Dee Creek Farm. Potential exists for the farm to be
sued by medical insurance companies as well. This would be a tragedy
as the farm family has not the resources to afford legal representation;
also because it has not been established whether the contamination of
the milk occurred on the farm or after the milk left the farm. A state
veterinarian who was overseeing the State's sampling of milk from Dee
Creek
Farm and observing their milking protocol subsequent to the outbreak
told the farmers that their cows and their practices were very clean.
The farm family deserves our compassion and support. It is important
to remember that illness resulting from E. coli contamination can and
does occur in a wide variety of foods. This type of outbreak can strike
any farmer, often through no fault of the farmer. E. coli 0157:H7 is
considered by some to be a mutant organism for which we can blame its
emergence
on practitioners of genetic engineering and antibiotic-dependent
industrial agriculture.
At press time, new developments are being reported hourly, but media
coverage of the E. coli cluster in Southwest Washington has been pathetic.
It has been a showcase of sensationalism and unprofessional journalism.
Practically the only experts who have been quoted in media reports work
either for state and county government agencies or the processed dairy
industry and these experts are quick to condemn raw milk as often as
they can. The media now report 18 E.coli cases related to the outbreak,
yet as of this writing, there are only 7 confirmed cases where E. coli
0157:H7 has been isolated and not all of these individuals became sick
and not all of the sick crank raw milk from Dee Creek Farm. The Clark
County Health Department issued a press release that was circulated
widely stating that milk samples from Dee Creek Farm had tested positive
for E. coli, however, as of this writing, WSDA, who has the samples
in their lab, has not completed the lab tests and has not released official
findings even to the Clark County Health Department. This is a textbook
case of the press acting as unquestioning mouthpiece for official
information without any critical analysis or effort made to verify it.
To its credit, at least one media outlet issued a retraction of its
reporting of the errant Health Department press release when it learned
of its inaccuracy. Now, word of possible new legislation, perhaps banning
raw milk in Washington State and self-regulated Shareholder Dairies,
is being reported.
E. coli is responsible for the illness cluster in Southwest Washington,
not raw milk or Shareholder Dairies. This region of Washington State
seems to be responsible for a good share of the state's E. coli outbreaks.
It will be very important in the up-coming weeks and months for informed,
active individuals to work at keeping the focus of debate on the true
issues at hand and keep it from becoming a fear-based vendetta that
threatens our freedom of choice in foods and our freedom to produce
our own foods. Please keep alert for further developments and act on
specific alerts that will be forthcoming.
Chrys Ostrander
Chrysalis Farm @ Tolstoy
Organic Micro-permaculture
33495 Mill Canyon Rd.
Davenport, WA 99122
509-725-0610
chrys@thefutureisorganic.net
http://www.thefutureisorganic.net/index.html
2. From Dee Creek Farms:
*****************************
December 27th, 2005, 11:50pm
*****************************
Well, this past weekend has been a very busy one! Friday we spent the
day in town, picking up gifts for the hospitalized families, and then
heading to their homes. You all have been so very generous. It is amazing.
We are all overwhelmed by the support that you all have shown! Here
is the latest report on health:
Family A - 13yo was doing better, sleeping less, alert and active a
bit more. The whole family ended up with some nasty colds, and spent
Christmas home mostly in bed instead of with family, as planned. Bloodwork
is heading in the right direction.
Family B - We spent some time with some of the family on Friday
evening, and then a bit again tonight. It looks like 9yo is doing fairly
well, tho' still in the hospital with daily dialysis and an
inflamed pancreas. She has been eating a bit the past several days.
Praise the Lord!
Family C - We just got an update yesterday that the little guy has urinated
for the second time in two days, and is holding food down much better.
The family did get a chance to head home for a couple of hours on Christmas,
which I'm sure was such a comfort to everyone!
We are so very grateful that these kids are feeling better, and are
praying that they will soon return to normal kidney function. Continue
to pray that the healing will be complete. Family C are hoping to get
home late this weekend.
We are still sending gifts their way, so you are still welcome and
encouraged to drop anything off at your usual pick up location. Family
C has requested that they do not receive money, but appreciate food
and gifts very much. Food preparation is difficult for all of these
families at this time, I am sure.
One of the Owners was working on setting up a Financial Aid Line to
help these families. Someone affiliated with one of the hospitals (I
believe) has set up a fund called the E. coli Kids Foundation Fund and
it will help pay medical bills for the kids, especially for those who
are uninsured. Michelle Laird is the spokeswoman for the fund and contributions
will be accepted at any Wells Fargo Branch in Oregon and Washington.
For information call 503-913-8343.
Even if these folks have insurance, these families have lost many
weeks of work, tanks and tanks of gas, time, and plenty more! I will
check into this Fund and see if it will be helping in financial ways
beyond the medical expenses.
****
There are many things floating around right now, and I want to get you
all up to speed on what I can right now:
First, we still have not heard back from the WSDA regarding any
samples. We have left numerous messages, and will continue to do so.
The last that WE heard from them was on Tuesday, the 20th, when Claudia
let us know that there had not been e. coli confirmed in any samples,
and that they were still testing. Nothing since then. Friday the Clark
County DOH was supposed to retract that statement. Today the Capital
Press
released an article that says e. coli was confirmed, but not necessarily
the right strain. Not sure if this is new news or old.
Also, I know that many of you have been well-informed about our Cease
& Desist notice in August, but I do realize that some of the new
folks here didn't receive the email that we sent out regarding it. The
most important thing to note is that we did NOT receive an order. We
responded to the letter within 15 days explaining that we did not indeed
sell milk, that we were pursuing Grade A, and requested information
on the new bottling and capping laws. We have not heard a word back
from them
since. Until now.
As many of you know, we have been pursuing a Grade A license the past
few months. We have most of the stainless steel countertops and sinks
now, and were getting ready to pour the floor. Plumbing is out there,
but no electric yet. It was in the works.
There is also a lot of 'dirty farmer' stuff going around. We use
stainless steel closed-system buckets, and wash udders two times with
iodine prior to milking, then dip after with an anti-bacterial dip.
Tho' we ask that you wash your own jars to your desired cleanliness,
we do send them through the dishwasher when they arrive, before we pour.
We will be uploading a page on our website with all Facts, so that you
can find these tid bits there, as we focus these emails on the issues
at hand, and the updates to report.
****
I hope you all had a Merry Christmas! May this week be filled with love,
peace, and joy. Please uphold the kids that are sick this week, as they
spend their holidays away from home. We pray they can return soon! May
every single thought, gift, and prayer be felt - and lighten even a
bit of their load with each one.
DCF
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