Page 4 - Fall2010
P. 4

Letters









                 MEDIA REACTION                     a huge corporation. The interpersonal  is merely a perfectly normal immune
                    I  am  a  person  who  has  been  a  connection of a group of consumers to  reaction to “cooked” bacteria and pus,
                 healthy and happy customer of Min-  a family farm builds trust and relation-  warped heated proteins, artificial hor-
                 nesota’s farm-fresh, organic and clean  ship. We want to shake the hand that  mones, traces of genetically modified
                 raw milk products for at least a decade  feeds us. This way, if a health problem  grains, traces of mold from bad grain
                 and, in addition, I grew up with it. As  is suspected, at worst, only a few are  and feed-based antibiotic residues.
                 such, I’m mystified and stunned by the  exposed, and the problem can be stopped   William G. Winter, DVM
                 knee-jerk reactions and hostility against  quickly, then corrected.                Minneapolis, Minnesota
                 raw milk in the media.                 A year ago, one contaminated batch
                    The recent Minneapolis Tribune  of commodity hamburger from a factory  Will Winter is a retired holistic vet-
                 editorial,  “Recklessly  ignoring  raw  farm-sourced, mass-produced facility  erinarian  a  version  of  this  letter  is
                 milk’s danger,” came off as a critical  caused a recall of over one hundred  published by the Minneapolis Tribune
                 scientific statement excoriating “internet  twenty million pounds of potentially-  in response to that newspaper’s June
                 idiots,” know-nothings who wander like  dangerous hamburger! Tens of thou-  28, 2010 editorial, “Recklessly Ignoring
                 lost sheep into the clutches of bad farm-  sands of school children had already  Raw Milk’s Danger—Ban on raw milk
                 ers who want to poison them. According  eaten most of it! The US Food Service  sales is needed to protect families.” Will
                 to the editorial, these easily bamboozled  had to deal with nearly four hundred  Winter will be a speaker at Wise Tradi-
                 fools clearly need the government to  food recalls last year alone!   tions 2010.
                 “protect them.” These writers talk about     There is a tremendous difference
                 science but present not a shred of science  between milk produced for pasteuriza-  THE USDA LACKS CREDIBILITY
                 in these attacks.                  tion and milk that is produced to be     The new dietary guidelines repre-
                    The  typical raw dairy  customer  consumed raw. Since pasteurization has  sent the selected research and opinions
                 is vastly more knowledgeable than the  become law, the standards for bacteria,  of just thirteen individuals, some from
                 average supermarket shopper. They are,  white blood cells and even coliform  academia and some from the USDA. The
                 for the most part well-read parents who  organisms have been seriously watered-  notion that these few people, who are
                 duly note the well-documented facts  down. Deadly pathogenic bacteria are  unaccountable to the public, are going to
                 regarding the declining safety and nutri-  not routinely found on small family  decide how and what the entire country
                 ent density of conventional food. They  farms  using  pasture-based  farming.  should be eating (especially at public
                 know that there is no such thing as a food  Milk is no longer touched by dirty hands  schools) is really outrageous, given how
                 that is one hundred percent safe. They  but runs through glass and stainless steel  politicized agencies and even academia
                 know that if every category of food that  pipes to the bulk tank. Deadly pathogens  are.
                 ever caused an occasional incidence of  come from cities, off-farm workers, the     Too often, academics are judged
                 food poisoning were made illegal, there  use of feedlot-runoff irrigation water,  not by their scholarship, intellectual
                 would be no hamburger, no lettuce, no  and from confinement and unsanitary  rigor, or their abilities in the classroom,
                 eggs, no cheese, no hot dogs, no spinach.  conditions. Pathogens take root when the  but by how much money they bring to
                 Virtually nothing to eat! They also un-  animals are under-nourished, indoors,  the school or to their department, which
                 derstand that improvements are always  confined and over-worked.      can then have an influence on what they
                 appreciated and necessary.             Thousands of people who think they  teach.
                    True “food bio-security” can only  are “allergic” to milk or have “lactose     And the track record of the USDA
                 come from organic, sustainable fam-  intolerance” can almost always thrive on  is not one of impartiality. The USDA
                 ily farms, never from imported food,  wholesome, pasture-based, organic raw  maintains that there is no difference
                 never from a factory farm, never from  milk! Their “allergy” or “intolerance”  in quality between conventional and
                 4                                          Wise Traditions                                   FALL 2010
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