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In a single one is concerned about the risk to people’s health. 10:1, not 150:1. Doesn’t sound as scary, does it?
sentence This is particularly true in the arena of dairy, And that is still based entirely on the govern-
since raw milk outbreaks are typically small ment’s own numbers, without addressing the
buried in the (most involve fewer than twenty people), while issue of whether raw dairy was unfairly blamed
middle of the there have been fewer, but often much larger, for some of those illnesses. It is also based on
study, the outbreaks related to pasteurized milk. The real the assumption of similar serving sizes, although
question is the rate of illnesses, not outbreaks.
many people who consume raw milk do so as
authors Even with respect to outbreaks, the CDC a much larger part of their diet than those who
admitted that had to make several leaps of logic to reach this consume pasteurized milk. The real comparative
the rate of sensationalist conclusion. The authors quoted a risk numbers are almost certainly even lower.
Some careful readers may have spotted a
1996-1997 survey that found only 1.5 percent of
foodborne respondents had consumed raw dairy products problem in the above discussion: the shift from
illnesses within the seven days before the interview. The discussing raw milk (consumption rates) to dis-

caused by authors then noted that some people consumed cussing all raw dairy (the number of illnesses).
both raw and pasteurized dairy products and I did this because there were no data on raw
raw dairy did jumped to the conclusion that only 1 percent of cheese versus pasteurized cheese, so I’m will-
not show a the dairy products in this country are consumed ing to assume for purposes of this article that all
statistically unpasteurized. dairy products as a whole have a similar ratio of
But why rely on a survey from fifteen years consumption as milk.

significant ago? The CDC has a far more recent food con- But that conflation of raw milk with all raw
increase in sumption survey, conducted in 2006-07, in which dairy products often causes its own problems.
states where 3 percent of respondents had consumed raw milk The CDC study used a tactic common among
within seven days before the interview. The raw milk opponents, namely lumping together
it was legal to same survey found that 78 percent of people had all illnesses from all raw dairy products. This

sell raw dairy consumed pasteurized milk within the last seven enabled them to make raw milk appear more
products. days. So the most recent data would indicate a risky because of the many illnesses attributed to
ratio of raw:pasteurized milk consumption of queso fresco, a soft (not aged) raw cheese that is
3:78, or approximately 4 percent of milk being frequently made under very unsanitary condi-
consumed raw. tions. Particularly since most states that allow
If one considers the number of illnesses the legal sale of raw milk do not allow the sale
rather than outbreaks, and uses the most recent of queso fresco, this is an important distinction.
consumption data from CDC, then the ratio is

UPdate oN the camPaIGN to label GmoS

the last issue of Wise Traditions included information on a petition filed with the Food and drug administration (Fda)
to require labeling of genetically modified foods. at the time this issue is going to print, over 600,000 people have submit-
ted comments supporting mandatory labeling. If you have not yet submitted your own comments, please take a minute
and tell Fda that you want them to require labeling! You can submit comments multiple ways:

oNlINe: www.regulations.gov/#!submitcomment;d=Fda-2011-P-0723-0001
FaX: 301-827-6870
maIl: division of dockets management, Food and drug administration, 5630 Fishers lane, Room 1061,
hFa-305, Rockville, md 20852

You must include the docket number at the top of your comments: Fda-2011-P-0723
on the state level, the effort to get a ballot initiative in california to require labeling is also moving forward. the orga-
nizers have to collect 505,000 valid physical signatures by april 22 to get the initiative on the ballot. more information is
available at http://www.labelgmos.org. State bills in Vermont (h722) and hawaii (Sb2279) also have the potential to move
forward this year, although many more state bills have died. the fight against Gmos is a difficult one, but more and more
people are becoming aware of its importance.

66 Wise Traditions SPRING 2012 SPRING 2012 Wise Traditions

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