On Disorganized Data, A Milk Pathogen Theory, Reading the Tea Leaves, and Poop Stories
Wednesday, August 1, 2007 at 09:06AM A few odds and ends stemming the research discussion of the last few days:
--A reader alerted me to inconsistencies in the data presented to Pete Kennedy from the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC) under the Freedom of Information Act, compared to other data released by the CDC. A report on foodborne illness between 1998 and 2002 shows significantly more cases from dairy than what was presented to Pete. For example, in 2000, the CDC’s FOIA document shows 181 cases from 12 outbreaks, while this CDC report shows 300 cases from 22 outbreaks. The latter report doesn’t distinguish between raw and pasteurized milk. I don’t know why there are such wide differences between the two reports. It could be that the data are simply more suspect than we realize. I wonder also if the differences may stem from the fact that because the FOIA document was certified under penalty of perjury, the authorities wanted to be sure they didn’t exaggerate anything, so were conservative in putting their numbers together. Either way, you sure don’t get a warm and fuzzy feeling about the fed data.
--Mary McGonigle-Martin’s observation about her son’s reaction to pasteurized milk, in reaction to the finding about all the pathogens in milk bulk tanks, reminds me of a conversation I had recently with a farmer who produces raw milk. This farmer speculated that all the dead and half-dead pathogens in pasteurized milk could act like vaccines in our systems. In other words, they could trick the immune system on a regular basis to react to the foreign bodies, and after a while wear the immune system down…and help explain the mushrooming of chronic conditions like asthma and Crohn’s that are thought to be immune-related. A layman's theory that sounds at least as plausible as the scientist theories we hear.
--Now I understand why no one is becoming ill from listeria in New York state. Don Neeper’s analysis of the research data clearly suggests that New York farmers are dealing with a rigged system. A trace of listeria monocytogenes that researchers consider to be insignificant is played up by the regulators.
--Are the New York authorities softening just a bit? A farmer called my attention to differences in two press releases issued by New York’s Department of Agriculture and Markets. In this first one, the release calls attention to the danger of listeria monocytogenes, in graphic language. In this more recent one, about Lori McGrath’s farm, the language is softer, noting the farm was selling raw milk for eight months without a problem. I know this is minor stuff, since the damage to the farmer is the same, but in autocratic societies, we learn to read between the lines of officialese. Maybe next time New York state bureaucrats will announce they are changing the testing procedures for listeria m?
--I had to laugh at Ken Conrad's stories about cow poop. I appreciate the tip about standing to the side when a cow is pooping. There is much us city folks don't know about farm life, and the gap has definitely widened over the years. But the trend needn't continue unabated. As one small example, I was at a social gathering recently and somehow, the conversation came to me with someone saying, "Tell us the latest about raw milk, David." When that happens, there are usually people around who don't know that you can obtain milk unpasteurized, and don't really care. In this situation, I explained briefly to one of those individuals--a man who works for a food distributor--that, yes, there are benefits to drinking milk unpasteurized. "Doesn't it make you nauseous? Can't you die from it?" I told him I was living proof it was okay. Then the talk shifted to a small farm in town (really an open field that a few people are cultivating) selling vegetables to shareholders. That seemed to interest people. One step at a time.
Reader Comments (6)
In regards to the language in the latest NY press release, I had also noticed the change in tone and asked Lori McGrath about it. She replied that they had insisted on the additional wording concerning their length of operation and pride in cleanliness. I would imagine that the state would have used its standard boilerplate if Autumn Valley Farm hadn't spoken up, but that also indicates that farmers can have a say in the press releases if they are willing to take a stand.
http://www.thedailystar.com/news/stories/2007/07/28/mbrecallbrf8.html
http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/2007/07/
I've done a couple of regional press releases around raw milk issues over the past year and a half and have had about a 50% success rate in getting them picked up. However, it's been my opinion that even in cases where nobody picked up the story somebody in a newsroom had to have read it, which means that a few more people are made aware of raw milk. We also had a case where a reporter called us for quotes and background information from the contact information in a previous press release.