Behind the Sloppy Video Is a Larger Struggle—More from the WAPF on Marler’s Methods
Tuesday, August 26, 2008 at 08:56PM You’ve probably noticed by now that things look a little different here. The blog hosting company upgraded its software, and in the process, forced its blogs to adopt a new look. I wasn’t unhappy with the old look, but if I wanted access to additional new features, I had to change over to a design that is part of the upgrade. More technical changes to come, hopefully of the beneficial kind.
Lots of people seem to be upset with me with my take of the Chris Martin YouTube tape. As if I’m somehow making light of that family’s suffering.
Nothing could be further from the truth. I have long expressed sympathy with the Martin family. No parent can look at the video of Chris Martin and not be upset about what the family went through.
That being said, I am at odds with the use to which the video is now being put. The Martins understandably want to reduce the chances that other parents will have to go through what their son went through. The problem comes with the method they have chosen to accomplish that task.
They really had two obvious choices, if they wanted to use their misfortune to affect change. First, they could have tried to promote more understanding of what makes a few people get very sick in outbreaks from pathogens. If raw milk was at fault (not a given), why did six kids get sick, and 30,000 other people not suffer any illnesses? We can ask the same question with regard to illnesses from ground beef, spinach, lettuce, peppers, etc.
I actually had a good discussion with Bill Marler about this topic. He said there is some thinking in the medical community that certain kids have specialized receptors on their kidneys that make them especially susceptible to pathogens. But we don’t really know for sure. Why not promote more research in this area, where there’s such a dearth of data?
The second choice the Martins had was to seek retribution against Organic Pastures and push for laws and legislation that restrict access to raw milk. That is the path they chose. As part of that path, they decided to turn a sad and upsetting video of their son on life support into a piece of propaganda supporting a political agenda and a political machine. (As just one other example of that machine, every time there is any kind of suspected illness from raw milk, I immediately receive an email from Bill Marler, and I’m sure other media people receive the same email, as if to say, “See, what’d I tell ya!”). The Martins made that choice, I didn’t.
Once you make that choice, though, you enter a different realm. Your story of tragedy or accomplishment is now held up as evidence for a particular ideology. Those of you who can remember back to the Cold War will recall that there were high-profile citizens who sometimes left the Soviet Union for the U.S., or vice versa. Once they made that switch, they were held up by their new country as prime evidence that its ideology was superior.
The struggle over raw milk and the larger struggle it symbolizes over nutritional freedom may not be the Cold War, but it is evolving into a bitter and intense ideological struggle. I understand that video camera dates can get turned off or batteries go dead.
The problem comes when you are using powerful symbols like video of sick children, not to try to rectify the problem of foodborne illness, but rather to try to sabotage a vital and thriving farm business, and restrict the access of millions of people to a food of their choice. I think I am entitled in that situation to demand that the other side have its ducks in a row.
The California Department of Health Services did a sloppy report on the illnesses. It wasn’t clear exactly how many children became ill from E.coli 0157:H7 and whether a boy or girl got milk from a friend, and whether they all consumed raw milk, among various other problems. The Marler/Martin video of Chris is sloppily edited, suggesting that things happened on days when they likely didn’t happen.
Normally, these kinds of things would be minor. But when you’re trying to destroy people and take away people’s rights, I don’t think you are entitled to that kind of leeway.
Part of the problem is that our government and public health authorities have been able to get away with half-truths and propaganda and sloppy reports for a long time in this struggle. Judges in California, New York, and Pennsylvania have expressed their distaste for examining serious and precise evidence on the other side, preferring instead to simply accept the party line expressed by the regulators. So it’s no surprise that the regulators and their supporters like Marler are sloppy—no one makes any demands on them to do otherwise. And the authorities love images like Chris Martin, since it makes their jobs much easier.
Part of what is going on here is that the real victims in this war—owners of small dairies and people who want access to nutritionally dense foods of their choice--have begun turning things around. Instead of sitting back and accepting all the lies and half-truths and sloppy documentation, they are fighting back with the other side of the story.
A prime example is the Weston A. Price Foundation. It has just added to its web site two documents refuting Bill Marler’s examination of the scientific literature on raw milk. (Go to www.realmilk.org, and scroll down; there's no direct link to the documents.) These analyses do a thorough job of explaining how research on food-borne illness is accomplished, and why raw milk gets the blame more often than it should. They are clearly written and make for educational reading. These refutations follow up on the WAPF's excellent response to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s slide show blasting raw milk.
To those who feel there are much bigger food and farm problems than the seemingly endless debate and discussion about the Martin illness, your points are very well taken. All I can say is that sometimes large political struggles are encapsulated by particularly emotional incidents and legal cases—witness the Dreyfus Affair in France and the Scopes Monkey trial in the U.S. It’s not a pleasant business. But the outcomes of these situations can have wide ripple effects.
Reader Comments (55)
Waiting for "solid proof" translates to watching people suffer and die while the debate continues. Check out the history of cholera, smoking/cancer, and similar public health controversies that went on way too long because there wasn't "solid proof." Sometimes action must be taken with suggestive, likely evidence. That doesn't have to mean the "end" of an industry, but denial will just take you down the river . How about working toward real solutions to allow access to raw milk, not including deceptive advertising, unreliable testing regimes to "prove" safety of the product, and worst of all, downplaying of risks. Otherwise, what choice is left: remove the "pump handle."
With the disproportionate regulation of raw milk/ raw milk products they close small dairies.
With the disproportionate regulation of non-pasteurized cider and nuts, they close small orchards.
With the disproportionate enforcement of regulatory requirements they close small meat processing plants. (See "Big Problems? Blame the Little Guy" http://www.ethicurean.com )
With unequal and unconstitutional animal identification requirements (NAIS), they close small livestock operations.
Now they are touting irradiation of vegetables. so you can bet they will be strangling farmer's markets and CSAs soon. David is right on this one.
None of these products have been shown to pose a significant threat to public health. indeed, in many cases small-holdings are summarily closed without causing any illness at all. This is in stark contrast to industrially-run operations that sicken and kill hundreds of people, yet are allowed to remain in operation for months and even years. Regulation is so shoddy in many cases that their products can't even be identified to be recalled.
Meanwhile, agriculture workers who are forced to turn to the vertically integrated industrial/corporate system to sell their product are forced to accept meager wages in order to remain on their farms. Abattoir worker fare even worse.
Is it any wonder our food is unhealthy?
Is it possible to at least select another, more traditional, color format?
In other news, oxygen masks only work well as cell phones if the other person is real close by.
(I actually called an ICU and asked about their cell phone policy. I got a fascinating response and would report it here if I were a journalist.)
There is nothing special about a "journalist" compared to anyone else, and I encourage you to share whatever information you are morally comfortable with sharing.
Gwen
As far as the Martin family goes, I think they know they have created a piece of political propaganda but I'm sure they feel justified given their current situation. I don't think there is anything wrong about pointing that out, and doing so certainly doesn't warrant an apology.
My wife and two children (2 and 4) drink raw milk regularly with no problems. My youngest has had access to raw milk (mommy's or bovine) since birth, and is significantly healthier than my first from a wellness/immunity perspective. Personally, I enjoy the debate about whether raw milk is "good" or "bad". What is frustrating is that the folks who think it is "bad" would deny the choice to those who think it is "good" ... for the sake of the children.
It’s pretty obvious from the video, and the timing of its release, and the remarks from the shyster, that raw milk is just the secondary target here…. Someone wants their pound of flesh.
Now every occurrence gives one a chance for personal growth…even the most grave (actually those are the biggest opportunities). The key here is there is always a choice…rise above, or grovel in the gutter…it’s always up to you. It’s sad to see the deterioration, the lowering of oneself, just for the sweet opiate of retribution. But one thing is for sure, when you jump in bed with a used prophylactic, chances are you’re going to get dirty.
For shame.
"As far as the Martin family goes, I think they know they have created a piece of political propaganda but I'm sure they feel justified given their current situation. I don't think there is anything wrong about pointing that out, and doing so certainly doesn't warrant an apology"
What makes anyone so SURE of what this video was used for? Maybe the Martins just wanted to show what HUS looks like no matter how it is contracted.
I couldn't easily read the format either. My solution is to copy the post and comments into a Word docucment, enlarge the font to 12 or 14, and change the font color to a light shade of pink. Try it.
To the rest of the readers,
It's good to see that the conversation has begun to touch on the importance of the germ's environment as a cause of disease.
Thank you, Miguel, for bringing us another little gem in yesterday's commdent.
"Not only does the germ theory remain unsubstantiated today, but Pasteur himself recanted it in his private journal, writing the famous words which were revealed many decades after his death:
“It is not the germ that causes disease but the terrain in which the germ is found.” "
I don't think any apology is necessary.
Go to USDA web site read todays press release No. 021808
USDA ANNOUNCES PROPOSED RULE REQUIREMENTS OF THE DISPOSITION OF DOWNER CATTLE
The Ag. Sec. gives the reason for the proposed banning of the slaughter of downer cattle
"TO MAINTAIN CONSUMER CONFINDENCE IN THE FOOD SUPPLY"
NOTHING SAID ABOUT FOOD SAFETY
Some of us have been stating for a long time the war on raw dairy is not about FOOD SAFETY doesnt this help to strengthen our point?
I'm also not happy with the display's readability. Otherwise, a refreshing format.
You bet it will. And believing that we can sanitize ourselves into health is serious denial. No, it's worse than denial, because it makes the solution a problem. While industrial food and aggressive use of antibiotics are turning our immune systems into tissue paper, we're chasing down and killing the microbes that can save us. (And congratulating ourselves... all the way to the grave.)
On the cell phone, what I did not ask is whether they have any cell phones there that look like oxygen masks. I missed an opportunty. The probability of Mark's claim can be assessed by anyone who cares to call Loma Linda.