A Husband Claims His Wife Was a Victim of “Betrayeal" By a Raw Dairy; Do Words Matter Any More?
Wednesday, May 27, 2009 at 04:44PM 
For some years, Stephanie and Blake Alexandre were socially friendly with Mari and Peter Tardiff in northern California’s Del Norte County. The couples attended charity and other such events together.
They were together at a party at the Tardiff’s home on Saturday evening June 7, 2008, Stephanie Alexandre recalls. Mari complained to Stephanie that she was feeling sick. Mari had only joined a cowshare run by Stephanie a week previously, and picked up her first milk the previous Sunday, June 1.
Stephanie says it was her first hint that raw milk from her Alexandre Family EcoDairy Farms may have been the cause of illness not only in Mari, but possibly as many as 15 other individuals who had picked it up the previous Sunday. (The Alexandre family is pictured above.)
As things turned out, Mari would become extremely ill, with campylobacter that evolved into a rare condition known as Guillain Barre Syndrome. It would leave her nearly completely paralyzed, and now, while she recovers, still dependent on 24-hour care.
The reason I tell this story is that Mari Tardiff’s attorney, Bill Marler, has posted a video about how Mari and her husband, Peter, are dealing with Mari’s illness. It is an extremely sad story. What I found especially upsetting about the six-minute or so video, though, was a statement at the end by Mari’s husband, Peter, suggesting that the Alexandres knew in advance about campylobacter problems at their dairy.
According to Peter, “They were saying how they go above and beyond and clean the dairy and how they meet all the standards, and all the while they knew they had a problem. It was preventable...If they had told Mari they had had six people coming down with all sorts of campylobacter, Mari would have known they had a problem. But they told her they had a clean product. That is where the betrayal comes in.”
I called Stephanie Alexandre because I wanted to know whether she knew of problems before Mari Tardiff and other cowshare owners became ill. She hadn’t seen the Marler posting when I spoke with her, but said she had no knowledge of illnesses in advance. “We would have stopped (distributing milk) if we knew we had a problem,” she told me. “As soon as we knew she (Mari) got sick, we stopped everything.”
Indeed, the dairy discontinued its herdshare, which had been running for three-and-a-half years and supplying 120 families, with the outbreak of illnesses that May and June.
What was going on here? Was the Tardiff family really accusing the Alexandre family of knowingly distributing bad milk? Not at all, according to Bill Marler. It’s all about “emotions,” he explained to me. “The victims are so overwhelmed emotionally that they say things. There is no evidence the Alexandres knowingly served milk contaminated with campylobacter.”
But he added, “In a legal sense, it makes no difference. If you sell a product that is contaminated, you are responsible for the outcome.”
So it’s just words, as far as Bill Marler, and I guess the legal system, are concerned. I have trouble with that. I have actually removed comments from myt blog suggesting that one or another raw dairy producer knowingly served tainted raw milk. Whatever the legalities, I want to see hard evidence before such a serious personal accusation is made. But with the lawyers in charge, such niceties seem to be irrelevant.
Bill Marler says he posts such videos about victims of food-borne illness so that "the people who produce the food know what happens when they screw up." It's all in the interests of cleaning things up, he's arguing. Of course, there's also the matter of a potential settlement of this case (though no court suit has been filed); he says he's provided the full 30-minute video to the lawyer representing the Alexandres.
We also know that out of such problems we get studies like the kind described in my previous post--apparently designed to make people more fearful of raw milk. What would make more sense is if public health officials tried to learn from such experiences. Why did Mari Tardiff, alone among those who became ill, become so violently ill? Was there anything in her medical history that might have made her more prone to the Guillain Barre Syndrome? If we knew that, we really could help other potential victims more effectively than simply preaching fear.
***
I have my differences with food-poisoning attorney Bill Marler, but let's give credit where it's due. He stood up today to his alma mater, Washington State University, when it canceled out food author Michael Pollan from a speaking engagement. Marler suspected politics was at work--based on Pollan's opposition to agribusiness expressed in his book, The Omnivore's Dilemma. Marler decided to test the university's claim that it was a budget decision by offering to pay Pollan's way, and the university today accepted. I'd say Pollan owes Marler a nice natural food dinner, especially since New York Times picked up the story.
Reader Comments (29)
My heart goes out to them as they work through this very tough issue....
....it will pass.
I stand behind them 100% and support them with everything we have. It is truly tragic when good people try their very best to help others and this kind of thing happens.
The cause of this tragedy is not the Alexanders...it is the weak immunity of Americans brought on by policies encouraged by Western Medicine and the FDA. Prior to 1972, Campy was not even considered a pathogen by the CDC or others. It was considered simple travelers diarrhea. This a true measure of how far down the immune depression slide Americans have fallen.
Best wishes to all concerned for continued recovery from this unusual incident. This incident could have happened to anyone anywhere.
We all must remember the Iowa Study that showed that those that drink raw milk regularly are immune to Campylobacter.
Mark
one of my practices (i'm way small dairy wise, i hand milk into a stainless milking bucket and filter right into mason jars, cap and into the fridge so the jars seal with a vaccumm) anyway, one of my practices is dryness. i rotate my milking to an area that has been dry for several days. the three large daries i am neighbors too are always wet. in fact i don't think their milking rooms are ever dry even for a few hours. of course their milk is headed to pasturization so it doesn't matter if it's contaminated.
i guess my question is where does campy grow? light, dark? wet, dry? inside pipes? on the floor/walls? in corners?
any clues or insights you or anyone might offer would be useful, thx
oh, as a p.s. i can add that i'm far from sterile. in fact i do nothing to try and be sterile. but please don't anyone confuse sterile with sanitary. i do try and keep everything milking related clean. the strongest "chemical" i use is apple-cider vinager.
Observer...one more thing.
From what I understand, the Raw Milk Campylobacter outbreak that sickened the RN in Northern CA last summer demonstrates this point perfectly. This nurse had just returned from Cancer treatment and chemotherapy. She was the one that got sick and even contracted a rare form of Campylobacter reaction called Guillain-Barre Syndrome.
She was immune rarified....she had literally nothing left to fight infection like a healthy person would.
She like many new raw milk consumers come to raw milk after illness in a Hale Mary Attempt at superior health. This does not work....prevention is gradual and takes time.....no quantum leaps allowed. Step by step the body repairs and health returns.
The others in the outbreak did much better but had stronger immune systems. Some were not affected at all.
Choose strength. Avoidance of beneficial bacteria in its biodiversity brings weakness.
Mark
December 30, 2008 | Mark McAfee
cp
"Campylobacter is a normal gut bacteria found mainly in birds, cattle and sheep. It is often found in raw chicken as a result of contamination during slaughtering. Campylobacter may be found in untreated water supplies, lakes, rivers, dams etc. and this may affect ducks, fresh water fish and shellfish. It is often found in raw chicken as a result of contamination during slaughtering. Unpasteurised milk is also frequently contaminated from faecal matter during milking.Cooked meats and poultry left at room temperature can rapidly grow Campylobacter."
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1208888
"These results are indicative of acquired immunity, however, further studies are needed to rule out the confounding effects of the variations in exposure pathways experienced by different age groups."
Hugh, it would appear if you keep your tools clean and the poop out of the things you eat, you will remain uncontaminated. Also, each time you do get the trots, you build some immunity.
http://www.foodhaccp.com/1news/101708q.html
"This woman, Mari Tardiff, of Crescent City, works at the county's Department of Public Health, and she drank raw milk for the first time three days before becoming sick."
"***Though she did not test positive for campylobacter***, subsequent testing of the product taken from her refrigerator discovered the bacteria's DNA in it. Another person in her household also became sick from drinking the milk. "
And did that person test positive??
Dr. Ron Schmid, author of the famous Untold Story of Milk, also sells a probiotic supplement.
http://www.drrons.com/docs-friendly-flora-liquid-probiotics.htm
Did you know that Natasha Campbell-McBride, Donna Gates and Ron Schmid are honorary board members for WAPF?
http://www.westonaprice.org/board.html
cp
Guillain Barre Syndrome is listed as a rare but potential side effect of some prescription medications. Would he, or others who view this video, also outlaw these prescriptions? Or would they argue in favor of the prescriptions, concluding that these decisions are made based on a cost/benefit analysis? And if so, why not argue the same for raw milk?
I find Marler's support of Michael Pollan interesting. Although I am a tremendous fan of Michael Pollan (I have him to thank for turning me on to real food with his NY Times articles many years ago) I am also frustrated that he ignores the raw milk movement in his writings. Would Marler have come to his rescue had Pollan had also written in support of raw milk?
Finally CP, I don't undersand your probiotic argument. I drink raw milk and take probiotics. There are many beneficial strains of probiotics which are not found in raw milk. I take soil-based probiotics. Also, raw milk contains many other non-probiotic substances which are beneficial. There is no cognitive dissonance in supporting or taking (or selling) both.
I don't think the Marler videos are intended to single out raw milk. He argues he does the same for victims of bad hamburger, spinach, etc. (see
http://www.marlerblog.com/articles/client-videos/ My sense is that the business purpose of these videos is to force larger and quicker settlements than might happen otherwise, by essentially "previewing" to defense lawyers the tear-jerker material they can expect to see in court, shown to a jury. All the previous being said, I do sense Marler has a special place in his heart against raw milk. And that Michael Pollan takes pains to avoid discussing raw milk.
David Gumpert
My information at that time came directly from people that now her well and told me what happened.
Mark
If the bottles of raw milk were labeled like prescriptions, with warnings about rare contaminations leading to even rarer life threatening conditions, would this protect dairies from lawsuits, or lead to smaller settlements? Of course then one could argue that any food ever connected to a food poisoning death or damage should be labeled. Pehaps then this becomes a cost/benefit analysis for the producer - the cost of lost sales from such a label vs the potential cost of a lawsuit.
There is some discussion about labels going on at the MB (including a pretty good comment from David Gumpert and an awful lot of OPDC product photos):
http://www.marlerblog.com/2009/05/articles/lawyer-oped/so-what-does-1598-per-gallon-and-some-warning-labels-buy-you-you-guessed-it-raw-milk-that-may-contain-pathogens-that-can-kill-you/
http://www.marlerblog.com/2009/05/articles/legal-cases/organic-pastures-raw-milk-warnings-real-or-imaginary-does-it-tell-you-that-it-might-contain-e-coli-listeria-or-campylobacter/
Mark - are you now suggesting that it was the Del Norte patient's friends that fabricated her medical history? I suppose the next edition of the "Untold" Story of Raw Milk by Schmid will include these fictional accounts of chemo when she was in reality a previously healthy, athletic person that ate organic, unprocessed foods until drinking a contaminated batch of raw milk. Is your logic in making this stuff up that the end justifies the means?
Do packages of hamburger, lunch meats, etc have warnings and the pathogens they "may" contain?
"Of course then one could argue that any food ever connected to a food poisoning death or damage should be labeled."
Elizabeth, if this were the case, wouldn't all foods be labeled?
cp, there's no need to wonder about you. i believe everyone here has your number.
the sad fact is that i doubt either of you two ever wonder...
we each have one journey through life, you can live it anyway you choose.
but, why squander it?
The notion that there was "a" 'contaminated batch' of milk doesn't jive.....from the report the campy cropped up over a 3 week period....more than one batch of milk must have been 'contaminated'...seems like more people should've gotten sick, if indeed this was such a ingrained, multi-batch, problem...heck they even counted an employee of the farm, and someone who didn't even drink any raw milk (guess they fessed to having a tummy ache).........(we won't even go into the 6 week old sample that they used to detect 'fragments' of campy dna.....) the idea that one person got sick from one batch and another got sick from another, means that many others who drank those batches didn't get sick....
You describe Mari Tardiff’s case as an “unusual incident”. It is estimated that 2.4 million people a year get campylobacter. The incidence rate of campylobacter turning into GBS is 1 in 1000. 40% of GBS is triggered by campylobacter. This pathogen, regardless of the source, can cause serious damage. Thank you Bill Marler for posting the video.
http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/dfbmd/disease_listing/campylobacter_gi.html
In comparison, the incidence rate per year for HUS is 1 in 1,345,534 (data from 2001). I believe you are familiar with this syndrome and the damage it can cause.
http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/h/hemolytic_uremic_syndrome/prevalence.htm
cp
Yes, there is a statement about pathogens in the context of cooking instructions to prevent foodborne illness.
"Lykke, as a pawn of tptb i wonder sometimes.... not often mind you, but sometimes i wonder..." -Hugh betcha
Oh, if you only knew...comments like that make me wish a pseudonym wasn't needed.
"Is it just me, or does anyone else feel 'dirty' when going to that other blog...." -milk farmer
Interestingly, I feel the same way when visiting the WAPF website. Yet, I visit it to learn since I'm interested in the topic. The amazing thing is that I agree with a certain percentage of things on that "dirty" WAPF site, and they do a hell of a lot better job of presenting information compared with government sites. But, then there is the horror looking at false statements (which seem to be mostly related to raw milk, hmm). Will anyone in the raw milk movement stand-up and correct the misinformation about this campylobacter/GBS patient and the fabricated medical history of being on chemotherapy/immunosuppression, or will it end up on the WAPF as a "fact?" It is one thing to critique government reports and surveys, but a whole other thing to make up a medical history on an individual in order to promote a political agenda. That is dirty.
I visited the Marler link above and I was appauled at the direct inferences that OPDC products contain pathogens. That OPDC products will kill you!
50,000 people per week and 400 stores in CA would not agree with Marlers comments.
There have been no deaths from raw milk in CA in the last 30 years that I can tell from the data and certainly no deaths from OPDC or Claravale raw milk ever.
Ask the CDFA...no sample of "raw milk" from Claravale or OPDC has ever tested positive for any pathigen...ever.
Slander...blatant lies. Bill... you are better than that. I agreed to keep the peace and not throw stones and I intend to do just that. Please keep your side of the bargain.
The posting of pictures of OPDC raw whole milk is improper given the context of the Campylobacteria issues from the Alexander Dairy. We are not related what so ever.
I will say no more....respectfully, I ask that you refrain from inflamatory attacks that are unwarranted, baseless and unfounded.
If you are trying to pick a fight...I will turn the other cheek. I am in this for the long term for childrens immune systems and for the health of families. Litigation and war is a distraction from my objectives.
I am focussed on one thing..."raw milk education".
Mark
"Campylobacter is almost always associated with fecal manure contamination of milk, and so it’s generally a one-time thing; it’s not like you have an outbreak of Campy that’s going on in your herd and it’s going to be there until you eradicate it from the cows. It’s more a background level thing; its very common in conventionally reared dairy cows – some surveys say 50% of cows are shedding it – some say 40% - there are a couple of studies that show huge differences between feedlot and pastured cows; some of the pastured herds found in Australia showed that they weren’t shedding at all…98% of the herds didn’t show any.
“So grass-feeding can make a difference in whether they’re shedding it or not, and anything that stresses the cow can make a difference… but whether they’re shedding it or not, as raw milk producers we should assume that they’re shedding it every day, and it’s our job to keep it out of the milk.."
So RMAC is requiring labels on all containers of milk and other dairy products leaving the farm, effective last month. No Skull and Crossbones - just "Unpasteurized (raw) milk" with the processing date. (I support truth in labeling, for all products, and any processing that alters the original food (irradiation, like pasteurization, adulterates the product. Both need labels.))
There is talk of requiring RMAC Certified dairies to save 30 days of milk samples, just in case, as well as daily SPC & Coliform tests, along with the 4 pathogen tests on all batches. ( All we need is money: http://www.rawmilkcolorado.org/membership.php )
I think one of the reasons there is such dissonance between small pasture-based raw dairies and the health department is the issue of semantics. (And focus, and knowledge) I am awestruck reading about soil science, and bovine/caprine digestive systems, and human nutrition. Mother Nature had a divine plan; build healthy bodies and and watch those ambitious children grow in leaps and bounds! The gov't plan is to keep Big Corporations growing in leaps and bounds - but that's where it stops.
Health OR Wealth? When did those words become mutually exclusive?
Who is responsible for risk? Who is responsible for my farmer's herd, their milk and my health? Ask Sheehan et al, they say they are (they will be as soon as NAIS is railroaded in.) . Ask a farmer or a raw milk consumer, and they'll say we all are.
All compensation aside, where does the U.S. Constitution draw the line?
-Blair
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Safe_Handling_Label_Text/index.asp
According to this web site, this label really doesn't tell me anything about the "potential" bacteria, types, illnesses caused etc. Cook thoroughly? That would be an individual perception of what is cooked.
This site only tells vaguely about "safe handling" labels. Not informative at all.
Where on the packages does it mention listeria? E-Coli? Campy?
http://brands.kraftfoods.com/oscarmayer/main.aspx?s=product&m=product/product_display&Site=1&Product=4470001234
Oscar meyer site doesn't make it easy to see any "warnings" on thier packages, they did list the ingredients. Amazing that it is allowed to feed this crap to unknowingly victims.
"Of course then one could argue that any food ever connected to a food poisoning death or damage should be labeled."
"Elizabeth, if this were the case, wouldn't all foods be labeled? "
I wasn't suggesting that raw milk be labeled, or any food for that matter. Just asking the question. Just wondering if it would offer some measure of protection against lawsuits.
I find it very interesting that GBS warnings can appear on prescription labels with no one questioning the value of said prescriptions, but raw milk gets implicated as a vehicle for a pathogen that then gives one person GBS, and the accusations start to fly. I don't think most raw milk drinkers would care what a label said.
Maybe some dairies might consider very frank but accurate warnings on their bottles as a way to head off this sort of thing. Something along the lines of "In the past 10 years, __ servings of raw milk in the US have resulted in __ suspected but not proven contaminations which may have caused up to __ cases of HUS in children and 1 case of GBS in an adult. There are __ incidents of HUS and __ incidents of GBS in the US every year which are not connected to raw milk."
I am not saying they should do this, just that it is something to consider.
I love the WAPF site, but I would vote to see something like the above on there, just to diffuse the arguments from the other side. I mean, he reality is that for the immune compromised, raw milk is both the best thing out there but also, in the rare instance it is contaminated, the worst (just like any other contaminated food). You can't have it both ways. You either live with the very very low risk of encountering a pathogen as you build immunity with raw milk, or live with the much greater long term risks that not drinking it will bring you.