I’ve found myself thinking about a couple of 17th and 18th century political philosophers whose writings I read during college days: John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (“The Social Contract”).
I couldn’t fully appreciate them at the time, but I realize how important their philosophies are in this day and age. Their theories, which grew out of unhappiness with the monarchies that dominated in those days, underlay our constitution. Boiled down, these political pioneers argued that governments gain their legitimacy from the backing of the people. The philosophers also suggested a continual balancing act between individual rights and government power.
The ongoing discussion about my previous post is really about this essential balancing, and how it seems to have shifted toward ever growing government power. In a complex society like today’s, we definitely need regulators. But, as Steve Bemis suggests, the regulators are often cast in the position of making the judgments about the balance, and increasingly, they are reacting too much like the monarchs Locke and Rousseau so abhorred.
Something else that got me recollecting these two philosophers was, strangely enough, reading through the article on raw milk in the upcoming January issue of the journal, Clinical Infectious Diseases (“Unpasteurized Milk: A Continued Public Health Threat”). Now, this is the last place I’d expect to be prompted to think about political philosophy. But, in many respects, this article is more a political document than a scientific document, and it’s a document that is getting lots of press in established media (see the last item in the Boston Globe article I linked to). Its “science” is really a repetition of familiar FDA arguments about the dangers of raw milk.
But unlike the FDA, the paper’s writers acknowledge the raw milk community:
“Despite the overwhelming scientific understanding of pathogens in milk and the public health benefits of pasteurization, there is considerable disagreement between the medical community and raw-milk advocates concerning the alleged benefits of consumption of raw milk and the purported disadvantages of pasteurization.” The authors then repeat a number of lies—for example, “Raw milk advocates suggest that unpasteurized milk products are completely safe…” and “Scientific evidence to substantiate the assertions of the health benefits of unpasteurized milk is generally lacking.”
What interests me, though, is their conclusion about how to cope with “raw-milk advocates”: “When the public is presented with a large body of conflicting information, their decision-making process does not always yield the same results as that of experts. This problem is particularly complicated by the fact that individuals with established attitudes not only seek information that is supportive of their views but also unconsciously process information in a biased fashion. That results in a population that is not easily persuaded by informational messages alone.”
So, what do you do about knuckleheads who just don’t “get it”? “…message clarity, message repetition, and source credibility.” In other words, keep repeating your points, regardless of what “raw-milk advocates” say.
And if that doesn’t work? Resort to old-fashioned threats, even against your colleagues who may sympathize with the knuckleheads, as the article concludes: “…physicians, veterinarians and dairy farmers who promote, or even condone, the human consumption of unpasteurized milk and dairy products may be at risk for subsequent legal action.”
The notion of fundamental human rights being at stake and an informed group of people making informed choices (and accepting the slight possibility that they or their children could become ill), isn’t really important to these self-appointed dictators. Just keep hitting the idiots over the head with “the facts” and they’ll come around. Maybe the regulators, scientists, and doctors need some refresher history and government courses.
***
The Fresno Bee reports on official settlement of the criminal case against Mark McAfee and Organic Pastures Dairy Co. over interstate sales of raw milk, which I’ve reported on several times over the last few months.
Oh, I experienced a momentary lapse while reading this excellent post … I thought this quote, with a few minor modifications, described the FDA and reflexive anti-raw dairy folks perfectly! 🙂
Our tax and regulatory systems do nothing but grow. They are now so large, so thoroughly intermingled with our daily lives, that we barely blink at each new power grab. (The latest horrorthat of the US Treasury moving, through the purchase of preferred stock, to quite literally own big bankingis emblematic. This action would have been unthinkable just a few short months ago.)
We are no longer a republic of individuals, but a collectivist society serving big brother. To be fighting within this milieu for the freedom to purchase food of our own choosing seems almost quaint.
David, you say, In a complex society like todays, we definitely need regulators. I cannot agree with that.
It is not society that is complex. Society is people, face-to-facehuman and natural. And while society does require laws, modeled after the Golden Rule, there is never a reason to otherwise channel a natural mans behavior, as regulation seeks to do.
It is our systems that are complexsystems that have been created by government and government/business alliances. They beg for regulation to balance the tremendous powers they bestow. By making no distinction between natural men and artificial corporate or government entities, we make humans slaves to power holders. We cause natural men to be essentially owned by those who control the systems. That is how we landed in this place where we must now pay for the privilege of remaining on our own property; eat only from government-endorsed food troughs; pay for government-endorsed healthcare. On and on it goes.
We must, absolutely must, re-establish the doctrine of natural rights.
Under the auspices of the USDA over the last 70 years the nutritional value of our fruits, vegetables and grains have fallen well over 50% along wilth a diminishing number of small family farms. We also have aproved GMO frankenfoods, cloned animal meats in the food supply and thousands of poisons added to the processed foods. We now import 50% of our food! What kind of a success story is this?
The utter failure of regulators spills over into the monetary system as well. The SEC missed Mr. Madoff ponzi scheme even tho they were warned of it over the years! And where were the risk managers and investment approval committees at all the huge worldwide firms investing in this scheme? Who can we trust?
I trust my local farmers. I can see and touch their clean grass fed cows and consume the pure healthly foods they produce. It is more important now to have our individual freedom of choise than anytime in our history.
Society needs law and order, but the it is naive to think that only a coercive, aggressive entity like government can provide it.
seems to me the regulators really are shaking in their boots and pulling out all the stops. too bad for them we have truth and justice on our side. everyone, keep supporting your local farmer. we are making history. by the way, the solution to the regulators’ dilemma of "enforcing" laws they rail against is called "discretion." enforcement discretion.
A formal " FDA Citizens Petition" has been submitted by CREMA- The Voice of Raw Milk Consumers in CA and OPDC. We will put it at our website for public viewing later this week.
The Petition is eight pages long and askes the FDA to Amend interstate raw milk shipping CFR 1240.61 statutes to allow for movement and sales of raw milk between states and areas that allow raw milk to be legally sold at retail. Ron Paul authored a similiar "house bill" on this subject.
Physical location does not effect raw milk safety. If raw milk is safe in Fresno then a truck ride to Reno Nevada does not make it unsafe. We have tamper proof lids.
Our petition basically says: FDA…. "Tear Down that Wall" created by CFR 1240.61 and allow citizens to make their own informed choices in food.
The back up documentation and science researh is six inches thick. SB 201 and other CA legislative work prepared us well for this pettition.
Heres to a hopefull, healthy new year. The FDA is required to respond with in 180 days.
If they say ok to the petition then there is a period of public comment….that is when we all join in and make history.
Mark McAfee
I don’t expect the Obama/Vilsack USDA to deflect the momentum, nor the Democratic grass roots to help.
That observation made….
I heartily disagree with Dave MIlano’s assertion that we need no regulators. I don’t think we want melamine in food, and the lack of regulation of Wall Street greed and bubble-blowing is a disaster only now as yet in slow motion free fall. The problem is when corporations and financiers wrest control of government and use government to enslave the people, rather than to "insure domestic tranquility… promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty."
Anna Salvesen: My thoughts exactly.
…………
This is #9 of Bill Marler ‘s ‘Top 10 Food Safety Stories of 2008’:
"Westland/Hallmark recall due to downer cows This is on the list, in the last position, because many believed it was a food safety story, even though it technically wasnt. An undercover video made by the Humane Society revealed that Chino-based Westland/Hallmark were slaughtering and selling the meat from "downer cows" – animals too sick to walk to slaughter. This is an absolute no-no, as cow sickness could mean bad meat. Because of the video and the resulting bru-ha-ha, 143 million pounds of beef was recalled the largest meat recall in American history. <b>Why is this not really a food safety story? Because no contaminated meat or illnesses were documented.</b> But shining a spotlight on poor practice led to better practice, and that should lead to safer food."
So Marler thinks the downer cows at Hallmark are not a food safety issue because no illness was ever documented/traced to those downer cows. Has illness been traced to Mark Nolt or Barb & Steve Smith…..?
…………..
Gary Cox:
I don’t interpret the "paper" as the FDA "shaking in their boots". I see it as the FDA feeling their oats, swaggering and letting it be known that they feel invincible as a part of the steamroller of Agribusiness, stomping its foot on our necks, and letting anyone with a professional degree know that they are being watched and vulnerable. The implication is that every regulatory branch of government is now an enforcer for the corporate police state.
I am saying that private transactions between private citizens should not be regulated. It is the artificial entities that require regulating. Corporations, government programs, and other power-concentrators need and deserve regulation. Private individuals have an inherent right to be free from regulation. (Not from law, from regulation.)
Is that clear now?
Working in the system has its rewards they come in the form of poetic justice. When the truth exposes lies…it feels…. owe so good.
Gary…..I want to be able to tell Judge Wanger on January 9th that there is a FDA "citizens petition" pending with the FDA to "tear down that wall". CFR 1240.61 an arbitrary physical barrier, a political wall that was created to keep people from the freedom to eat foods of their choosing. A wall that makes food safety worse by creating an underground untested moooooshine market.
It is a point of pride for me…..to be guilty of violating a bad law is a good thing.
Didn’t MLK have something to say about that?
Mark McAfee
Selling meat for human consumption from downer stock is a food safety issue. We are what we eat. Mad cow disease doesn’t show up right away, If it weren’t an issue then I’d be allowed to give blood. I lived in Europe during the 70s-80s . I doubt that the exposure cleaned up the slaughter houses, they most likely just covered it up better.
http://www.redcross.org/services/biomed/0,1082,0_557_,00.html
"The implication is that every regulatory branch of government is now an enforcer for the corporate police state. "
This appears to be true. It is amazing that anyone would need to fight to consume something so basic as unprocessed foods.
I agree that underground mooooshine is especially dangerous (for example, listeria illnesses and deaths linked to illegal "bathtub" cheeses). And, a citizen’s petition seems a better process for those who want change than law breaking. Was just thinking…less than a week until the end of the first year with the 10 coliform limit in CA…it is interesting to note that there have been no outbreaks linked to licensed raw milk dairies in that state in 2008. The only documented raw milk related outbreak in CA this year involved campylobacter cases tied to an unlicensed herdshare program not operating under the testing standard…(and there was a PCR positive test in the leftover raw milk).
FYI – a couple entries after Bill Marler’s top 10 list, he posted something with comments on the criminal case settlement (interstate shipment).
http://www.marlerblog.com/
http://haphazardgourmet.blogspot.com/2008/12/and-winner-of-milk-slogan-contest-is.html
I apologize for misinterpreting what you meant re: regulators. I agree with you: individual transactions should be ours to engage in, unencumbered by government interference. It is corporations that require regulation. Don Wittlinger described why.
However, I do disagree with this:
" (The latest horrorthat of the US Treasury moving, through the purchase of preferred stock, to quite literally own big bankingis emblematic. This action would have been unthinkable just a few short months ago.)"
I interpret the giveaway of taxpayer funds to the banks, in the guise of buying preferred stock (which has no voice in operation of the bank, i.e. it is passive stock) as privatization of the U.S. Treasury, not socialism at all, because we, the people, have no say, whatsoever, thanks to the supine Congress that permitted the wording of the enabling legislation to leave dispersal of the funds unregulated, with no enforceable strings attached, whatsoever.
The fact is that our government is bankrupt, and transnational big banking financiers have us by the neck. That was made clear by the recent G20 meeting, whose statement, translated into plain English can be found here: http://solari.com/blog/?p=1823
When the bankers and corporations have their tentacles throughout our government I call it fascism, not socialism. Obama is not a socialist. He’s an opportunist. Notice how "change" has morphed into ‘continuity’ and ‘pragmatism’. He’s appointed three recently retired four-star military officers to serve in his cabinet: Generals James Jones and Erik Shinseki, and Admiral Dennis Blair. In addition, Robert Gates (former DCI) will be keeping on ~250 current DoD support staff. It’s well recognized that the CIA is a corporate entity, enabling colonial imperialism and resource extraction. The military has become the oil protection force.
As Henry Kissinger said: If you control the oil you control the country; if you control the food you control the population. It is not a socialist plan to control our food. It is corporatist.
The middle class has incredible, far-reaching influence. We control the economy. The Powers that Be are completely dependant on our buying habits. We don’t have to buy oil, and we can control where we buy our food. Don’s comments about the sheeple aside, I’ve seen amazing paradigm shifts in the last 5 years. Gary Cox and Mark McAfee are right – the truth will prevail.
We just need to realize our influence and power. And as David wrote, organize and use it.
The FDA is going down. They know it, and we know it. Let’s get on with it, and put regulators where they are appropriate, and let freedom ring for the rest of us. Money is power. Put your wallet to good use this year. Be a smart consumer, whether Obama endorses it or not.
Merry Christmas!
-Blair
I was given "Art of War" for Christmas by a consumer. It is so right that Espionage, Distraction, Deception and Lies are principles used to fight in WAR….
I see this used more and more used by the FDA in their final gasps of their miserable existance.
We must remind the public and the FDA over and over that the leading cause of death in the USA is pharma drug use and doctors screw ups.
Whole Food Nutrition and prevention is the only true sustainable solution to our crisis of illness in America. The FDA should left as a piece of old history created by 1900th century greed. Greed that kills.
Mark McAfee
I guess you would rather have (1) personal injury lawyers (who will bring the lawsuits based on legal "theories" and disputed facts) and (2) insurance companies (who will settle the lawsuits, cancel policies, raise premiums beyond the ability of a farmer to pay and therefore set economic and social policy before a jury of the farmer’s s’ peers ever hears 99% of the cases, with or without merit). Those are your alternatives.
As one of the regulators so regularly demonized on this blog, the heart of the raw milk debate from this side was succinctly articulated by the following exchange between Observer and Steve Bemis.
Observer said on 12/20:
"…….But, doubt that the officials are terribly "exasperated" over raw milk; despite the dynamic exchange on this blog, raw milk and local herdshare/co-op arrangements are a very small slice of the food safety frustration pie. However, your point highlights an interesting catch 22…in general, if an outbreak occurs from any food product (including everything from "big ag" to raw milk, custom slaughter meat, etc.), the public and media are quick to accuse the officials of failing to protect them. Headlines read…the investigation was too slow, the regulations are too weak or not enforced well enough, why wasn’t the public warned sooner, and on and on……"
Steve Bemis said on 12/21 :
"….Finally, when going down this path we also must realize the maxim – be careful what you wish for, since you might live to get it. With freedom comes responsibility, and some risk. I think most reading this blog are willing to trade the perceived small risks attendant to raw foods from which they as consumers are not "protected" by burdensome regulation. The reasons, of course, are the very real benefits, both real and perceived, in eating more wholesome foods of our own choice. This is a shared risk, both for the consumer and the producer. The elephant in the room, of course, is litigation. The pro’s and con’s of how risk is to be shared for the inevitable Bad Thing when it Happens will also need a full and frank discussion….."
Absolutely hit the nail on the head. There is nothing more to it than that. Selling raw fluid milk is legally the same as injecteding any other product into the stream of commerce, no matter how small or controlled one tries to make the "stream." We as a society are "legally" so far past the times when statements like "buyer beware" and "I am an educated consumer and assume all risk associated with this product" hold any legal water that to wish for those "simpler times" is not a constructive endeavor. One must deal with the reality of today’s legal world, not one that is long gone. Dairy products made with raw fluid milk, beyond those whose standards of identity are already encompassed by the current version of the Code of Federal Regulations (hard, semi-soft and soft ripened cheeses aged more than 60 days, etc.), must have some standard of identity associated with their production before the legal construct can be in place to sell these products in today’s world, bring the revenues to farmers and the foods to those who want them. RIghtly or wrongly, the 20th century ended with pasteurization of milk being an assumption of the entire mechanism in place for selling milk and dairy products in the United States, and whatever interfacing comes up from time to time between that mechanism and tort law. That won’t change as a result of short-sighted exceptions for some permutation of "limited sales," which tort law doesn’t recognize when a producer is sued, or the equivalent of moonshining. One of the most difficult questions to which I have not seen the answer is how will farm insurers react when their underwriting and claims departments learn/comprehend that unpasteurized dairy products sales are going on — denial of coverage, cancellation of the policy?
The "shared risk" noted by Mr. Bemis is at least four-part: (1) producer (individual monetary liabiility), (2) consumer (risk of illness and resultant financial and other losses), (3) government (e.g. costs of food-borne illness investigations, regulatory apparatus, court system to handle tort cases, cost of stopping spread of human illness, etc.) and (4) insurance companies (payment of claims). If you talk to the health care industry, they probably would say they are a fifth player since they have to treat any illnesses. This is the same equation that exists for the sale of absolutley all food products (or any product for that matter — we just don’t ingest all of them, they can cause harm in other ways).
Study after study shows that exposure to low levels of pathogens makes your body immune to pathogens. That is exactly what vaccinations attempt to do!!
Perhaps this is a more perfect world than you give it credit for….if you give it a chance.
Time after time it is found that farm families that consume campylobacter, salmonella and ecoli do not get sick from them.
So the question is this….why is everyone so afraid of pathogens??
The answer is..because we have eaten the brain washing junk from western medical doctors so long and so well….that we believe it all.
Secondly, we have become susseptible to illness from pathogens because of the antibiotics placed into our bodies and our immune systems no longer function very well and we are now weak.
So for those of us that choose strength…let me have my raw milk and the rare if ever pathogen. It will not hurt me. In fact it makes me stronger. Because I eat its cousins everyday….my body is ready. This is natural immuniy guys…give raw milk a chance and you will evolve to better health and that includes less fear and bacteria phobia.
Mark McAfee