Believe it or not, there’s a food issue lurking out there beyond food rights and food safety. Joel Salatin, the Virginia farmer-author-activist is worried that that next issue is animal rights.
He’s already seeing evidence of it at Polyface Farm, his own farm in the Shenandoah foothills. During a tour of his farm Saturday for 150 attendees as part of a fundraiser for the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, Salatin said he’s been reported to his local animal control officials by area residents who have had concerns about the treatment of his cattle.
In one case, someone reported him because one of his steers was limping. In another case, he was reported because his cattle were “mobbing”–hanging out close to each other as a herd in a new pasture.
In each instance, “We had to spend two days with local vets explaining what we do”…and he was off the hook.
His view of animal rights as an emerging issue for owners of sustainable farms rates a chapter in his upcoming book, Folks, This Ain’t Normal: A Farmer’s Advice for Happier Hens, Healthier People, and a Better World. It’s due out in early October.
During the Saturday farm tour, Salatin wondered aloud what other problems the animal rights people might find at his farm. He pointed out how, during recent heavy rains, the chickens (who stay outside in mobile structures) got pretty wet, which isn’t unusual. “We have days when our chickens are out here in the rain and cold and shivering. I know there are people who would like to go out and buy them L.L. Bean dog pillows.”
Joel Salatin explains the workings of Polyface Farm on Saturday, as FTCLDF attendees, and chickens, look on. Might the animal rights folks be better off focusing their attention more on CAFO’s and other factory farm practices? They already have, of course, but Salatin speaks to a more ideological tendency.
The problem is a theme of his book: “We live in extremely abnormal times…” And one expression: “In our communities, we have more and more animal rightists.”
Among other issues he previewed that come up in the new book:
* The outsized attention being given by government and corporations to food safety, and the disparate approaches between his farm and factory producers. Salatin says he shuts down his operation for two 21-day periods each year, to allow all pathogens to die off. Factory farm operations, of course, refuse to build in such shutdowns because of the loss of income inherent. “They use bleach and drugs and fumigants of various sorts, to try to break the natural cycle,” Salatin stated.
* The societal orientation toward removing all risk. “You can’t have freedom without risk,” he said. He discussed after the tour his challenges conforming with the new food safety standards of a huge food services company like Sysco. He’s wanted Sysco to include his food in cafeterias at the University of Virginia, where demand from students for locally-produced food is strong. But so-called safety standards continuously have become so onerous, he’s been unable to convince the company to examine his operation. For example, Sysco and others demand delivery by refrigerated truck. Salatin uses large coolers. He monitors food temperatures, and says he maintains constant refrigerated temperatures throughout deliveries, but the big corporations tend to be locked into one way of doing things.
* The growing influence of Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund. He said the organization has intervened three different times on his farm’s behalf to head off unwarranted regulatory interference. “Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund has clout,” he stated.
As a measure of the support for FTCLDF, the organization raised more than $150,000 from the Saturday farm tour and other fund-raising efforts. And membership has passed the 2,000 mark.
***
Wayne Craig, one of the Wisconsin farmers who lost his raw milk case, as I described in my post last week, told me Saturday, at the FTCLDF event, that the judge made a serious factual error. His farm uses its Grade A license to sell a significant portion, about 90 per cent, of its milk output to a processor. The judge indicated he was ruling against Craig in large measure because he exclusively distributes raw milk to herdshare members. The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund has filed a motion for reconsideration based on the discrepancy.
***
The enlightened discussion about food safety and illness going on here is in stark contrast to what generally occurs in the mass media. The mass media tend to apply fearmongering of the sort they use for child kidnappings–you never know when the boogeyman will get you. The latest example comes from a major article in the October issue of Good Housekeeping, “Why Your Food Isn’t Safe”. The feature includes a full page given over to 20 photos of children and adults who died from tainted food–hamburgers, peanut butter, pizza, oysters, spinach. So mysterious is the affliction that four of the 20 died from “unknown” food…though there’s no indication how the authorities can be so sure the deaths were even caused by tainted food. Somehow, raw dairy escapes even a mention in the article–don’t know how that happened.
What if things had gone different for you the first time you gave your children raw milk? What if they had become ill instead of becoming healthier? How would you feel if your child almost died from consuming raw milk? I am not your enemy. Im just sharing the other version of raw milk consumption. It is not a storybook ending for all that drink raw milk. If contaminated shit gets in the milk, it is not a pretty story.
So lets take Chris and the child that parents claim didnt drink raw milk during the timeframe of his/her illness out of the picture (new flashparents have the capacity to lie). That still leaves 4 children who all had the matching blueprint of E.coli 0157:H7, different from the spinach outbreak, and the only common food they consumed was a product from OPDC. One child developed HUS.
Violet, after everything my son endured, he should be struggling with all sorts of immune challenges. Most children post HUS do. The reality is that he is not. He is healthier than he has ever been. This is because we have invested in seeking the help of a naturopathic doctor. He started his health regimen the day he left the hospital. Raw milk is not the only way to build a healthy immune system. Other than a brief cold or a fever for a day, Chris has not been ill with anything serious since leaving the hospital on November 2nd, 2006. He is almost 13 years old and doesnt have a cavity either. Explain to me how this is possible without drinking raw milk.
Another tidbit of information you might find interesting. My son reacts to the peptide Casomorphin which is found in milk. It acts like an opiate on his brain. He is also highly sensitive to whey protein. We took all dairy out of his diet a year ago, and he began to flourish in school. Most of his focusing issues improved dramatically. He was no longer being drugged by dairy products.
I always suspected dairy products caused him issues. I tried raw milk and almost killed him. I went to professional doctors who specialize in the immune system and finally found the help my child needed.
The road to improved health does not need to include raw milk. My personal opinion, the risk is too great. I think Ive earned the right to that opinion.
(Violet, if you read this already under the last post, sorry that I reposted it here. I posted the comment and realized David has posted a new topic.)
Yes, your opinion, but how often do you need to express it? You take a far greater risk every time you and your son get into an automobile, but you feel the risk is worth it, and you enjoy its benefits without others constantly reminding you about accidents or deaths they have experienced due to driving automobiles. Others also feel the small risk due to drinking raw milk should not prevent them from enjoying its benefits, and hearing your story and opinion over and over again gets a bit old.
"You can't have freedom without risk,"
There is risk in everything.
This is precisely the problem. The members are not investing in the farm in order to sell milk into the public food supply, i.e. the processor (and receive a portion of the milk check, equity and dividends that come from that sale), which is the purpose of having a license, but rather they are investing in the farm solely to procure unprocessed milk from that farm (which is against the intent of the license and technically breach of contract with DATCP). Would Wayne Craig be willing to publish his farmshare agreement documents? My guess is that the ruling will stand.
Please stop trying to pick a fight with Mary Martin. She has as much right to voice herself on this venue as any of us here. If we are going to look at raw milk honestly, all voices and opinions need to be welcomed.
Mary,
I found this interesting:
"My son reacts to the peptide Casomorphin which is found in milk. It acts like an opiate on his brain."
As I understand it, this reaction occurs in everyone who consumes dairy products. If you have any more to share in this regard, I'd love to hear it. Thanks.
Another tidbit of information you might find interesting. My son reacts to the peptide Casomorphin which is found in milk. It acts like an opiate on his brain. He is also highly sensitive to whey protein.
When you say Chris is sensitive to whey protein do you mean he is allergic or intolerant to the protein? Might his sensitivity to whey protein be the reason he experiences the casomorphine opiate effect on his brain?
http://www.greatplainslaboratory.com/home/eng/peptide.asp
Most people that have food allergies to milk and wheat also have problems with peptides from milk and wheat interacting with their brain and causing an opiate-like effect.
You may also find these articles of interest.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casomorphin
Casomorphins are peptides, i.e., protein fragments, derived from the digestion of milk protein casein. The distinguishing characteristic of casomorphins is that they have an opioid effect.
http://www.healthtruthrevealed.com/articles/11164211404/article
There were several vaccines in use by that time. [12] The cassein (milk) allergy is due to the cassein and aluminum adjuvant in the Hepatitis B shot which is often given before the infant leaves the hospital but before 2 months of age.[13] [14] Since all babies are fed milk in some form immediately, this is the first allergy to be recognized.
http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/Vaccines/QuestionsaboutVaccines/ucm143521.htm
In vaccines, cow milk is a source of amino acids, and sugars such as galactose.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14608064
Our findings suggest that mu-opioid neuropeptides, as well as beta-casomorphins after absorption, modulate intestinal mucus discharge. Milk opioid-derived peptides may thus be involved in defense against noxious agents and could have dietary and health applications.
As to whether or not casomorphins have potentially deleterious health effects is a subject of considerable debate since a lot of research is conflicting. That being said the casomorphin effect on certain individuals such as Chris is real issue. Have you checked to see if he is sensitive to the gluten in wheat since it is also known to have the same opiate-like effect on the brain.
You state that you always suspected dairy products caused him issues, might it be possible that Chriss gastrointestinal distress could have been initiated by his sensitivity to the milks ingredients thus allowing an opportunistic organism such as ecoli to take advantage of the situation?
Violet
You mention vectors prompts me to repeat myself.
http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1603/033.046.0526
All fly species were found to carry an array of different pathogenic bacterial and fungal species. Among these were human pathogens such as Campylobacter jejuni and Escherichia coli-strains (EHEC, EPEC, and ETEC) and the fungi Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis. The germs could be detected in the intestines as well as on the exoskeletons of the flies. The current study confirms and supplements the general knowledge about pathogens that may be transmitted to domestic animals and humans by synanthropic flies.
We all have to consume food, however when faced with hunger we will eat what ever we can get, and be thankful for it.
That article on the Cambodian boy who suckles from the cow is excellent. lol
Ken Conrad
Please stop trying to pick a fight with Mary Martin. She has as much right to voice herself on this venue as any of us here. If we are going to look at raw milk honestly, all voices and opinions need to be welcomed."
Strange comment Lola. She has a right to "voice herself" but I do not?? I don't see the purpose of her telling her story and opinion over and over again, and that is my opinion. We all take risks on a daily basis in our highly technical and dependent society, and living in fear of those dangers and trying to persuade others to live in fear of them also is not what most of us spend our time doing. Awareness of the risks is fine, and she has done that. But if you find something productive in what she writes, fine.
Mary
We all do things that we feel are for the benefit of our children. We all make choices that don't always come out for the best and yes, some have devastating affects. When my son was 14, he was at a friends, playing a board game at the kitchen table. He was leaning on the back 2 legs when the chair went over. He, at the time didn't think about it, put the chair up right and continued playing. That night, he came into my room complaining of pain in his rib area under his arm. I could feel no crepitus and took him to the ED, no fractures, no bruising noted- given motrin and sent home. Long story short- within 6 days he developed pneumonia with uncontrollable fevers over 105, bled into the pleura, lost 2 Liters of blood and had fluid build up inside the heart. They opened his chest, peeled the blood clots off his lung, stopped the bleeding, reinflated the lung that was crackling…..I know about chest tubes, cardiac monitors and renal function,etc from a mothers view also. He almost died, the thoracic surgeon had said had he been older or younger and not in good health he would not have made it.
During his recovery, I was told to give him ensure to boost his nutrition. We did as instructed. My son gained 50 lbs within 2 months of that ordeal and continues to have weight issues. No one on either side of our families has weight issues. My side are all tall and string bean skinny-we eat anything and everything and never gain, my husbands side has no weight problems. I can only assume that the ensure caused the weight problems. During his recovery we all ate the same foods except he had the addition of the ensure and no one else gained weight.
I feel awful that by giving him the ensure I may have contributed to his weight problem, my dad had said to me, that it may have saved his life, who knows? You take a chance and hope you made the right choice.
You didn't know your son was sensitive to milk or whey. Could that have contributed to his susceptibility to the bacteria and/or HUS? Probably will never know for sure. There are milk/whey products in most processed foods. The TPN may have had some milk base in it also. Hospitals use processed foods, so his time there was made worse in so many ways.
"Yes, your opinion, but how often do you need to express it?"
The same could be asked to you, or me, or any of us here. Mary was here long before you were, and rarely comments. You have made unpopular comments, so have I. Is that reason to silence us, because someone doesn't "like" it? Let Mary have her voice, as she lets you have yours, and if you don't like her posts, make intelligent critiques or skip them.
If we want to find Truth, we have to look at all sides of an issue, not just the ones we agree with.
What I was trying to do in my original comments was to expand the discussion to the risk – benefit issue that everyone of us deals with every day. Mary chose to not answer my questions (like some others commenting here).
I don't think the raw milk movement is hurt by true stories from those who really get sick from it. So I have no desire to censor anyone. I just think the bigger issue is that we engage in much riskier behavior every day, and yet we consider the risk worth the benefits and don't live in constant fear of them.
Your post definitely rang some bells for my own personal experience. I am also overweight and I have difficulty controlling it. The same is true with other members of my family. However, if you looked closely, my great-grandmother was in picture-perfect health all the way into her 90s. No diseases of aging of any kind. The subsequent generations after that became overweight and had health problems. No one in their right mind could ever call this genetic. The fact is that ALL of us are designed to withstand starvation, as it was very common until recent times.
My own weight problems prompted me to research everything I could get my hands on as to why I had a problem with my weight. The "genetic" component did not make logical sense to me, and it doesn't for anyone. Please realize that I'm talking about my own family here, I realize you describe your family as thin.
After you wrote that you gave your son ensure, I googled it quickly to see what the ingredients were on it. The 4th or 5th item on the list is corn syrup, and that's right after sugar. The fact is that doctors do NOT receive nutritional training in their education, and they often downplay the importance of what one puts in their bodies. They do NOT realize that food is medicine or poison, depending on what you consume. They also don't think about antibotics as also contributing to our obesity epidemic. Antibotics change the flora in your GI tract or the worse. The overgrowth of Candida Albicans contributes to fat by poisoning the body via leaky gut. These individuals have difficult getting their weight off. I am one of those people, and if your son received antibotics at the hospital, he could be also. I'm a huge fan of Byron Richards, I read and listen to everything he says/writes, as he explains and helps people with difficult weight issues (using only natural remedies). I really recommend visiting his website: http://www.wellnessresources.com or reading his book.
I know I've been kind of ignored on the blog so far, but I hope that you take my words into consideration. Like I said before, I'm not a farmer nor nutritionist. I'm one of those average people who listened to the idea that food is medicine (Mark is totally right on this point –teach teach teach) and I very much care about this topic.
What if, what if, what if… a parallel universe similar to "if only". Living your life by what if and if only is totally pointless… it's 100% fear- and/or regret-based. Both are parallel universes to REAL life as it actually happens.
Mary, you are consumed with what if's and if only's. If only Chris hadn't consumed that milk he wouldn't have become ill…
What if I'd been born from different parents? I wouldn't have nearly died of Blue Baby Syndrome in Alaska where I needed three blood transfusions to reverse the antibodies against my father's blood type that my mother built up after three pregnancies. Alaska wasn't even a state then, so forget excellent health facilities. The only reason I'm alive today is because there just happened to be a young doctor in Mt. Edgecumbe who learned of a new technique for blue babies, though he never tried it himself. Fortunately, he succeeded; unfortunately, I've had hearing loss, ADHD and learning difficulties ever since.
And if only at 15, I hadn't gone in the car with my 17 yo brother who crashed into a tree! My neck wouldn't have been fractured and I wouldn't have had to wear a metal neck brace 24/7 for three months, followed by fusion surgery when the fracture didn't heal, then traction in a stryker bed for two weeks being flipped every 4 hours, followed by another five months of the hated metal neck brace worn 24/7, plus two long scars on my hip and neck…. and all this during school year in a large high school where the other students shunned me anyway as not quite normal because of my hearing loss and learning difficulties.
Oh, and by the way, one vertebrae lower and I would have been paralyzed from the neck down at only 16…. I wouldn't be writing here now, that's for sure. Worse, my neck is getting arthritis now and projected to deteriorate in the future.
Sure, I could still be bitter towards my brother for driving 65 on a dirt road, bitter towards my parents for not getting a blood test before marriage, or at least for moving to Alaska where dire lack of sunshine during her pregnancy sure did not help prevent my ADHD. But what's the point?? Shit happens, you live with it while it happens, and then you move on, and you let it go.
Nobody is making light of your problems, Mary, but they're in the past… five years in the past, even. Move on. The world is filled with pointless tragedies just as bad–even worse–than yours and mine. Reliving them with If Only and What If scenarios only fills us with fear, regret and anger.
Worse, infecting Chris with your fear, regret and anger cannot be mentally healthy for him either. I'm speaking as one who knows.
This blog is heavy on discussing the risk-benefit issue (and too light on the legal realities, in my opinion). I'd suggest you go back into previous articles and read the comments, especially when Bill A. was still commenting. You may find some worthwhile reading.
Ensure is terrible, terrible stuff. When my mother was undergoing chemo-rad for lymphoma, her doctors told her to buy Ensure to "ensure" she was getting sufficient nutrition during those days when she wasn't able to eat. I read the label to my mother and we were both dismayed. The first two ingredients after water is SUGAR… and sugar feeds cancer.
WTH??? Why would a cancer doc suggest feeding sugar to cancer patients? I told her even consuming only pasteurized milk would be better than drinking only Ensure.
Fortunately, she took the case-o-crap back to the store, and continued drinking my raw goat milk–her own decision and without any prompting from me. She's been free of lymphoma for five years now and will be 86 in two weeks. She credits goat milk with helping her survive chemo-radiation.
"…my dad had said to me, that it may have saved his life, who knows? You take a chance and hope you made the right choice."
That's all anyone can do… nothing in life is risk-free. Not even following your doctor's orders.
Has anyone really stated this on this blog? If so, I missed it. As stated numerous times, there is risk in everything. Research and make the best informed choice you can.
Thanx Bluedog, I'll look up the web site. I do believe what we eat affects our bodies. I doubt my son's weight is from genetics, it would be a rare fluke. I would never feed ensure to a family member now. And I now read all ingredients.
Goatmaid-I'm glad your mom is doing well. my mom loved goat milk.
I believe that I more or less stated that milk is inherently safe. On the other hand and due to the fact that we are victims of circumstance coupled with the fact that milk could have hazardous substances in it, milk (raw or pasteurized) could be considered inherently dangerous.
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/inherently-safe.html
Inherently safe is defined above as a condition of minimum hazard in normal or reasonably foreseeable use of a product, device, or process. Inherently safe does not mean that accidents cannot happen in any circumstance.
Based on the above definition I would describe milk as inherently safe.
Milk does not harm people, however if there are antibiotics, synthetic hormones, chemicals and pesticides in the milk then those products can harm someone.
Bacteria even those that are considered pathogens if present in milk, will for the most part not cause harm unless someone is susceptible or subject to aggravating circumstances.
Ken Conrad
The same old questions lead the introduction to raw milk….year after year the same question leads the conversation.
#1…What is raw milk?
Then….
…yum…that tastes really good…can I have some more? Where can I get this for my kids? Or…the kids just came back over and over wanting more and more.
Then came the discussions and the teaching teaching teaching. I lost most of my voice.
Germany was well represented at the chocolate festival…one of the families ( traveling on vacation from Germany with gorgeous kids, perfect teeth and wow…great looking hard bodies ) greeted the OPDC booth by saying in broken english "the Choir has arrived…we love raw milk".
Education and outreach rocks!!!! I did not see a booth for pasteurized milk and I did not see a booth with any anti-raw milk speakers. I did not see a booth with the FDA or John Sheehan and any Russian Roullette Food Games…The field of battle for teaching is wide open for the taking…and tasting. Action will change America…teaching is action.
Victoria is setting up a super charged Raw Milk Educational Presentation evening in LA on October 5th. This event will rally the troops for the rally just before the hearings on October 6th at the court house. More to come.
Mark
Could you please answer the question I asked on the previous post?
1. Who's paying for the raw milk research you're proposing?
2. How do you propose to counter the bias inherent in research paid for by the industry that's counting on the results of that research?
Thanks.
September 12, 2006
The previous day had been very hectic and emotionally stressful. It took time to digest the diagnosis of HUS. To make matters worse, some of the doctors told us the antibiotic Chris was given could have triggered his HUS. Angry does not even begin to describe how we were feeling about this news. Keep in mind, once your child is in the hospital this ill, as a parent you are at the mercy of whoever is caring for your child. Parents are not making the decisions.
The pediatric nephrologist met with us in the morning. She was very kind and gentle as she delivered the bad news. I remember distinctly the look of pain in her eyes as she spoke to us. There wasnt anything they could do but provide supportive care. She told us that Chris would get worse before he would get better. When I heard this I couldnt even comprehend what worse could possibly be.
She began the explanation with their inability to confirm the bacteria that made Chris ill, but they believed he had Shigella which had developed into HUS. They did isolate the Shiga toxin. (Note: the Shiga toxin is what does the damage with HUS whether you initially had Shigella or a Shiga producing E.coli. infection.) She went on to say they had never treated a case of Shigella that had developed into HUS, so they werent sure if it would follow the typical events of HUS that was usually caused by and E.coli infection. At this point, all of this was a foreign languageShigella vs E.coli which can both become HUS. (Note: if you are ever in this situation, a laptop is a must so that you can do research on the topic after a doctor tells you the facts.) She then went on to tell us that Chris would need to meet certain benchmark levels of BUN (100) and Creatinine (4-or 5) to receive kidney dialysis. At the time, we didnt know what those figures meant, so I will translatehe will need to be in renal failure to receive kidney dialysis. He wasnt there yet, so we would need to continue to watch and wait. This is when we found out they did not have the capacity to do dialysis at this hospital and that he would need to be moved to Childrens Hospital of LA across the street.
So let me sum this up for you. Chris had been given an antibiotic he maybe he shouldnt have been given, we were sent to a hospital (3rd one in 6 days) that cant give him the treatment it looks like he will need and he has been diagnosed with an illness that they have never treated before. (Note: the diagnosis of Shigella meant that the antibiotic he was given was the correct treatment. Antibiotics are used to treat Shigella, not E.coli 0157:7). The final bit of information was that Chris could die. Our world was spinning out of control.
It was a very long, anxious day of watching urine and waiting for lab results. With each passing hour, we had less and less confidence that Chris medical needs could be met at this hospital. We were in a PICU, but there were no nurses to be seen. There was always some crisis with new patients who entered. When we needed supplies (diapers, wipes, & pink sponge for his mouth) we had to go to others floors and get it ourselves. Nurses were supposed to be checking his urine output every hour, but they werent. Chris had x-rays taken of his lungs, but there was no one who could take it to the lab. A family member brought us a binder with paper. We started keeping track of everything ourselves. We were beginning not to trust the people in charge.
Chris received his first blood transfusion. His hemoglobin had dropped too low. He was still urinating, but the levels were consistently going lower. His body was beginning to swell and he was given oxygen to assist with breathing. Remember, he had an I.V. and was being pumped full of fluids, but the fluids were not leaving his body in the rate they were entering. The fluids had to go somewhere. (Note: Lauren Herzog began kidney dialysis on this day. The outcome for Chris would have been different if he had been given the same opportunity).
The room we slept in the previous night was not available, so we had to rent a hotel room. Tony stayed with Chris. It was horrible to feel so far away from Chris. I had to get sleep or I wouldnt be any use to anyone. My dear friend Janice stayed with me. She is a nurse. I remember calmly asking her if she thought Chris was slowly dying. She said yes. I took a sleeping pill to turn off my brain.
More on Byron Richard's book, "Mastering Leptin." Apparently, a hormone excreted by fat cells called Leptin was discovered in 1994. It was found to have profound effects on body weight, naturally the pharmaceuitcal companies researched and researched it, eager to find some kind of a drug to manipulate leptin. It would have been a block-buster drug if they were ever able to invent such a pill. However, they were never able to manipulate it the way they wanted. Richards read through all of their reasearch on leptin, and wrote about it in his book, in layman's terms for the average person to understand it. He also writes about practical applications on how to manage it. It's truly amazing on how leptin effects all hormones in the body, including thyroid hormone. It also talks about all the diseases of aging that are so common in western socieites.
Fund raising is a planned strategy. At the base are the consumers that want safe raw milk . When the website goes live the rest of the activism strategy will be fully explained
It is my hope that research funding will flow from the NIH in the not to far off future.
I really want to get those tax dollars going to work for you and I and our farmers and consumers….. Let me dream. This is possible.
As for being sensitive to whey protein, we had an IgG test done on him from Great Plains. It is a 4 scale ranked test: Clinically insignificant, low, moderate and high. Chris was low for casein (2.43), but high for whey; the high score being any number above 5. He was 6.17. His highest score was for flax13.80. He scored low for wheat gluten (2.65), wheat (3.31) and oats 2.81), but scored normal for the gliadorphin peptide found in gluten.
The doctor never told us there was a connection between the whey sensitivity and the casomorphin peptide and I never asked. Since this peptide comes from casein, I just always assumed it had to result from a sensitivity to casein.
The doctor said to focus on removing all foods that had a moderate to high reaction. He scored high for flax, almonds, hazelnut and walnuts. I cut back on gluten products. Anything he eats is sprouted and he uses a digestive enzyme.
Those of you in Wisconsin, please take the time to REALLY UNDERSTAND the judge's ruling as lola granola has dissected and explained it. Remove any personal feelings you may have, feeling she's "for" or "against" raw milk. Read what she has written on its merit when it comes to the law as its written. I think she's spot on…
Kind regards,
Violet
http://www.kilbyridgefarmmaine.blogspot.com
When you take the King's shilling, you become the King's man. And regardless of how we peasants feel about it, when the King takes our money, it becomes his.
I think keeping property from being stolen in the first place is better than trying to reclaim it once the barn door has been opened, but your mileage may vary.
Have you considered making farming education available to the public? Not from the perspective of becoming farmers per se, but so that the general public understands what happens on the farm. I find it rather interesting that Joel Salatin had animal rights complaints. Without knowing a whole lot about his situation, I sort of suspect that these "animal rights activists" don't know anything about farming, and probably are still under the impression that chickens are born with the Styrofoam packaging on its backside. I very much wish that I was taught about farming as a youngster.
I also think farming education would be useful for when the government wants to sell "safety" regulations. If the public understands how farms work, they won't buy any bs regulations from their local or federal governments.
I also believe that a person's gut and history of health plays a part in how their body reacts to real, healthful food. Vaccines play a huge factor and what the person eats and drinks also do. Detox may happen as a result of eating REAL food!
I hate hearing about people putting doctors on pedestals and trusting their "nutritional" advice. Most conventional doctors have NO education about nutrition and it's effects on the body. A doctor telling a patient to go out and buy Ensure is IRRESPONSIBLE! PERIOD! This affirms that each person needs to do their own homework and be responsible themselves for their health. The raw milk you consume you need to check out the farm and ask questions yourself and make your decision. I asked a farmer selling another farmer's turkey and pork what the animals are fed. He said sadly "conventional grain". I thanked him for being honest and telling me but I told him I could not buy that meat. Then he said it was a matter of cost for the farmer. Well, I choose health and my health is worth the $$$!
A friend at work had a growth in his stomach, had surgery to remove it. After a period of time, the doctor told him "go ahead and eat whatever you want". How IRRESPONSIBLE of ANY doctor to say that!!! SHAMEFUL!!!! I am sure there are countless more stories like that!
A google search of Ensure ingredients: http://www.naturalnews.com/002698.html
We must also be students of reading ingredient labels. For the most part, I don't buy anything with ingredient labels but I do know what is not good!
Responsibility.
Mother Cow the Nourisher
Makes me want to run out and love mine now. 🙂
What the study does is compare small shitty PMO dairies with large shitty PMO dairies. All under the PMO ( FDA standards under the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance ) and all with huge allowances for pathogens ( under the PMO they are never tested for pathogens so who cares ) and very high bacteia counts.
This study did not dare compare a raw milk dairy with Clean Human Consumption standards to a dairy under the PMO.
So the study means literally nothing. Why….because why should a little dairy produce super clean raw milk if that raw milk is going to be dumped into a tank with other dairies dirty raw milk and eventually be pasteurized. The smaller dairy will not be paid any differently. In fact, from a purely economic stand point, the production of super clean raw milk under the PMO is a complete waste of money, time and effort.
What a dumb study…some kind of ill concieved PMO dairy ego trip that proves nothing. The real study is a study comparing clean raw milk produced under RAWMI Standards verses the PMO standards…now that is a politically incorrect study that will never get funded by a state agency for Big Ag.
http://www.newser.com/article/d9pi7k3o0/at-time-when-small-farms-are-popular-wisconsin-study-finds-milk-from-big-dairies-is-cleaner.html
The study says something about a dispelling the common belief that smaller dairies produce cleaner milk. I think that the study researchers missed the critical point.
It was a small dairy that produced raw milk for Human Consumption that consumers were talking about….. Not the average counts from 100 small dairies that sold to the PMO Creamery.
Big ugly difference. Studies can show anything especially if you measure the wrong things to make your point. God I hate corrupt studies.
Yes, raw milk is a food and should be discussed on an appropriate thread, but this article is more about animals rights activists playing a larger role in our food supply.
How did we get onto the subject of raw milk exclusively? I'd like to discuss or read discussions on something besides raw milk for a change.
By morning it is quite evident that Chris would need kidney dialysis. We didnt understand why we needed to meet these benchmarks before dialysis could begin. It didnt make any sense. Tony and I began asking everyone questions about this policy, including the social worker. They all gave us the same answer, we had to wait. It was so terribly frustrating. It felt to us like Chris was slowly dying and no one seemed to see what appeared obvious to us. As the day progressed, Chris urine output continued to decline and his breathing became more labored. Chris began to ask for oxygen more often. More x-rays were taken. Im not sure why. We could all see that fluid was building up in his body. His hands and testicles were beginning to swell and he had difficulty breathing. We didnt need an x-ray to tell us that.
The attending physician continued to be a challenge to deal with. I have no idea how he made it in his career to this position of power, but power he had and we were in trouble. It was obvious that he did not care for our assertive ways and it was beneath him to deal with this type of parent. I cant remember what triggered a very heated discussion between Tony and this jackass, but he had the audacity to talk about Chris dying in front of Chris. I remember becoming very stern with the doctor telling him that my childs ears were not damaged and that he needed to take this conversation out into the hallway.
Needless to say, it was another very long day with our anxiety turning into fearChris may die in this hospital. We were tired and scared and our back-up help, the friends in charge of us, had now been at this for two days. They were beginning to doubt their ability to handle us. LOL
The nurses were MIA again so I demanded that the head nurse assist us with Chris needs. She came in quite irritated but quickly changed her attitude after interacting with Chris. She started talking sweetly to him and asking him questions. She then changed her voice to an inquisitive tone and asked me how old he was and I told her 7. She stated in a puzzled but admiring tone, He is in complete control! Hes handling this better than many adults she has cared for. I told her that is part of the problem. He has behaved this way since entering the hospital. It is misleading. He is seriously ill. Just because he is behaving well shouldnt penalize us from nursing care. We still need help. She empathized with our frustrations. We made a friend.
The day continued in the typical fashion of visitors rotating into his room. My sister-in-law asked him if he had any dreams. He then proceeded to tell her about the dream he had last night. In this dream, he was swimming underwater with all these fish. The cool thing was that he could breathe underwater. He said it was a lot of fun. In a few days, this dream will have great significance.
Day turned into night and it was Tonys turn to sleep. He refused to go the hotel so I asked around the hospital and found this closet with a bench type bed. Someone gave us permission for Tony to sleep there. It was wonderful. He actually was able to sleep a full 8 or 10 hours. The timing couldnt have been more perfect. He would need a very clear head for what we were up against tomorrow.
Janice and I stayed with Chris. Janice tried to sleep on two chairs pushed together with pillows and I curled up on the end of Chris bed. We slept off and on, continuing to check his urine bag. Somewhere in the middle of the night, labs returned and he finally met the benchmarks to receive dialysis. We would have to wait until morning for the move across the street. I felt hopeful.
Thanks for a great write-up so quickly after the event…I was glad to be able to meet you and chat briefly.
I think a key take-away for me from this event is that we ALL need to stand together for our right to choose our own food. As you noted, FTCLDF may not be perfect, but they have had a number of great successes over the past year (not just for Joel), and TPTB are taking notice…also, as Joel noted in his speech during lunch, we are in a very similar stage as the home-schooling folks were some years ago, and that we are just starting to gain traction.
$150K and 2000 members is a good start, but it needs to be a lot more for FTCLDF to be well supported and able to truly be the 'NRA for food'…they need our help more than ever, and abandoning them based on some recent disappointments would be a real tragedy.
Kevin
D. Smith: It's hardly surprising, as the focus of this site has always been raw milk. However, I did just read something very relevant to food rights and the threat to it posed by the animal rights movement, particularly as it pertains to backyard/urban slaughtering:
http://huntgatherlove.com/content/produce-delusion-part-2-plant-fetishists
We have had to deal with very well intended people, visitors, and neighbors who simply did not understand the essential nature of farming-specifically humane animal husbandry. Farming is not some Disney World Fantasyland. (Picture the prey animals dancing in joy and delight around the Lion King—prior to being eviscerated….)… So we do our best to educate and explain…. For example I no longer use words like "slaughter," or "cull." But rather say things like…"We'll be sending this fellow to freezer camp." Anyway-the people we deal with, in general, simply don't understand but truly want to know where their food comes from. Education is vital there is too much concrete between our feet and the life giving soil……
Mark and Tim: The Link is to an article about "The Study" do you have a link to the actual study itself???? I can't find it.
Thanks,
The point is that, whether they are a 'good' or 'bad' organization, the NRA does have significant regulatory and legal influence on the government (I don't think GOA and JPFO have the same clout), which is the point of the comparison…while I'm sure that a lot of us would prefer to see the government size/power reduced as prescribed in the Constitution, just the mere existence of an organization like the NRA (which has the benefit of an explicit amendment on it's side) demonstrates the need for a similar organization on the food rights side.
Kevin
It's one thing when it's just those kooky hippies on the Left Coast. But when increasing numbers of people are learning that the state is not their friend, the level of cooperation breaks down. Every day, fewer peaceful and honest people are willing to serve as snitches and enforcers. Like Mark quotes Dr. Price, "Teach." By example is the best way. And at the individual level is to me the most effective, and the most lasting. One large opponent moves slow and makes a great target. But when a thousand flowers bloom, no amount of intimidation, propaganda or firepower can stamp out all of them.
Which is exactly why the homogenizing, centralized-system approach to food and seemingly all else these days, needs to change. To the degree that we have allowed business and government to provide for us, we have become ignorant of our natural selves, and how we can best live on this earth and with each other.
Diversity, not homogeneity, is the key to health and happiness. The pattern applies in all things: social, biological, and economic. The world will never be free of dangers, but we can overwhelm and control dangers by promoting diversity, just like a diverse microbiome in the gut, or in the soil, or in the air, controls pathogens.
http://www.ted.com/talks/jessica_green_are_we_filtering_the_wrong_microbes.html
When Scott sent me the link to the study information, he also sent me a PDF file of the actual study, but it was not online. Sorry about that…I do not have a link to the actual study. I did read it.
Great News on the CA Cow Share front!!
Dr. Stephen Beam called Yannick Phillips ( the designated Cow Share Working Group representative ) and discussed the plans for the Cow Share Working Group. Details are being developed and it is too early to share specifics but….when Dr. Beam calls, that means that the Secretary of Ag for CDFA has sent this action item to his plate and action is being taken. This is fantastic news. It appears that the first meetings of this Working Group will take place in October. Prior to meeting with formal larger Working Group, representatives from the CA Cow Shares and their affiliated support group will have developed a meaningful and appropriate definition of what we think an Animal Share Program is and should be for CA. This will be submitted as a recommendation to the larger group. I am sure that there will be lots of very interesting discussion.
This is great progress.
Mark
I have noticed that a very interesting Raw Milk Activism Synergism Syndrome occurs when ever I leave this forum of debators, negators, non-persons, common people, consumers, advocates, spies and producers to go teach a group of people about raw milk…something very magical happens.
Last night I was invited to speak and present to 250 Tea Party Activists in Placerville CA. Now….I am not a Tea Party kind of guy at all, but….I do share the spirit of protest about corrupt FOOD INC corporations and their covorting with agencies of our government.
What I find is this.
When I go speak and then return to this forum I realize that the world has changed just a little. It is not the same…change has happened. Progress has been made, opportunities have been opened. The debate is not the same and the mountain has been moved ever so slightly.
Teaching incessantly teaching…multiple times per week all over the state opens more doors every time I speak…it is synergistic and logarithmic. People want to know….people are pissed off. People dollar vote. Teaching begets more opportunities to teach.
This change is not happening or being reflected among this forum. These forum voices are but a place of reference for the educational battle progress that is really happening out in the real world in CA. Very interesting….indeed.
Tomorrow I am invited to speak to a class at Porterville State College. The instructor is a mom whos dad has a Grade A dairy ( A CAFO ). She drinks her dads milk and so does her kids. She wanted me to come and professionally address her business opportunity class and explain how great raw milk is….and how it has changed her families life. She does not drink OPDC raw milk but wants others to know the truth.
You can not make this stuff up. This is incredible. Who would have ever thought this could happen.
This weekend I am speaking in three places in LA to more than 500 people ( may be as many as 800 ).
I was on a local TV show on Tuesday evening. The world is ripe to be taught when it is compelled to learn. Now is the time!!
I introduced myself as a "Dangerous Bioterrorist" at the Tea Party last night…good laugh….what I am is more of a TEAT Party kind of guy…trust me. I spent the night aircamping beside N20GU and came home early this morning. I do not fly at night in the mountains…just one of my personal promises to my wife. The deer and quiet of the still Placerville airport, alone on top of a flat moutain in a tent…. Great time to think about raw milk….the people and reflect.
Yes….the Tea Party moved me just a little down deep. The singing of patriotic songs, the pledge of allegiance, 15 people rising to speak at the open microphone about all sorts of things important to them, the respect for our country. I am glad to see a gathering of people caring about the foundations of what makes us great and trying, in their own way, to make a difference. Even though I do not share all of their ideas and beliefs, I deeply respect them for binding together and trying so hard. The local sherrif was even in attendance…. he went on the record as saying,…." I will not be used as the Raw Milk Police" ( he was referring to recent CDFA crack downs on "Cow Shares" in his county that he has refused to enforce ).
Wow. I am impressed.
What a gorgeous sunrise and morning and quick 40 minute flight home.
Mark
(Note: Before I begin the events of this day, if you have HMO medical insurance, I would suggest checking if you have the right to select the hospital of your choice or if there are only certain hospitals you would be allowed to use.)
Around 10:00 a.m., we were told that Chris would be moved to Childrens Hospital of LA. We were very anxious for Chris to begin kidney dialysis. He was very puffy and on oxygen most of the time. After about three hours of waiting, we asked what was taking so long. We were then given the bad news– there were no beds available at CHLA. (Note: Illegal immigrant children without insurance had the same right to a spot in the hospital as do American citizens children with insurance. This was a moral and spiritual issue I struggled with many times over the next couple of months.)
The jackass in charge told us he would now call UCLA Medical Center to see if they had a bed. We couldnt believe this was happening. It felt like we were in a bad movie. We had been waiting 3 days for Chris to receive dialysis and now there was no bed available. All of a sudden, I felt like I was going vomit and I began to shake uncontrollably. Chris was going to die if we didnt get him dialysis soon. I needed sleep, so my friends took me to the hotel room. They were told to wake me when we heard news about the transfer to UCLA.
So much happened while I was sleeping:
1. My sister-in-law had been doing some research and found a pathologist at Loma Linda Medical University who had written a book with information about using Ambrotose for treating HUS. A nephrologist at Loma Linda had used it with some of his patients.
2. Tony made the decision that Chris would be sent to Loma Linda University Childrens Hospital. He called the hospital and asked if they had any beds available. He was told they did.
3. He told the Jackass he wanted Chris sent to LLUCH and of course he became angry and said we couldnt make that kind of decision; besides it wasnt a hospital they contracted with. Tony made it very clear that if he did not send Chris there, we would be suing him.
4. He made a few calls and talked to the nephrologist. It was decided that Chris would be going to LLUCH. Tony told him the helicopter was waiting to pick Chris us, they just needed the O.K.
5. Time passed and Tony called LLUCH to find out if the helicopter left yet and they said they were still waiting for approval.
6. Tony asked the jackass who needed to give the O.K. and he said it was him, but that he didnt give it because Chris was going to be sent in an ambulance. Tony flipped out. LLUCH was probably around 70 miles away.
7. Arguing continued and by the time the jackass gave in, the helicopter at LLUCH had to be used for another child. This was around 3:00.
8. We had to wait for the CHLA helicopter to get back and we would finally arrive at LLUCH at 9:00 p.m (Note: Chris had been in renal failure for about 18 hours)
A whole medical team was waiting for us when we arrived. They took x-rays of Chris chest and compared them to the ones we brought from the previous PICU. They told us the x-ray machine they had used wasnt working correctly (no wonder they told us the fluid in around Chris lungs was not as bad as the previous day.) Chris had plural effusion (fluid collected in the spaces in his body) and it would need to be drained. They needed our permission to insert drainage tubes and then they would begin dialysis.
They could not believe that Chris came to them in this condition from another PICU. They reassured us that Chris got to them in time.
This hospital was beautiful. Chris had a huge room with his own personal nurse. They had a chair bed where one parent could sleep each night. It was also a praying hospital, Seventh Day Adventist. Pictures of Jesus were hanging around the hospital. It felt soothing.
Tony wanted to stay the first night, so my friends helped me find a hotel. When we got into our room and turned on the T.V. there was news of the spinach outbreak. Chris had eaten spinach also. Maybe the spinach made him sick and it wasnt the milk. I so hoped it was the spinach.
(Note: After we returned home from the hospital, we went back to each of the hospitals we had been at and discuss the problems we had encountered. We involved the ombudspersons at each hospital and met with each of the doctors who headed the pediatric departments. In the end, an internal investigation was done, but we would never be privy of the results. A year later we did find out our time was well spent. Policies and procedures had been changed for future patients who would suffer from HUS.)
I agree 100% with you about the importance of teaching at the individual level, as that is what I've found to be most effective…I'm just not thinking that this alone will guarantee our rights to food (and farming) choice, no matter how many we educate. We won't be able to educate all of the politicians, regulators, and judges out there, so we are going to need help at another level.
Kevin
Several years ago I took my first batch of home raised (from egg, chick to adult) roosters to a USDA processing facility for poultry in New Market, VA.
The manager regretfully decided to take my birds in (he dealt with mostly egg layers from CAFO farms) and informed me that my birds would be tested for all kinds of diseases (including Salmonella) and if any of our birds were sick or carried anything . . . the entire lot would be destroyed.
I dropped off my birds the night before in a home built cage and came back the next day after a sleepless night to a beaming manager who literally ran down the steps to meet me and my four year old son. . . he said that my birds were the healthiest he had ever seen in all the years that he had been an inspector . . . no salmonella or any other pathogens found. He handed me two iced boxes with my birds and told me to bring more any time . . . I think I paid 99 cents each for processing. These were a heritage breed . . . not a cornish X and were raised freely on pasture and garden scraps with minimal grain.
Fast forward 8 years later . . . to a small farm that we purchased a little over 5 years ago in Maine . . .
Our healthy pasture raised heritage poultry is now highly regarded . . . and are sold to some of the best restaurants in Maine . . as well as some very dedicated customers. . . I now sell out of nearly all of my produce . . . and everyone can't wait for our first State Inspected Lamb cuts from our Icelandic sheep. . . . this is called "QUALITY" with no certifications what-so-ever needed . . . .Like Salatin . . . we have an open door policy on our farm . . . and have a licensed farm store.
I have been called in as a witness in the past for animal rights cases due to my own approach to husbandry . . . so I don't fear animal rights activists . . .my own vet calls our farm the "Club Med For Sheep" . . . so no worries here:)
As a farmer . . . you have to care for your customers . . .and your livestock equally . . .that is what the Local Food Movement should be all about . . .
Kind regards,
Violet
http://www.kilbyridgefarmmaine.blogspot.com