Theres an outbreak of illnesses from salmonella in chicken that is making national headlines–278 people in 18 states have been sickened. More alarming is the fact that 42% of those sickened have been hospitalized, and that the pathogen seems resistant to treatment with antibiotics. (According to estimates from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, less than one per cent of its estimated 48 million cases of foodborne illness require hospitalization.)
The media is making much out of the fact that employees of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control are being called back from furlough to monitor the situation. But the media are ignoring the real dangers underscored by this outbreak.
This outbreak is a vivid example of the double standard applied to food safety–one set of highly permissive standards for corporate producers of factory food and a second set for small producers of artisanal nutrient-dense food. As if the favoritism shown the corporations that fatten politicians campaign coffers isnt enough, we are now getting a birds-eye view (pardon the pun) of how the double standard is being allowed to truly endanger large numbers of people. It is a double standard I warn about and document in my book, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Food Rights.
This outbreak should come as no surprise. It has been foretold by all manner of studies and surveys. In a number of tests, the most recent of which appears to have been 2009, Consumer Reports stated that about two-thirds of chicken purchased in supermarkets was contaminated with salmonella and/or campylobacter.
The pathogens are being rendered more dangerous by overuse of antibiotics. The CDC reported last month that two million people are becoming sick from antibiotic-resistant bacteria each year, with at least 23,000 deaths.
We know that 80% of antibiotics are used on farms, to compensate for unsanitary conditions and to encourage faster growth of animals.
Yet despite all the evidence that overuse of antibiotics on farm animals is creating serious dangers, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has refused to seriously restrict antibiotic use on farms. Moreover, the USDA actually sanctions pathogens in chickens (according to food safety lawyer Bill Marler).
The one company linked to the current illnesses, Foster Farms, portrays itself as a cozy family-owned farming operation now in the fourth generation of Foster family ownership. But in point of fact it is a $2.24 billion behemoth–ranked number 201 in a Forbes survey of private companies for 2011.
It also has a curious view of pathogens in food, according to a press release it issued in response to the illnesses and the USDAs identification of its chicken as a potential source of the illnesses. ” ‘Salmonella is naturally occurring in poultry and can be fully eradicated if raw product is properly handled and fully cooked,’ said Dr. Robert O’Connor, the company’s food safety chief and head veterinarian. All poultry producers strive to reduce bacterial presence, including Salmonella. We take food safety very seriously. In other words, any problems, presumably including the current ones, are the fault of the consumer, not the company. And unanswered is this question: How is it that nearly 300 people all of a sudden failed to cook their chicken properly? And this: Is it possible the new salmonella are resistant to heat?
Moreover, according to the USA Today report on the current illnesses, Foster Farms hasnt been required to recall any food. By the end of today, Foster Farms still hadn’t initiated a recall, or been forced into a recall, even though Consumer Reports said it found salmonella linked to the outbreaks in its own tests of Foster Farms chicken.
If youll remember the case of Morningland Dairy, the tiny Missouri cheese producer that was forced in 2010 by the FDA to recall all its products over the previous eight months after listeria was discovered in two packages of its cheese–this absent a single illness–and was shuttered by the Missouri Milk Board. Similarly, Estrella Cheese, a Washington raw cheese producer, was forced to recall cheese and shut down after listeria was found in cheese and equipment samples, also absent a single illness.
USA Today concluded its article with the quote from Foster Farms that salmonella is naturally occurring in poultry and observed, Several European countries have succeeded in eradicating (salmonella) by stringent testing and eliminating any flock with an infected bird, but that is considered too costly to implement in the USA.
Yes, too costly to the huge corporations that control the factory farming system.
I know farmers who’ve had dreams of growing pastured poutly a la Joel Salatin…who are packing it up because they can’t sell $5/lb birds. Customers just can’t wrap their minds around paying $25 for a chicken. They’d rather risk it with Salmonella, or just not eat meat.
These numbers come directly from a resent CDC report on a cucumbers, salmonella outbreak. It is a typical example of what the CDC passes off as a so call out break of foodborne illness.
1. Illness; diarrhea and not cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, lactose intolerance etc. Aren’t these what the public would naturally assume the state is referring to when they say illness?
2. Food; only agricultural commodities and not canned food, cakes, cookies, candy, soda, chocolate milk etc. They are totally ignoring the really toxic foods that make up the majority of our diet. They actually have us afraid of spinach and sprouts, two of the healthiest foods on the planet.
3. Outbreak; 73 cases in 3 months, while the nearly 300 million other cases of diarrhea in this country are not even acknowledged. The average American gets diarrhea 3 times a year. There was no evidence to show that these 73 cases were actually caused by salmonella.
4. Association; cucumbers, because 67% of the 45 ill interviewed ate cucumbers while only 44% of the well people surveyed ate cucumbers and not because of any actual Salmonella contamination found.
5. Blame; 2 Mexican producers because 6 of the 45 ill interviewed eat their cucumbers and not because of any actual Salmonella contamination found.
Mr. J. Ingvar Odegaard
Here is why the average American can’t afford to pay five times as much for food.
We’re Not Broke
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhzlQq1oBq0
Super Rich – The Greed Game (Documentary)
http://youtu.be/DLIeW9agjoY
If you mean that the CDC twists the data and uses odd definitions to paint an deceptive picture of a “outbreak” then yes, I agree with you.
If you mean that pathogens are often difficult to identify and that oftentwhen people become ill its never linked to a specific bacterial or viral cause because bacterial illness is difficult to trace back to its source, then yes, I agree with that too.
If you mean that pathogenic bacteria does not exist in the world, and it does not get into food and it does not make people sick, then I disagree.
I will not be feeding raw Foster Farms chicken to my family any time soon because yes, I believe it could make them sick should it contain a heavy load of a virulent strain of campylobacter or salmonella…a strain that we, with our hearty farm-immune systems, are not already resistant to. I also will not be feeding COOKED Foster Farms chicken to my family, because while cooking may kill the salmonella, it won’t take care of the arsenic or antibiotic residue.
With about 115 micro dairy and organic dairy operators in attendance, all discussing and learning about raw milk and its low risk oproduction practices… this was incredible.
Dr. Cat Berge RAWMI director gave us all a 2 hour hard core no punches pulled thesis on how to lower our on farm biohazard production risks, recognize threats and manage them. Cause the dairy family does not have the same immunity as the city folk!
Dr. Bruce German PhD gave us a rare treat and explained some of the great science discoveries of Von Mutius et al with a recitation of her work, that clearly shows how raw milk provides strong immune strength and anti asthma and allergy protections to those that consume it. He also said that all our modern reductionist chemistry has failed to improve our health as a society ….and that it will be living biology that will improve our health and that means whole living food. He explained the incredible virtue of breast feeding ( raw milk ) and the human biome with regards to the gut and milk. He went on to explain in wonderful detail how dairy milk saved humans on earth tens of thousands of years ago and how we know this becuase of certain lactase genes we all carry. Prior to dairy consumption we did not have these genes…and if we did not drink milk ( raw milk ) in ancient times…we simply failed to thrive and died off!!! Astonishing discoveries. This was all from the worlds most celebrated, published and peer reviewed Milk Researcher from our own UC Davis. He spoke for 45 minutes and took questions for 30 more. Wow!! Acedemia and raw milk in the same room!!!
Dr. Cindy Daley from Chico state minced no words and just plain said….”I love raw milk” and love the fact that this event is being held at Chico state so that all of the young dairymen hopefuls can get an education on how to produce safe raw milk for the coming raw milk markets and their opportunies!!! Wow!! Talk about stepping up and stepping out !! She rocked!! She presented on how to test raw milk using advanced technology and lower risk even more.
A two hour panel discussion with 4 of the 5 LISTED RAWMI dairymen was moderated by attorney Ajna Wilson (she helps out with the FTCLDF and is a close friend of RAWMI ). That discussion was amazing. We had small ( 3 cow ), medium ( 30 cow ) and large ( 400 cow )raw milk producers all on one stage. Charlotte Smith, Alice from BC, Shawna & Jacob Barr and my son Aaron McAfee all sitting together telling their story and explaining how they accomplish their RAMP goals and the results of their testing. Christine anderson was too pregnant to attend. Shawna drew some interesting comments by some of the attendees, becuase of her choice to become completely transparent as a small herd operator and cow share owner here in CA. The audience seemed to be filled with the fear of a CDFA visit or some kind of negative legal action. Shawna said it clearly: She wanted to sleep at night and she does now after RAWMI LISTING and knowing her risks are near zero. The comments and discussions lasted about 2 hours.
Then of course, as the chairman of RAWMI, I made my plea to “build community” and implored everyone to become co-mentors and work to educate each other and our consumers as raw milk producers. I went on with many more lessons in my presentation about best practices, politics, progress, teaching and building bridges. I also showed the data that flows from the RAWMI LISTED testing streams….they are at the zero and less than 3 coliform levels with controls for many layers and levels of risks from Grass to Glass.
It was an honor to have Dr. Michele Russell attend from UC Davis WIFFS and we had the director of the Butte County Health Department as well. No body went home early. At the end of the day, Dr. Daley gave everyone a organic dairy tour. What a great place….they even had a fodder machine that was being used and tested.
To close the day, Pattie Chelseth and Doniga Markegard both led a meeting of the CDFA Small Herd working group to gather momentum for their long gestated and well vetted CA Small Herd exemption. It appears that a bill sponsor has been identified and that there is big support for the new bill. RAWMI is in support of this legal change and it appears that a birth of some serious change is nearing. When this bill passes, it could spell change to surrounding states and nationally. It actually makes very good sense and it has very well considered with well vetted standards for safe local raw milk production. Wow…bridges, truth, progress, local, families, peace….
It was a wonderful day. A day that will be recorded in the ledgers where good Karma is LISTED. Who could be against well considered low risk raw milk and food safety plans and building bridges and handshakes, hugs, trust and dialogue with people that talk to the FDA everyday.
Well….I would love to say that everyone should love that idea. Unfortunately, according to Ajna Wilson…she was getting all sorts of downer texts from raw milk people accross America that do not like this progress.
This just goes to show how much different CA progress seems to be. I would like to suggest that when producers from Texas fly to CA to attend this conference, that perhaps it is an individual mindset that this the problem and that appreciation for progress like what we are making with RAWMI is held by progressive individuals all over America.
If we see battles, secrecy, hiding, disengagement, and ignorance as the only way forward, we will battle and will not learn to feed America in a better way, but if we education and demonstrate excellence and build and support emerging raw milk markets as the way forward, then perhaps this will change America and provide hope for the future…and it will, we saw it yesterday with the young organic dairy team at Chico State soaking up every word along with everyone else.
I am prepared to take the brunt of the incoming tomatos that are aimed at RAWMI because we are talking with both and all sides of this equation, but at the same time, I have also decided that the negative voices are to be largely ignored. This progress is too good and these bridges too essential to true progress.
So if you have something negative to say about safe low risk raw milk and all the goodness it brings, consider saving it for some internal discussion you have with yourself during some contempative quiet time. We do not need to hear negative garbage when such great things are happening with such good people…on all sides.
A very special thanks to the LISTED dairymen and Ajna for defending producers from attack all over America and standing with RAWMI as a teacher and legal mentor.
I am drafting something for david to post etc…we will see how that goes but I did not want to wait until later. This entire event was video recorded and will be posted to RAWMI in the coming weeks.
By the way….if you like what you see here with RAWMI, send in your donations. It is 100% tax deducible and all goes to RAWMI LISTING, mentoring and research. We take calls from producers all over the US, canda and the world that want to know how to produce safe raw milk. None of the directors ever see any payment.
Mark
Dont be overly dismissive of what you perceive to be negative garbage. You may be missing out on some valuable wisdom. You off all people aught to know that wise leadership demands you show respect for all negative points of view.
I completely agree, that it will be living biology and whole living food that will improve our health. However this living biology and whole living foods which I assume he means bacterial laden, will inevitably and must include these so called living pathogens we are desperately trying to avoid. There is a reason for their presence, so again we do not want to be overly dismissive of their purpose.
If we are sincere about safe healthy living, it is imperative that we avoid alienating ourselves from the microscopic world and above all else the unnatural and invasive toxic manipulation of their and our ecosystems. All of which has done great harm to the human biome.
I wish all those involved in the RAWMI program the very best,
Ken
David – The double standard is across the board into everything organic. The destruction of business, homes, family farms one-by-one in the entire world…. no words. If ever we have to buy chicken from a commercial farm for any reason – and I can think of no reason, but we soak the meat in some highly diluted food grade hydrogen peroxide for a few minutes. Another way is the dilution of colloidal silver. Then rinse and cook well. But now we purchase the farm-raised chicken that is high priced. I use every ounce of the bird for a few meals then the rest for making broth and for making organic ‘canned’ dog food to top off the non-gmo dry dog food we feed. We might be paying $16 for a four-pound bird but we get the money out of it and we feel safe. Thanks for the good read and info on this site.
Yet when organic and community food advocates say this, it’s rejected by the system. But here the government implicitly embraces it. There’s a core feature of the double standard.
Is there any proof that there has ever been an outbreak of foodborne illness(diarrhea) caused by foodborne pathogenic bacteria? We know the average American gets diarrhea three times a year but what is the cause. The CDC would have us believe it is caused by a hand full of naturally occurring bacteria that they admit do not cause illness in most people. The most common cause of diarrhea is malnutrition. Considering the American diet isn’t that a much more likely explanation? Of course this doesn’t mean we should all stop cooking our chicken but it does make you wonder. How can we take the CDC seriously if they don’t know the difference between milk and cheese or the difference between raw milk and improperly pasteurized milk? If they can invent HIV they can certainly invent a foodborne pathogen. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_p-ttLfkZHQ
Recently the CDC blamed 2 Mexican producers of cucumbers for causing an outbreak of foodborne illness. When you go to their website you find out that they are really only talking about 73 cases of diarrhea over a 3 month period. There are nearly 300 million cases of diarrhea in this country over that length of time. You also find that 39 of the 73 people didn’t even eat their cucumbers. Is their any truth at all in their story? They didn’t even test the cucumbers. 15 of the ill didn’t even eat cucumbers and 28 weren’t interviewed at all. If we know they lie about raw milk outbreaks and now a phony cucumber outbreak why should we believe anything they say about food safety?
None of what the FDA or the CDC says or does has anything at all to do with health or care. In fact, most of what they put out isn’t even factual, as you can see by your own statistics. But we still have way too many sheeple who believe that all bacteria are bad bacteria. And they hear the word *pathogen* and go completely bonkers.
Yep, phony – that’s a great word for our ruling class for the past 40 years, for sure. Your cucumber stats point to that fact with all eight fingers and two thumbs.
Good catch and thank you for the check point.
I was mocked in the local papers for voicing my suspicion that the whole thing was a simulated bio warfare attack. Later I proved that the exercise was a war game for the sake of testing a new biological agents analysis device. No mere co-incidence that shortly after that “gypsy moth spray program”, the US Defence Dept started ordering the devices from Response Biomedical Corporation, for use in war zones.
Btk is a genetically-engineered bacteria which has been “weapon-ized”. Someone who gets his info. from Sandhurst ( England) told me it’s the first of a 2-part biowarfare agent. If you want to pursue this particular conspiracy theory, listen to what Dr Robt Scott ( Sudbury Ontario) has to say about “mycoplasma” ; read his book “the Brucellosis Triangle”
Oh, I could go on, but the general drift is : Amereica has domestic enemies, who are hard at work, literally poisoning us. Those wicked people oppose REAL MILK because it is wonderfully curative
The manufacturer of Foray 48B ( brand name) admitted that the spray contained e.coli, along with many other factors known to cause illness in human beings. “But that’s OK” – we were told – “you can report adverse effects to the UBC Hospital” . A mere co-incidence that the the little Cdn Bombardier military spy plane was up there at 5 am, tracking the spraying by a crop duster? As David Icke says “oh, just a co-incidence, nothing to worry about”
I kinda like the milk maiden idea . . . but it sure would ruffle the feathers of the modern feminists of today, wouldn’t it? Maybe that would be a good thing. We haven’t had a good feminist uprising since the late 1970’s. We’ve all taken political correctness to extremes, as far as I’m concerned.