Sprawl pushes dairy families to consider leaving California

AP on Bakersfield Californian ^ | 2/25/06 | Christina Almeida - ap

[Lil'freeper]

Wow. That's a really terrifying article*.

To put things in perspective, milk products are hardly the only source of E.coli in food. Beef and vegetables are the biggies. From the sourced article: "From 1982 to 2002, a total of 350 outbreaks were reported from 49 states, accounting for 8,598 cases of E. coli O157 infection. ... Seven outbreaks were associated with dairy products." Interestingly, seven outbreaks of E.Coli were linked to swimming pool water and forty outbreaks through person-to-person transmission at, of all places, child daycare centers.

E.Coli infections are just a drop in the bucket. More big picture:

CDC estimates 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths caused by food-borne diseases in the U.S. each year.
Surveillance for Foodborne Disease Outbreaks -- United States, 1993-1997
Surveillance for Foodborne-Disease Outbreaks -- United States, 1988-1992

As you read, please note just how many of them are *not* caused by raw milk.

*< / sarcasm >

[Paleo Conservative]

As you read, please note just how many of them are *not* caused by raw milk.

If the USDA allowed raw milk and milk products to be sold, the number of incidents involving raw milk would be much higher. Food poisoning used to kill lots more people than it does now including President Zachary Taylor. At the turn of the 20th century, the most common form of cancer in the US was stomach cancer. The high incidence is believed to be related to long term consumption of contaminated food. Nowadays it is well down the list. There's a whole lot of nonsense about natural things and foods necessarily being good for you.

[Rytwyng]

If the USDA allowed raw milk and milk products to be sold, the number of incidents involving raw milk would be much higher.

In California the raw milk herds are tested regularly for TB and undulant fever. If the animals are healthy and the dairy is clean, pasteurization is unnecessary.

At the turn of the 20th century, the most common form of cancer in the US was stomach cancer. The high incidence is believed to be related to long term consumption of contaminated food.

That's from aflatoxin mold. Doesn't apply to milk.

There's a whole lot of nonsense about natural things and foods necessarily being good for you.

True, but SOME of the claims ARE valid. Go raw on all your dairy, you'll find you feel better and get sick a lot less often.

[Lil'freeper]

If the USDA allowed raw milk and milk products to be sold, the number of incidents involving raw milk would be much higher.

Selling raw milk for human consumption is legal in over half the states. The industry is regulated and the health standards are much higher than those of the standard dairy. This is more than can be said of potato salad which caused as many outbreaks as "milk" did in 1994 (source previously linked).

There's a whole lot of nonsense about natural things and foods necessarily being good for you.

So true. It's best to stick with Cheetos because fruits and veggies are responsible for 34% of the E.Coli cases from 1982-2002 (source previously linked). It's just so PC to ping on milk. Why not ping on fish or apple juice? That stuff is dan-ger-ous! (again, source previously linked)

[napscoordinator]

guy 63 and 18-month old son....
productive dairyman

The father of the 18 month is 39. The 39 year old's father is 63. Boy you had me ready to beat this guy for being 63 with an 18 month. How selfish can you get. The kid won't have his father by high school graduation. It is hard enough to guide children through life without having an out of touch parent. Teenagers take a lot of work and a 75 year old can't do it. Hell, how will they even hear the kid coming home at 2 in the moring or even be able to read the computer screen to see if the kids are on the right sites or not. If you disagree with me on this than you could not possibly be unselfish.