...Think of it, gentlemen! Hoof and mouth disease, a thing of the past!
Posted on 10/12/2013 7:18:54 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Proposed South Dakota raw milk regulations will make it difficult for smaller operations to continue selling the substance in the state. Department of Agriculture officials finished a third public hearing on the issue on Wednesday, saying the rules are necessary to ensure safety. A legislative committee last August had rejected the rules until it had more information on their financial impact for farmers.
The State of South Dakota currently allows the sale of raw milk, though not from retail stores. Farms are allowed to sell the popular substance directly to consumers. Raw milk must also be clearly labeled as raw, but no other regulations currently exist. The new regulations would regulate the production, testing and labeling of raw milk in the state.
One of the new regulations would require the labels to have written, "This product has not been pasteurized and may contain harmful bacteria. Pregnant women, infants, children, the elderly and persons with lower resistance to disease have the highest risk of harm from this product." This would require farms, both large and small, to redesign their labels and in some cases print more expensive ones.
The other regulations are more severe. They would require a bottling date, as well as requiring regular testing and setting standards for bacteria and other contaminants. Some have argued that the regulations – such as those designating maximum numbers of beneficial bacteria – are unreasonably low, and will be next to impossible to achieve.
Many who drink raw milk drink it specifically for these beneficial bacteria. Individuals have cited raw milk as beneficial for health problems, from arthritis to irritable bowel syndrome. The idea that the state would regulate the production of raw milk to minimize the very aspects of the product that people find beneficial and appealing simply reiterates the idea that the state feels it knows best.
Another effect of the new regulations would be the favor of larger operations over small farms. Since 2010, raw milk producers have been required to have a license or permit, and only five dairies in the state are currently licensed to sell raw milk. The new regulations would push more dairies out of business by imposing testing and labeling requirements which put extra financial burden on the operations.
Citizens believe this law would violate personal freedoms and give unfair advantages to larger farms over smaller competitors. Bigger corporations frequently use lawmakers to create regulations to push smaller operations out of businesses in order to strengthen their market share by reducing competition. Clearly this is a concern in S.D.
Those who oppose this law want the freedom to enter into private, contractual agreements without government interference.
Raw milk connoisseurs want to consume a living product that is fresher, full of nutrients and tastier, not a sterile, pasteurized product. Raw milk proponents say pasteurization – the process of heating milk to kill disease-causing bacteria – kills the good stuff, and they claim the bacteria is beneficial to human health.
There continues to be a high demand for raw milk despite the debate on its health benefits. North Carolina has banned raw milk sales, but residents are buying the products through the black market. According to reports, there is such a high demand that distributors have created "drop sites" in N.C. and will only sell to people they know. For many states "raw milk" has become the "new pot" and purchasing this popular substance will continue to be funneled through the black market despite government regulations.
All that sounds very romantic, and I’m sure it was.
But that was for 7 people.
But how do you provide that same level of romantic life and also feed 300,000,000 people?
So why is Louis Pasturer remembered and revered? Because once he invented the pasturization method tens of millions of lives have been saved.
As a trained medical researcher, I am very aware both of the proper use and the misuse of statistics. The book you linked describes a specific type of misuse of statistics, which involves the “correlation = causation” fallacy. Correlations can be strong, but unless a specific mechanism can be established by which X can cause Y, anyone claiming that they proved causation on the basis of statistics does so on the basis of no evidence.
If you want, I can address very specific and widely known incidences of such misuse of statistics. I will not do so at this time in the interest of brevity.
The statistic of 1-3% of people use raw milk products is not a correlative statistic. It is made on the basis of various types of numerical sampling. For instance, random groups of people can simply be asked whether they use raw milk products, and the results of such surveys can be compiled to come up with the incidence of the practice. Another way of getting at that number would be to examine total milk sales and simply divide the quantity of raw milk products by the total quantity of milk sold to end consumers. Since the purpose of such a statistic is purely descriptive, and no one is trying to push an agenda with it, the 1-3% figure is accurate.
You forgot to mention that Pasteur made the production of milk profitable for many farmers, since many people who previously avoided drinking milk began to do so once they knew it was safe.
There was no part of it that was romantic, it was all hard work. I don’t provide for 300 million but I do provide for my family and others that I choose. The rest need to provide for themselves and their families.
...Think of it, gentlemen! Hoof and mouth disease, a thing of the past!
...then came government interference and corruption of a free and open market and the introduction of the Big Agriculture crony capitalist lobby, having farmers paid off to not produce... leaving fields to go fallow for a government handout.
Outrageous.
Now, that has been warped further with corn and soy subsidies from the federal government... to produce useless products that consumers do not need in a free market.
No, thank you.
You're right, they do. That's why pasturized milk is so critical.
As a former farmer, I can smell bullshit, upwind, from a mile away.
While I doubt you are deliberately lying in your posting, I imagine it’s ignorance, however those words are’t even near the truth.
Former farmer. Nuf’ said.
Former farmer. Nuf’ said.
LOL! You’re right, enough on my credentials.
What I appreciate about your posts is that they are so over the top that no reasonable person believes them.
OK, I’ve wasted enough of my few remaining years on you.
LOL! You’re right, enough on my rather lengthy credentials.
What I appreciate about your posts is that they are so over the top that no reasonable person believes them.
OK, I’ve wasted enough of my few remaining years on you.
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