Raw milk sickens two Washtenaw County women with Q fever
Raw milk sickened two Washtenaw County women with the first locally reported cases of Q fever in at least 20 years, according to the Washtenaw County Public Health Department.
The women, as well as a female Monroe County resident, became ill with the bacterial infection after consuming milk from a Livingston County farm, a Michigan Department of Community Health release states. All three were in their 30s or 40s. The women participate in a dairy herd share program, in which members receive raw dairy products in return for owning a share of a cow, the MDCH says.
Michigan’s dairy laws do not regulate these programs.
Raw milk has not been treated to kill bacteria, while pasteurized milk is heated briefly to kill disease-causing germs. The milk consumed by the women sickened is not available at retail outlets.
Q fever is a reportable communicable disease in Michigan, but local cases are rare, said Laura Bauman, an epidemiologist for Washtenaw County. Reports of two cases over the last three weeks caught her eye, she said.
Public Health nurses interviewed those sickened and found they’d each consumed milk from the same farm, Bauman said. The Livingston County Health Department is handling follow-up with the farm.
Juliana Keeping covers general assignment and health and the environment for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at julianakeeping@annarbor.com or 734-623-2528. Follow Juliana Keeping on Twitter
Comments
trase passantino
Tue, Jun 28, 2011 : 4:29 p.m.
It's worth looking at the study released by the EU last year regarding Q Fever - in fact, their findings contradict everything being reported about it. <a href="http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/scdocs/doc/1595.pdf" rel='nofollow'>http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/scdocs/doc/1595.pdf</a> Excerpts from the summary: The widespread distribution of C. burnetii in food producing animals and its occurrence in the milk supply necessitates questioning the role of food as a vehicle for the transmission of this zoonotic bacterium to humans. C. burnetii infection in occupationally or otherwise exposed people is **mainly due to inhalation of infected aerosols rather than consumption of contaminated food (e.g. dairy, meat) products.** However, C. burnetii is excreted in milk of infected animals (cattle, sheep and goats) for variable periods during lactation irrespective whether these animals are showing clinical signs or not and in addition, milk can be contaminated with C. burnetii by faecal materials or from sites of infection in the periparturient and/or lactating animal. Consumption of raw milk and raw milk products represent a relatively greater risk of human exposure to C. burnetii than the consumption of both milk and dairy products made with milk that has undergone appropriate heat treatment. There are epidemiological indications that consumption of milk and/or milk products containing C. burnetii has been associated with sero-conversion in humans. However, **there is no conclusive evidence that the consumption of milk and milk products containing C. burnetii has resulted in clinical Q fever in humans.** Journalists: Please consider contacting the Farm-To-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, or the Weston A. Price Foundation before going to press with a story such as this with only those opposed to raw milk telling their side of the story. It is a disservice to the public when they only see that. Thanks.
Katie Dellar
Sat, Jun 25, 2011 : 1:56 a.m.
As a dairy farmer, consumer, and mother, I cannot stress enough the importance of consuming pastuerized dairy products. Pastuerization is the only safe way to consume dairy, period. Pastuerized dairy products are the only dairy products consumed in our home, and we have a tank full of yummy, nutritious milk in our barn every day! My entire family takes part in our farm, it is our livlihood. We love what we do. We love our cows. We love taking part in feeding America. We know what a huge responsibility this is, and how much trust Americans put in our family and all the other farm families across the country to feed their family. Every day we strive to be better than we were the day before. Our number one goal is to provide American families, just like ours, with a high quality, safe, nutrient dense product they can feel good about feeding their family. There are very high standards we must meet to be able to have our dairy products sold to the public in stores, and we are upheld to those standards by a minimum of four random inspections per year. If we do not meet or exceed those standards, we lose our liscense, if we lose our liscense, we lose our way of life. No farmer wants to lose their way of life, because every farmer loves what they do, so we make sure to exceed the expectations of the standards imposed on us by the state and the cooperative we ship our milk with. If you are curious about life on the farm, please check out my facebook page, look up Dairy Mom, and you will find me. But, again, please, only consume pastuerized dairy products. We work as hard as we can every day to provide you with safe, nutritious, pastuerized dairy products, take advantage of that! :)
Ann English
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 11:15 p.m.
I thought an antiBuyMichigan purpose was in mind for this article. Does the spread of BuyMichigan grocery ads offend someone?
Christie
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 10:22 p.m.
Oh, wow...a ton of readers who know nothing. You never hear about people making a huge deal over the million of people who get E.Coli due to consuming produce or meat products. Such example from last year (Michigan based statistics): <a href="http://www.foodpoisonjournal.com/foodborne-illness-outbreaks/huron-county-michigan-e-coli-outbreak/" rel='nofollow'>http://www.foodpoisonjournal.com/foodborne-illness-outbreaks/huron-county-michigan-e-coli-outbreak/</a> How does E. Coli happen? When crowded animal barns/pens all poop all over each other and then that huge contamination gets mixed in with our fresh produce and animal products. Eating will make you sick. Period. There is nothing you can do about it BUT you can make smarter choices by buying from local, organic farms you trust. As for this case...did these women keep their milk cool? You cannot allow raw dairy products to get warm. Warm=lots o' bacteria. Just like when you take a drink out of your "pasteurized" milk at home and then let it sit out all day. What do you think happen then? It is the amount of bacteria that makes you sick. Living foods are not the one to blame. Blame the farm, the person who was suppose to take care of the products...it is not the milk's fault.
1bit
Sat, Jun 25, 2011 : 1:24 a.m.
"You never hear about people making a huge deal over the million of people who get E.Coli due to consuming produce or meat products." Not really true. People make a big deal about this all the time. Including the recent outbreak in Germany.
lisa gottlieb
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 9:29 p.m.
I'm surprised that the Washtenaw County Health Department appears to seem very certain that the women were infected by Q fever from drinking raw milk, and the article doesn't question their findings. Of course, it may be true. Or not. From what I have read, Q fever is generally an airborne illness, and people are infected by it when they breathe in the dust in the air around infected animals. Becoming infected with Q fever by drinking raw milk is extremely rare. If drinking the milk was the source of infection, I would think many more people would have the infection than just the three women mentioned. I wonder if the women who were infected were on the farm picking up their milk distribution, or if they may have been exposed to Q fever in some other way than by drinking the milk. The article seems to me to jump to conclusions that leave questions unanswered. The issue of the possibility of contaminated raw milk sure seems like a hot button issue based on some of the comments regarding this article. A bigger concern as I see it, and as many have already mentioned, is the poor state of food safety and security in our country, which makes us all vulnerable, whether we chose to drink raw milk or pasturized milk. Factory farming, and food shipped from all over the world doesn't seem to be increasing our overall health or give us confidence that the food we purchase is safe for us to eat. I don't think there are any easy or quick solutions, but it makes sense to me to be thoughtful about what we are eating, where it is from, and how it is made. Considering the recent history of many contaminated foods that were inspected and okay'ed by our government agencies, I'll take my chances with my farmer from whom I buy raw milk. Three years in of weekly raw milk consumption, and I'm feeling great. And, yes, it does taste better. Amazingly, measurably, deliciously better.
Marinette
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 8:57 p.m.
Naysayers who troll about with negative comments about raw milk consumption should realize several things: 1) the article was quite biased. It reported some information, but left a lot out- such as the 2,000 or so customers of the same herd who DID NOT get sick. 2) EVERYONE buying those products are doing so by personal informed choice 3) Everyone reports that over the years of consuming these products, their health problems have cleared up 4) IN a free country, we have a right to choose the food we wish to consume. 5) We have NO IDEA how these women kept their milk after taking it home- did they refrigerate quickly? No info there. 6) Lastly, take a good look at that picture of the milk. It looks a creamy yellow, doesn't it? Well folks, thats BUTTERFAT, containing proteins, VITAMIN D AND A, something you NEVER will see in the swill they call milk from commercial dairy. Most of the people making comments here actually have no idea what milk really is. I am a member of this same dairy collective, and have taken the products for nearly two years. I have never even been remotely ill from any of the products. Furthermore, having been spoiled, as I see it, with this high quality food, I could NEVER , EVER, go back to the SWILL that passes for milk and eggs and other dairy products (cream, sour cream butter yogurt) from commercial operations sold in our grocery stores.
Katie Dellar
Sat, Jun 25, 2011 : 2:06 a.m.
Marinette, I beg to differ. The milk from my farm is sold at grocery stores. I have a family farm that is operated by myself, my husband and our four beautiful children. In fact, most dairies in this country are family owned and operated. The milk that leaves our farm, has a somatic cell count in the 40,000's, a butterfat of at least 4.0 and a protein content of at least 3.1. That milk is what makes yougurt, cheese, sour cream, half and half, ice cream, many other things, and of course, the ice cold, yummy white stuff we all know and love as milk itself. We live in a farming community where there are at least 10 other dairies that I can speak for and say have very similiar numbers. We all work our hardest to provide safe, nutritious, pastuerized products that consumers in Michigan and across the nation can feel good about feeding their families. If you really know what those numbers I posted above mean, you will know that we all do an amazing job with our hands to provide Michigan and America with something they can be proud to put on their table. :)
Anita
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 6:51 p.m.
I drink both raw and pasteurized milk. There is absolutely no difference in flavor. Some people don't like milk because they drink it warm or wait until it's spoiled. Then it's not a matter of whether it's pasteurized. I love it, and I'll continue to drink pasteurized milk with every meal.
Rodney Smith
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 5:44 p.m.
Ms Keeping, had this been a corporate giant accused of such a thing, your editor could never get away with "product x causes y" until you had proof that it actually had. They would sue your rear-end off, much like the beef industry attempted to sue Opera Winfrey a year or two ago. (A suit they lost because Opera can afford the legal expertise necessary to win that suit.) But the family operated farms lack the political and legal clout, so its OK to bulldoze them into the ground. At least you had the good sense to leave the farmer's name out of it. No I am not a customer of this particular farm, but it gets up my nose when a small player gets railroaded.
TinyArtist
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 3:57 p.m.
Rodney makes a good point. It's all about perspective and statistics. That, and the comment from ChelseaBob, are all we need.
dogpaddle
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 2:49 p.m.
I agree with Chelsea Bob here. We let people smoke cigarettes of their own free will. Let them consume raw milk with the warnings. And, honestly, only a small handful of people got sick. As many pointed out, more people died or got ill from bad vegetables. Personally, I take the middle ground. I avoid the big commercial dairies and go for either organic or at least hormone-free and antibiotic-free products (while still pasteurized).
Katie Dellar
Sat, Jun 25, 2011 : 2:13 a.m.
You can rest assured that all milk is hormone-free and antibiotic-free. All milk has always been antibiotic free. It is absolutely illegal for a dairy farmer to ship antibiotics in their milk. I am a dairy farmer, milk that leaves my farm is tested before it goes on the milk truck, and then tested again, numerous times at the plant for antibiotics. The tests we use can detect a tiny drop of antibiotics in an olympic sized pool full of milk. If a dairy farmer ships antibiotics, they risk losing their liscense, and must pay for the entire truck full of milk that they ruined because it can never be sold to consumers, period. All milk has been hormone free for over two years, or longer, because many farms, like mine, chose to never put hormones in their milk. The farms that did, stopped immediately when consumers brought to their attention that they preferred hormone free milk. There is also absolutely no scientific data showing that organic milk is any different than other milk, so you can drink both and rest easy knowing either way, you are giving your family a safe, nutrient dense, high quality product you can feel good about.
Fatkitty
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 2:17 p.m.
Ugh. And the winner is......... for posting the most disgusting comment.... I think I'll pass on lunch today. Bleck
Ross
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 1:32 p.m.
People here posting about how backwards it is to drink un-pasteurized milk don't seem to grasp the history of the proces. It was introduced out of necessity when the growth of this country led and the subsequent rise in demand for milk led to over-extended farms with often unsafe sanitary conditions, especially in urban environments, before proper inspection and regulation existed. It was also heavily promoted and lobbied for as an absolute safety requirement by big agri-business (small farms cannot afford such processing or equipment, thus lowering competition). There have been dozens if not hundreds of cases of salmonella and other illnesses stemming from pasteurized milk and other dairy products. The temperature is not even high enough to kill many pathogens. Unfortunately the temperature of pasteurization IS high enough to destroy most of the nutritional benefits of the milk in the first place. The bacteria and enzymes present in raw milk are GOOD FOR YOU and promote healthy digestion. Pasteurized milk is almost a complete waste of time. Nothing more is necessary than keeping a clean and sanitary farm and bottling process. I drink a big old glass of raw milk every morning. It is amazingly delicious and nutritious. Grocery store milk tastes absolutely disgusting in comparison. I understand there may be some slight risk of illness, but I am young and strong (partially thanks to the very milk itself). At the very least it is ludicrous for raw dairy products to be illegal - the only reasonable explanation for this now, after all we know, is a conspiratorial effort to benefit big agri-business. Akin to so many other pointless laws and subsidies in this fine country of ours.
Ross
Sat, Jun 25, 2011 : 3:26 p.m.
Katie, right on. I have no problem with that and good for you and your family's farm. I was only stating my personal preference on flavor, but I do find some widely distributed milk such as Calder's to be quite tasty. But when you buy a gallon of "milk" from Miejer or Kroger, it is just not good (for you, your taste buds, or the planet). This is milk that is blended from thousands of cows, mostly from humongous farms with often poor sanitary and living conditions for the animals. Your farm may indeed be a quality operation, but if you allow your product to get lumped in with who-knows-what from every other huge dairy farm in this country, your milk looses its creditability. Plus the pasteurization process DOES harm the nutritional benefit of the milk. Anyone who says it has no effect is either not investigating the biological situation closely enough, or blindly trusts studies sponsored by big agri-business. But a question about your farm. Does your farm concentrate the animal waste into giant holding ponds that leak into nearby streams, rivers and groundwater? Do you pump your cows with anti-biotics so they can stay "healthy", standing and producing milk for longer? Do you feed them GMO corn, a food product their guts and bodies were never meant to eat? If so, that is un-natural, un-healthy, and un-sustainable. No matter how hard working and well intentioned you and your family are on your farm.
Katie Dellar
Sat, Jun 25, 2011 : 2:17 a.m.
Ross, Please read some of my other comments. I am a dairy farmer, and I can assure you that milk you find in stores is not what you think it is. My farm is my lifes work, and the future of my children, and every day we ship our milk to a plant where it is pastuerized and turned into numerous yummy dairy products families in Michigan and across the nation love. The milk that leaves our farm and many other farms across the state and nation is high quality milk that has come from the hands of our family and our employees with such care, dedication and pride to the table of millions of families in America.
Adam Betz
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 11:17 a.m.
There is a reason we have "progression" and "technology" in this society. There is a reason people move to the Western countries over living in less developed nations. It's because of this type of thing! haha people in A2 kill me.
ChelseaBob
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 10:42 a.m.
I wouldn't consume raw dairy, but I don't believe the government should stop people who want to. Give them the proper warning then leave them alone. It's supposed to be a free country, meaning you are free to do dumb things too.
1bit
Sat, Jun 25, 2011 : 1:19 a.m.
And then abolish that pesky FDA while we're at it.
McGiver
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 10:32 a.m.
I might take some of your criticism seriously if you came to similar conclusions about marijuana.
Cassandra
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 10:27 a.m.
My sister and I grew up on a farm and ate and drank unpasteurized dairy food (milk, cheese, butter) for more than 18 years. My son and his cousins spent summers on the farm with their grandparents and also ate and drank unpasteurized dairy food for many years. None of us was ever ill from any of it. We have been ill from foods bought at major groceries --- and God alone knows how many people's health is being adversely affected by all the additives and the genetically modified foods that big agribusiness and the grocery chains force-feed us. We'd all be better off if the government would check out other foods as strongly as they go after farmers who sell natural foods.
treetowncartel
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 2:49 a.m.
Uhm, I really, really, really, question if they could spell Louis Pasteur's name, or pick him out in a line up. Do ypu think he did all that research in vain?
Rodney Smith
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 1:29 p.m.
Pasteur's research was an important step forward in understanding of disease. But like many great discoveries, it has enabled us to continue with sub-standard food-handling processes, making a vastly inferior product available to the masses at a cheaper price... pasteurization of dairy was made necessary by the filthy practices of the dairy industry. We couldn't clean up our act, so we treated our milk instead.
Rodney Smith
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 2:43 a.m.
People eat spinach every day, its a raw product, and when farmed under industrial conditions, it poisons people with pathogenic e-coli EVERY SUMMER. Raw milk has a far better track record than spinach. So far, we have assumed that the raw milk is at fault. I am sure there is testing to be done on the milk in question, and the results of those tests will provide something more conclusive to go on, (or not, as is so often the case, the raw milk comes out squeaky-clean and the epidemiologists are left looking for another target, meanwhile the farmer's reputation is in tatters with a half-inch "sorry buddy" printed on page 15 of the newspaper a month later) This is the farmer's livelihood. His reputation and his honor are at stake. He has a lot to lose here, and everything to gain by making this right. Should the farm in question be at fault, we can be absolutely sure that the farmer (who is known, by name, to all of his customers) will do everything in his power to make sure this never happens again. Try getting that sort of assurance from the FDA, USDA, or any other government body that is so deeply in the pockets of big industry they don't pass wind (let alone policy) without a corporate permission slip. Next time the e-coli spinach claims another dozen or so lives, the corporate profits take a tumble for a month or two, the legal people come in a smooth things over, and they'll live another day to kill a few more next year.... but its only a few... a year... and then there's toxic meat, and toxic peanut butter, and toxic eggs, all killing many people a year... and we no longer care about that. My family and I have been raw milk consumers for over 3 years, and we know that there is a very slight risk involved. There is a much higher risk associated with consuming industrial food. So far we have had no reason to complain, and have never been made ill in any way by pathogens in raw dairy.
1bit
Sat, Jun 25, 2011 : 1:15 a.m.
I cross the street everyday without looking both ways and have never been hit by a car or truck.
Tom Joad
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 1:52 a.m.
The last thing you need is a bacterial infection in this day of microbial resistance to profligate use of antibiotics
MARK
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 1:25 a.m.
Those women are lucky it was only Q fever could have been worse for example X,Y or Z fever
YpsiLivin
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 1:48 p.m.
A re-emergence of Dance Fever would have been truly tragic...
dading dont delete me bro
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 1:25 a.m.
red kool aid is better.
Fat Bill
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 1:19 a.m.
Get a little Cobalt-60, throw some Gamma rays at it, and drink up! Oh wait, we can't say "irradiation" because it scares the uninformed...
SM
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 12:30 a.m.
Pasteurized milk from sick cows = pus & blood
G. Orwell
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 12:17 a.m.
Man has been drinking raw milk for thousands of years so it is very safe. Far safer than all the processed foods that contain aspartame (dangerous neurotoxin), fluoride (toxic industrial waste), GMO (causes cancer and infertility), hormones, antibiotics, etc. Even with the three cases, it has infinitely better safety record than the industrial farms and big ag. No need to pasturize. Just make sure where the milk comes from has a sanitary operation. Laws requiring pasturization is means of limiting competition by big ag from thousands of small farm.
Katie Dellar
Sat, Jun 25, 2011 : 2:22 a.m.
The farming community I live and participate in has dairy farms of all sizes. Mine being one of them. We are on the smaller end, and are given the exact same opportunities as larger farms. We never feel that we cannot keep up with them and they produce milk that is just as high in quality as ours is. I can assure you that every farm in this area is sanitary, and is regulated and upheld to exceptionally high standards that we exceed because we love what we do. Farmers love their work, they love their animals, and they are very thankful for all the consumers who put their trust in us to provide their families with high quality, nutrient dense, safe products.
ZooWolverine
Sat, Jun 25, 2011 : 1:10 a.m.
Ross, humans have done all kinds of dangerous things that made them sick: bloodletting, curative arsenic, tapeworms, and refusing to wash hands come quickly to mind. It's not much support to cite scientific knowledge (ie empirical evidence) before germ theory. As much as we don't understand now, we understood much, much less then.
Ross
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 8:30 p.m.
Terri, uh, yeah, it does. It attests to the empirical evidence gathered over that time period. It's not like we did it for a long time but completely forgot how it went. It went perfectly fine. People wouldn't have drank dangerous raw milk forever if it made them all sick. Because in general, it doesn't.
Terri
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 3:30 p.m.
Length of time something has been done is no indication of safety.
Buck Wild
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 12:17 a.m.
Yeah, the first person who discovered a human could drink cow milk... what was he doing when he made this discovery?
Epengar
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 1:48 a.m.
probably trying to find food for an infant after the nursing mother died.
Craig Lounsbury
Thu, Jun 23, 2011 : 11:43 p.m.
Enso beat me to the punch with the same point
Craig Lounsbury
Thu, Jun 23, 2011 : 11:41 p.m.
Disclaimer: I put milk on my Cheerios, I like ice cream, I like cheese, I'll put 1/2 & 1/2 in my coffee. Having confessed my "sins" one could ask the rhetorical question "why is any grown human consuming any dairy products"? Humans are the only mammals who think they never need to be weaned.
Enso
Thu, Jun 23, 2011 : 11:33 p.m.
First of all why are we even drinking milk??? We are the only animal on the planet that drinks milk into adulthood... let alone drinking the milk of another species... When you think about, it's really quite ludicrous.
Katie Dellar
Sat, Jun 25, 2011 : 2:27 a.m.
Dairy products provide consumers with 9 essential vitamins and nutrients. If you are concerned about fat intake, try a lower fat milk, instead of whole, try 2% or skim. It has also been shown that consuming 3 dairy products a day helps to maintain good health.
Enso
Sat, Jun 25, 2011 : 12:04 a.m.
They are only easily obtainable because someone else gets them for us. and yeah "we drink milk and eat milk products because they represent easily obtainable, cheap calories..." we are also the fattest nation on the planet... thanks in part to meat and dairy.
Rodney Smith
Sat, Jun 25, 2011 : midnight
I think the "my pets drink milk" answers the question in a round-about way, we drink milk and eat milk products because they represent easily obtainable, cheap calories. Their nutritional value could be argued, but as a species we thrive overall with dairy, meat, and grains as our cheap staples. Our domestic pets eat them for the same reason They don't have to work too hard to get them.
Enso
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 5:19 p.m.
You give those animals milk. It's not a valid comparison. If you want to drink milk, I'll upload the video of you sucking on the cows teat. It'll go viral on youtube, I promise.
spm
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 11 a.m.
My cats love milk. We're also the only animals on the planet that cook our food. My dog thinks that's ludicrous as well.
EyeHeartA2
Thu, Jun 23, 2011 : 11:54 p.m.
My dog like milk, and he is 63 in dog years. So there is the second animal anyway. He doesn't go in for that raw milk stuff, so he never got sick off it.
EyeHeartA2
Thu, Jun 23, 2011 : 11:20 p.m.
Lot of work to go through just to get sick. Probably easier to just down a 12 pack and a few shots.
leaguebus
Mon, Jun 27, 2011 : 8 p.m.
rum and milk
treetowncartel
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 2:52 a.m.
Jagerneister!
Wolf's Bane
Thu, Jun 23, 2011 : 11:16 p.m.
There is a reason why we pasteurize milk.
cibachrome
Thu, Jun 23, 2011 : 11:07 p.m.
Not the end of this tail, I'll bet. MOOve over nature lovers, its teat for tat in the back to nature movement. Bovine Providence has cuddled up this crowd to a sickness unherd of for years. Did they have to carry them out on a Gurnsey?
arborani
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 1:54 p.m.
Punderful!
Rob Pollard
Thu, Jun 23, 2011 : 10:05 p.m.
This has nothing to do with organic. It has everything to do with a (very small) movement that maintains raw milk tastes better and is (with little evidence) better for you than any milk that is processed (i.e., pasteurized). It's a very libertarian and back to nature movement, for better for worse (in this particular case, clearly for worse!). <a href="http://www.annarbor.com/vielmetti/raw-milk-controversy/">http://www.annarbor.com/vielmetti/raw-milk-controversy/</a>
Rob Pollard
Sat, Jun 25, 2011 : 8 a.m.
Ummm...Christie, you do realize "libertarian" and "liberal" are two different words, right? They are VERY different from each other. I'll let you look up the difference, if you need to - you seem confident in your research skills. Or you can ask your neighbor, for another source. As for Ann Arbor.com articles, I didn't realize that wasn't allowed. Here's part of what literally two minutes of Google searching gets you. Normally I do more than that, but what I said earlier wasn't controversial, as I wasn't stating facts, just the well-promoted opinion of many raw milk advocates, so I'm good. <a href="http://www.ibj.com/newstalk/2010/03/29/raw-milk-controversy-flares-again/PARAMS/post/18962" rel='nofollow'>http://www.ibj.com/newstalk/2010/03/29/raw-milk-controversy-flares-again/PARAMS/post/18962</a> <a href="http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/the-quest-for-raw-milk/" rel='nofollow'>http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/the-quest-for-raw-milk/</a>
Christie
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 10:34 p.m.
lol I like how you think that only liberals like raw milk. Last time I checked the neighbors of mine with eight kids, practicing Mormonism, are not liberals. I also like the lack of real research on your part...you linked an Annarbor.com page....because...annarbor.com is the only source of adequate research for raw milk consumption? If you are going to do a true cross-reference...do it. Collect date from several sources to make it legit. Also, I am not sure if all raw foodies actually declare/maintain/support both living milk to taste better and be better for you. You would have to ask different people of various groups that like living milk.
SalineSara
Thu, Jun 23, 2011 : 10:02 p.m.
Organic = Poop in Food
Rodney Smith
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 5:17 p.m.
Actually, no, agribusiness = poop in food, because they're too damned cheap to employ staff with a conscience... the e-coli outbreaks aren't happening in sustainable agriculture, they are happening in agribusiness (and no, organic agribusiness is on better than any other kind)
John of Saline
Thu, Jun 23, 2011 : 9:45 p.m.
Technology is your friend.
itwasnotme
Thu, Jun 23, 2011 : 9:31 p.m.
Don't ya love free range kroger's is still 10 - 4 a buck or 2
SonnyDog09
Thu, Jun 23, 2011 : 9:01 p.m.
When something like this happens, hopefully it serves as a reminder of why we do things like pasteurize milk.
Turd Ferguson
Thu, Jun 23, 2011 : 8:59 p.m.
Who say's organic and natural isn't good for you? Hunh?
A2K
Thu, Jun 23, 2011 : 8:32 p.m.
Jeezo folks...at least pasteurize/scald your milk before consuming it - it will still taste way better than commercial milks.
A2K
Thu, Jun 23, 2011 : 8:33 p.m.
er, I meant hold at temperature for 10 minutes to kill any beasties...not just scald it.