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There’s Bird Flu in U.S. Dairy Cows. Raw Milk Drinkers Aren’t Deterred
Sales of raw milk appear to be on the rise, despite years of warnings about the health risks of drinking the unpasteurized products — and an outbreak of bird flu in dairy cows.
Since March 25, when the bird flu virus was confirmed in U.S. cattle for the first time, weekly sales of raw cow’s milk have ticked up 21% to as much as 65% compared with the same periods a year ago, according to the market research firm NielsenIQ.
That runs counter to advice from the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which calls raw milk one of the “riskiest” foods people can consume.
Testimonies to raw milk are trending on social media sites. And Mark McAfee, owner of Raw Farm USA in Fresno, California, says he can’t keep his unpasteurized products in stock. “People are seeking raw milk like crazy,” he said, noting that no bird flu has been detected in his herds or in California. “Anything that the FDA tells our customers to do, they do the opposite.”
USDA, FDA Turf Battles Hamper Responses to Outbreaks Like H5N1 Bird Flu
On a bright June day in 2018, one of the nation’s top regulators waved groceries in the air, quizzing the secretary of agriculture on which agency is charged with monitoring different types of food. Scott Gottlieb, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration at the time, grinned widely as he held liquid egg whites and a carton of eggs. The former is under the U.S.
Department of Agriculture’s food safety purview. The eggs, under the FDA’s. The mood was jovial, winkingly acknowledging the complexity, and at times absurdity, in the way the government regulates food.
But in times of crisis, the splintered U.S. food regulation system is far from amusing. With an outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu spreading among dairy cattle, experts say that the longtime fractured nature of the U.S. food regulation system could hamper the federal response.
STAT interviewed more than 20 former agency officials and independent experts, many of whom described the relationship between the USDA and the FDA as being punctuated by tense turf battles. Some cited the recent history as a basis for their concern now over H5N1. In the past, the fragmented responsibilities between the FDA and sub-agencies within the USDA led to inefficient investigations and stunted surveillance testing in cases involving E. coli, salmonella, and tuberculosis.
Lack of Bird Flu Testing May Be Hiding True Spread of Virus on U.S. Farms
Serious gaps in testing animals and people could be obscuring the true rate of avian influenza cases in the U.S. and make it difficult to understand how the H5N1 virus is spreading — and how to stop it, experts say. Facing reluctance from farms to test workers and animals, scientists are now turning to experimental studies to understand how H5N1, a highly pathogenic bird flu, is spreading through cows and on to other farms.
The bird flu count among dairy herds in the U.S. continues rising, but infections are more widespread than previously realized, as testing in commercially available milk reveals. While the risk to people is still low, that could change as the virus mutates, so its continued circulation remains a big concern.
“The people that we need to get at most now are the other folks on these farms that are getting exposed to huge amounts of virus in these environments,” said Richard Webby, a virologist at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital’s Department of Infectious Fiseases. “That’s not easy, and it’s not happening at a scope that we probably need.”
Only about two dozen people have been tested for H5N1 in this entire outbreak. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not recommend testing unless symptoms develop after close contact with animals — even if someone has milked a sick cow or lives with an infected person.
Baby Milk Recalled as Health Warning Issued
Washington-based company is recalling a goat milk product and urging consumers to immediately stop using the product as baby formula.
Healthwest Minerals Inc, doing business as Mt. Capra Products, of Chehalis, announced on Friday that it is recalling 1,506 boxes of Goat Milk Formula Recipe Kit on the advice of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) because the product does not provide sufficient nutrition when used as infant formula. The FDA shared the company’s announcement on its website.
“The FDA is concerned that the formula does not meet all FDA requirements for infant formula, does not provide sufficient nutrition when used as an infant formula, and the storage instructions may be insufficient for the product,” the announcement said.
The FDA notified Mt. Capra about a report of anemia in one infant, according to the announcement.
Multiple Studies Demonstrate the Importance of Strengthening Organic in the Farm Bill
As research continues to emerge on the value of organic farming, U.S. Congress debates its future as Farm Bill negotiations have been stalled for months. Recent studies published within the past few months show the significance of organic agriculture’s support of fungal and microbial life, which is essential to soil health.
Meanwhile, last week the Democrat-led Senate and Republican-led House of Representatives presented their respective visions to amend the 2024 Farm Bill. The office of U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MN), chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, released an initial Senate framework for the (now 2024) Farm Bill. At the same time, U.S. Representative Glenn Thompson (R-PA), chair of the House Agriculture Committee, released an outline of the House version, then followed up with more details.
While the Senate Democratic proposal includes more robust support for expanding and strengthening organic product supply chains and domestic production, the House Republican support for organic land management principles and practices demonstrates that the Farm Bill could recognize, across the political spectrum, its economic, ecological, and public health benefits in the United States.
Despite this, a growing coalition of advocates is alerting the public and members of Congress that the chemical industry and allied companies are pushing to simultaneously preempt state authority to allow stricter bans of toxic pesticides at the municipal level and shield the producers and users of toxic pesticides from liability lawsuits associated with the harm that their products cause.
An Imbalance of Two Healthy Fats Affects Your Early Death Risk, Study Finds
Eating enough healthy fats is great for brain and heart health, but new research has possibly provided even more evidence for adding them — particularly omega-3s — to your diet.
“We found that a higher omega-6 to omega-3 ratio is associated with a greater risk of dying,” said Yuchen Zhang, lead author of the April study published in the journal eLife, in a news release. Zhang is a doctoral student in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Georgia’s College of Public Health.
Omega-3 fatty acids are naturally found in foods including fish — especially fatty fish such as salmon, tuna and sardines — as well as flaxseed, walnuts, chia seeds and dietary supplements such as fish oil.
Focusing on this balance and increasing your intake of foods rich in omega-3s can be more important than simply limiting those high in omega-6s, Kristin Kirkpatrick, a registered dietitian nutritionist at the Cleveland Clinic and author of “Regenerative Health: Discover Your Metabolic Type and Renew Your Liver for Life,” said.
Report: Kraft Heinz Seeking to Sell Oscar Mayer
The Kraft Heinz Co. has hired advisers to help the company sell its Oscar Mayer processed meat business, according to The Wall Street Journal. The company is seeking a price for Oscar Mayer between $3 billion and $5 billion.
The newspaper went on to note that new Kraft Heinz chief executive officer Carlos Abrams-Rivera is trying to refocus Kraft Heinz’s product portfolio on products that deliver taste and nutrition and improve the performance of the company’s stock price.
Kraft Heinz also is not the only food company seeking to refocus its product portfolio. B&G Foods, Inc., Parsippany, NJ, said it is seeking to divest its frozen and canned vegetable business, and in late April Reuters reported that General Mills, Inc., Minneapolis, was exploring the sale of its North America yogurt business.
Farmers’ Union Lobbied to Increase Pesticide Limit in UK Drinking Water
The National Farmers’ Union lobbied to increase the amount of pesticides allowed in the U.K.’s drinking water and to allow farmers to spread manure more frequently as part of a post-Brexit loosening of environmental regulations, it can be revealed. Nick von Westenholz, the director of strategy for the lobby group, met Timothy Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, the Earl of Minto, who is the minister of state for regulatory reform, last year and asked him to review EU-derived environmental protections.
The NFU said the statement made during the meeting did not mean it wanted the thresholds increased, just that it wanted them reviewed. A spokesperson said: “He explained the NFU’s stated policy position, which questions whether the strict, historic limits on pesticide residues in water are based on up-to-date science. These limits can prevent farmers from accessing important products in tackling pests and diseases. The NFU advocates for a review of the effectiveness of the DWD [drinking water directive] and its impact on farming, but has no policy on the details of any reform or amendment to the regulation.”
Von Westenholz and Minto agreed that the current pesticide level standards for drinking water, which are in line with the EU’s, are derived from EU legislation and could therefore be changed due to Brexit.
The NFU also asked Minto if the government would loosen key EU-derived rules to allow farmers to spread manure more frequently. When too much manure is in rivers, lakes and other waterways, it increases the levels of nutrients including phosphates and nitrates. These cause an overgrowth of algae and other plant life, which chokes aquatic life. There is already a significant problem with additional nutrients from human sewage in the U.K.’s waterways.
How Do We Reduce Pesticide Use While Empowering Farmers? A More Nuanced Approach Could Help
Pesticides threaten humans, wildlife and our environment. Food production must change. But farmers are already pushed to their margins. Organic agriculture produces less food and requires more land. An immediate end to pesticide use will likely cause productivity to drop and prices to soar.
“Farmers want to produce food in a healthy environment as it makes it easier for us to operate,” says David Lord, a farmer in Essex, England. “But when we’re forced to produce so close to the cost of production, people are existing on such fine margins, they can’t invest in the things they need to, and they’re just pushed to farm in a way they don’t want to.”
The debate about pesticides often gets polarised, pitching farmers against consumers. But that doesn’t capture the nuance or prioritize trust in scientific evidence. There’s a common ground that can be explored by identifying wins for both people and biodiversity that share agricultural landscapes.
