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Sold-out Farm Shops, Smuggled Deliveries and Safety Warnings: US Battle Over Raw Milk Grows
It’s 8 am, and Redmond, an 11-year-old Brown Swiss dairy cow and designated matriarch of the Churchtown Dairy herd, has been milked in her designated stall. She is concentrating on munching hay; her seventh calf is hovering nearby.
The herd’s production of milk, sold unpasteurised in half-gallon and quart glass bottles in an adjacent farm store, sells out each week. It has become so popular that the store has had to limit sales.
Redmond and her resplendent bovine sisters, wintering in a Shaker-style barn in upstate New York, appear unaware of the cultural-political storm gathering around them — an issue that is focusing minds far from farmyard aromas of mud and straw.
The production and state-restricted distribution of raw milk, considered by some to boost health and by others to be a major risk to it, has become a perplexing political touchstone on what is termed the “Woo-to-Q pipeline,” along which yoga, wellness and new age spirituality adherents can drift into QAnon conspiracy beliefs.
Bird Flu Causes Deaths of Cats and Zoo Animals as Virus Spreads in US
Just days after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a new order that all raw (unpasteurized) milk must be tested for bird flu, reports have emerged of animals dying of the virus.
In Los Angeles County, the public health department is investigating the deaths of two cats that reportedly consumed recalled raw milk.
After drinking the milk, the felines displayed symptoms that included lack of appetite, fever and neurologic issues, according to a press release from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
“The infected cats died after severe worsening of their illness, and subsequently tested positive for influenza A, a rare result in cats,” the release stated.
Will the FDA Finally Ban Red No. 3? A Decision Could Come Soon
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering a ban on food dye, Red No. 3. The agency has been reviewing a petition to ban the colorant since 2022. The petroleum-based dye has been used for more than 50 years in thousands of products including candy, snack foods and soda. An FDA spokesperson tells NPR a decision could come “soon.”
Questions about the dye’s potential health effects go back decades. The FDA banned the use of the Red No. 3 in cosmetics and medicated ointments and lotions back in 1990. Research showed the dye could cause cancer in animals in high doses. But the agency concluded it was safe in the amounts used in food.
The agency says it has evaluated the safety of Red No. 3 “multiple times” since its original approval for use in food in 1969.
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Two More Cases of Bird Flu in Humans Reported in California
Two cases of bird flu have been reported in California’s San Joaquin county, according to local health officials.
According to a press release issued on Friday and reported by the Sacramento Bee, health officials from San Joaquin county public health services said that both cases occurred in farmworkers who had had exposure to infected animals. Both individuals have exhibited mild symptoms and are recovering, officials said, adding that there are 34 confirmed cases in total across California.
In a warning issued on Facebook, health officials said that bird flu is “spreading in some farm animals like poultry and cows” and urged residents to take precautions to prevent the spread of the disease.
The precautions included using protective gear when working with poultry, dairy cows or other animals that could be infected, as well as when handling raw and unpasteurized milk.
Refrigerated Raw Milk Harbors Infectious Flu Virus for 5 Days, Study Finds
Raw milk, hailed by some as a natural and nutritious alternative to pasteurized dairy, may come with hidden dangers, according to a new Stanford University study.
The research, published Dec. 12 in Environmental Science & Technology Letters reveals that influenza or flu virus can remain infectious in refrigerated raw milk for up to five days. The findings come at a time when outbreaks of bird flu in dairy cattle have raised concerns about the potential for a new pandemic.
“This work highlights the potential risk of avian influenza transmission through consumption of raw milk and the importance of milk pasteurization,” said study senior author Alexandria Boehm, the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Professor of Environmental Studies in the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability and the Stanford School of Engineering.
More than 14 million Americans consume raw milk annually. Unlike pasteurized milk, raw milk is not heated to kill potentially harmful pathogens. Proponents of raw milk claim that it leaves more beneficial nutrients, enzymes, and probiotics than in pasteurized milk, and can boost immune and gastrointestinal health.
