Led by RFK Jr., Conservatives Embrace Raw Milk. Regulators Say It’s Dangerous.
Led by RFK Jr., Conservatives Embrace Raw Milk. Regulators Say It’s Dangerous. - KFF Health News
Let them. Darwin wins.
Unfortunately it's not that simple. Avian flu and other viruses can potentially spread from cows to humans, where it's more likely to mutate and spread. It's never the risk-accepters that suffer most. It's always the sick, the poor, the very young and the very old, and the healthcare workers who suffer. The people who refused to get vaccines or take even basic precautions with COVID killed a lot of people, while the vast majority of those assholes survived.
Avian flu and other viruses can potentially spread from cows to humans, where it’s more likely to mutate and spread.
Every single person that contracts the HPAI H5N1 virus is a few billion chances for the virus to mutate and generate a strain that is able to spread from person to person. These people are throwing dice over and over and when they come up snake eyes, we are all going to lose.
A coworker of mine (African American) lost three cousins to COVID. Minorities are less likely to have good healthcare or the resources to pay out of pocket when necessary. I'm mostly on team Darwin too but I agree it's not just the idiots that will get hurt. The way things are going schools might even start teaching that raw milk isn't that harmful.
And when more parents start giving their kids raw milk, what then?
Forcing kids to eat dangerous food is child abuse.
Can anyone explain to me why conservatives love raw milk so much? Is it like more profitable or something? Why the hell does this keep coming up?
They're like toddlers. You tell them they shouldn't and they will do everything in their power to do it anyways. They don't believe in science so everything is a "radical far left jewish space laser" conspiracy to take away their freedumbs.
As far as I can tell: It's partially the same shit as the anti vaccine mixed with being angry about government regulations.
A lot of the anecdotes I've heard about raw.milk being safe, are from small farms with few dairy cows.
My upper middle class family in Houston drinks it all the time. Yes they're all die hard conservatives.
In addition to what everyone else has said, I think it's also from ideas of "return to tradition" and a veneration of a kind of rural lifestyle that largely doesn't exist anymore. My extended family are farmers and even they got out of livestock when I was really young because there's not enough profit except at obscene scale. But milk fresh from the cow was a thing I grew up hearing about from cousins, it was apparently viewed as safe enough for the older kids as long as you cleaned the teat and it was really really fresh. But I wouldn't be surprised if the conditions in factory farms added another layer of risk that just wasn't there in the 90s on the last remaining family farms.
Edit: also some of them are operating under the mistaken idea that raw milk is healthier or more nutritious (it's not), or that or tastes better (actually possible, I actually heard it tasted slightly better as a kid).
Return to tradition is not the whole story.
For conservatives, power is wielded or power is seceded. In a government that you don't trust, that's forcing you to drink pasteurized milk, the idea of raw milk is kind of that "the government is hiding something from us" and not "the government is protecting us". While there is some overlap between "the government can't be trusted with milk" with "the government can be trusted with immigrants", for the most part they aren't necessarily the same people but they are cut from the same cloth.
They don't want the government to control them. The government controls other people.
It's why people like RFK are so dangerous because he now has the power to remove many of the safety nets we have grown accustomed to. Instead of Trump's first term where COVID was downplayed, we won't even test for avian flu. We won't even research cures.
Not only that, given the sheer kowtowing media outlets are doing we likely will have challenges reading outbreaks in other countries.
This is not an exaggeration. We are in fascism today.
When consuming raw milk directly from your own cow its a lot safer than anything related to shipping, holding and selling it. Raw milk always contains bacteria and other microbes. These take time to grow so drinking it immediately doesn't give them time to grow. But any amount of time between that allows them to go crazy. So it can be safe to drink raw milk in the old method where it came directly from your own cow with no time between. Its anything with scale that causes all the issues.
as long as you cleaned the teat and it was really really fresh. But I wouldn’t be surprised if the conditions in factory farms added another layer of risk that just wasn’t there in the 90s on the last remaining family farms.
I think you're hit the nail on the head. There's a concept in engineering (Hyrum's Law) that where systems interface with each other (e.g. software), the design of one will ultimately rely on every aspect of the other, intentional or otherwise. In the case of industrially produced milk, pasteurization permits a relatively high degree of filth on the supply side when compared to practices in the EU or UK (they ship more raw product). So, it stands to reason that this isn't just likely but exactly what's going on since everyone can get away with it.
It's anti vax and anti regulation so basically a maga wet dream. Squeeze cow, milk, ta da. In reality to the other 3/4 of humanity it's a microbial breeding ground for unfiltered mutations and diseases because you're just trusting the entire food chain leading up to the cow has been healthy and unmutated.
Pasteurized milk goes through a process where you filter out unwanted microbes or unsafe mutations before bottling the milk. It's like boiling water before drinking vs drinking from a puddle.
It's the hip new way to feel rebellious and tell the government "you can't tell me what to do" while the government fucks them over and steals their future for a quick pay day.
It's a carefully orchestrated distraction.
My mother's been on the "natural health" train for a while now and claims that pasteurizing milk removes most of the nutrients (verifiably false). No amount of my protesting or pointing her towards sources for the contrary have convinced her to stop consuming that garbage.
If no one else has mentioned it, there are also those idiotic fascists (but I repeat myself) that were/are big on guzzling milk to show how "superior" they are because lactose intolerance is fairly common, but even more common among non-whites.
Extra Nazi points if it's raw milk, maybe?
Damn Empire milk-drinkers. A True Nord is raised on mead straight from their momma's teat.
The only half reasonable argument I've seen is that requiring pasteurisation (supposedly) makes it difficult for small dairy farms that want to sell direct to consumer, and forces them to sell to large milk companies for a far lower price. I have no idea how valid that argument is.
I don't think so. I remember that we bought milk directly from the farm as a kid (Germany, so experiences may vary), but it always got collected in a big container that automatically pasteurized it during storage. Every farm had those, so they couldn't have been that expensive.
The conscription of the granola moms.
I think it's just that it's a regulation, and regulation bad. I don't want the gunment telling me I can't drink raw milk. No, fools, the government doesn't want people selling raw milk.
A lot of the US understands capitalism as purchasing choices at the store. Therefore if I can buy more stuff at the store I'm more free. Regulation bad.
This is handy for actual capitalist that want to abuse their workers and their customers by selling poison or watered down milk with plaster of Paris for color and liquified calf brains for texture miles from cows that are fed sawdust and literally dying. 👈 Why we regular milk now because this is all literally what was occuring.
Brawndo hasn’t been invented yet.
I think it's one of the easiest ways they can "stick it to the man".
Regression. World is scary. Milk brought safety during infancy and the limbic system remembers.
Regulators Say It’s Dangerous.
Not for long, they won't, because they won't be allowed to.
Because they won't exist.
Why do these fucking morons always want the objectively worst thing? The absolute dumbest thing you can think of and they're all for it. Why is the world like this now? I can't fucking stand it. "Let's get rid of the FDA and OSHA!" Like, what the fuck is this horse shit. This shouldn't be allowed to happen! I'm legitimately losing my sanity more and more each day.
it's because the government wants to fuck of us over duuude !! everything they say we should do opposite!! the government is a giant monolith and every human that works for them magically agrees to the same ideologies which force us to drink raw milk!! because they agreed pasteurized milk is good therefore it is bad !!
that's really all they think
At least this time the disease will stay confined to the stupid.
That's not how diseases work.
They are going to harm their own children, too, which is the real tragedy here.
Let them drink that stuff by the gallons. It helps raising the average IQ.
I get it, but this is really going to disproportionately hurt kids. Maybe their parents are on board with this, maybe they're just uninformed.
Unfortunately they are buying it for their kids too.
Sorry but how the fuck are insurance companies OK with this? They hold extreme amounts of power over the US. They are going to have to do ridiculous amounts of payouts for hospital bills.
How the fuck are people's life saving surgeries getting denied at pre-approval, but they are not denying people's coverage for fucking drinking raw milk??
You haven't heard? AI is going to automatically deny all those claims, problem solved.
Maybe if this takes off raw milk will show up on health questionnaires or be in the fine print as a pre existing condition
Same as every other money minded entity, if they speak out they'll be shouted down or destroyed. Ethics don't matter, number go up.
They don’t pay out the bills lol. I imagine they’ll work on dismantling the ACA/“Obamacare.” Insurance will cover nothing.
they can just outright deny them im guessing, the consumer bought it, knowingly.
And theyll somehow blame Dems
Fascists always turn on each other.
Beautiful ... the Darwin Awards are now coming to your grocery store
Let them drink raw milk
Cows are getting avian influenza. Farm workers are getting it from the chickens and cows. There is concern that people may eventually catch bird flu from raw milk. The more people get infected, the greater the odds that a mutation will develop that allows human to human transmission. Unfortunately, we may, yet again, have all of our lives and livelihoods threatened by people too ignorant to take even the most basic precautions for self preservation.
its because it is dangerous.
There's literally no point in selling non pasteurized milk, unless you want to waste money and cause potential health issues.
Literally all pasteurization does is heat up the milk, moderately, for a short period of time, and thats it.
It's more cost effective to do at scale, it's easier to regulate, ensuring consumer safety is easier, and ensuring that something happens if your dumbass doesn't do it properly, can also happen. The only reason you shouldn't do this is if you want to pasteurize your own milk, for some reason.
Maybe if you hate having free time, and need more responsibilities you should go synthesize your own fucking motor oil. Not pasteurize milk.
If you want to make Kefir at home you need raw milk. Obviously US goes into Soviet times so they will need it. This and potatoes in every home garden.
No you do not.
Buy and maintain some kefir grains, it's not expensive or difficult and does not require raw milk.
https://culturesforhealth.com/collections/kefir/products/milk-kefir-grains
Kefir is delicious though
I make yogurt all the time with pasteurized milk. Why would “thin yogurt” require raw milk? I have read that you get a thicker yogurt using regular pasteurized milk instead of ultra pasteurized milk, but I have had zero problems making yogurt with either.
Cheese made from unpasteurized milk can be safe, its what happens in most of the world. As long as its done correctly, tested and labeled as such that is fine. The whole point of the cheesemaking process is to encourage the good microbes to outcompete with the bad ones to make the cheese since its a preservative method. Its the drinking of raw milk that is dangerous. So of course that is the part that everyone wants to do and fight about
Cheese made from unpasteurized milk can be safe
From what I know of the US food industry, I still wouldn't chance it over there.
Unpasteurized cheese will typically be higher end because it's more difficult and slower to make. ( Unpasteurized cheese typically use the natural yeasts and bacterias to ferment so are slower). So as long as it labeled it should be fine
This will almost certainly cause a rise in neonatal Listeria cases from maternal transmission...which even if the child survives, can leave them with lifelong disability and functional dependency. Through no fault of their own...just their parents.
lifelong disability and functional dependency.
Poor family from medical bills, more easily manipulated into voting GOP. 3 votes secured!
Welp time to switch to 100% oat milk
Oat milk is great imo. Planet Oat extra creamy is the best available where I'm at.
Depending on your patience, you can make your own for super cheap. It's roughly 100g oats to 1000g water, with 20-50g neutral oil, and a tiny bit of guar and xanthan gums. Blend the oats and water for a minute, strain, then add the gums and oil and blend again. Sweeten to taste. Maybe ten minutes max.
If you can get it easily, adding amylase enzymes (blend of alpha, beta and gamma works best) after blending, warming to around 140, let sit for 30 minutes and then raise to 180 for 5 will increase the sweetness and keep it from getting gloopy. You can get them pretty cheap from a brewing supply store. It's how they make commercial oat milk, and it's how they can say "no added sugar" and still have it be sweet.
I drank milk from the tank and cream is the best. However, I still prefer pasteurized milk. If the MAGAts want to drink raw milk, let them and watch the green apple splatter flow.
Let them drink it.
Big year for Tuberculosis
Soon to be former regulators I'm guessing.
I for one want to allow all conservatives to consume as much raw milk as they want.
They will catch viruses that will kill the rest of us. Protecting the population against communicable diseases requires altruism and cooperation, of which conservatives seem incapable.
Plus, even if all illnesses could somehow be limited to just the people who actively drink it, they give it to their kids who have no say in the matter.
I understand where you're coming from, but then they just become a vector for nasties (e.g. avian flu when it finally overcomes the human-to-human transmission barrier, and you can be sure they won't take adequate precautions to avoid spreading it) as well as risking the health of their children.
You're right, obviously, but I can't help wishing "just desserts"
Damn Nurglites
But I can still get the pasteurized stuff, right?
Not for long.
Guess it's almond milk for me then.
Go Darwin! Go!
Let them. It'll make the election in 4 years a lot easier.
You've already had your last election.
Unfortunately this wil presumably only be American conservatives.
Will they die?
The second best outcome is suicide by stupidity.
The best is they stop being stupid.
Ehhhhh...
Raw milk is also an active transmission vector for bird flu, which has a mortality rate, by some measures, of about 51%. COVID was about 1 or 2%.
there's also a big difference between drinking minutes old raw milk directly straight out of the teet, vs commercial operations where the milk is a few hours to days old and is bottled with equipment that isn't perfectly cleaned between each bottle and then consumers sticking it in a fridge for a week. The former is just something farmers are going to do if they want and isn't really a serious public health concern imo (although still not without risk) and can't really be regulated away anyway. the latter exposes way more people and is way more dangerous, and that IS able to be regulated out of existence.
It takes time for the microbes in raw milk to grow to become dangerous. So drinking it on your own farm with your own cow isn't an issue since there is no time for them to grow. Any processing adds time which gives bacteria more time to grow. For a reference, in ideal conditions E. coli can double its population every 20 minutes.
Although this is anecdotal evidence I think you have a few good points. I'd be willing to let the practice be more common as long as the product stayed local (within the county) and the cows were kept in specific conditions (not shoulder to shoulder 24/7). The data regarding this is very small so I wouldn't want stuff to start being transported hundreds of miles until there's some kind of established safety record.
The good news is that drinking raw milk will disproportionately kill conservatives. Every dead conservative is a net win for society.
Ehh let em reap the rewards. Like not wearing masks during covid 🤷♂️
Good analogy, actually, since masks both reduce the risk to the wearer and reduce the risk of the wearer spreading whatever they're carrying to those around them.
Unfortunately raw milk can be a vector for avian flu and if (when) it achieves human-to-human transmission, these people will be vectors.
They are vectors for a lot more diseases than that...
Milk is dangerous.
Fair question from a French guy, here, where raw milk is not the most common, but easily available in stores, and recommended in many recipes. What's your opinion about raw milk cheese? Do you also think it's super dangerous? Industrialised pasteurized cheese is absolutely sad and boring, compared to raw milk french cheese (quality, variety, taste and authenticity)
Oh nooo.... Don't drink dangerous things against advice
They are voracious readers and consume a large amount of testing data, let the option be there, they are capitalist so the market will cull the product if its not wanted/needed.
voracious readers
Uh. yeah of facebook misinformation
Hey now, you also need to know they listen to vloggers on youtube and twitter too, see they are using a wide variety of sources, and I am sure they checked their sources on the subjects.
Fun fact: nearly 40% of all foodborne illnesses were caused by raw milk consumption. Pasteurization has reduced that number down to less than 1%, except in places where raw milk consumption is still allowed.
Been only buying organic milk for 10+ years now out of preference, it stays fresh for much longer than normal milk. This is because USDA Organic milk is ultra-pasteurized in almost the same way as shelf-stable milk.
I searched and found this article and they reported that there's virtually no difference in nutrients between the options:
https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/is-ultra-pasteurized-milk-bad/
So if all the nutrients are the same, the only difference in less pasteurization is more bacteria. Fuck that!
I think it definitely affects the taste though doesn't it? I prefer the organic ones that are vat pasteurized due to that reason, ultra feels sweeter to me.