California Said to be Considering Law Forcing Mothers to Pasteurize Their Own Breast Milk

Well, that may be an exaggeration, but it won't be long before they do. All to "protect the children". I can imagine that pretty soon California will mandate that all human breast milk must be pasteurized before a baby can drink it.

I'm not an alarmist. I don't see conspiracies around every corner. But I do see an entrenched dairy industry that is trying to eliminate the grass-fed, raw milk industry in California. There are studies after studies that show that raw milk (non-pasteurized) from grass-fed cows is fantastic food. The pasteurization is what kills all the good stuff. It has to be handled correctly at the dairy, this is true. I invite anyone interested to go to http://www.realmilk.com/ and read for yourself the volume of research on this topic. Here's what Sandy Fallon, advocate for raw milk says, and I find it compelling: “Officials cite health risks to raw milk but once milk has been pasteurized, all the anti-microbial and immune-supporting components are reduced or destroyed.” I like this San Francisco mom's reasoning about raw milk on her blog. Check it out here: Raw Milk and Cheese: I switched

The anti-raw milk hype on this topic is stifling, but try to see past it and you'll see what I'm talking about. The problem with this type of milk is that it is very expensive to produce, but when people study about it, they DEMAND it. California has been a leader in allowing people the choice to buy raw milk, now legislation has been passed that will effectively end raw milk sales in CA.

They are very clever in how the crafted this legislation. Keep in mind that dairies can test every batch of milk they produce for the presence of any pathogenic bacteria directly. There needn't be any guesswork. But the state of California now mandates that there be virtually no bacteria (pathogenic or not) present in the milk, or it won't be "certified". This is a bogus test. Raw milk will have bacteria, just not pathogenic bacteria. This legislation seems aimed squarely at ending the ability of individuals to purchase something shown to be healthful. Check out this article on this new law in CA.

King Corn -- The Movie -- "People are basically made out of corn."

I read an interesting review of a movie soon to be released that chronicles how corn has changed our diet and our economy. Interesting stuff, check it out here.

Did you know?


"If the American people wanted strictly grass-fed beef, we would produce grass-fed beef for them," feedlot owner Bob Bledsoe says in the movie. "But it's definitely more expensive and one of the tenets in America is America wants and demands cheap food."

Iowa farmer Chuck Pyatt is quoted in the movie as saying:" 'People are basically made out of corn,' "

Also this: "Thanks to hybrid corn, chemical fertilizers, powerful weed killers and other modern farming methods, the filmmakers' yield is four times what their acre would've produced in their great-grandfather's day. Cheney and Ellis grew enough corn to sweeten 57,348 sodas, feed enough cows to make 3,894 burgers or produce 6,726 boxes of corn flakes. "

So, with all that productivity increase, you'd think we'd have planted less acres of corn right? but according to this article, "Although productivity has increased, so has the number of acres planted in corn. More than 93 million acres of corn were planted this year, a 40 percent increase since 1970."

hmmmm....

The USDA's New Grassfed Label is Weak

The USDA with a lot of fanfare issued standards last week on what can be called "grassfed". Some trumpeted the announcement, others condemned it, including the American Grassfed Association. I think their reasoning is sound (I am a member of said organization) because it's based on what the customer expects. The standard given by the USDA is that cattle be given "access to pasture". Well that is the same standard they use in the "organic" standard. And customers expect that beef or milk or lamb or poultry that is labeled "grassfed" is raised on pasture with no growth hormones or fed a diet of antibiotics.


In this article, Andy Bellatti does a good job showing how the corporate "farms" get around standards like this. I believe more and more people though are wanting to know where their food comes from. He says:

"Under the current organic guidelines by the United States Department of Agriculture, milk can be labeled 'organic' if the cows that produce it have "access to pasture."

Technically, the cows do not have to eat said pasture. So, a huge farm could potentially fatten up all its cows on corn and grains but let them spend an hour a day outside and legally label their milk as "organic.""

Wax - It's What's For Dinner

I read this headline last week and I just had to read the article by Tim Carman of the Washington City Paper. Check out the article here. Excessively fatty meat will leave a waxy taste in your mouth -- why is that?

Hold the Presses! That New "Grassfed" USDA Standard May Be Weak

The American Grassfed Association is against the new grassfed standards. I'm a member of the American Grassfed Association and I'm sure I support them in this. We raise our animals to the highest possible standard, so we're in favor of enforcing only the highest standards. I don't want there to be any loopholes in this. When consumers buy something called "grassfed" they should get exactly what they expect. Here's a link to the press release.

Wish You had a Star Wars Food Replicator?

Yeah that's kind of a cool concept. A microwave looking thing that just creates whatever food you want. But according to this article, we've become addicted to corn.

"Cheap corn gave us the cheap hamburger, as well. Corn, a high-starch feed, fast-fattens cattle; it's now the main ingredient in the bovine feedlot diet. Americans have a weak-spot for corn-fed beef, which has as much as five times saturated fat as grass-fed beef. In fact, if you were born in the last thirty years in America, chances are you've only ever eaten corn-fed beef. So it goes: the seemingly diverse foods in the supermarket -- can of soda, disc of beef -- have common ancestors in the Corn Belt.

"Star Trek's Replicator is an understandably appealing idea. As a kid I would have traded my little sister for a machine that would make hamburgers appear from thin air in my bedroom. But are consumers benefiting from the corn kingdom? Obesity rates are obscenely high, and one in three kids born in 2000 is expected to develop Type-II diabetes. It would be absurd to lay the blame solely with corn, but the nation's waistline problems are undoubtedly linked to what we're gulping down at the local fast food joint. And most of that stuff, despite all the shapes and colors it comes in, is made out of the same varietal of goo -- yellow dent #2 corn. "

The USDA Finally Issues a Definition of "Grassfed"

Do you know what an Ethicurean is? I didn't either until I read this article about the new "Grassfed" label rules that have been issued by the USDA. Read this to see what ethicureans think of the new label. Here's a paragraph:

"Exciting announcement for Ethicurean readers: After almost five years of deliberation and two rounds of public comments, the USDAs Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has finally issued standards for "grass (forage) fed" marketing claims” ones that actually mean what most consumers think they should mean, and aren't chock full of industry-pandering loopholes as we feared they would be."

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What's Really In Your Food?

This article is an eye-opening look at how some of the major conglomerates move behind the scenes to lobby for changes in the legal definitions of "organic products" and "pasteurization". I know why they do these things and I'm not suggesting a sinister motive. I just know that raising chickens and cattle that are really "free-range" and really "grass-fed" like any regular person understands that terminology is prohibitively expensive. You can't make a large profit doing it. Until a larger percentage of people demand it, it won't happen. I think the movement is happening.

Where's the Beef From?

I was reading this article on the "Eat Local" movement and I suddenly thought of this new saying I should register. Instead of the famous quote: "Where's the Beef?" How about "Where's the Beef From?" That would be by far the most important thing to know about what you're eating, don't you think?

You Really Ought to Know Where Your Food Comes From

The reality of feed at animal factories equivalent to Garbage in Garbage Out ... This article is a chilling retell of what is legal to feed animals we ultimately eat. It starts out with this idealic scene:

"When many Americans think of farm animals, they picture cattle munching grass on rolling pastures, chickens pecking on the ground outside of picturesque red barns, and pigs gobbling down food at the trough. "

BTW, this description fits the Johnson Ranch to a "T" (minus the pigs part though)

Then proceeds to detail what foodstuffs are usually fed. It's interesting reading.

My, How Young You Look!

Wish you could maintain (or obtain) that youthful appearance? Eating protein like grassfed beef is one of the keys.

In this article by Al Sears, M.D., he says: "Make the focal point of your diet natural protein. Protein from fish and grass-fed beef is best because these animals have healthy levels of omega-3s that will help to reduce your triglycerides, not to mention your waistline. "