Raw milk sales spike despite CDC's warnings of risk associated with bird flu

[Nevilledog]

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/raw-milk-sales-spike-despite-cdcs-warnings-of-risk-associated-with-bird-flu


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.

“Raw milk can be contaminated with harmful germs that can make you very sick,” the CDC says on its website.

As of Monday, at least 42 herds in nine states are known to have cows infected with the virus known as type A H5N1, federal officials said.

*snip*

[a kennedy]

1. People that drink the raw milk, must be same folk that didn't get any Covid shots.....

I’m sure they are.

[we can do it]

27. Maybe this will end them.

[Johnny2X2X]

2. It's just a rejection of science

People just buy into stuff that everything was great before we had all these advancements in science. They weren't. People got sick from drinking milk on the regular before pasteurization with terrible and sometimes deadly diseases like listeriosis, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, diphtheria and brucellosis.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

3. Drinking raw milk is becoming a big fundie obsession. Jesus is their Louis Pasteur!

[lynintenn]

4. Glad we gave up animal milk.

We drink almond or flaxseed milk.

[Passages]

5. There is a lovely farm market near me and I love their produce yet

baffled by the raw milk they sell in their refrigerated section.

[republianmushroom]

6. Some people are not to smart.

Remember horse wormer for covid, in-lieu of covid vaccine ?

[usonian]

7. Despite H5N1 bird flu outbreaks in dairy cattle, raw milk enthusiasts are uncowed (LA Times)

One of the wackiest headlines I have seen lately.
https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2024-05-12/raw-milk-enthusiasts-uncowed-by-bird-flu-risk-in-dairy

[AZSkiffyGeek]

12. Brilliant!

Always love a clever headline
Didn't LA Times have a "Cut off Pecker" headline a couple weeks ago?

[haele]

8. Apparently on the r/rawmilk site, people think drinking infected milk will make them

- immune. I'm thinking it's a 1 in 4 chance of making them dead. At the end of March, it was running basically a 56% mortality rate among humans who reported becoming sick with it - around 254, according to the CDC. As more people report the illness, mortality rate may go down as COVID eventually did but still -56%. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

My sister-in-law law raises chickens, mini- and micro-cows as a side hobby business on 5 acres in Texas; she's keeping an wary eye on their small herd. My brother says their main herd of eight are all goofy and lovable, pretty much pets rather than livestock, and bird flu in the herd would be devastating in more ways than just an economic one.

Haele

[orange jar]

9. You can thank "naturalist" influencers for that.

TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, and pretty much every social media platform has these right wing influencers that promote dangerous, misinformed "naturalist" diets. Raw meat, unpasteurized milk, raw honey, etc… are all being promoted by these influencers as safer and healthier. Some of you may have heard of a guy known as the "Liver King" as an example.

These influencers also tend to be right wing conspiracists who believe the government is trying to intentionally keep us "unhealthy" for control purposes. Unfortunately, a ton of "normal" people get caught up in these diets and become radicalized through them.

[NickB79]

16. Liver King was a roided-up fraud

He was exposed a few months ago.

Amazing how much muscle mass a $12,000/month steroid habit can build.

[orange jar]

19. yep.

Personally, I think all of these "naturalist" influencers are frauds. There's no way in hell they fully believe that shit, but they're great at fooling the gullible and grifting for their money.

They are dangerous people.

[Javaman]

10. It's all about where you get it from

I get mine from a daily that provides milk to Blue Bell ice cream. They are inspected weekly by the health dept.

I have nothing at all against pasteurization, I do have a beef against homogenization
If I could find milk here in Austin that was pasteurized but not homogenized, I would get it in a heart beat

[ProfessorGAC]

14. What's The Objection?

Not understanding your dislike of homogenized milk.
It's still 3-3.5% butterfat, just like non-homogenized whole milk.
It's just that the particles are so finely divided that the natural emulsification from casein & whey, plus some monglycerides (present in nature) can occur.
But, all the fat, proteins, lactose, & calcium salts are still there.
It's done continuously in sealed piping, so nothing can go away.

[Javaman]

24. Purely principle

There is no reason to homogenize milk other thank to screw the consumer. They was instituted to control crème content nothing more. Until you have tasted un homogenized milk, you will never know what you are missing.

[ProfessorGAC]

26. We Really Diagree

My dad was a milkman all the way back to the glass bottle days. There is no form of milk I haven't had.
The milk without homogenization has the exact same butter fat content as homogenized whole milk.
The butterfat content is controlled by the cow's metabolism, not a dairy.
The cream removed from 2%, 1% or skim milk is used to boost whole milk to half & half or packaged as heavy cream. (Loght cream is 2 parts heavy cream to 1 part whole milk.(
I've seen the process with my own eyes; many times.
Homogenization was not developed to screw the consumer. That's silliness.

[SarahD]

32. My great uncle was a milkman.

I helped him deliver on weekends. Most of his little old lady customers demanded unhomogenized milk because they skimmed the cream and added it to their coffee. They squealed like stuck pigs if they thought I was being careless. "Young lady! You be careful not to shake that milk!" Homogenized milk was developed in response to complaints about having to shake the milk all the time because most people, unlike the little old ladies, didn't like the cream floating on top.

[Javaman]

33. Not silliness as you say.

homemakers would reject and not buy low cream content milk. They would be able to determine this via the cream level in the glass bottled milk. Homogenization eliminates that.

I have been around long enough to remember getting bottled milk and my mom rejecting some deliveries and telling the milkman that the cream content was too low.

Also this is not purely just from my point of view, check out the book “Milk: the 10,000 year history” by Mark Kurlansky or “the story of milk” by Johan Ditlev Frederiksen

[SarahD]

31. I know what I am missing. Nothing.

There is a slight, tiny taste difference because the fat globules are not broken up. Milk straight from the bulk tank tastes better because it has more butter fat, not because it is un-homo. My cousins pasteurize their own milk because they milk 800 head and there is too much chance of a problem. I think they gave up pasteurizing at home and just get ordinary milk.from the creamery. They go there twice a day and milk is super cheap because they are co-op members.

[Celerity]

34. you would love Sweden

If I could find milk here in Austin that was pasteurized but not homogenized, I would get it in a heart beat

Gammaldags mjölk aka lantmjölk

old fashioned milk aka country milk

it is what we (wifey and I) drink

[Mopar151]

11. Don't buy raw milk!

Unless the cow is a close personal friend....... The farmer needs to be supportive of that relationship.

[LonePirate]

13. This will be how the virus mutates and starts transmission between people without another host.

[TheBlackAdder]

15. Y'all are playing with fire. Having owned a small farm with some cows, the pathogens in the soil... wow!

All kinds of fly larvae, parasites, feces from all kinds of animals from mice to foxes and squirrels and whatever flies overhead. Poor and unsanitary food handling also needs to be factored into this equation. You should see how unsanitary many farms are. To make matters worse, most of those who buy raw milk get them from farms that don't treat their animals with antibiotics, or do so and allow them back in after a few weeks offline to allow the meds to subside. Antibiotic treated animals should not be used for milk production while in their system, but some farms don't treat their animals at all, and if you see those farms, some of their animals are deathly looking with mange, botfly and other infections like bovine respiratory disease, pink eye, etc.

Go ahead, drink raw milk from those animals. Most of them don't look like the drawings on those cartons or pictures that are floating around the internet.

[NickB79]

17. It's already killing barn cats like mad

https://www.sciencealert.com/bird-flu-in-raw-cow-milk-has-killed-farm-cats-in-a-concerning-first

A 50% kill rate is right up there with Ebola.

[Voltaire2]

20. I wonder how much of the increase is because of news about CDC concern over H5N1 cross transmission to humans.

I would not be surprised if there are quite a few anti-science reactionaries glugging it raw just because its a bad idea.

[lindysalsagal]

21. "Look at me: I'm rejecting convention. That makes me special."

Might as well be flat-earthers.

[Archae]

22. The profit margin is important here also.

"Raw milk" providers don't have to purchase and maintain pasteurization equipment, and "raw milk" is usually double or even triple the price of store milk.

So the "raw milk" pushers are laughing all the way to the bank.

[tanyev]

23. You mean I shouldn't serve raw milk milkshakes at the measles party I'm planning?

Dang. I’ve been trying to find some clowns with the new Covid strain for entertainment, but that’s been slim pickings so far.

[ismnotwasm]

25. Lots of TikTok's promoting raw milk

Lots of TikToks debunking that too, but the damage has been done.

[brewens]

28. Convince the MAGAts that cigarettes will be totally banned and see how many start smoking. Kind of slow

but might pay off in the long run.

[Progressive dog]

29. Raw milk tastes different besides being dangerous.

I haven't had it in years and can't understand why anyone would choose it over safe, less expensive, and better tasting milk.

[tblue37]

30. Franz Kafka died from TB he got from drinking raw milk. He was a health obsessive who followed

incorrect medical beliefs like the anti-vaxers do.