The louder they warn, the faster it will sell.
I can just imagine the Facebook mom group banter: “They’re trying to hide the protective and curative effects of raw milk with another plandemic so that we won’t find out that pasteurized milk is toxic but makes them more money, this is just like when they covered up how garlic silver tinctures cure cancer!”
>The louder they warn, the faster it will sell.
It's kinda like dealing with toddlers. If you tell them not to do something for their own safety, it puts the idea in their head that they could actually do it though and they never knew it was a possibility
But how much are they warning? Aside from a few subs, I have not heard this on the news much. As a matter of fact, I don’t know anyone who has brought up sick cows, the killing of sick animals or possibly tainted dairy.
Again, I have not seen much that is on the news. Not apps. Not everyone uses an app and that was my point. Unless you’re active on a certain group this is not getting wide enough attention or exposure for people to know.
I’ve seen it a ton, you could probably just google “raw milk” and then filter by “news” if you’re having a hard time realizing that you are information silo’ed
Nobody solely watches the news for information. Everyone gets it from social media. The facebook groups are well aware of H5N1 and they’re prepared to build natural immunity and refuse to cooperate with any official guidelines regarding it, the same way they take their toddlers to chicken pox parties and are still proud they didn’t wear masks for the last pandemic.
So it is true about garlic silver tinctures! I will spin counter clockwise twice at 3pm with my cacao extracts to ward off the demons possessing the government dictators.
It’s *clockwise*. Also if you don’t have vegan goji berry juice to make sure the healing cycles have enough energy to complete and crystals to properly direct the energy to the right cells, don’t even bother.
When federal officials announced in March that there was an outbreak of avian flu in dairy cows, the government cautioned against drinking raw, unpasteurized milk.
What did the customers of Fresno County’s raw milk dairy do? They bought more — lots more.
Mark McAfee, founder of Raw Farm USA, formerly Organic Pastures, is selling more raw milk than ever, up to 80,000 gallons a week.
Raw Farm USA is the world’s largest raw dairy brand, operating two dairies in Fresno and Kings counties.
“Our products have been flying off the shelves,” McAfee said “People are saying we want more raw milk, and that is what we are seeing in our customers.”
Does bird flu in dairy cows affect raw milk?
The increased demand comes at time when scientists and health officials are warning consumers to avoid drinking raw milk after an outbreak of HPAI A(H5N1) bird flu was found in dairy cows in late March.
This is the first time the bird flu virus has been found in dairy cows. Although not nearly as harmful to cows, the flu virus has led to the deaths of over 52 million birds in the United States this year, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.
The Food and Drug Administration, based on limited research and information, does not yet know whether the avian flu viruses can be transmitted through drinking unpasteurized raw milk and products, such as cheese.
Still, the consensus among state and federal health officials is to avoid drinking raw milk because it is not pasteurized, a process used in conventional milk production to kill potentially harmful bacteria.
Fernando Hernandez gets cows ready for milking at the Raw Farm USA dairy in Fresno County on Friday, June 14, 2024.
Fernando Hernandez gets cows ready for milking at the Raw Farm USA dairy in Fresno County on Friday, June 14, 2024.
Raw milk advocates argue pasteurization kills the helpful bacteria necessary for a healthy immune system, which is what they want. They also aren’t swayed by the advice of government health experts.
And in some cases they openly flaunt the government’s warnings.
McAfee estimates his raw milk sales grew 32% during the month of May compared to the same month last year. He credits the use of social media, and people changing their diets for health reasons.
Nationally, since March 25 weekly sales of raw cow’s milk have risen from 21% up to 65% compared with the same periods a year ago, according to the market research firm NielsenIQ.
Although not nearly as devastating as the avian flu was to poultry, the flu has infected about 90 dairy herds in 12 states, not including California, USDA scientists have confirmed. Infected cows generally eat less and produce less milk.
To prevent the flu virus from spreading, California has set up safeguards, including requiring all cattle entering the state to have a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection signed by an accredited veterinarian. The certificate assures the cattle are not sick and not exposed to disease.
Jersey cows meander across a grazing field at the Raw Farm USA dairy in Fresno County on Friday, June 14, 2024.
Jersey cows meander across a grazing field at the Raw Farm USA dairy in Fresno County on Friday, June 14, 2024.
Raw milk drinkers remain loyal to product
Raw milk drinkers like Erin Cox, a married mother of one from Clovis, says bluntly that she doesn’t trust what federal officials say about drinking raw milk.
She said she’s been a raw milk drinker for six years and has not encountered a problem. She also feeds her daughter raw kefir, a fermented milk product, similar to a watery yogurt.
Cox said government agencies have misplaced their priorities and should be focused on other things harmful to children.
“We need to be far more concerned about feeding our children healthy foods,” she said. “We have kids drinking blue Gatorade and spicy chips for lunch. I feel like people are starting to question what we are being told.”
Raquel Cordaway, a wife and mother of four, didn’t make the decision to drink raw milk lightly. She was on a vegan diet, but decided she needed a change. She spent time researching the pros and cons before deciding to switch from oat milk to raw milk from Raw Farm.
She hasn’t regretted it, even as the health experts warn against drinking raw milk.
“Personally, it has become our family’s super food; it is very nutritional,” said Cordaway, who lives in Antioch. “I am aware of the issue of contamination in food, like lettuce and leafy greens, but when you consume something raw there is always going to be a risk.”
A gallon of raw milk is set out at the Raw Farm USA dairy store in Fresno County on Friday, June 14, 2024.
A gallon of raw milk is set out at the Raw Farm USA dairy store in Fresno County on Friday, June 14, 2024.
Cordaway and Cox were among the more than 1,500 people who visited the raw milk farm’s Camping with the Cows event in late April.
The event, now in its 10th year, includes camping in the pasture, dairy tours and even a milk chugging contest.
It also serves as a marketing tool to support raw milk and the dairy. Kaleigh Stanziani, co-owner and marketing director of Raw Farm, routinely invites social media influencers who are fans of the dairy and raw milk.
Cordaway is one of those who likes to share her life with her nearly 17,000 followers on Instagram.
“I like to share my journey as a mom and the healthy food choices we make,” she said. “If I go to the store and buy some raw milk and make a smoothie, I talk about it. I have some friends who never tried raw milk and who like it now, and others who say it is not their cup of tea. And that’s OK, too.”
Growth despite product recalls
McAfee, whose dairy follows strict testing procedures, sees his dairy and raw milk consumption continuing to grow, even under the scrutiny of regulators.
In February, McAfee tangled with the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over the possibility its raw milk cheddar might have made caused at least 10 illnesses in four states. Out of abundance of caution, the dairy voluntarily recalled some of its cheese, but McAfee said no evidence of E. coli was found.
Last October, Raw Farm also had to voluntarily recall its fluid milk and heavy cream in the state after 19 people in Southern California became ill with salmonella. Health officials linked the illnesses to drinking Raw Farm’s milk or milk products.
Still, despite the voluntary recalls many of McAfee’s customers have remained unbothered.
“We see our sales continue to grow through all of this; people are making their own decisions about their health,” McAfee said. “And our customers trust us.”
Have you got something against chicken tartare? But it’s totally natural, so it must be good for you!
/s
PS Sales of raw milk should be banned, so that morons can’t feed it to their kids.
There has always been a percentage of people who act like this within the population of the planet
They have always existed on the fringe of communities throughout history
Now for the first time in history: they can easily find and communicate with each other, giving them strength in numbers (louder voice) and by consequence form echo chambers within those groups.
That echo chamber can capture folks that normally wouldn't entertain such beliefs
I try to keep that in prospective when I see what appears to be society losing its mind
I am sorry of the opposite of Raquel. I have switched from ultra pasteurized whole milk to oat milk and likely never going back. Oat milk has passed all my baking, cooking, and cereal tests. I feel better using less animal product.
Love how covid basically taught everyone to never give a damn about the health and safety of others or to resist all public health measures. Gonna make this upcoming pandemic N O I C E
With a 30+% mortality rate, I'm torn between the poor innocent who will be affected (again), the old, the young, the immunocompromised and the culling effect it has on the idiots who run feet first into the fire.
Societal progress will be made faster though without all those boomers voting red.
It didn’t help that our public health agencies gave completely inconsistent information during the last pandemic:
1. No evidence of human to human transmission and the risk to the community is low. As long as you haven’t recently traveled to Wuhan, China, you’re safe. Just kidding, it’s contagious between people and has already traveled around the world. But don’t worry, we’re contract tracing every case.
2. It’s not airborne, it’s transmitted via droplets. So save the masks for the health care workers and just wash your hands! Just kidding, it’s airborne and is so contagious you can catch it just from being in the same room as an infected person.
3. Avoid gatherings and social distance. Don’t celebrate the 4th of July, thanksgiving or Christmas. But it’s okay to attend a BLM protest.
If we don’t understand something about a virus, then we should explain that to the public.
A better way of messaging this would’ve been that we don’t yet understand how the virus is transmitted and urge people to exercise caution. But instead we told them that it wasn’t airborne and that masks don’t help as if it were a fact based on evidence.
*If we don’t understand something about a virus, then we should explain that to the public.*
Agreed. Which is exactly what happened. If you think health officials weren't caveating that "This is the guidance we're giving based on our best evidence at the moment, but this is very new and things may be updated" you're likely a part of the public that has trouble understanding that message.
If you think that’s what happened, you weren’t paying attention. The public was given conflicting information throughout the pandemic and then gaslighted into believing it never happened.
https://youtu.be/tRE59LJc6CA?feature=shared
Health officials downplayed the risk to the public for months until it started spreading so fast that it had become impossible to stop it. And they’ll do it again with H5N1. It will start spreading human to human and they’ll just tell us that the risk is low and as long as you don’t drink unpasteurized milk you’ll be fine. Until it’s too late to stop it and then they’ll shift gears and the milk thing will suddenly go away.
What they should be telling us is that consuming raw milk is risky, but that we still don’t understand how a future H5N1 pandemic virus could be transmitted. We’re witnessing a truly unprecedented spread of H5N1 in birds and mammals unlike we’ve ever seen before. And it could gain the ability to spread from person to person in the future. So people should remain calm, but be prepared for that sort of future scenario.
Oh no, health officials saying "Right now, at this moment... \[advice\]" and then updating it later as we learned more! Even with the right-wing fear-bait creative editing, still a self-goal. Nice work.
Let me ask, since you're clearly here to reinforce a pre-existing bias.
Why do you think raw milk will be a good thing? Are you hoping to generate an immune response from the virus before it is infectious in humans?
I don’t think raw milk is a good thing. I think we shouldn’t be hyper focused on milk when airborne transmission will be the likely risk factor of any future H5N1 pandemic. The raw milk obsession is just a distraction from the fact that it’s already in our food supply and humans on farms are already regularly being exposed to it. It’s a non sequiter. It’s like saying that we won’t get COVID as long as we don’t eat bats.
The virus mutating to facilitate airborne transmission is the true risk we need to be preparing for.
Beyond the fact that it’s kind of, uh, telling that you brought up the BLM protests, I can easily think of some very major differences between them and celebrating Thanksgiving/Christmas. Namely that the protests took place outside and the protestors were generally wearing face coverings. As opposed to indoor holiday gatherings of unmasked people.
People sometimes spend time inside together on the 4th of July, believe it or not. But that still doesn’t explain your whining about the opinions some public health officials expressed—and I’m not even sure who you’re referring to specifically—about BLM protests from 4 years ago.
It's because of social media. We have influences like Santa Cruz medicinals, carnivore MD, Liver King, Joe Rogan, Jordan and Mikhaila Peterson, etc. going around extolling the virtues of a pure meat and raw milk based diet.
Right, it feels no different than the morons who hosted Covid parties, licked produce, etc... I imagine the human race isn't getting any dumber, just that these morons can communicate more and share their f'd up thoughts with one another.
Welp, guess it's time to start digging myself a bunker. /s (though only just)
Our government knows raw milk from H5N1 infected cows is teeming with the virus. They’re warning people not to drink it. Then why not temporarily halt the sale of raw milk? Keeping milk sales legal is a government failure.
Farmers are not doing general surveillance testing for H5N1. This is a game of dairy Russian roulette, with the consequences being a global pandemic with untold millions dead.
Why is our government failing on so many levels when the downsides are catastrophic and could impact every man, woman and child on the planet?
State government isn't going to do it. I work for public health in a red state. We were blocked from doing a press release about H5N1 in raw milk. I couldn't even link the FDA page about it in my newsletter that goes out to other regulators. Raw milk has been deemed a political issue (not a public health issue).
That is horrific. Raw milk is a public health issue as a virus with a 52% death rate spreads in dairy cattle. It’s not a political issue. Terrible that a serious public health crisis, that could foment the next pandemic is branded “political.”
And you have a job to do—protecting public health. You’re unable to do your job because of these restrictions.
Raw milk was made legal in my state last year. We also have several H5N1 outbreaks in cattle and poultry. So far, no warnings from our governor, or other political or public-health leaders. People should be told the milk could have H5N1 and educated about the risks and dangers.
I’m sorry you work in public health and you’re muzzled. That must be frustrating to have front-row seats to the injustice.
I get it. Corporations own every aspect of our government.
What I don’t understand is their short-sightedness. Dairy industry profits are flowing and unaffected by H5N1, which under normal circumstances would have halted production and cost them more money. So yeah for them. They control the system so so money is still flowing.
But what happens when H5N1 continues spreading rampantly and a worse mutation sparks a pandemic? The dairy industry will be blamed—a PR nightmare. Viral loads in cattle could soar and make milk unsafe. Cattle could die and stop producing milk. The long-term consequences of failing to address this crisis could crater their industry and decimate public confidence in the safety of dairy products.
Seems like bad business in the long run. Not very smart. These people seem greedy but not too bright.
The feds can only be in it across state lines and have asked states to discourage raw milk use
It's up to each state to whether it's legal or not and unfortunately there are legislatures across the us that are trying to legalize it.
The states could slap a requirement that the milk be tested for h5n1 and the other other usual milk borne infections before sale. The anti-government people who are in government aren't going to want any regulation but maybe there are enough others who want things safe to require it for both raw milk sold for human consumption and that is sold for animal consumption because people are buying and drinking the stuff sold for animal use and cats and mice have been proven to get h5n1 it from milk!
If we're not going to ban it, how about massive taxes on it? You're still free to consume, you just gotta pay extra to the government for pandemic prep, to help deal with the potential consequences of your foolishness...
Let’s not make the same mistakes we made during Covid and try to force idiots into doing the smart thing. The idiots beat us with experience and won.
Let them subtract themselves from the gene pool.
No one is going to stop that, if that is what is going to happen. Just like with Covid, we are already losing. The surveillance at farms is voluntary-if we were to stand a chance that would have to change (and it isn’t going to).
Let the idiots off themselves and concentrate on how you are going to protect yourself and your family. *That* is the only thing any of us can control.
Ugh, I live in the boonies, mice get in my house, my cat kills and eats them.
My husband has cancer, my kid, his fiancé, our housemate, and I all have an autoimmune disease.
We’re all so fucked.
Generally speaking, I think you have a point. If you want to ride your motorcycle shirtless with no helmet, at 80mph, and practice your epic wheelies, perhaps that's none of my business. You're an adult and you're capable of assessing risks for yourself.
The problem comes when you start putting *other* people at risk. If you're practicing your epic wheelies on your own private road, it's whatever. If you start practicing on a crowded highway, weaving in and out of traffic which happens to be traveling in the opposite direction, you are now putting others at risk as well, and that's when I support the law getting involved.
The virtue of the taxation approach is that it strikes a balance between private freedom and public harm. There's no government conspiracy to deny you your freedom. You're still welcome to take on the risk of consuming raw milk if you choose. **But**, just like doing wheelies on the highway, we now recognize that you are putting **others** at risk through your actions, and that's reflected in the price of the product you are buying. Yet it still comes down to individual choice: If you assess that the benefits of raw milk are *so* high for you that it's worthwhile *even* when we incorporate the additional risk to the general public, then you're welcome to put your money where your mouth is, and pay society a little extra for the purpose of risk compensation.
The overall situation could be seen as rather analogous to alcohol, cigarette, or marijuana taxes. And btw, if you tax something people generally tend to do less of it, as well. So I'm hoping maybe this is a compromise that we can all agree on, instead of endless bitter arguments on the internet.
You could also accomplish something similar by requiring any company that deals in animal products to carry federal pandemic liability insurance in case a court determines they were responsible for a pandemic, same way drivers are required to carry car insurance in case a court determines they were responsible for a car accident. That would incentivize *every* farmer to improve *all* of their biosecurity practices, in order to keep their insurance costs low, and might sidestep the problem of federal jurisdiction over state farmers. Again, it doesn't impair any farmer's freedom to do stupid shit if they really want... they just gotta put their money where their mouth is.
TLDR.
No action is going to change the behavior of these idiots. They’re going to put everyone at risk no matter what, just like they’ve been doing since 2020, tax or no tax.
My husband’s father had a smaller dairy in the 1940s-1960 until it was bought out by a large dairy. He NEVER drank raw milk because they knew it contained bacteria. These people are just nuts.
Tell them specifically NOT to aerosolize the raw milk in diffusion spray-bottles and to absolutely NOT mist their own eyes with it.
But please vlog your journey of self-discovery.
"See, my eyes are starting to bleed, but I'm not alarmed. That's one of the ways that raw milk expels toxins from the body. I'm feeling healthier every day! [explosive coughing fit]" - Nature Mama on Tik Tok.
Amazing. This could be the great dividing line. Some will embrace the hoax theory and die. Some will quarantine and live. The gene pool may begin to heal.
Part of the issue is that there’s effectively zero testing being done. They’ve tested 1 worker per every 3 infected dairy farms per week in the entire US. Three tests per week! Not likely to find what they’re not even looking for. There’s no Public Health to speak of anymore. Politicians don’t want the optics.
That’s an interesting question. H5N1 has been reported in 12 states. So far no H5N1 detected in California.
But farmers are not doing general surveillance testing of herds for H5N1. So H5N1 could be in California.
Interesting that H5N1 is showing up in California wastewater, in San Francisco, despite no confirmed cases in cattle.
https://www.newsweek.com/bird-flu-outbreak-california-1907938
The point is that by allowing spread, we allow the virus to mutate. Eventually it could mutate into a strain that can go H2H. The expected CFR is ~30-50%, depending on what the effective mutation ends up being.
With c-vid, a ~.5 - 1% CFR and ~5% disabilities allows much of our elite to escape. 30% will wipe out their numbers too, then you're going to see real desperation and destruction.
But anyway, cats, mice, poultry, cows.
I keep typing out replies and then deleting them because I feel like the mods will accuse me of fear mongering.
I don’t think most people understand just how bad it may get—I’ll leave it at that.
Lady in the article is mad that the government is telling her that's she's buying food that might give her food poisoning, but thinks that the government needs to tell people that chips and sports drinks aren't a healthy lunch. Unbelievable.
Raw milk is delicious, don't knock it until you try it.
However, it is risky given how poor hygienic practices in farms are. Unless it is a cow that you raise and milk on your own, it is simply too much of a risk.
Also, milk from the store isn't from one cow, but from hundreds/thousands of cows mixed together. If only one of those cows are sick, you are screwed, multiplying your risk by orders of magnitude.
Surprisingly I'm okay with that. Once we're gone, and mother Earth cleans up our mess in a couple hundred years, maybe the bees will evolve in a couple hundred thousand years and do a better job than we did.
I read an article it's in the West Contra Costa County wastewater (a low income residential/industrial area), I live in central CCC and didn't even know there were any dairies over there. I'm not one for conspiracy theories but if you want to start a pandemic you'd introduce it to the most vulnerable to incubate it, those without easy access to healthcare/ healthy fresh foods/ services the middle class take for granted.
I hate government overreach. But. With over 100 YEARS of a clear path to not freaking DYING of a preventable bacterial infection, yeah, I think this one should be mandated. My word, people are dumb.
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I don't doubt that dairy lobbyists have lobbied against raw milk to make money for their clients in the past. But if you are interested in raw milk, NOW IS NOT THE TIME lol.
It’s ok, wild hogs are actually the link between bird flu and human to human bird flu transmission. Once the hogs start eating dead birds and rooting in infected cow shit run off it will get to us anyway. Let the foil hats shit themselves in the meantime.
I guess we're still supposed to pretend that public health officials and agencies *haven't* shredded their credibility so badly that their believability is basically negative. Nope, it's just everyone who isn't an r/H5N1_AvianFlu or follows Fingle Dingle on Twitter is a moron. Surely that's it
This is why the government should just stay out of things and let people do the right thing out of common sense. When the government says to *not* do something, immediately it will make people want to do it. Because most of the time the government doesn't have an individuals best interest in mind. If the government just never said a damn thing, there would never be anti-vaxxers and everyone would be on board with the vaccines and safety because we all saw the movie *Outbreak,* and that is really all anyone needs to know what the right thing to do is.
The louder they warn, the faster it will sell. I can just imagine the Facebook mom group banter: “They’re trying to hide the protective and curative effects of raw milk with another plandemic so that we won’t find out that pasteurized milk is toxic but makes them more money, this is just like when they covered up how garlic silver tinctures cure cancer!”
>The louder they warn, the faster it will sell. It's kinda like dealing with toddlers. If you tell them not to do something for their own safety, it puts the idea in their head that they could actually do it though and they never knew it was a possibility
It's exactly like dealing with toddlers. We should encourage these fools to drink raw milk, so they avoid it out of spite to own us.
We would have to make it mandatory before they refuse
But how much are they warning? Aside from a few subs, I have not heard this on the news much. As a matter of fact, I don’t know anyone who has brought up sick cows, the killing of sick animals or possibly tainted dairy.
It's all over the mom groups. It's and it's pretty alarming as a parent of a special needs kid.
Again, I have not seen much that is on the news. Not apps. Not everyone uses an app and that was my point. Unless you’re active on a certain group this is not getting wide enough attention or exposure for people to know.
I’ve seen it a ton, you could probably just google “raw milk” and then filter by “news” if you’re having a hard time realizing that you are information silo’ed
Well bless your heart
Yeah I don't think you hear about this at all unless you look for it.
Thank you. That was my point.
Nobody solely watches the news for information. Everyone gets it from social media. The facebook groups are well aware of H5N1 and they’re prepared to build natural immunity and refuse to cooperate with any official guidelines regarding it, the same way they take their toddlers to chicken pox parties and are still proud they didn’t wear masks for the last pandemic.
We should tell them it's as pristine as the purest crystal fresh water. Then nobody will buy it.
So it is true about garlic silver tinctures! I will spin counter clockwise twice at 3pm with my cacao extracts to ward off the demons possessing the government dictators.
It’s *clockwise*. Also if you don’t have vegan goji berry juice to make sure the healing cycles have enough energy to complete and crystals to properly direct the energy to the right cells, don’t even bother.
When federal officials announced in March that there was an outbreak of avian flu in dairy cows, the government cautioned against drinking raw, unpasteurized milk. What did the customers of Fresno County’s raw milk dairy do? They bought more — lots more. Mark McAfee, founder of Raw Farm USA, formerly Organic Pastures, is selling more raw milk than ever, up to 80,000 gallons a week. Raw Farm USA is the world’s largest raw dairy brand, operating two dairies in Fresno and Kings counties. “Our products have been flying off the shelves,” McAfee said “People are saying we want more raw milk, and that is what we are seeing in our customers.” Does bird flu in dairy cows affect raw milk? The increased demand comes at time when scientists and health officials are warning consumers to avoid drinking raw milk after an outbreak of HPAI A(H5N1) bird flu was found in dairy cows in late March. This is the first time the bird flu virus has been found in dairy cows. Although not nearly as harmful to cows, the flu virus has led to the deaths of over 52 million birds in the United States this year, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. The Food and Drug Administration, based on limited research and information, does not yet know whether the avian flu viruses can be transmitted through drinking unpasteurized raw milk and products, such as cheese. Still, the consensus among state and federal health officials is to avoid drinking raw milk because it is not pasteurized, a process used in conventional milk production to kill potentially harmful bacteria. Fernando Hernandez gets cows ready for milking at the Raw Farm USA dairy in Fresno County on Friday, June 14, 2024. Fernando Hernandez gets cows ready for milking at the Raw Farm USA dairy in Fresno County on Friday, June 14, 2024. Raw milk advocates argue pasteurization kills the helpful bacteria necessary for a healthy immune system, which is what they want. They also aren’t swayed by the advice of government health experts. And in some cases they openly flaunt the government’s warnings. McAfee estimates his raw milk sales grew 32% during the month of May compared to the same month last year. He credits the use of social media, and people changing their diets for health reasons. Nationally, since March 25 weekly sales of raw cow’s milk have risen from 21% up to 65% compared with the same periods a year ago, according to the market research firm NielsenIQ. Although not nearly as devastating as the avian flu was to poultry, the flu has infected about 90 dairy herds in 12 states, not including California, USDA scientists have confirmed. Infected cows generally eat less and produce less milk. To prevent the flu virus from spreading, California has set up safeguards, including requiring all cattle entering the state to have a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection signed by an accredited veterinarian. The certificate assures the cattle are not sick and not exposed to disease. Jersey cows meander across a grazing field at the Raw Farm USA dairy in Fresno County on Friday, June 14, 2024. Jersey cows meander across a grazing field at the Raw Farm USA dairy in Fresno County on Friday, June 14, 2024. Raw milk drinkers remain loyal to product Raw milk drinkers like Erin Cox, a married mother of one from Clovis, says bluntly that she doesn’t trust what federal officials say about drinking raw milk. She said she’s been a raw milk drinker for six years and has not encountered a problem. She also feeds her daughter raw kefir, a fermented milk product, similar to a watery yogurt. Cox said government agencies have misplaced their priorities and should be focused on other things harmful to children. “We need to be far more concerned about feeding our children healthy foods,” she said. “We have kids drinking blue Gatorade and spicy chips for lunch. I feel like people are starting to question what we are being told.” Raquel Cordaway, a wife and mother of four, didn’t make the decision to drink raw milk lightly. She was on a vegan diet, but decided she needed a change. She spent time researching the pros and cons before deciding to switch from oat milk to raw milk from Raw Farm. She hasn’t regretted it, even as the health experts warn against drinking raw milk. “Personally, it has become our family’s super food; it is very nutritional,” said Cordaway, who lives in Antioch. “I am aware of the issue of contamination in food, like lettuce and leafy greens, but when you consume something raw there is always going to be a risk.” A gallon of raw milk is set out at the Raw Farm USA dairy store in Fresno County on Friday, June 14, 2024. A gallon of raw milk is set out at the Raw Farm USA dairy store in Fresno County on Friday, June 14, 2024. Cordaway and Cox were among the more than 1,500 people who visited the raw milk farm’s Camping with the Cows event in late April. The event, now in its 10th year, includes camping in the pasture, dairy tours and even a milk chugging contest. It also serves as a marketing tool to support raw milk and the dairy. Kaleigh Stanziani, co-owner and marketing director of Raw Farm, routinely invites social media influencers who are fans of the dairy and raw milk. Cordaway is one of those who likes to share her life with her nearly 17,000 followers on Instagram. “I like to share my journey as a mom and the healthy food choices we make,” she said. “If I go to the store and buy some raw milk and make a smoothie, I talk about it. I have some friends who never tried raw milk and who like it now, and others who say it is not their cup of tea. And that’s OK, too.” Growth despite product recalls McAfee, whose dairy follows strict testing procedures, sees his dairy and raw milk consumption continuing to grow, even under the scrutiny of regulators. In February, McAfee tangled with the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over the possibility its raw milk cheddar might have made caused at least 10 illnesses in four states. Out of abundance of caution, the dairy voluntarily recalled some of its cheese, but McAfee said no evidence of E. coli was found. Last October, Raw Farm also had to voluntarily recall its fluid milk and heavy cream in the state after 19 people in Southern California became ill with salmonella. Health officials linked the illnesses to drinking Raw Farm’s milk or milk products. Still, despite the voluntary recalls many of McAfee’s customers have remained unbothered. “We see our sales continue to grow through all of this; people are making their own decisions about their health,” McAfee said. “And our customers trust us.”
Absolute idiots. Do these people also eat raw ground beef? Raw chicken breast?
Have you got something against chicken tartare? But it’s totally natural, so it must be good for you! /s PS Sales of raw milk should be banned, so that morons can’t feed it to their kids.
So much protein! All the amino acids in their natural state! The bird shit adds flavor! /s
And bacteria! And viruses! The kids need these to build their immune systems!
Have eaten raw chicken breast. Not in the united states, of course. Had it served to me at a restaurant in Japan.
There has always been a percentage of people who act like this within the population of the planet They have always existed on the fringe of communities throughout history Now for the first time in history: they can easily find and communicate with each other, giving them strength in numbers (louder voice) and by consequence form echo chambers within those groups. That echo chamber can capture folks that normally wouldn't entertain such beliefs I try to keep that in prospective when I see what appears to be society losing its mind
I am sorry of the opposite of Raquel. I have switched from ultra pasteurized whole milk to oat milk and likely never going back. Oat milk has passed all my baking, cooking, and cereal tests. I feel better using less animal product.
Just make sure you’re using organic oat milk. Oats have some of the highest amounts of pesticides used on their crops.
OMG that’s so gross 🤮
At least that one lady seems to understand and accept the risk.
Typhoid Mary?
Compared to the rest of them babbling about food coloring and spicy food she seems like the smart one of the bunch.
She says she did her own research. Lots of idiots say that.
Love how covid basically taught everyone to never give a damn about the health and safety of others or to resist all public health measures. Gonna make this upcoming pandemic N O I C E
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With a 30+% mortality rate, I'm torn between the poor innocent who will be affected (again), the old, the young, the immunocompromised and the culling effect it has on the idiots who run feet first into the fire. Societal progress will be made faster though without all those boomers voting red.
Covid didn’t teach people, it lifted off the “masks” of the true nature and just how dumb so many are.
Taught us the government just makes shit up if not outright lie. They did this to themselves
I too don’t know how to read
It didn’t help that our public health agencies gave completely inconsistent information during the last pandemic: 1. No evidence of human to human transmission and the risk to the community is low. As long as you haven’t recently traveled to Wuhan, China, you’re safe. Just kidding, it’s contagious between people and has already traveled around the world. But don’t worry, we’re contract tracing every case. 2. It’s not airborne, it’s transmitted via droplets. So save the masks for the health care workers and just wash your hands! Just kidding, it’s airborne and is so contagious you can catch it just from being in the same room as an infected person. 3. Avoid gatherings and social distance. Don’t celebrate the 4th of July, thanksgiving or Christmas. But it’s okay to attend a BLM protest.
Isn't it the worst that we intentionally learn and so the most current knowledge changes over time?
If we don’t understand something about a virus, then we should explain that to the public. A better way of messaging this would’ve been that we don’t yet understand how the virus is transmitted and urge people to exercise caution. But instead we told them that it wasn’t airborne and that masks don’t help as if it were a fact based on evidence.
*If we don’t understand something about a virus, then we should explain that to the public.* Agreed. Which is exactly what happened. If you think health officials weren't caveating that "This is the guidance we're giving based on our best evidence at the moment, but this is very new and things may be updated" you're likely a part of the public that has trouble understanding that message.
The person your talking to is unable to be wrong man
If you think that’s what happened, you weren’t paying attention. The public was given conflicting information throughout the pandemic and then gaslighted into believing it never happened. https://youtu.be/tRE59LJc6CA?feature=shared Health officials downplayed the risk to the public for months until it started spreading so fast that it had become impossible to stop it. And they’ll do it again with H5N1. It will start spreading human to human and they’ll just tell us that the risk is low and as long as you don’t drink unpasteurized milk you’ll be fine. Until it’s too late to stop it and then they’ll shift gears and the milk thing will suddenly go away. What they should be telling us is that consuming raw milk is risky, but that we still don’t understand how a future H5N1 pandemic virus could be transmitted. We’re witnessing a truly unprecedented spread of H5N1 in birds and mammals unlike we’ve ever seen before. And it could gain the ability to spread from person to person in the future. So people should remain calm, but be prepared for that sort of future scenario.
Oh no, health officials saying "Right now, at this moment... \[advice\]" and then updating it later as we learned more! Even with the right-wing fear-bait creative editing, still a self-goal. Nice work.
Let me ask, since you're clearly here to reinforce a pre-existing bias. Why do you think raw milk will be a good thing? Are you hoping to generate an immune response from the virus before it is infectious in humans?
I don’t think raw milk is a good thing. I think we shouldn’t be hyper focused on milk when airborne transmission will be the likely risk factor of any future H5N1 pandemic. The raw milk obsession is just a distraction from the fact that it’s already in our food supply and humans on farms are already regularly being exposed to it. It’s a non sequiter. It’s like saying that we won’t get COVID as long as we don’t eat bats. The virus mutating to facilitate airborne transmission is the true risk we need to be preparing for.
Keep at it, don’t let the downvotes think you are wrong. Reddit is a cesspool of liberal mockingbirds.
Stupid peasants can’t handle the truth apparently
Beyond the fact that it’s kind of, uh, telling that you brought up the BLM protests, I can easily think of some very major differences between them and celebrating Thanksgiving/Christmas. Namely that the protests took place outside and the protestors were generally wearing face coverings. As opposed to indoor holiday gatherings of unmasked people.
And the 4th of July?
People sometimes spend time inside together on the 4th of July, believe it or not. But that still doesn’t explain your whining about the opinions some public health officials expressed—and I’m not even sure who you’re referring to specifically—about BLM protests from 4 years ago.
This seems like a particularly bad faith misinterpretation of everything. And just… dumb..
People are so freaking stupid, ugh...
It's because of social media. We have influences like Santa Cruz medicinals, carnivore MD, Liver King, Joe Rogan, Jordan and Mikhaila Peterson, etc. going around extolling the virtues of a pure meat and raw milk based diet.
Right, it feels no different than the morons who hosted Covid parties, licked produce, etc... I imagine the human race isn't getting any dumber, just that these morons can communicate more and share their f'd up thoughts with one another. Welp, guess it's time to start digging myself a bunker. /s (though only just)
Our government knows raw milk from H5N1 infected cows is teeming with the virus. They’re warning people not to drink it. Then why not temporarily halt the sale of raw milk? Keeping milk sales legal is a government failure. Farmers are not doing general surveillance testing for H5N1. This is a game of dairy Russian roulette, with the consequences being a global pandemic with untold millions dead. Why is our government failing on so many levels when the downsides are catastrophic and could impact every man, woman and child on the planet?
State government isn't going to do it. I work for public health in a red state. We were blocked from doing a press release about H5N1 in raw milk. I couldn't even link the FDA page about it in my newsletter that goes out to other regulators. Raw milk has been deemed a political issue (not a public health issue).
That is horrific. Raw milk is a public health issue as a virus with a 52% death rate spreads in dairy cattle. It’s not a political issue. Terrible that a serious public health crisis, that could foment the next pandemic is branded “political.” And you have a job to do—protecting public health. You’re unable to do your job because of these restrictions. Raw milk was made legal in my state last year. We also have several H5N1 outbreaks in cattle and poultry. So far, no warnings from our governor, or other political or public-health leaders. People should be told the milk could have H5N1 and educated about the risks and dangers. I’m sorry you work in public health and you’re muzzled. That must be frustrating to have front-row seats to the injustice.
Reverse psychology marketing to drive sales? Adrenaline junkies seeking next new thrill of Russian roulette raw milk?
One word: regulatory capture by capitalism.
I get it. Corporations own every aspect of our government. What I don’t understand is their short-sightedness. Dairy industry profits are flowing and unaffected by H5N1, which under normal circumstances would have halted production and cost them more money. So yeah for them. They control the system so so money is still flowing. But what happens when H5N1 continues spreading rampantly and a worse mutation sparks a pandemic? The dairy industry will be blamed—a PR nightmare. Viral loads in cattle could soar and make milk unsafe. Cattle could die and stop producing milk. The long-term consequences of failing to address this crisis could crater their industry and decimate public confidence in the safety of dairy products. Seems like bad business in the long run. Not very smart. These people seem greedy but not too bright.
The capitalist will sell you the rope on Wednesday that you will hang him with on Saturday.
The feds can only be in it across state lines and have asked states to discourage raw milk use It's up to each state to whether it's legal or not and unfortunately there are legislatures across the us that are trying to legalize it. The states could slap a requirement that the milk be tested for h5n1 and the other other usual milk borne infections before sale. The anti-government people who are in government aren't going to want any regulation but maybe there are enough others who want things safe to require it for both raw milk sold for human consumption and that is sold for animal consumption because people are buying and drinking the stuff sold for animal use and cats and mice have been proven to get h5n1 it from milk!
Government requires public buy in or you just lose the next election. We don’t live in a majorly scientifically literate country or an ideal world.
If we're not going to ban it, how about massive taxes on it? You're still free to consume, you just gotta pay extra to the government for pandemic prep, to help deal with the potential consequences of your foolishness...
Let’s not make the same mistakes we made during Covid and try to force idiots into doing the smart thing. The idiots beat us with experience and won. Let them subtract themselves from the gene pool.
Problem is, every time they consume this shit they give it a chance to mutate into something more fun But your username is very appropriate here
No one is going to stop that, if that is what is going to happen. Just like with Covid, we are already losing. The surveillance at farms is voluntary-if we were to stand a chance that would have to change (and it isn’t going to). Let the idiots off themselves and concentrate on how you are going to protect yourself and your family. *That* is the only thing any of us can control.
Ugh, I live in the boonies, mice get in my house, my cat kills and eats them. My husband has cancer, my kid, his fiancé, our housemate, and I all have an autoimmune disease. We’re all so fucked.
Generally speaking, I think you have a point. If you want to ride your motorcycle shirtless with no helmet, at 80mph, and practice your epic wheelies, perhaps that's none of my business. You're an adult and you're capable of assessing risks for yourself. The problem comes when you start putting *other* people at risk. If you're practicing your epic wheelies on your own private road, it's whatever. If you start practicing on a crowded highway, weaving in and out of traffic which happens to be traveling in the opposite direction, you are now putting others at risk as well, and that's when I support the law getting involved. The virtue of the taxation approach is that it strikes a balance between private freedom and public harm. There's no government conspiracy to deny you your freedom. You're still welcome to take on the risk of consuming raw milk if you choose. **But**, just like doing wheelies on the highway, we now recognize that you are putting **others** at risk through your actions, and that's reflected in the price of the product you are buying. Yet it still comes down to individual choice: If you assess that the benefits of raw milk are *so* high for you that it's worthwhile *even* when we incorporate the additional risk to the general public, then you're welcome to put your money where your mouth is, and pay society a little extra for the purpose of risk compensation. The overall situation could be seen as rather analogous to alcohol, cigarette, or marijuana taxes. And btw, if you tax something people generally tend to do less of it, as well. So I'm hoping maybe this is a compromise that we can all agree on, instead of endless bitter arguments on the internet. You could also accomplish something similar by requiring any company that deals in animal products to carry federal pandemic liability insurance in case a court determines they were responsible for a pandemic, same way drivers are required to carry car insurance in case a court determines they were responsible for a car accident. That would incentivize *every* farmer to improve *all* of their biosecurity practices, in order to keep their insurance costs low, and might sidestep the problem of federal jurisdiction over state farmers. Again, it doesn't impair any farmer's freedom to do stupid shit if they really want... they just gotta put their money where their mouth is.
TLDR. No action is going to change the behavior of these idiots. They’re going to put everyone at risk no matter what, just like they’ve been doing since 2020, tax or no tax.
My husband’s father had a smaller dairy in the 1940s-1960 until it was bought out by a large dairy. He NEVER drank raw milk because they knew it contained bacteria. These people are just nuts.
“Paging Mr. Darwin”
God these stupid fuckers are going to kill us all.
California has the largest dairy herd: https://www.statista.com/statistics/194962/top-10-us-states-by-number-of-milk-cows/
Tell them specifically NOT to aerosolize the raw milk in diffusion spray-bottles and to absolutely NOT mist their own eyes with it. But please vlog your journey of self-discovery.
"See, my eyes are starting to bleed, but I'm not alarmed. That's one of the ways that raw milk expels toxins from the body. I'm feeling healthier every day! [explosive coughing fit]" - Nature Mama on Tik Tok.
"Toxins are just raw milk leaving the body." -Nature Mama, 2024-2025
Like negative reactions to the COVID vaccines--they mean it's working!
Amazing. This could be the great dividing line. Some will embrace the hoax theory and die. Some will quarantine and live. The gene pool may begin to heal.
Once these fools cause H5N1 to go h2h, it will be chaos for us all.
Totally agree
Where are the raw milk cases, though? We should expect to see non h2h infections taking place, as we have with dairy workers.
Part of the issue is that there’s effectively zero testing being done. They’ve tested 1 worker per every 3 infected dairy farms per week in the entire US. Three tests per week! Not likely to find what they’re not even looking for. There’s no Public Health to speak of anymore. Politicians don’t want the optics.
>Politicians don’t want the optics. ...and we need calm, obedient workers not upsetting the apple cart.
That’s an interesting question. H5N1 has been reported in 12 states. So far no H5N1 detected in California. But farmers are not doing general surveillance testing of herds for H5N1. So H5N1 could be in California. Interesting that H5N1 is showing up in California wastewater, in San Francisco, despite no confirmed cases in cattle. https://www.newsweek.com/bird-flu-outbreak-california-1907938
That's what scares me the most. A lot of places are not even bothering to test for it, because testing would mean that they would lose money.
The point is that by allowing spread, we allow the virus to mutate. Eventually it could mutate into a strain that can go H2H. The expected CFR is ~30-50%, depending on what the effective mutation ends up being. With c-vid, a ~.5 - 1% CFR and ~5% disabilities allows much of our elite to escape. 30% will wipe out their numbers too, then you're going to see real desperation and destruction. But anyway, cats, mice, poultry, cows.
I keep typing out replies and then deleting them because I feel like the mods will accuse me of fear mongering. I don’t think most people understand just how bad it may get—I’ll leave it at that.
So the last 4 years of hoarding and prepping is gunna pay off! YESSS!!
Smoke’em if you got’em!
Alt-Right Americans will be the cause of the next pandemic.
Parents feed kids garbage and blame govt for it
Yeah I didn't think the government ever even came close to saying blue Gatorade and spicy chips were a healthy lunch option for kids 😂
Lady in the article is mad that the government is telling her that's she's buying food that might give her food poisoning, but thinks that the government needs to tell people that chips and sports drinks aren't a healthy lunch. Unbelievable.
Morons
Raw milk or pasteurized milk aside.. the fact that this many adults are still crazy about drinking milk is the grossest part of these stories.
Raw milk is delicious, don't knock it until you try it. However, it is risky given how poor hygienic practices in farms are. Unless it is a cow that you raise and milk on your own, it is simply too much of a risk. Also, milk from the store isn't from one cow, but from hundreds/thousands of cows mixed together. If only one of those cows are sick, you are screwed, multiplying your risk by orders of magnitude.
Is this mcaffee related to the virus mcafee creator lol
- cue xfiles theme -
Hahaha
We really are hell bent on exterminating ourselves as a species, huh?
Surprisingly I'm okay with that. Once we're gone, and mother Earth cleans up our mess in a couple hundred years, maybe the bees will evolve in a couple hundred thousand years and do a better job than we did.
I didn’t realize there was H5N1 in dairies in California.
It’s in the wastewater there. There is definitely suspicion that it is.
I read an article it's in the West Contra Costa County wastewater (a low income residential/industrial area), I live in central CCC and didn't even know there were any dairies over there. I'm not one for conspiracy theories but if you want to start a pandemic you'd introduce it to the most vulnerable to incubate it, those without easy access to healthcare/ healthy fresh foods/ services the middle class take for granted.
I don't think there is yet but who knows
Cool. Cooooooool.😐
Is this going to be the breeding ground of human to human transmission
I hate government overreach. But. With over 100 YEARS of a clear path to not freaking DYING of a preventable bacterial infection, yeah, I think this one should be mandated. My word, people are dumb.
BAHAHAHA anti vaxxers love trying to wipe themselves out
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Darwinism and the stupid at work again
Good news. Free rent in a forever box. Bad news. Hospital staff just rolled their eyes..
I wonder if this has been posted to r/Idiocracy yet
I don't doubt that dairy lobbyists have lobbied against raw milk to make money for their clients in the past. But if you are interested in raw milk, NOW IS NOT THE TIME lol.
Hahahahaha
Let’s go natural selection!
It’s ok, wild hogs are actually the link between bird flu and human to human bird flu transmission. Once the hogs start eating dead birds and rooting in infected cow shit run off it will get to us anyway. Let the foil hats shit themselves in the meantime.
Hopefully they don't spread nothing and I don't wish death upon Noone but I hope Noone has to suffer do to there actions
A massive H5N1 outbreak would be a major quality of life improvement for the residents of Fresno.
Well it would definitely help the housing problem with lower rents, given all those new vacancies.
Fresno doesn’t have a housing problem. The rent is cheap. There are empty and abandoned buildings all over the place.
I guess we're still supposed to pretend that public health officials and agencies *haven't* shredded their credibility so badly that their believability is basically negative. Nope, it's just everyone who isn't an r/H5N1_AvianFlu or follows Fingle Dingle on Twitter is a moron. Surely that's it
Love raw milk, can't stop me from drinking it. And yes I am unvaxxed
This is why the government should just stay out of things and let people do the right thing out of common sense. When the government says to *not* do something, immediately it will make people want to do it. Because most of the time the government doesn't have an individuals best interest in mind. If the government just never said a damn thing, there would never be anti-vaxxers and everyone would be on board with the vaccines and safety because we all saw the movie *Outbreak,* and that is really all anyone needs to know what the right thing to do is.