With 22 people sick and 1 dead from E. coli O157 linked to raw milk cheese produced by Gort’s Gouda Cheese Farm in Salmon Arm, British Columbia, Canadian media have chosen to focus on the alleged benefits of raw milk cheese.

Citing Michael Pollan as an influence, one writer says “there is magic in traditional methods … It has been known for some time that excessive hygiene can cause more trouble than it prevents.”

Another says my cows are clean so the milk is clean, and another says “Raw milk has all the enzymes still in it and a lot of immunoglobulin in it which helps the immune system of the baby to be developed and it helps the growth factors.”

Magical food, hmmm, where have I heard that before? Oh yeah, that would be when 140 people got sick with Salmonella from sprouts on Jimmy John’s sandwiches beginning in Dec. 2010.

Shouldn’t the focus be on the sick people? And using science to evaluate risk, not magic?