Real raw milk facts? Barf

I am immediately suspicious of anyone who says they speak fact.

It’s like I’ve told my kids for years – and I’m especially ingraining you, 16-month-old Sorenne — anyone who has to say, ‘trust me’ is immediately untrustworthy.

So when a web site is named, realrawmilkfacts.com, I’m wondering whose real facts are involved. Is there a publicly available document for deciding whose facts count? We have one, it’s available at http://bites.ksu.edu/about-bites.

And these folks haven’t studied risk perception and communication 101 – facts are important but never enough.

I get all the BS surrounding raw milk – went through all that with genetically engineered foods over a decade ago – and I get all the BS the geniuses in the raw milk movement post about how the last thing they ate made them sick, especially if it was at a fast-food joint (it wasn’t).

Any investigation of foodborne illness is fraught with uncertainty and speculation. That’s where epidemiology comes in, to make statistically-based best guesses to prevent others from getting sick.

It’s better than faith-based food safety.

What is most disconcerting about all the chatter around raw milk is the waste of scarce public resources – inspectors got better things to do, especially when there is a ready solution available (hint, it’s pasteurization).

Oh, and we (left, not exactly as shown) speak fact.

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About Douglas Powell

A former professor of food safety and the publisher of barfblog.com, Powell is passionate about food, has five daughters, and is an OK goaltender in pickup hockey. Download Doug’s CV here. Dr. Douglas Powell editor, barfblog.com retired professor, food safety 3/289 Annerley Rd Annerley, Queensland 4103 dpowell29@gmail.com 61478222221 I am based in Brisbane, Australia, 15 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time