Last week I had the pleasure of meeting a food writer I have long admired–Tom Philpott, who produces the great Mother Jones food blog. Ive known him for probably five or six years, beginning when I wrote for Grist when he was the editor, but we had never actually met.
We met at a small social event in the Boston area, and of course, got talking about food matters of various sorts. He especially bemoans the trend by our regulator and public health communities to rely on reductionist science–what Id define as the oversimplification of cause and effect. The view implemented by Big Ag that soils need a few basic manufactured nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous is one example.
Especially interesting to me was his take on how a single bit of research can lead us so far in the wrong direction. A classic case is how the U.S. got hooked on the idea that cholesterol is highly dangerous, which led to the margarine craze for many years in the 1960s and 1970s, and eventually to the low-fat-no-fat craziness that still predominates in food marketing, and in many peoples diets.
Part of the reason the discussion seemed so apropo for me is that I have been reading the biography of Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson. (A great read, but a major undertaking at more than 600 pages.)
I have long been fascinated by highly successful entrepreneurs and the process of entrepreneurship (having written several books on the subject in the 1980s and 1990s). But one of the things that startled me about Jobs as I read the book was his relationship to food. Let us say, it wasnt a very satisfying relationship, and reading between the lines, it seems as if reductionist scientific thinking may have been at its root.
Jobs was a strict vegetarian, not even tolerating dairy or eggs, from what I can fathom. In one memorable scene, in the late 1980s, Jobs had dinner with the president of Lotus software (then a major software producer), Mitch Kapor, at a fancy Cambridge, MA, restaurant. According to the biography, When Kapor began slathering butter on his bread, Jobs asked him, Have you ever heard of serum cholesterol? Kapor responded, Ill make you a deal. You stay away from commenting on my dietary habits, and I will stay away from the subject of your personality.
For years as a young man, Jobs adhered to strict regimens of just fruit, or just carrot salads. Even after he married and had children, he retained his dubious eating habits, Isaacson writes. He would spend weeks eating the same thing–carrot salad with lemon, or just apples–and then suddenly spurn that food and declare that he had stopped eating it. He would go on fasts, just as he did as a teenager, and he became sanctimonious as he lectured others at the table on the virtues of whatever eating regimen he was following.
When he was first diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2003, he delayed surgery for nine months, preferring instead to try curing the cancer with a strict vegan diet, with large quantities of fresh carrot and fruit juices. To that regimen he added acupuncture, a variety of herbal remedies…
Kaayla Daniel, a nutritionist who writes and speaks frequently about diet issues for the Weston A. Price Foundation, has discussed how Jobs fruitarian diet in his early years may have damaged his health.
Some have said that Jobs decision to delay surgery may have cost Jobs his life earlier than it might have ended. Perhaps.
But perhaps more than any particular aspect of his diet or decision making, what I found disturbing was the strength of his views on food, despite the fact that there is so much about food and diet he didnt know, and we dont know as a society. Now, Jobs had strong opinions about much of what he encountered in life, and he wasnt shy about expressing them. But much of the thinking problem around food seems to have started by latching so single-mindedly onto the cholesterol-is-to-be-avoided-at-all-costs philosophy.
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Wisconsin farmer Vernon Hershberger apparently won’t be allowed to have a raw milk expert, Ted Beals, testify at his trial due to begin May 20.
Judge Guy Reynolds has rejected Hershberger’s appeal of the denial of Beals as a witness, according to a news report. The state had argued in the convoluted case that Beals shouldn’t be allowed as a witness, since Hershberger could have appealed to the WI Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP) the holding order on his milk and other food when it was first issued in 2010. Hershberger argued that his religious beliefs prohibited him from filing an appeal.
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I was reading an article at Marketwatch about the dangers of oysters, and suddenly I just stopped and began laughing. Take a look at the article, and in your mind, substitute raw milk for oysters. Here is the start of the article:
Diners tempted by $1 oysters and all-you-can-eat deals this season might not want to read last weeks report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Foodborne illnesses commonly related to eating raw shellfish rose 43% in 2012, compared to a period between 2006 and 2008. But industry experts say that shellfish arent necessarily less safeand might even be saferits just that Americans are eating a whole lot more raw oysters and shellfish. Growers have increased their oyster harvests by 10% a year to meet growing demand across the East Coast…
Unfortunately, youll have to confine the exercise of substituting raw milk to your imagination, since there is no way an article with such an easygoing upbeat tone about raw milk would appear in a mainstream media publication. Public health professionals will say the difference in tone has to do with the fact that children are more likely to get sick from raw milk than from oysters. But I doubt that’s the entire explanation. The corporate and government campaign against raw milk has just been going on for so many years. An engaging discussion about the possible role of individual immune systems, the growing popularity of the product, and positively explaining the safety of raw milk isnt in the cards any time soon.
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Thanks to Andrew Ward, co-founder of Kalamuna, an Internet design expert, for his intensive behind-the-scenes work on behalf of this blog in recent weeks. He seamlessly moved the site to a new server (dont ask me the details around why and how), and he has been after the spam problem we were having. His important work often goes unnoticed–thats because when hes doing his job, things work smoothly.
Sounds like Mr. Jobs’ body suffered years of wide nutritional swings. Pancreatic cancer has a very poor prognosis. It’s the 4th most common cancer in the US. Maybe his delay with conventional medicine prolonged his life? We’ll not know the answer to that.
Why don’t these “educated” people look at the processed/chemically saturated foods as the contributor to excess crap in the body? I’ve drawn patients blood and as the tube is filling, you see a blob of “fat” that floats in the tube.
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART00685/high-cholesterol <~~ I would not suggest to anyone to consume any soy, and fish oil also contains cholesterol. I don't like oysters. I have friends who grew up eating them, cooked and raw, and their kids ate them even when they were very little. Don't recall anyone being ill. Dad will tell you no one he knew growing up got sick from raw milk. He didn't taste his first boiled milk until he was drafted in the army for WWII. Life is a challenge, you might die from consuming cantaloupe, spinach, poultry, any meats, lunch meats, boiled milk, medications, etc.
Lovely.
I’m sure the State will have their say though, won’t they? Paperwork notwithstanding, of course.
Now that’s what I call equality. I mean, there’s no malice here is there?
D, it’s not as if Vernon Hershberger can’t have a full legal defense. I think there is some question as to whether the issue of raw milk’s safety can be made argued in court. The state has argued successfully to the judge that that issue should have come up in an administrative appeal following the shutdown of his farm store. Once again, it’s a convoluted case, and this is part of the pretrial maneuvering. Much more to come.
I just wonder when people are ever going to learn that we can’t change the system via the system. It’s broken. It’s beyond broken. Our *system* of gubment is served by the special interest groups, thus they abhor the idea of someone like Ted Beals getting up on the stand and speaking the truth. He can use charts and graphs and science, which are all perfectly legal ways to make a point, but someone is afraid of that tactic. Our justice system is not about justice. If it was, the court would address the fact that he now has counsel and move forward.
What I was inferring in my previous comment was that it wouldn’t matter if the court had a judicious reason or not, their pre-trial maneuvering is going to make this happen for them. We have a flim-flam system where one bad idea feeds off another. They can talk about the “science” of big bad raw milk on their side even if it’s not really science, so long as it presents a distasteful picture to the court and the public, but Vernon is not allowed to present his facts through witnesses with knowledge of the very subject at hand. And if the safety of raw milk can’t be argued in court, what was the purpose of the raid in the first place?
This case has already been tried. They are now just going through the motions.
This judge did exactly as he’s supposed to : ‘one excuse is as good as another if you don’t want to do something’.
of course! it never was about the risk of harm to the public, from consuming raw milk … Having adroitly framed it up as a question of submission to the jurisdiction of the State, the govt. agents were only too happy to let Vernon Hershberger head-off down the avenue of “religious freedom”, into the thickets of the law … out of which he’ll never find his way back to sanity, ’til he reads “Rulers of Evil” by Tupper F Saussy
I love that you are requiring demonstration of intectual capacity to log on here at the complete patient. I would love if you continue to make the math more and more difficult….that would be great.
As far as Steve Jobs is concerned, my brother worked along side him for 12 years at APPLE. Steve was not someone you would ever want to get caught in an elevator with. Many would exit the elevator with out a job…Steve would say things like….substantiate yourself….what do you do here for a paycheck.
Suffice it to say that Steve was not well loved by those close to him. He was a tirant and a real ball buster of a boss.
Motivation of people takes so much more. He was no question a visionary and very hard working. His work definitely changed the world in ways we will deeply feel for the next century. But…his lack of breadth of vision cost him his life. To be truly successful in life….a broad view of humanity is best in my humble opinion. That includes love, humanity, health and nutrition. Real nutrition…not some down town version of Pet Lovers veganism.
I will be there to support Vernon when his trial starts!! We all should be there.
The only thing that separates Vernon from any other producer of raw milk in America is the fact that he produces under food nazi rule. I am blessed to be in a state where raw milk was defended by the Steuve Brothers and Alta Dena and therefore it is legal.
Vernons consumers deserve our support and so does Vernon. I owe it to him as payment for all the work done in all the years before I came along in CA to be able to enjoy the benefits of the CA Raw Milk Forefathers wisdom and work.
So now will people be wanting to kill all the gut bacteria in fear of having a heart attack? They already live in fear of cholesterol.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/04/24/us-heart-microbe-idUKBRE93N1B520130424
All in one shot. A shot to children whose immune system is probably already compromised and have poor nutrition and live in less than sanitary environments. I wonder what the future mortality rate will be, also the rate of other “diseases/illnesses.
http://www.raxanreeb.com/2013/04/somalia-five-in-one-vaccine-launched-in-somalia-for-the-first-time/
) of 73(Out of 313 million ill.) people over a 3 month period. (The average American gets sick twice every 3 months.)(gastrointestinal illness
once every 4 months)
……………………………………………………………….
67% of the 45 ill interviewed ate cucumbers(These are only agricultural commodities which don’t include bread, canned food, cakes, cookies, candy, soda, or chocolate milk.) while only 44% of healthy people ate cucumbers. Cucumbers from Daniel and Miracle were traced to 6 of the 45 ill.
………………………………………………………………..
Is this what passes for science in this country?
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/story/2013/04/25/sk-picking-your-nose-may-be-healthy-eating-boogers-snot-130425.html?cmp=rss
Ken
Boogers come from the mucus membranes in the nasal/sinus cavities. That mucus acts as a barrier to protect the membranes. Bacteria is or can be absorbed through the mucosa into the body without eating the boogers.
Since the boogers are nothing more than the secreted mucus that is filled with the crud in the air we breath, testing the debris (pollen,molds,etc) in the air might be a factor on why his daughter has her finger up her nose so often. Perhaps her nose itches. The boogers are trapping the debris to expel it from the body.
Hey, it’s as good as anything else that passes for science in those alphabet agencies. (; ->
I would NOT look for boogers to contain anything that needs to be re-ingested. It’s not like eating burnt matches for the sulphur content or something. Those boogers would likely contain bacteria and pathogens and we can’t have kids exposed to that, can we? I mean geez, look how dangerous those bacteria and pathogens are when they’re found in raw milk . . . . . . . .
As far as I know, boogers (boogers are nothing more than dried mucus) they are just the mucus that naturally forms on the membranes, sorta like a cleaning film, stuff sticks to it and it flushes out of your body. I forget how much mucus the average body produces, it’s a lot. Our sinuses/nasal passages produce mucus constantly, most of it drains down the back of our throat and we don’t notice it.
It is a natural cleaning function of our body.
http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/saintpaul-04-13/index.html
Investigation of the Outbreak
In interviews, ill persons answered questions about [a few cherry picked commodity] foods eaten and other exposures during the week before becoming ill. Thirty (67%) of 45 ill persons interviewed reported eating various types of cucumbers purchased or consumed at multiple locations or restaurants. This proportion is significantly higher than results from a survey of healthy persons Adobe PDF file [PDF – 787 KB] in which 44% reported eating cucumbers in the 7 days before they were interviewed. An additional 5 (11%) of 45 ill persons reported that they may have eaten cucumbers. No other foods that were reported eaten by interviewees were associated with illness.
Reviewing shipping records, with assistance from its partner state agencies, FDA traced cucumbers eaten by six ill people to the distributer, Tricar Sales, Inc., and further, to the suppliers, Daniel Cardenas Izabal and Miracle Greenhouse.
The following paper was published on 4/18/2013.
Entropy 2013, 15, 1416-1463; doi:10.3390/e15041416
Glyphosates Suppression of Cytochrome P450 Enzymes and
Amino Acid Biosynthesis by the Gut Microbiome: Pathways to
Modern Diseases by Anthony Samsel and Stephanie Seneff
A review and link to download the PDF Full-Text is at this URL:
http://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/15/4/1416
I am not following the available record closely; neither do I claim to have a good mind for legal affairs.
Organic Pastures Dairy is in a different arena, selling to the public.
I dont dismiss the points that Mark M. has made about insurance costs.
The area of contracts is important to protect.
A sharp sense for the base issues coupled with a fast and powerful will to act would be something to see
Mr. J. Ingvar Odegaard
http://www.cornucopia.org/2013/04/monsanto-plans-big-expansion-in-chesterfield/
Corporate monsanto makes everything sound good by offering jobs, but it’s really all about getting back the money THEY spend in a community, plus, as one continues to read the article, one discovers they more than make up for what they spend, by getting back state money and tax incentives. Lord knows what else. This tends to look a lot like a double or triple whammy for them. No wonder they just keep on keeping on. Somehow, though, I keep waiting for the Acme cartoon anvil to drop.
The guy they interviewed said “675 of the best and the brightest” (scientists). If they were the best and the brightest they would likely work for someone other than a company like monsanto, no?
http://nobull.mikecallicrate.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/GlyModern-diseaseSamsel-Seneff-13.pdf