That's Fit

When people who want to drink raw milk live in a state where it's illegal, they often get around the law by buying a share of a cow. In many states, it's only legal to drink unpasteurized cow's milk if you own the animal, so by buying a share in a cow, they're allowed to drink its milk.

Even in states where selling and drinking raw milk is legal, the USDA and FDA are watching with concern. Demand for raw milk is on the rise, and they're worried that the milk will cause an outbreak of salmonella, listeria, or E. coli. Though no one tracks the sale of raw milk officially, dairy farmers say they're seeing more customers than ever.

The health benefits and dangers of raw milk are long debated. Some say that pasteurizing raw milk removes essential nutrients and makes the drink, essentially, junk food. Others -- the FDA included -- say that pasteurized milk is perfectly healthy and that drinking raw milk is putting your health at risk. What do you think?

You would think if milk is delivered in glass bottles to your front door, just like the old days, it might go through extremely careful processing to get there. But being careful (or lack thereof) might not be the cause of why bad milk was linked to listeria in Massachusetts. The bacteria is also found in uncooked meat, and rarely shows up in pasteurized milk. That's why health officials are confused as they try to investigate where this outbreak came from.

Three of the victims were elderly men, one of whom was a World War II veteran. When authorities tested the drink of John Powers, the coffee-flavored milk of Whittier Farms sent back positive confirmation of contamination. It's worth noting that the dairy farm distributes across the state under different brand names (although the article fails to mention which ones).

Two other women who were pregnant also contracted listeriosis, one suffering a miscarriage. Thankfully both have recovered otherwise. Let's hope health officials track down this breach before any other cases materialize.

There are new rules coming into affect tomorrow by the US Department of Agriculture that state that almonds must be pasteurized as of September 1, 2007. The new rules are a result of a series of salmonella outbreaks that occurred between 2001 and 2004 and were ultimately linked to raw almonds. This applies to all almonds, including organic ones.

However, these new rules have been met with some outrage. One major point of contention is that no manufacturer can ever truly call their almonds 'raw' anymore, even though the new regulations state that the label 'raw almonds' can be still be used. It's also felt that the powers that be are over-reacting to a small incident that occurred years ago.

Ever had raw milk? It sounds like a simple enough product, but depending on where you live it may be illegal to buy it or sell it. Some 70+ years ago milk caused 25% of all food related illnesses, but with the advent of pasteurization that number dropped sharply to a mere 1%. Raw milk (meaning straight from the cow and unpasteurized) may taste richer, have more natural enzymes, and appeal to many because it's more "natural," but along with those perks comes a much greater risk of ingesting dangerous bacteria like E.coli, salmonella, and others. Currently 15 states in the U.S. outlaw the selling of raw milk, and many others have severe laws and restrictions.

Raw milk is becoming more and more popular every day -- people are showing that they want it bad enough that they're either ready to deal with all the red tape or they're finding ways around the laws altogether and basically buying it on the black market. What do you think? Should people have the choice to buy what they want or should it be against the law?

Something to think about when you hit the grocery store looking for healthy food for yourself and your family: do you want irradiated foods? Of course there's people who care and people who don't, and for those who do we're used to relying on food labels to get the information we want. But beware: the irradiation of food may not be clearly represented on food labels in the future as the FDA is considering changing the regulations to allow the word 'pasteurized' to be used to adequately represent the irradiation treatment process.

There's little information on whether irradiated foods are harmful or not, but it's hardly natural and that makes it a bad idea in my book.