Amish Milk Terrorists

[Mr. Sable]

If you guys had any idea what was in American 'pasteurized' milk, the Amish would become rich beyond belief with their black market milk.

 

[Feraud]

What is wrong with this country? People have been drinking raw milk for thousands of years, and now all of a sudden it’s deemed unsafe?

The same with toys. Things that I used to play with, or my parents or grandparents are now too dangerous for kids today.

By sheltering our children so much we are doing far more harm than good.

I tend to agree with this point. Let me play devil's advocate. "Freedom of Choice" has been mentioned in this thread. I am going to suggest that people want their Freedom until they make a stupid mistake! Then all of a sudden everyone wants regulation, standards, etc. with their cries of Public Safety. People are too sue happy in America to enjoy our freedoms of choice. We lack the common sense to cook our meat enough to kill germs, not drive drunk, wear a seatbelt, watch where you point that loaded gun, etc. No one wants to take responsibility for their mistakes.

If you guys had any idea what was in American 'pasteurized' milk, the Amish would become rich beyond belief with their black market milk.

Pray tell!!

 

[Serial Hero]

Remember “Rocky”? Every teenage boy went home and had a glass of raw eggs.

It used to be ok to eat raw eggs. But now the ones you buy from the store come from chickens that are so pumped full of hormones, antibiotics, and who knows what, that you have to make sure they’re fully cooked. Raw cookie dough or cake batter, forget about it! They both contain raw eggs.

I know this isn’t milk, but it falls under the same thing. I bet that Amish farmer was selling eggs too.

 

[scotrace]

I don't think the story was censored - just expired at that address.

The herd was cooperatively owned by a group of Amish who received the milk they produced. One farmer cared for and milked the herd. The families who got the milk did so legally - they didn't buy any milk, they bought the cows. It is legal to use the milk from your own bovine herd.

The Amish have gasoline-powered generators. The milk is extracted mechanically and stored in a sterile stainless tank.

This farmer has lost his herd and ability to have a dairy farm as he was found guilty of "selling" raw milk. The purchaser was an undercover government agent who did not identify himself, showed up with his own unmarked container and stuffed $2 into the protesting farmer's hand after badgering him for "some of that good, farm-fresh milk you have out there."

The judge rejected the farmer's claim of entrapment and stripped him of his license to operate a dairy farm.

This is not the only instance of the Amish running afoul of the law. Their buggies are, just as automobiles are, in part designed by government committee. Many still use outdoor privies. Digging one usually brings an encampment from the Environmental Protection Agency.

 

[Zemke Fan]

Ya'll drink whatever you want...

As for me, I drink pasteurized milk from organic farms (available through Whole Foods or Trader Joes) and I am certain that Louis Pasteur would side with this old farm boy when I suggest that you avoid unpasteurized milk like the plaugue. (BTW, we had a home pasteurizer when I was growing up and as far as I know the only growth hormone any cow of ours EVER received was brought about by the lustful longing of the bull in the adjacent corral.)

 

[Paisley]

Remember “Rocky”? Every teenage boy went home and had a glass of raw eggs.

It used to be ok to eat raw eggs. But now the ones you buy from the store come from chickens that are so pumped full of hormones, antibiotics, and who knows what, that you have to make sure they’re fully cooked. Raw cookie dough or cake batter, forget about it! They both contain raw eggs.

I believe it's advisable to cook eggs before eating them in order to avoid salmonella. If you like raw cookie dough or even old-fashioned ice cream, you can buy raw pasteurized eggs. And of course, there are cage-free, no-hormone eggs at the supermarket now.

This is a little off-topic, but many years ago, home canners were advised to thouroughly cook their canned foods to avoid food poisoning. Not everything about the Golden Era was golden.

 

[Mr. Sable]

Pray tell!!

If you don't drink milk, go rent the documentary 'The Corporation'. If you do drink milk... maybe just buy it from the Amish or remain unaware and get it at the grocery store.

You don't even wanna know what's in Fig Newtons. Never, ever LOOK at a Fig Newton if you intend to eat it.

 

[Viola]

Just playing devil's advocate - but what if some child or pregnant woman were to drink some of this raw milk and someone were to die, or she miscarried, or a child were born with some form of birth defect? Would you then feel the police, who were investigating a report of unlawful conduct (and apparently, the informant was truthful and correct), were wasting their time or picking on some poor farmer or should've been doing something more important? What if one of the victims were a member of your immediate family? Would it then seem to trivial and unimportant?

Yeah, it would still seem trivial to me unless the the farmer attacked her with a funnel and poured it down her throat.

I think the cops should be ashamed of themselves.

 

[matei]

The reason children are developing faster and going through puberty sooner these days, is because we are, indirectly, filling them full of growth hormones

I believe you are right sir. I've seen the difference.

For example... my wife grew up in Romania. Her family consumed what was available - domestic products, and supplimented them with fresh produce from her grandmother's farm. My wife is petite and only about 5' tall. Everyone in her family - even her father, who was an athlete, was on the smallish side.

My wife's cousin turned out differently. After the fall of communism in '89, her aunt and uncle decided to buy only American food for their daughter. Chicken, cereal, beef - etc. She is about 5' 11'', and close to 180 lbs. Compared to her family, she is a giant!

It isn't the quality of the domestic products either. My wife's family was very well off prior to '89.

I've seen it in other families as well - it is even more noticeable today. With all the imported food flooding the country in this era of globalisation, the population is slowly getting bigger (wider, taller).

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

I'm an extreme example of that. Dad was 5'-2" and I'm six feet tall, and otherwise we're lookalikes.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Avoiding all the added hormones is the main reason i eat organic produce. Some free range non-organic is also alright.

A simple example: How many orange juice cartons do you see on the supermarket shelves that are not fortified with something or other? There is only one - the own-brand one - in my local supermarket. Not only orange juice, neither. With many products it's hard to find an unmolested version.

bk

 

[Mike in Seattle]

Remember “Rocky”? Every teenage boy went home and had a glass of raw eggs.

It used to be ok to eat raw eggs. But now the ones you buy from the store come from chickens that are so pumped full of hormones, antibiotics, and who knows what, that you have to make sure they’re fully cooked. Raw cookie dough or cake batter, forget about it! They both contain raw eggs.

Incorrect on a minor point - the problem with raw eggs is the vast majority carry salmonella. Elderly, the young and people with various illnesses can die from salmonella. That's why eggs should be fully cooked. The same with ground beef and e coli. The heat's probably not going to affect the hormones, antibiotics and the rest of it anyway.

But I agree about the "nanny-state." The problem is if you give some people these choices, they later sue because they can't take responsibility for their own actions or bad choices, and then my tax dollars go to support them and pay medical costs for the harm they cause themselves and others. "I'm going to drink and drive and not wear a seatbelt." Big accident happens. "Mommy didn't hug me enough and that's why I drink, so it's not my fault!" and then they sue the car manufacturer because they didn't clearly detail all the possibilities of what might happen with not wearing a seatbelt.

As someone else posted - make something foolproof and they'll make a better fool...