Eating food is one of the most intimidate experiences that we do everyday. It is what we bring into our bodies to nourish, satisfy our hunger, fight disease, and give us energy. But there is more to food then just the vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates and fats that we tend to focus on. What am I talking about???
I am talking about the quality of food! And the Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution does not address it.
Safety of mass meat production…
At the end of August there was a Listeriosis outbreak at one of the biggest meat producing plants in Canada. Processed meats coming from the Maple Leaf Foods in Toronto containing Listeria bacteria were shipped from Toronto all the way to the West and East Coast across the country. The meat was served to elderly in retirement homes, to day cares and hospitals. Kids in Camp fell sick and 15 people died from the same strain of Listeria found in the meat. On online forums pregnant women were scared because they ate recalled meat and they were afraid to miscarry their babies. There are in total 42 confirmed Listeriosis illnesses across the country that was caused by eating contaminated meat.
Raw Milk goes to trail…
On another note, this past week a raw milk farmer (who is a raw milk crusader), Michael Schmidt, has gone to court to fight charges for producing raw unpasteurized milk and cheese and distributing it in Toronto. It is illegal to sell raw milk to consumers, so to by-pass this law Michael has provided a cow share program. It is legal for cow owners to drink their own cow’s milk without it being pasteurized. So instead of buying milk a costumer will buy the cow and the farmer will milk it for you.
Michael Schmidt is the owner of Glencolten Farm. It is a small bio-dynamic organic farm located 2 hours north of Toronto in beautiful Grey County. They have a cow milking operation but also raise pigs, fowl and horses. They have their own apple orchard, organic gardens and they grow their own grain. They make their own bread and raw cheese and sell it as well.
A bio-dynamic farm is viewed as a living ecosystem. Everything works with the way nature intended it too – as a nutrient cycle. The animals are not stressed to produce, their living environment is clean, the manure is used as compost for the fields. The animal feed is grown on the farm. Bio-dynamic practices increase soil fertility and more nutrient rich crops.
Summary of the two very different scenarios…
The first story you have here is of a gigantic food corporation trying to mass produce processed food. Listeriosis bacteria gets in the equipment and contaminates meat. The meat is then transported across the country and makes many people sick and kills 15 people.
The second story is of a small dairy farmer (Michael Schmidt) who believes in bio-dynamic farming. That if the farm is healthy, the animals are healthy and the people eating from that farm are healthy. Raw milk is not allowed to be commercially sold because of the fear that it may contain pathogens such as Salmonella and E-coli and Listeria. Michael Schmidt is facing jail time if convicted of the charges laid against him even though no one has ever gotten sick or died from eating and drinking the food he produces. Raw milk naturally has many enzymes and bacteria. Lactoferrin, xanthine oxidase, lactoperoxidase, lysozyme and nisin are enzymes present in raw milk that kill pathogens.
From http://www.realmilk.com/safety-raw-milk.html
To study this issue further, Organic Pastures contracted with BSK labs in Fresno to perform multiple challenge and recovery tests on our raw milk and raw colostrum. When 7 logs (10 million counts) of pathogens were added to one-milliliter samples of organic raw milk they would not grow. In fact they died off. The salmonella was so badly out-competed that it could not be found less than 24 hours later. The listeria drop was less dramatic and was similiar to the E. Coli O157:H7 samples that were studied, but they also did not grow and declined substantially over time.
The lab concluded: “. . . organic raw milk and colostrum do not appear to support the growth of pathogens. . .”
Conclusion
Although I am comparing the processing of meat to the processing of dairy, the principle is the same. Food is safer when it comes from small farms dedicated to growing healthy food. The Atkins Diet focuses heavily on eating animal products. But for optimal health it is very important to eat high quality unprocessed organic animal products. To learn more about traditional farming practices, the healing benefits of traditional food and the benefits of raw milk visit www.westonaprice.org or pick up Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, Ph.d.
Organic is not always better…
I just want to emphasize the importance of knowing your food! If it hurts to look at the farming practices then there is no way you should be eating it! I recently went to an organic farm that was less then ideal and there was one dead animal on this farm and many animals were hurting. Yet it was certified organic. If I had not gone for a visit and just bought from a grocery store I would not know this. Consumers have a right to safe healthy food. If it is organic then it should be raised ethically. Actually ALL animals should be raised and treated ethically – but I am dreaming here.
We can’t always assume that an inspector is going to catch every infraction. So it comes down to the consumer. The consumer does have buying power!
