Meet Dolly, our Dairy Queen

We don't regularly feed our cats table food and most of our cats, though they may beg, aren't the least bit interested after they give it the smell test.  Dolly, on the other hand, does have her favorites and though we don't allow her to indulge too much, once in a while we allow her to eat some pizza (including the dough part) and dairy, anything dairy.  Some of our other cats actually do like to lap up an occassional (small) bowl of milk.

All of the dairy, except for yogurt and a few types of cheeses (Asiago, Feta and Mozzarella) in our refrigerator is straight from the cow's utter, that is, raw and unpasteurized.  Unpastuerized milk/dairy is much better tolerated in cats as well as in humans than the pasteurized versions.  In fact, I have found, without a doubt, that I can enjoy dairy in its most natural state but once it's been pasteurized I'm in trouble; you probably know what I mean...the lactose intolerance problem?

This morning as I was eating breakfast (yogurt, a banana and some almonds) I noticed that our gray tabby, Dolly was sitting beside me.  This is pretty unusual since she has made it perfectly clear that I'm on her black list.  Dolly has nicknames like Mrs. Small and the Dairy Queen and this morning Mrs. Small was doubling as the Dairy Queen!  I suspect it had something to do with the yogurt I was eating.  With her nose in the air I decided to share it with her but first, I got the camera ready.  

Watch and listen carefully as Dolly enjoys her morning yogurt!

Yum, yum!

Raw Dairy: A letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Dear Mr. Hennes,

My husband came across an article on Channel 6 Action News today regarding two people from PA (where I live) who became ill from the consumption of raw milk. After reading the article and hearing so many lies about raw milk and dairy, I would like to state some thought and facts.

My family has been consuming raw milk and dairy for the past seven years now.  I am lactose intolerant.  There is a tremendous difference when I drink pasteurized milk versus raw milk.  I do not get bloated and doubled-over in pain from drinking raw milk though I did from pasteurized milk.  I would say there's something to be said for that.  But the FDA states in the article link above that raw milk does not help the lactose intolerant person.  I'm living proof that it does.  Where do your facts come from?

I’m very familiar with the campaign against raw milk and raw dairy, but could there some truth to the claims that there is BIG money in the pasteurization and homogenization of dairy? What is really driving the campaign against raw dairy? Isn’t this the same type of “campaigning” that took place between tropical oils (specifically coconut/palm oils) and soybean oil?

The soybean industry created a smear campaign, using scare tactics to convince consumers that coconut and palm oils would clog their arteries and cause heart disease. Wouldn’t it be more accurate to say that it’s actually homogenization that causes clogged arteries and heart disease? After all, homogenization requires milk to be put through a sieve which breaks down the fat globules into such miniscule “uniform” fat particles making them small enough to enter our bloodstream. This is why the fat doesn’t come together and rise to the top of the milk (consumers seem to prefer that uniform look or that which has the appearance of being pure and healthy like white flour and white sugar).

Milk that has not been homogenized has naturally occurring fat globules that are not uniform in size and are too big to enter the bloodstream causing them to be eliminated as waste. And speaking of accuracy, wouldn’t it be more accurate to say that coconut oil is one of THE most healthy foods on this planet? At 76 degrees F coconut oil is a clear liquid. If our body temperature is 98.6 degrees F I can’t see how it could possibly clog our arteries, can you? I can personally vouch for how nutritious coconut oil is. A drastic change in my diet which included extra virgin organic coconut oil healed my thyroid after taking Synthroid for eleven years. Synthroid hasn’t been part of my diet in over six years now!  And my cholesterol levels are very good.

Is it true that in 2003 the FDA reported that compared to raw milk, deli meats contaminated with Listeria Monocytogenes caused many more illnesses than raw milk? If so, why hasn’t the public been warned that deli meats are "inherently dangerous and should not be consumed," just like the FDA advises about raw milk?

Following is an excerpt from an article on the FDA website entitled, "Listeria monocytogenes Risk Assessment: Interpretive Summary."   "While outbreak investigations provide valuable information about potential modes of L. monocytogenes transmission, they do not always identify the contaminated food source."  So why does all the focus go towards raw milk and dairy?  Please review Summary Table 4 in the above Risk Assessment article link where "Deli Meats" top the list for highest risk for Listeria contamination!

While it’s not impossible for an illness to occur from raw milk, I can’t help but wonder why raw milk and dairy consumption are polarized and take the headlines like they do. These cases are so few and far between, unlike, say, medical mistakes.

The Abstract below (highlighted in yellow and green) was taken from page 13 of 136 of the Institute of Medicine’s article called “Roundtable on Value & Science-Driven Health Care” dated September 22, 2011. It is reported that ten years prior there was an alarming rate of medical errors. If this is true, why doesn’t this make the headlines? I haven’t noticed many warnings, if any, from the FDA/government even though we are all potential victims to man-made medical errors which, by the way, are rampant. Highlighted in green below is a claim that even though our government/country has attempted to address these problems in healthcare, progress is slow due to greed and egos (that’s my interpretation). I understand human nature is what it is, but who is taking the initiative to hold these people accountable? And why aren’t these dangers being headlined and broadcasted in the news media? Is it because that’s all covered under the so-called “patient rights” when we are required to sign our lives away prior to treatment of any kind by a doctor/hospital so that they are NOT able to be held liable? Could it be that it’s the doctors and hospitals who are being protected and consumers are being duped and left out in the cold? What a sad state of our union.  Just for the record, I don’t rely on doctors and hospitals for my health and wellness. I take responsibility for that. Shouldn’t we all and shouldn’t we be teaching  children to do the same?  I think so.  But instead what are we teaching children here in the United States of America?  Evolution as though it were fact, homosexual lifestyle as though it were normal and premarital sex is condoned as though it were no different than going to the nurse for an aspirin?  We teach tolerance to everyone and everything except to the One who created us, who sustains us, and who gave His life for us.

ABSTRACT
Ten years ago, the Institute of Medicine reported alarming data on the scope and impact of medical errors in the US and called for national efforts to address this problem. While efforts to improve patient safety have proliferated during the past decade, progress toward improvement has been frustratingly slow. Some of this lack of progress may be attributable to the persistence of a medical ethos, institutionalized in the hierarchical structure of academic medicine and healthcare organizations, that discourages teamwork and transparency and undermines the establishment of clear systems of accountability for safe care.

“Pasteurized for your safety” is the little catch phrase spelled out on lids and containers of all kinds of beverage and food products that make consumers feel, oh I don’t know, special? Important? Cared for? Loved? That is your motive for including that phrase, isn’t it? Because when some feels special, important, cared for and loved, they, in return will TRUST whoever their affections are directed at. This is a tactic used everywhere for personal and business gain. It uses and abuses people.  It’s wrong and just plain dirty. The reason for pasteurization is for pure profit. Pasteurization allows beverages and food to stay on shelves longer and that’s the bottom line. It might be convenient to consumers because people are now so accustomed to their busy lifestyle, but that doesn't negate the fact that the FDA and the government is certainly not thinking of our safety first!  Allow us to drink and eat pure and healthy foods which clearly nourish our bodies.

I know that raw dairy is legal in PA, for which I am grateful, but it’s not legal in many states and it’s not legal to cross over a state line with which, in all honesty, is absurd. Alcohol, which is legal all over and sold in many states in the supermarkets, convenience stores, gas stations etc. is much more lethal and kills many more people directly and indirectly than raw milk ever has and ever will, yet I don’t see that going away any time soon or at all. Why is that? Is it because there’s too much money being made from it? Listen, I’m not asking for something that is dangerous here. Those who work for the FDA and those in our government should open their eyes and stop making money and greed your bottom line. Once you stop that then you’ll be free to see the truth and understand it.

I would like to ask that the FDA/government allow organic farmers to farm without interference from the government or from the Monsanto monopoly schemes. Put a stop to Monsanto's frivolous lawsuits against innocent farmers who believe that organic and true sustainable farming methods are not only better for our environment but also for consumers. Put an end to Monsanto's insatiable appetite for destroying farmers' land and livelihood (and stop them from clogging up our judicial system).

Why is it that we, the people, are being deprived of our inherent right to eat what God has provided to nourish our bodies which He created, yet those with appetites to destroy what is right and true and good have their fill? If the FDA would stop approving processed “junk”foods and drugs that attribute to poor health and even death then people would have to take responsibility for their own lives. This county needs to wake up to the call that’s been sounding out for many, many years.

Thank you for your attention to this serious matter. I hope you seek the truth and work to make a difference for the people, not for lobbyists, food and drug manufacturers, the government or for yourself unless it’s first for the people!

I’ve had my say. Now I would like to hear your response.  Again, thank you.

Differing views on raw milk:
On The Safety of Raw Milk (with a word about pasteurization) - FDA
Rebuttal to the FDA's power point presentation - Weston Price Foundation

Sincerely yours,


Lisa Small
Wellness Blog

Revised:  3/9/2012

Interesting facts about MOTHER'S DAY

It is interesting to note: Most holidays start out innocent and usually for a good reason. The only problem is when man creates something it’s usually corrupt or at least becomes corrupt. We’re so conditioned and used to the idea of celebrating holidays in our own traditional man-made ways.

Anna Jarvis, the woman who founded Mother’s Day to honor her own mother, after founding Mother’s Day, wound up spending the rest of her life fighting against the commercialism and political exploitation of it! Obviously, she lost that battle which is why Mother’s Day is what it is today. I wonder how she’d feel today if she saw how it’s celebrated 100 years later.

A connection between Mother’s Day and Raw Dairy?

What caught my eye while reading about Ann Reeves Jarvis, the mother of Anna Jarvis, was that a mother’s heart was determined to put an end to the rapidly growing infant mortality rate of her day. The disastrous effects of poor hygiene and sanitation was what led Ann in her West Virginia community to put an end to this simple but fatal problem.  And so she organized Mother's Day Work Clubs.  Ann, being personally affected by this deadly epidemic, lost nine of her own babies seeing only four out of her thirteen children grow up to adulthood. As a mother, I can’t imagine the terrible pain she endured losing nine children to a simple but very serious problem that could have been corrected and solved without using the measures they took!

In an effort to solve their sanitation problem at that time, pasteurization was popularized and advocated. People were being convinced it was raw dairy that was the cause of the many deaths. So instead of fixing the sanitation problem, they made matters worse. They started the ball rolling towards many of the diseases and so-called treatments we now have today. Heart disease is just one of them. Someone saw $$$ signs!

Raw dairy is available and is very safe despite what our government tells us and what people may believe.  Like with any food and beverage product, it's important to know where it's coming from.  And not only is raw dairy safe, it's full of nutrition that can't be beat!

If you'd like to learn more about raw dairy, the Weston Price Foundation is a great source of information.  Or, you can always contact me.

~ Lisa