Pedantic Pediatricians Panic over Raw Milk

Anybody susceptible to
bacteria or infections should be careful about their food
consumption. The American Academy of Pediatrics cannot seem to
deliver medical advice, though, without having to get nanny state
about it. Advising against raw milk consumption by pregnant women
and small children isn’t enough. They want the government to step
in and ban raw milk sales nationally. From a Los Angeles
Times
report:

The American Academy of Pediatrics on Monday warned that
pregnant women and children should not drink raw milk and said it
supports a nationwide ban on the sale of raw milk because of the
danger of bacterial illnesses.

The group’s statement said it supports federal health
authorities “in endorsing the consumption of only pasteurized milk
and milk products for pregnant women, infants and children.”

The academy also “endorses a ban on the sale of raw or
unpasteurized milk and milk products throughout the United States,
including the sale of certain raw milk cheeses, such as fresh
cheese, soft cheeses and soft-ripened cheeses.”

How serious is the problem?

The pediatricians estimate that 1 percent to 3 percent of dairy
products consumed in the U.S. are not pasteurized. From 1998 to
2009, that led to 1,837 illnesses, two resulting in death.

Two deaths in 11 years. Two. Using this standard, how
is it legal to sell nuts for human consumption at all?

Read the whole story
here, including defenses of raw milk that point out outlawing
raw milk sales entirely turns it into a black market and makes it
impossible to put together a system to produce it safely.

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