Probably, you have heard those most misleading marketing slogans of the milk industry praising the benefit of milk such as “You need milk for strong bones” or “Dairy, it does the body good”. Nothing could be more far from the truth. Humans were not created to digest the milk of cows, sheeps or goats. In fact, humans are the only ones who use to drink milk from another species. Those people seem to be totally ignorant of the completely different composition of animal milk. For instance, cow milk has three times the amount of protein than human milk creating metabolic issues and wreaking havoc on one’s bone health. Read on to find out why the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) strongly advises against the drinking of raw milk and how drinking raw milk made several delegates at Capitol sick. However, unfortunately even the CDC still favors milk if it’s pasteurized. So, they should do a bit more research to finally dissuade people from drinking milk at all.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) — In the weeks after passing a bill, allowing West Virginians to drink raw milk, one delegate brought the drink in to celebrate and, eventually, several lawmakers have gotten sick.
Some lawmakers say it’s just a coincidence and a stomach bug is going around.
But, now, health officials are planning on looking in to how this all started.
An anonymous complaint is in at the state Department of Health and Human Resources.
And now, state health officials have to investigate why at least one person is saying the raw milk was given illegally and got these lawmakers sick.
However, other delegates, like Pat McGeehan (R – Hancock, 01), who is quite sick himself, say that recent stomach bug has been making the rounds for weeks.
“There’s definitely…some other colleagues that have similar symptoms that I’ve been experiencing,” McGeehan said.
But the timing is coincidental.
McGeehan and some other lawmakers drank raw, unpasteurized, milk to celebrate the passing of a bill that makes it legal before getting sick.
Click HERE to watch the video reporting about how raw milk caused illnesses at Capitol!
Several lawmakers say a delegate who sponsored the bill, Scott Cadle (R – Mason, 13), brought in the drinks.
“[Cadle] caught me in the hallway, offered a cup to me, and you want to try to be a gentleman,” McGeehan said. “I had a small sip and walked away and tossed the rest of it.”
“I highly doubt raw milk had anything to do with it, in my case,” McGeehan said.
According to the Kanwaha-Charleston Health Department, raw milk can contain dangerous bacteria and parasites.
But, supporters say, raw milk has a higher nutritional content and is more ethical.
“I don’t think it’s any riskier than eating raw oysters or anything like that,” McGeehan said.
McGeehan believes the milk you drink is a personal choice.
“There definitely shouldn’t be a law against allowing people to do what they want within the framework of the rule of law,” McGeehan said. “Just be careful.”
Governor Earl Ray Tomblin vetoed a similar bill last year.
His spokesperson says he signed this year’s version of the bill because it has precautions in place to better protect people’s health.
A spokesperson for Governor Tomblin says, as for this incident, it’s up to the DHHR to determine what did or did not happen.
Cadle declined an interview request from WSAZ.
The Food and Drug Administration and the CDC warn against drinking raw milk:
Milk and milk products provide a wealth of nutrition benefits. But raw milk can harbor dangerous microorganisms that can pose serious health risks to you and your family. According to an analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), between 1993 and 2006 more than 1500 people in the United States became sick from drinking raw milk or eating cheese made from raw milk. In addition,CDC reported that unpasteurized milk is 150 times more likely to cause foodborne illness and results in 13 times more hospitalizations than illnesses involving pasteurized dairy products.
Raw milk is milk from cows, sheep, or goats that has not been pasteurized to kill harmful bacteria. This raw, unpasteurized milk can carry dangerous bacteria such as Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria, which are responsible for causing numerous foodborne illnesses.
These harmful bacteria can seriously affect the health of anyone who drinks raw milk, or eats foods made from raw milk. However, the bacteria in raw milk can be especially dangerous to people with weakened immune systems, older adults, pregnant women, and children. In fact, the CDC analysis found that foodborne illness from raw milk especially affected children and teenagers.”
Sources: wsaz.com, dailycos.com!
