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Welcome to my little corner of our Weston A. Price Foundation, Victoria BC Chapter page where I publish articles pertaining to all things food and health.  
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BC'S MINISTERS OF HEALTH - KEPT IN THE DARK ABOUT RAW MILK

12/3/2018

2 Comments

 
Through freedom of information requests, it has been revealed that British Columbia's current Minister of Health, the Honourable Adrian Dix, and all the Ministers of Health that precede him going back to Minister George Abbott in 2008, have not received complete and updated briefing notes on the topic of unpasteurized milk - FOR TEN YEARS.  
What?!?  ​How can this be?
Omitted is the vast volume of information which has been provided to Ministry staff by the public about the health benefits of raw milk, the two types of raw milk, the Raw Milk Institute (est. 2011), and on-farm training programs for safe raw milk production.​   ​
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Content Analysis of Briefing Notes to Ministers of Health
on the Topic of Raw Milk - 2008 to 2018
The following analysis shows that briefing notes to the Ministers of Health on the topic of unpasteurized milk have not been updated in 10 years.  
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You can download a PDF file of the above table plus all original briefing notes (source:  "Raw Milk Policy") here:
analysis_of_minister_of_health_briefing_notes_2008_to_2018.pdf
File Size: 336 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

1_-_advice_to_minister_abbott__2008_.pdf
File Size: 234 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

2_-_advice_to_minister_chong__2010_.pdf
File Size: 481 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

3_-_fact_sheet_for_minister_lake__2015_.pdf
File Size: 797 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

4_-_fact_sheet_for_ministers_lake_and_dix__2016_.pdf
File Size: 1102 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

5_-_fact_sheet_for_minister_dix__nov_2017_.pdf
File Size: 840 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

6a_-_background_info_for_minister_dix__nov_2017_.pdf
File Size: 792 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

6b_-_supplementary_info_for_minister_dix__nov_2017_.pdf
File Size: 1111 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

​Let's explore one statement recycled through 10 years of briefing notes:  "there is no scientific or other credible evidence that unpasteurized milk produces any measurable health benefits over pasteurized dairy products."   Many scientific studies conclude that raw milk has measurable health benefits over pasteurized milk:
The Health Benefits of Raw Milk:
  • Significant and reproducible evidence from large multi-country cross-sectional and cohort studies for a protective effect of raw farm milk consumption in childhood against the development of asthma and allergic diseases.​
  • Evidence from cross-sectional studies for a significant protective effect of raw farm milk consumption against rhinitis, respiratory tract infection, otitis and fever.
  • Consumption of raw farm milk is a major independent factor in the “farm effect” by which children exposed to farm environments have a lower incidence of asthma and allergic diseases than non-exposed children.
  • Protective effect against asthma and allergy is most pronounced when exposure to raw farm milk begins in utero, followed by consumption prior to one year of age.
  • Children fed boiled farm milk more likely than controls to show signs of milk allergy at age 1, while consumption of raw farm milk is protective against developing milk allergy.
  • Childhood consumption of raw farm milk correlates with higher pulmonary function and lower incidence of allergic diseases in adults.
  • ​Many cellular signalling pathways are activated by consumption of raw farm milk, notably the promotion of regulatory T cell maturation and the epigenetic control of gene expression.​
  • Biological mechanisms are being further investigated with mouse models of asthma and gastrointestinal allergy and with molecular and genomic studies of human intestinal cell lines.
  • Raw farm milk is a complex substance containing many bioactive components, including whey proteins, transcription factors, immunoglobulins, omega-3 fats and microRNAs.
  • Commercial processing of milk, including pasteurization, homogenization and centrifugation, denatures bioactive proteins and RNA molecules and alters bioavailability of fat-soluble components.
 Below is a download of the ten page summary document listing 42 of these articles, entitled Peer-Reviewed Scientific Studies Demonstrating Health Benefits of Unprocessed Milk, 2001-2018.    A binder containing printed copies of this document and all of these articles was given to Government by the BC Herdshare Association in February 2018.    
the-health-benefits-of-raw-milk-.pdf
File Size: 1009 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

But of these 42 studies, 10 were published prior to the first briefing note (2008).  Are Ministry  staff deliberately withholding this information?  The public wants to know.  

Regarding raw milk safety, Ministry staff mention outbreaks and disease numerous times, but neglect to mention the Raw Milk Institute's training program that teaches farmers how to prevent outbreaks by producing clean milk.  Ministry staff know about the Raw Milk Institute -- consumers have provided them with mountains of information about it over the years.  

They neglect to tell the Minister about the B.C. Fresh Milk Project and the evidence it is producing that raw milk can be produced pathogen-free by using RAWMI training, despite having received copies of the test results as far back as 2015 and regularly since then.  Also in 2016, which is when members of my livestock owner group provided this information to government, including to at least three MLAs.

They neglect to mention that people in 43 U.S. states and also England, Wales, New Zealand, France, Germany and many other European nations enjoy legal raw milk and it is not a public health disaster.

​Substantiated, factual information that is crucial to have in order to set honest public health policy is not being received by our Minister of Health.   As an example,  consumers across the province have repeatedly provided scientifically-proven information about raw milk safety to many MLAs and other Government officials.  This includes laboratory evidence from the BC Fresh Milk Project proving  that there are two types of raw milk:  one for the pasteurizer and one for the people.  This really says it all:
two_types_of_raw_milk.pdf
File Size: 551 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

These omissions cause one to seriously wonder if Minister Dix will ever actually see this unbiased, independent and important new study recently published in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI):

​Recent Trends in Unpasteurized Fluid Milk Outbreaks, Legalization, and Consumption in the United States.
​Recent Trends… covers recent CDC data (2005 through 2016), with comparison to legal status and estimates of consumption based on state licensing records.  This study finds that the risk of illness from raw milk is ‘small but real’ (not zero risk, as for any food), and that as access to raw milk has increased in the US, outbreak numbers and rates have not increased, but have in reality DECREASED!

Evidence is cited that on-farm safety training programs may be behind the reduced outbreak rates in the US.   Perhaps most importantly, given our current and disastrous epidemic of chronic illness, especially in children, this study cites an extensive body of evidence underscoring the significant public health benefits of raw milk, protection against infectious and non-communicable diseases, and enhanced immune function.

​This study makes it abundantly clear that prohibition-based policies around raw milk which focus solely on minimizing risk are missing the critical point of raw milk's unique health benefits, at a time when they are desperately needed.   

Why do we have obsolete and ineffective raw milk laws in BC? Will a study of this importance even see the light of day in our Minister of Health's office?

A Public Policy Problem
Why do we have obsolete and ineffective raw milk laws in BC?  Maybe because policy analysts in a government ministry are considered to be the “subject matter experts” and Ministers rely on them to provide expert advice.  But in practice, they filter the information which the Minister receives.  If a policy analyst has a personal agenda to see a Minister make a certain decision, all they need to do is to ensure that the Minister never hears an alternative point of view, or that they sufficiently discredit other viewpoints.  Policy departments are the hidden power in government, wielding power over elected Ministers, and ensuring that new governments carry on the agendas of the old ones by providing the same advice over and over again.   This is not good government.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

Kindly let your MLA and Premier John Horgan's office know that our elected officials are letting the citizens of BC down by not ensuring that open, honest, and complete briefings about the safety and health benefits of raw milk are delivered by staff to the Minister of Health.   Ask for follow-up which shows that the long-standing practice of keeping BC's Ministers of Health in the dark about raw milk is immediately stopped.

Let's get raw milk legalized in B.C. so that no farm needs to stay "underground" for fear of being prosecuted by health authorities.  Please write to Health Minister Adrian Dix and ask him to legalize raw milk in BC by removing clause 2(a) of the Health Hazards Regulation or amending it to exempt certified micro-dairy herdshares (in 2015, Ministry staff said that this second option might be possible).

Ask your MLA for their support and to ask on your behalf that Minister Dix change the law - that's their job.  Tell them there is at least 10 years worth of evidence that they may not have seen, including this study that demolishes the US Center for Disease Control's claim that legalization will lead to more outbreaks.  Reference in the study in your letter:  Recent Trends in Unpasteurized Fluid Milk Outbreaks, Legalization, and Consumption in the United States.   It reveals with undeniably strong evidence that raw milk is a safe and healthy food that should be widely available to anyone in BC who chooses to consume it.  Thank you!
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​Please consider joining the group that is helping to put consumers who are looking for raw milk in contact with grass-fed micro-dairy farms across our province:
www.facebook.com/groups/rawmilkbc/

Sources:
  • "Raw Milk Policy".  British Columbia,  Freedom of Information request archive
  • "Basic Raw Milk Facts".  British Columbia Herdshare Association
  • "Meeting with Agriculture Minister Lana Popham".  British Columbia Herdshare Association news
  • BC Herdshare Association newsletter, October 2015.
  • "The BC Fresh Milk Project"
For more information on the safety and health benefits of clean and fresh raw milk see:
  • ​British Columbia Herdshare Association  (http://bcherdshare.org)​
  • Weston A. Price Foundation (https://www.westonaprice.org)
  • A Campaign for Real Milk (https://www.realmilk.com)
  • ​Weston A. Price Foundation, Victoria BC Chapter Blog:  The Eleventh Hour (https://www.alternativeboomerlegacy.com/blog/the-eleventh-hour)
2 Comments
Emily Robertson
12/5/2018 10:15:05 pm

Your report doesn't surprise me. Let me add this:
When Mark McAfee come to speak in BC (about 4 years ago) he said that he had applied under the freedom of information act to get the documents that were referenced by the person who originally drafted the raw milk regulations to justify the very high level of risk that had been attributed to human comsumption of raw milk. Regulators are required to file such documents. There were none. No research papers, journal articles, reports from other jurisdictions, mortality or morbidity data from BC Vital Statistics... nothing. I'm wondering if those Advice to Minister quotes above are attributed to a human being, or are they assumed to be the voice of God? If there is a human being in Victoria charged with the responsibility to advise the minister, we should find out who it is...

Reply
Linda Morken
12/6/2018 09:57:56 pm

Great points, Emily - the authors of these briefing notes are all indicated at the bottom of each BN. Or, at least the policy managers who put their names to what the policy analysts working under them wrote. And each of these people is in the government directory, if anyone wants to contact them: http://dir.gov.bc.ca. Some have moved on to other positions, such as Arlene Paton who is now in the First Nations Health Authority, replaced by Matt Herman. So, these Voices of God have names, phone numbers, and email addresses.

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    Linda Morken, WAPFTM Volunteer Chapter Leader in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

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  • HOME
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  • RESOURCES
    • What is WAPF Wise Traditions Eating?
    • Local Farms
    • Real Food Retailers
    • Restaurants with WAPF Foods
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    • Raw Milk and BCHA
    • Health Practitioners
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