Fantastic article as usual, thank you! One tiny niggle, which is “drinking raw milk has no benefits, only risks.” Unsurprisingly for such a plain statement, it’s not strictly true and reality is more complicated than that, and I find it worrying because it could further undermine the trust in science of people who are already inclined to mistrust it (those who have read up on and/or experienced the benefits of drinking raw milk). Why not say “while some people find drinking raw milk beneficial, the benefits are outweighed by the known risks, especially in an environment of low disease surveillance and minimal food regulation like is currently in place in the US”. I know it’s a lot less snappy, but also potentially a lot less alienating to people it would be really great to get on side.
I know, and I don’t dispute the risks at all, quite the opposite! But there just being weak scientific evidence for the benefits is not enough to just dismiss them outright, I think, especially when the actual, lived experience of people who consume raw milk often is that it’s very beneficial indeed. And I don’t think the way to convince them not to consume it anyway (because of the risks) is to just tell them that their experience is incorrect.
Isn't the spread among cattle likely due to the fact that in the US they feed chicken excrement to cattle? And they continue to do so. Its disgusting to think about. Definitely a reason not to eat any sort of meat , especially if its been anywhere near the US.
As parents are now holding measles and chicken pox parties for their children in the US , I expect we shall soon see raw milk drinking parties (they probably already exist!) and flu parties as well.
Covid is still here and especially widespread in the US atm. But as Donald Trump- sort of- said, if you don't measure something it doesn't exist. The USA is huge, even if thousands die of flu , if its not measured and people are not told to take care, it will take a while for people to notice, by which time it will be way too late for the rest of us.
The global position can be framed in the context of farmed livestock and poultry and their massive human vector connection. Quote instant google: "livestock biomass has reached about 630 million tons. That is 30 times the biomass of wild terrestrial mammals and 15 times that of wild marine mammals."
Poultry it seems is only x3 the biomass of wild birds, but humans and their other live cargo fly further and quicker and are more directly connected with domestic creatures than are our migrant wild birds. Risk assessment points to the inevitable predicament?
Thank your, Christina, for another terrific summary of what the bird flu issue is about, how it works, what to look out for, and what could go wrong. How much better informed people would be if mainstream media would stop their Chicken Little approach of revving up the spin (the sky might be falling ... the sky might be falling) and simply about educating the public about the facts.
Fantastic article as usual, thank you! One tiny niggle, which is “drinking raw milk has no benefits, only risks.” Unsurprisingly for such a plain statement, it’s not strictly true and reality is more complicated than that, and I find it worrying because it could further undermine the trust in science of people who are already inclined to mistrust it (those who have read up on and/or experienced the benefits of drinking raw milk). Why not say “while some people find drinking raw milk beneficial, the benefits are outweighed by the known risks, especially in an environment of low disease surveillance and minimal food regulation like is currently in place in the US”. I know it’s a lot less snappy, but also potentially a lot less alienating to people it would be really great to get on side.
I've looked and there is either no or very weak evidence for any benefits from raw milk - an plenty of evidence of its risks!
https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/raw-milk-misconceptions-and-danger-raw-milk-consumption
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4890836/
I know, and I don’t dispute the risks at all, quite the opposite! But there just being weak scientific evidence for the benefits is not enough to just dismiss them outright, I think, especially when the actual, lived experience of people who consume raw milk often is that it’s very beneficial indeed. And I don’t think the way to convince them not to consume it anyway (because of the risks) is to just tell them that their experience is incorrect.
Great article as always.
Are dogs at risk?
Isn't the spread among cattle likely due to the fact that in the US they feed chicken excrement to cattle? And they continue to do so. Its disgusting to think about. Definitely a reason not to eat any sort of meat , especially if its been anywhere near the US.
As parents are now holding measles and chicken pox parties for their children in the US , I expect we shall soon see raw milk drinking parties (they probably already exist!) and flu parties as well.
Covid is still here and especially widespread in the US atm. But as Donald Trump- sort of- said, if you don't measure something it doesn't exist. The USA is huge, even if thousands die of flu , if its not measured and people are not told to take care, it will take a while for people to notice, by which time it will be way too late for the rest of us.
Remembering what happened in the 1918 pandemic.
The global position can be framed in the context of farmed livestock and poultry and their massive human vector connection. Quote instant google: "livestock biomass has reached about 630 million tons. That is 30 times the biomass of wild terrestrial mammals and 15 times that of wild marine mammals."
Poultry it seems is only x3 the biomass of wild birds, but humans and their other live cargo fly further and quicker and are more directly connected with domestic creatures than are our migrant wild birds. Risk assessment points to the inevitable predicament?
Thank your, Christina, for another terrific summary of what the bird flu issue is about, how it works, what to look out for, and what could go wrong. How much better informed people would be if mainstream media would stop their Chicken Little approach of revving up the spin (the sky might be falling ... the sky might be falling) and simply about educating the public about the facts.