Congratulations to Smart Dairymen; Shame on the Dummies

In all fairness to dairymen, when they do something
deserving of applause, I am the first to admit how
wonderful they've been acting, so dairyladies and dairy
gentlemen, stand up and take a bow. According to an
editorial (page 60) in the January 25, 2007 issue of
Hoard's:

"We're Doing Better on Drug Residues"

Hoard's reports:

According to FDA, in 2005, just 2,155 truckloads of milk
were rejected because they tested positive for antibiotic
residues.

Hoards writes:

"About 52.7 million pounds of milk had to be disposed of
in 2005 because it had traces of antibiotics and could not
be used as food...most positives involved beta lactams,
followed by sulfonamides and tetracyclines."

UNFORTUNATELY...
(Did you imagine that I would let them off so easily?)

The currently used antibiotic tests are able to detect only
four different antibiotics. The smart farmers are aware of
which specific antibiotics their milk is being tested for.
There are dozens of additional types of antibiotics which
are being prescribed for dairy cows and are not being tested,
and most of the smart guys merely use an alternative. This
way, it's virtually impossible to get caught, particularly
when your son-in-law is driving the milk truck and doing
the testing.

Now for the dummies. What is your problem, numbskulls?
OK...Back to the slaughterhouse. Trivia Question: What
is the most common antibiotic residue found in the flesh
of slaughtered dairy cows and is that antibiotic one
of the four currently being tested. Trivia Answer: LS-50
is that antibiotic, and are they testing for it in milk?
You've got to be kidding me. Hint: Monsanto is the
manufacturer.

This story deserves our "Duh of the Year" award, and
it's still just February. Like the Groundhog, the FDA
and USDA regulators continue to hibernate.

If you are currently a milk drinker, there is only one way to be
certain that you are not overdosing on antibiotics. This is an
easy one. Give up?

Notmilk!

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com
i4crob@...

Kosher is Better

Eat the cow's ass, if you must, but be sure that your
meat is butchered according to Kosher traditions. Why?

Before the meat appears in your Kosher butcher's case,
the veins and arteries and certain non-acceptable fats are
removed. Once the deveining process is completed, the meat
goes through a procedure called Koshering. Meat is soaked
in water for thirty minutes to remove all blood. After the
soaking, the meat is salted and then stands for one hour.
After further rinsing, the meat is wrapped for sale to
consumers.

Meat connoisseurs might argue that the flavor is lost during
this Koshering process, but that's the good news.

The bad news is that The United States Animal Health Association
has proposed a new set of rules regarding cows infected with
Johne's Disease. Cows diagnosed with Johne's are infected with
mycobacterium paratuberculosis. Unfortunately for humans, this
bacterium is not killed by pasteurization. Johne's is passed
to humans who often become symptomatic with irritable bowels,
ulcerative colitis, and Crohn's Disease.

This new regulation regarding animals raised for slaughter
creates a new program called the National Johne's Indemnification
Program. Dairy and beef producers are compensated for their losses
after diseased animals are removed from herds. These diseased cows
are identified by fecal culture tests. They are then sent to
slaughter.

Mycobacterium paratuberculosis can be cultured from retail milk.
Mycobacterium paratuberculosis can also be cultured from blood.

That being the case, will your next filet mignon be bloody red?
If so, you might soon be enjoying bloody red stools of your own
making.

There might be some scientific logic associated with those
biblical Kosher laws, and a vegan diet might also be the
cure for many modern day diseases.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com
i4crob@...

Tripping to the Moon

The folks who successfully convinced Californians that
their state has "Happy Cows" (the California Milk Marketing
Board) are now introducing a new campaign to California's
non-English speaking people. The T.V. ads will be called
"Toma Leche" (Drink Milk).

The dairy commercials will ask viewers to:

"Imagine a world where dreams come true, an island without
worries, just laughter. Imagine a town where weightlessness
is part of everyday life."

Could it be? Could the dairy industry be asking Mexicanos
living in California to picture a land with no green cards?
A land with no border guards? A land in which each and
every illegal immigrant can earn a fair minimum salary
instead of a percentage of that poverty wage which they
are currently paid?

A land in which las cuccarachas no longer climb over you and
your 20 sleeping companions who share a migrant's hut while
waiting for the sun to rise upon your 12-hour day of hard
labor.

The new dairy campaign consists of three 30-second ads, promising
milk drinkers:

"...a wonder tonic that fights sleep deprivation, cavities
and bone loss."

The first ad ran yesterday, January 29, 2007. Another ad,
entitled "Laughs," should be loads of fun. In that commercial,
an island is introduced where everybody drinks milk and
laughs about everything including "unexpected and unfortunate
situations." In this T.V. spot, milk is referred to as: "the
wonder tonic" but it sounds to me like a place in which
marijuana is legal. Marijuana? Tijuana!

My favorite is "The Law of Gravity." That commercial rewards
those who speak Spanish as their first language with a sports
car trip to the moon. Those living in poverty are encouraged
to realize their dreams, and they can do so by drinking cow's
milk. Despite dairy industry claims, there's no way you'll get
to the Moon by drinking Mexicali white. For that, try a hit
of Acapulco gold.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com
i4crob@...

All Figured Out

I could think of no better name for today's column than
"All figured out." That happens to be the title of the
latest milk mustache ad which appears on page 7 of the
February 5, 2007 issue of TIME magazine.

In that ad, a mother holds her infant. The text reads:

"All figured out...Milk has 9 essential nutrients new
moms need."

What are these 9 essential nutrients? A few years ago, I
interviewed a few dozen people within the dairy industry.
My list of persons included doctors who work for the industry,
marketing agents, scientists who did milk research,
dairy nutritionists, and even FDA and USDA bureaucrats.
Not one person had a clue as to the nature of those nine
essential nutrients, but trust me...I've been following
this story full-time for nearly thirteen years, so yes,
I do know what nine nutrients of which these ads speak.

In nature, there are twenty-eight amino acids. Nineteen are
manufactured in one's liver. The other nine amino acids are
universally referred to as "essential, which means that
they must be obtained in the foods we eat." The nine
essential nutrients are these following nine amino acids:

Arganine, Cysteine, Histadine, Isoleucine, Leucine,
Methionine, Phenylalanine, Threonine, and Tryptophan.

Soy milk also contains each one of the nine "essential"
ingredients listed by the dairy industry.

Just for the heck of it (there were no football games on
television yesterday afternoon), I invested a few hours
of my Sunday afternoon fun time and looked up a few
commonly eaten foods in order to determine whether
they also contained those nine "essential" nutrients.
The results are remarkable.

USDA FOOD DATA: <http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search >

Tiny URL: <http://tinyurl.com/374bf8 >

Do carrots contain these 9 essential amino acids? Of course
they do. So do broccoli and apples. Soymilk is loaded with
the same nine essential aminos as cow's milk, and in every
single category, an equal amount of tofu contains two or
more times the amount of each and every one of the dairy
industry's nine essential amino acids.

The dairy industry's claim is accurate, but it is also phony.
They would have you believe that cow's milk is so very healthy
because it contains something "magical." Just about every
fresh food appears to contain these NINE essential amino acids.

Even mollusks such as the lowly clam have all of the
identical nine essential amino acids. Total the weight
of these aminos in a 100 gram portion of milk and one
comes up with 1.04 grams. Total the weight of the
nine essential amino acids in a 100 gram portion of
clams and you get 4.19 grams, greater than a 400
percent increase. That being the case, we ask the
milk industry, respectfully, to clam up and cease
and desist with their continued phony marketing clam,
er, claim.

To the deceiving liars who work for the dairy industry
and promote cow's milk as if it is something special:

We've got you all figured out.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com
i4crob@...

Monsanto Cries Foul

This morning (January 26, 2007), Monsanto placed this
story on PR Newswire claiming that new studies show that
there is no difference in concentrations of bST, IGF-I,
or other hormones in milk from cows treated with the
genetically engineered bovine growth hormone.

<http://sev.prnewswire.com/chemical/20070125/CGTH04925012007-1.html>

Tiny URL: <http://tinyurl.com/35o259>

Furthermore, Monsanto claims that milk marketing
companies are misleading consumers by implying that
milk from untreated cows is healthier than milk from
rbST-treated cows (rbGH-treated cows.)

I immediately called and left messages for two MonsaNto
scientists, John Vicini (head of the dairy division) and
Andrew Burtelst (314-694-4452).

Upon receipt of Monsanto's new study, I will analyze
these data upon which Monsanto bases that claim and
get back to you shortly thereafter.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com
i4crob@...

It Doesn't Become Burgers & Dog Food

Question:
What happens to one out of three dairy cows each year?

Answer:
She is taken from her herd and trucked to slaughter.

The United States Department of Agriculture keeps records
of the ultimate fate of each animal's body parts. That program
is called the Beef Checkoff National Quality Audit. That audit
reveals some previous unknowns:

One out of every eight slaughtered animals is a dairy cow.

More than fifty percent of all dairy cattle end up as "muscle
cuts" rather than ground chuck. The reason for this is that
dairy cows weigh more and move slower as a result of carrying
heavy loads in their udders. Many cows are confined to their
stalls, so that there is not much exercise to toughen muscles.
Therefore, their meat is soft and fatty. Meat producers call
such meat "well marbled."

The USDA audit reveals that two percent of traditional beef
grades as prime (restaurant cuts), while seventeen percent
is graded as choice (supermarket cuts).

When it comes to grading the meat from dairy cows, fifteen
percent is scored as prime, and twenty-five percent is graded
as choice.

Let us consider one other variable which the audit ignores.

Traditional beef comes from grazing animals which are fattened
in feed lots. For the most part, these are healthy animals.
On the other hand, dairy cows are unhealthy animals that no
no longer efficiently produce milk for the dairy farmer.
They are either lame or diseased. That is why they are culled
(removed) from the herd and sent to slaughter. Animals with
blood diseases such as Johne's-which leads to Crohn's Disease
in humans) are also sent to slaughter. Consider that each time
you bite into a slice of bloody-rare filet mignon. That
New York steak cut might be appropriately named by producing
an essence of the dirt and filth of New York's eighth avenue
and forty second street.

I once believed that the most delicious steaks came from free
range black angus cattle, but I was wrong. The tastiest cuts
of meat apparantly come from diseased cows. Eat at Sparks in
New York City (where Gotti shot Costellano) or any of the
fanciest and most expensive beef emporiums such as Gallaghers
or Smith & Wollensky or Mortons, expect to be eating sick and
diseased bovine. Please order your cut of meat rare and bloody.
We seek to cull out carnivores from the human equation.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com
i4crob@...

Be Aware of New Laws

This appears on page 47 of the January 25, 2005 issue
of Hoard's Dairyman (The National Dairy Farm Magazine):

"A new bill that will protect organizations from
animal rights zealots has passed the House of Representatives
and has been sent to President Bush for his signature,
according to an AP report. The bill will strengthen a current
federal law which makes it illegal for activists to damage
animal research organizations, farms, zoos, and so forth.
The protection will be extended to include companies such as
law firms and insurance companies that do business with animal
enterprises. Violators could be sentenced to up to a year
in jail for economic damages of less than $10,000 and up to
five years if their threats produce a "reasonable fear" of
bodily harm. Sentences of 10 years in jail could be handed
out if someone is actually injured."

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com
i4crob@...

Monsanto Cries Foul

This morning (January 26, 2007), Monsanto placed this
story on PR Newswire claiming that new studies show that
there is no difference in concentrations of bST, IGF-I,
or other hormones in milk from cows treated with the
genetically engineered bovine growth hormone.

<http://sev.prnewswire.com/chemical/20070125/CGTH04925012007-1.html>

Tiny URL: <http://tinyurl.com/35o259>

Furthermore, Monsanto claims that milk marketing
companies are misleading consumers by implying that
milk from untreated cows is healthier than milk from
rbST-treated cows (rbGH-treated cows.)

I immediately called and left messages for two MonsaNto
scientists, John Vicini (head of the dairy division) and
Andrew Burtelst (314-694-4452).

Upon receipt of Monsanto's new study, I will analyze
these data upon which Monsanto bases that claim and
get back to you shortly thereafter.

Oh, by the way...I really would love to be able to obtain
these data, but in the spirit of been there/done that, the
smart money says that Monsanto will never let me have a
look at their research.

It's been three hours, and I'm still waiting for phone
calls to be returned. Perhaps you'll have more luck than
I. Should you get the actual numbers, please share them.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com
i4crob@...

Staying Healthy by Eating Raw Foods

Most of the foods I eat are raw and uncooked.
There are some exceptions, which include one
quart of homemade soymilk that I drink each day,
and rice and cooked beans. Other than that, my
diet consists of raw fruits and vegetables,
dried fruits, and sprouted seeds and grains.

I enjoy visiting the following website, and
subscribe to their free Internet letter:

http://www.rawfamily.com

I recommend that you visit this site to learn more
about a raw food diet. This months newsletter
includes a list of items that newbie raw foodists
sometimes do wrong. In checking the list, I found
that I had made many beginner's mistakes too. Now,
I know better, but you might find this list has
benefit for you too.

From Victoria Boutenko's January, 2007 column:

Seven Common Mistakes that Occur on Raw Foods

Many raw fooders do not eat enough greens. Solution:
regularly consume energy soup or green smoothie to
guarantee the proper amount of greens.

Many raw fooders do not consume enough fiber, soluble
and insoluble. Solution: Drink more smoothies or energy
soups instead of juices.

People on raw food often consume too many fats. When
they try to imitate cooked dishes, they substitute
starches with nuts. For example, when making raw cakes,
they mimic a wheat crust with a nut mixture. Solution:
use nut pulp left over from making nut milks, use more
seeds and less nuts, and use more fruit and vegetable
pulp from juices in your mixtures to minimize the
consumption of nuts.

Raw fooders commonly try to become too perfect too fast.
They don’t give their bodies a chance to adjust to such
a radical dietary change. Solution: gradually adjust
and purify your own individual diet to help you ease
into the healthiest diet for you.


When people change their diets they usually decide the
other components that make up health are no longer
important such as: sun bathing, exercising, proper rest,
fresh air, etc. Solution: practice a well-rounded
healthy life style.

People on the raw food diet often over-indulge in some
particular foods and neglect the variety of other fruits
and vegetables. For example, orange juice is very healthy,
but in extremely large quantities it can be damaging to
teeth and sugar levels. Large amounts of sprouts, berries,
and anything else will inevitably create disharmonies.
Solution: eat foods in reasonable quantities.

The biggest mistake that many make is that they listen to
the raw food authorities and don’t trust the invaluable
messages their own bodies communicate. Solution: keep a
diary of your daily food consumption and how it affects
your well-being.

One problem that I personally have with a raw food diet
is the cost of fresh fruit. Yesterday, I paid $6.99
for a large fully ripened honeydew melon. This morning,
I am making a great effort to keep those sweet green juices
away from my keyboard. That same melon will make six meals
for me, so the price when compared to a fast food Sausage
croissant is not all that steep. With twenty degree
temperatures, each bite seems like a return to last summer's
bounty. I've already had a glass of freshly squeezed orange
juice, and have munched on a half-dozen kumquats which one
of my readers was kind enough to harvest from a tree in her
front yard.

Each one of you eats raw. Some eat less than others, and
some eat more. Today's lunch will consist of four different
pears. Try that yourself...the tastes and textures differ
dramatically, and you'll find yourself appreciating the
great variety to be found in just one kind of fruit.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com
i4crob@...

Kill Bill

In today's movie, Bill is played by a Wisconsin dairy
farmer, while the role of Uma Thurman (Beatrix Kiddo)
is depicted by an Iowa cornstalk.

Remember that graphically violent sequence in "Kill Bill"
in which Beatrix uses her Samurai sword much the way that
the rest of us might use a Cuisinart food processor to slice,
dice, and chop up a brigade of modern-day Japanese Ninja
warriors?

After her exhausting battle against mere men, Beatrix must
then summon the energy to fight the most skilled of Samurai
swordswomen, and she does so with precision.

The dairy industry is suffering badly, and just when it
seemed as if nothing could get worse, a nightmare of epic
proportions has emerged for milk producers.

On average, cows are often milked two or three times daily,
and in order for each hormone-injected Holstein to produce
50 or more pounds of milk each day, they must also eat...
A LOT! Traditionally, feed costs have been quite low, but
the dairyman's party is over. The price of corn is about
to soar higher than an elephant's eye, "an' it looks
like its climbin' clear up to the sky."

Why will the price of corn soar?

Because competition for America's corn crop will fuel
such a rise.

Got Ethanol?

In an attempt to have Americans forget about the most offensive
foreign policy since the Tet Offensive, George Bush and his
advisors have devised a plan that will solve global warming and
America's energy crisis in one small step. It all boils down to
corn.

Corn growers have struck oil with this new methanol fad, but
dairy farmers will never again be able to purchase feed corn
for their cows at traditionally low prices.

This past year, more than five bushels of corn per American
were processed to manufacture ethanol fuel. That represents
approximately fifteen percent of the national corn crop.
In 2007, America's appetite for ethanol will require some
2 billion bushels of corn, and the numbers should double
every year for the next score of years. More than 100
factories have been constructed to convert corn into fuel,
and many more on the way. The cows may still eat corn,
but at a much greater price to dairymen.

In the recent past, dairy farmers were paying $2.00 per
bushel for corn. This year, 2007 March corn futures
represent a near doubling of that price at $3.70.

As more fuel-efficient cars drive on America's roads, so
too will the price of cow feed be driven to record prices
which threaten to bankrupt many a dairy operation.

This is good news for many small family farms which grow
their own corn and do not rely upon the open market for
feed, but keep an eye on America's weather. One bad
season will spell disaster for those tiny family farms.

Corn is now being converted into ethanol, and ethanol
production is being subsidized by a nation that needs
to produce good news in one form or another to consumers.
Ethanol is George Bush's political answer. The market is
so complicated, and one economist's theory becomes another's
political expediency. Will ethanol represent the Bush
administration's Domino Theory?

All that corn coupled with all that ethanol and all
of those impossible-to-support dairy cows? As dairy farms
go out of business, unable to support their operations
as a factor of increased feed costs, more and more dairy
cows will be sold to meat processors.

Sounds as if America is due for one very giant bar-b-cue.

What will be the fuel of choice? Why, ethanol, of course!

In last evening's State of the Union address, President
Bush said, "...{W}e must increase the supply of alternative
fuels, by setting a mandatory Fuels Standard to require 35
billion gallons of renewable and alternative fuels in 2017 â€"
this is nearly five times the current target."

Whether or not you believe that this represents a whole
lot of corn or a whole lot of bull, one thing remains
clear. Either the cows eat, or the people drive.

"The breeze is so busy it don't miss a tree,
And an ol' Weepin' Willer is laughin' at me."

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com
i4crob@...

Hemmoraging Dairymen

Dairy farmers are bleeding from multiple metaphorical stab
wounds including a market in which there is decreased milk
demand and increased production, public rejection of milk
hormones, public awareness of milk hazards, increased
expenses and lower income for dairymen.

With so many injuries to their badly suffering industry,
Predident Bush is poised to deliver a lethal wound to
dairy during tonight's State of the Union Address.

Bush's will figuratively slash a sharpened knife across
dairy's throat. Details in tomorrow's NotMilk column.

"Kill Bill."

Tell your friends to subscribe to the NotMilk letter:

<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/notmilk>

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com
i4crob@...

Estrogen For Breakfast

A recent publication of the Journal of Agriculture
and Food Chemistry (2006 Dec 27;54(26):9785-91)
compared estrogen levels in raw/unpasteurized milk to
processed milk and found some disturbing surprises.

A group of Dutch scientists (Malekinejad H, et. al.)
investigated various levels of steroid hormones in milk
(estrone, 17alpha-estradiol, 17beta-estradiol, and estriol).

Here is what the researchers found:

"The lowest and highest concentrations were determined in
raw milk from nonpregnant and from cows in the third trimester
of gestation, respectively. The estrogen concentration in
processed milk coincides with that of raw milk between first
and second trimesters, reflecting the contribution of lactating
pregnant cows to the final consumable product."

The scientists concluded:

"The daily intake of total investigated estrogens through milk
is 372 ng, which is dramatically more than currently recognized."

Dramatically more. Consider that before pouring cow's milk into
the next bowl of cereal to be eaten by your own little girl,
niece, cousin, sister, mother, or any woman in your life who
should not be exposing more steroid hormones to her system than
are normally produced by her own body. The consequences are many,
and they include issues ranging from early sexual maturity to
increased probability of uterine, ovarian, and breast cancers.

Please say "NO" to estrogen. Please say "NotMilk!"

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com
i4crob@...

Pasta + Milk = Poor Health

Thanks to Jennifer for this story which appeared in
The Independent, London's premiere daily newspaper:

http://tinyurl.com/2dqw34

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pasta & Milk Are Root Cause Of Ill Health For Millions
By Jonathan Owen (Published: 21 January 2007)

Almost half the population is suffering from common
complaints such as exhaustion, colds and migraines
because of food intolerance, according to a new
report published tomorrow.

"Around 20 million people are suffering from symptoms
that impact on their daily lives and yet they are not
able to get help from the NHS," said Muriel Simmons,
Allergy UK's chief executive.

"We want to see more dietary advice being available and
more training given to GPs so that they can recognise
that food could be the trigger for some of the symptoms
that they are seeing on a daily basis."

While 2 per cent of Britons suffer from a life-threatening
food allergy, up to 45 per cent have some form of food
intolerance; symptoms include rashes, headaches and stomach
pains. Food can also worsen existing conditions such as
eczema, irritable bowel syndrome and asthma. The most common
food intolerances are to milk and lactose (the sugar in milk),
gluten and wheat.

Allergy UK claims that year-long waiting lists to see a
dietician are driving sufferers into the hands of
alternative practitioners who may have no clinical
background or qualifications.

"People can get weird and wacky diets which are very
damaging to their health. They start off with one
problem and this is compounded by bad dietary advice,"
said Ms Simmons. She attacks the Government for having
done "absolutely nothing".

The charity's "Stolen Lives" report is based on a survey
of several thousand people with food problems and reveals
that more than a third suffer from more than one symptom -
the most common being bloating, diarrhea and vomiting.
One in 10 falls victim to lethargy and anxiety. More than
half become so sick that they have to take time off work
and two-thirds have problems sleeping. Although 76 per
cent regularly go to their GP for help, most said their
doctor did not understand their problems.

But a survey of 250 GPs by North Union Healthcare last
year showed that while 63 per cent reported an increase in
patients reporting a food intolerance, 73 per cent claimed
such reports were all in the mind. Food-intolerant
celebrities, including Rachel Weisz (wheat) and Victoria
Beckham (dairy), were blamed for the surge in self-diagnosis.

The British Dietetic Association's Dr Carina Venter, however,
said: "People who consider they suffer from food allergies or
intolerances should have access to specialised allergy centres,
where their diagnosis could beconfirmed or ruled out."

York University researchers report in next month's Nutrition
and Food Science Journal, that more than 60 per cent of
patients in their study endured years of repeat appointments,
suffering and misdiagnosis before food intolerance testing
brought relief.

Meanwhile food intolerance has become big business. The value
of the "free-from" market for foods devoid of problem
ingredients has more than doubled in five years to £138m,
says market analysts Mintel.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Headlines such as this one help to shatter America's
phony Got Milk myth.

Thanks, Jennifer!

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com
i4crob@...

Trials and Errors

Tomorrow (Monday, January 22, 2007) begins the trial
of the century...the Twenty-First Century, that is.

Eleven years ago, O.J. Simpson was found innocent after
being tried for two murders. Many people referred to the
OJ case as the "Trial of the Century." Simpson's lawyers
fooled a jury of their client's peers, primarily because
that jury was challenged by Simpson's lead attorney who
taunted that panel and the media with his oft-repeated
mantra: ""If it doesn't fit, you must acquit."

If only I had been a witnesses for the prosecution, truth
would have won out over intimidation.
My family once owned what was once the largest glove and
mitten company in America. We manufactured over 200,000
dozen pairs of hand warmers for each winter season. If you
threw a snowball or participated in any outdoor winter
sport from 1950 through 1995, chances are that you wore
a pair of our gloves or mittens marketed under one of many
dozens of different names.

A funny thing happened to those gloves and mittens from one
season to the next. As a result of short term wetness and/or
cold followed by a short dry spell, I became quite aware that
gloves and mittens would experience shrinkage, sometimes
dramatic. This happened to the majority of gloves and mittens.
Oh, if only I could have responded to Johnny Cochran's jury
challenge. ""If it doesn't fit, you must acquit!" The
prosecutors did not consider what glove manufacturers know
to be true: The world took no notice of how wet gloves shrink
from one season to the next.

I welcome the unpopularity of political correctness.
I thrive on controversy. Consider that trait one of my
fatal flaws and blessed strengths. By critiquing PETA,
the animal rights people will diss me, truth be damned.
I've taken such rides before, but am now gained a better
immunity to the pain.

Tomorrow begins the PETA case, and lawyers for the
accused are already beginning to spin a webful of lies.
Their primary strategy is to claim that no animals
were abused by PETA. Here is a column that I wrote
the day after two PETA undercover operatives were
nailed for their compassionless act:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Imagine the real-life nightmare experienced by sanitation
engineers (garbage men) who discovered dozens of dead
animals in a shopping mall dumpster three weeks in a row
(May 25, June 1, June 8, 2005). These traumatized
individuals did the smart thing. They called the police
department, and investigators staked out the dumpster
on the fourth consecutive Wednesday (June 15, 2005).

The result?

Two PETA employees were arrested and charged with
animal cruelty after police found a total of 31 dead
dogs and cats in their possession.

Where did the animals come from? PETA had adopted them
from animal shelters. PETA had represented that these
gentle creatures would be placed for adoption in loving
homes.

So...PETA has been caught with their pants down, committing
a most heinous act, and who did they really end up screwing?
Themselves! PETA admitted that they routinely euthanize
unwanted animals "compassionately" and in doing so, do the
animals and society a favor.

Three of the dead animals were a very adoptable mother cat
and her two kittens.

PETA raises funds by deceiving good people into believing
that they are helping unwanted animals. At his trial Adolf
Eichmann argued that he was doing the world a similar favor
by ridding Europe of unwanted Jews. Last year, PETA raised
more than $17 million. Did you donate to PETA? If so, don't
you now feel deceived?

Ingrid Newkirk (PETA's founder and director) wrote a book:

"Making Kind Choices: Everyday Ways to Enhance Your
Life Through Earth- and Animal-Friendly Living"

Here are some of the reviews:

"Gandhi said, 'You can judge a society by the way it treats
its animals.' Ingrid Newkirk's book shows us practical ways
to foster compassion toward animals. She is a true teacher."
~ Martin Sheen

"Ingrid Newkirk's wonderful new book is about us - about
how in a world so violent and cruel there is no way to
pretend we're kind people unless we extend our kindness
to those who are the most innocent and helpless."
~ Bill Maher, host of Real Time with Bill Maher

"This powerful book offers easy ways to make your
compassionate mark on the world."
~ Moby
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two PETA employees are charged with a crime, which is based
upon standard operating procedures that go all of the way to
the top desk, where the buck should stop, but does not. PETA
fired the two guilty employees in the name of political
correctness, attempting to preserve continuing donations.
PETA later rehired the two after the pressure abated.

One gentle animal after another was killed in a traveling
van by PETA workers doing Ingrid Newkirk's dirty work while
other animals watched and heard and smelled the beauty of
life become the ugliness of death, each, awaiting its own
turn. The dead animals were then dumped illegally in a mall
parking lot dumpster.

Many people called the dumping of animals horrific.
I call the act of murder itself a contradiction of
everything good that PETA once stood for.

Tomorrow, Court TV will begin coverage of this trial.
They will attempt to gauge public opinion. You might
consider voicing your outrage at a system in which
unwanted animals end up in shelters. Rather than
projecting that controversy, PETA covertly killed the
unwanted creatures by using their own Machiavellian means
to justify an end. Rather than invest the many millions
of donated dollars they receive to find these creatures
homes, PETA became the infinite ugliness which they once
worked so very hard to expose and terminate.

So, who really is on trial tomorrow? Is it the two young
kids who were conned into doing Ingrid's bidding--if caught,
the secretary will disavow any knowlege of your actions, or
was it Charlie Manson who sent killers to perform deeds
which never fit his own gloves? Who is really on trial
tomorrow? Is it all animal rights activists who will
defend all of the above killers without knowing why,
only because their t-shirts are boldly emblazoned with
that four lettr word sending chills to authorities, PETA?
Who is on trial? It is society's value, and the verdict
remains to be seen.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com
i4crob@...

How Does a Cow Get Calcium in Her Milk?

I was in the dairy aisle of my local supermarket
(Whole Foods in Ridgewood, NJ) searching for a
soy yogurt for my daughter Lizzy, when I overheard
this conversation:

Mom: Let's not forget to buy milk.
Little Boy: I hate milk.
Mom: If you don't drink milk you won't have enough
calcium for your bones, and you won't be able to
play baseball.
Little Boy: OhhhhhhKaaaaaay

I was tempted to attack 'mom' in a nice way, of course,
but finding myself hobbling along with a cane as a
result of my recently failed spinal fusion operation
which was performed to cure an accident, I doubted
in my ability to generate a persuasive argument
looking the way I did, so, I limped away, and would
have kicked myself if I could have for a missed
golden oppportunity.

Had I not appeared to be a man hobbled by bone
disease, I might have addressed the boy's mother
with the following:

Do you wonder why it is that cow's milk contains
so much calcium? After all, cow's don't drink milk.
Where then, do they get their calcium from?

I might have then explained that that plants (veggies
and fruits) are loaded with calcium. Cows eat plants
People should, too.

You can eat all of the calcium in the world and still
have weak bones. You can eat rocks and bones and
eggshells, but without another key element, magnesium,
you cannot absorb calcium. Magnesium happens to be the
center atom of chlorophyll--that green stuff--plant blood.

Human breast milk is the perfect formula for baby humans.
In her wisdom, Mother Nature included 33 milligrams of
calcium in every 100 gram portion of human breast milk.
At the end of this column are calcium values for 55
commonly eaten foods. Compare those calcium values to
human breast milk.

In order to absorb calcium, the body needs
comparable amounts of another mineral element,
magnesium. Magnesium is the center atom of
chlorophyl. Milk and dairy products contain only
small amounts of magnesium. Without the presence
of magnesium, the body only absorbs 25 percent of
the available dairy calcium content. The remainder
of the calcium spells trouble. Without magnesium,
excess calcium is utilized by the body in injurious
ways. The body uses calcium to build the mortar on
arterial walls which becomes atherosclerotic plaques.
Excess calcium is converted by the kidneys into
painful stones which grow in size like pearls in
oysters, blocking our urinary tracts. Excess calcium
contributes to arthritis; painful calcium buildup
often is manifested as gout.

One calcium-rich food found in just about every
supermarket is hummus. Hummus contains calcium and
magnesium, so the calcium is easily absorbed. The
primary components of hummus are Chick peas (150 mg
od calcium) + sesame seeds (1160 mg of calcium).
Hummus contains ten times as much calcium as human
breast milk.

We have been brainwashed by unethical dairy ads into
believing that osteoporosis is a problem associated
with lack of calcium intake. Osteoporosis results from
calcium loss. The massive amounts of protein in milk
result in a 50 percent loss of calcium in the urine.
In other words, by doubling your protein intake there
will be a loss of 1-1.5 percent in skeletal mass per
year in postmenopausal women.

The calcium contained in leafy green vegetables is more
easily absorbed than the calcium in milk, and plant
proteins do not result in calcium loss the same way as
animal proteins do.

The dairy industry would have you believe that milk and
cheese are the only foods containing calcium. They want
you to believe that they own the monopoly on calcium.
What an absurd lie that is. Try to memorize the
following bit of trivia as an example of dairy deception.

Human breast milk contains 33 milligrams of calcium
per 100-gram portion and potato chips contain 40
milligrams!

You should become an informed consumer for the sake of
your children. How about for your own sake? Calcium
content of foods per 100-gram portion (100 grams equals
about 3.5 ounces):

01. Human Breast Milk 33 mg

02. Almonds 234 mg
03. Amaranth 267 mg
04. Apricots (dried) 67 mg
05. Artichokes 51 mg
06. Beans (can: pinto, black) 135 mg
07. Beet greens (cooked) 99 mg
08. Blackeye Peas 55 mg
09. Bran 70 mg
10. Broccoli (raw) 48 mg
11. Brussel Sprouts 36 mg
12. Buckwheat 114 mg
13. Cabbage (raw) 49 mg
14. Carrot (raw) 37 mg
15. Cashew nuts 38 mg
16. Cauliflower (cooked) 42 mg
17. Swiss Chard (raw) 88 mg
18. Chickpeas (garbanzos) 150 mg
19. Collards (raw leaves) 250 mg
20. Cress (raw) 81 mg
21. Dandelion Greens 187 mg
22. Endive 81 mg
23. Escarole 81 mg
24. Figs (dried) 126 mg
25. Filberts (Hazelnuts) 209 mg
26. Kale (raw leaves) 249 mg
27. Kale (cooked leaves) 187 mg
28. Leeks 52 mg
29. Lettuce (lt. green) 35 mg
30. Lettuce (dark green) 68 mg
31. Molasses (dark-213 cal.) 684 mg
32. Mustard Greens (raw) 183 mg
33. Mustard Greens (cooked) 138 mg
34. Okra (raw or cooked) 92 mg
35. Olives 61 mg
36. Oranges (Florida) 43 mg
37. Parsley 203 mg
38. Peanuts (roasted & salted) 74 mg
39. Peas (boiled) 56 mg
40. Pistachio Nuts 131 mg
41. Potato Chips 40 mg
42. Raisins 62 mg
43. Rhubarb (cooked) 78 mg
44. Sauerkraut 36 mg
45. Sesame Seeds 1160 mg
46. Squash (Butternut) 40 mg
47. Soybeans 60 mg
48. Sugar (brown) 85 mg
49. Tofu 128 mg
50. Spinach (raw) 93 mg
51. Sunflower Seeds 120 mg
52. Sweet Potatoes (baked) 40 mg
53. Turnips (cooked) 35 mg
54. Turnip Greens (raw) 246 mg
55. Turnip Greens (boiled) 184 mg
56. Water Cress 151 mg

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com
i4crob@...

Final Request

One of my favorite people died this week.
He asked that the following song be shared
with his friends as his last statement:

What's it all about Alfie
Is it just for the moment we live
What's it all about when you sort it out Alfie
Are we meant to take more than we give
Or are we meant to be kind
And if only fools are kind Alfie
Then I guess it's wise to be cruel
And if life belongs only to the strong Alfie
What will you lend on an old golden rule
As sure as I believe there's something much more
Something even non-believers can believe in
I believe in love Alfie
Without true love we just exist Alfie
Until you find the love you've missed you're nothing Alfie
When you walk let your heart lead the way
And you'll find love any day Alfie...
Alfie

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com
i4crob@...

Bias in Dairy Research

Over the past decade, I have exposed many dozens
of frauds published in scientific journals, often
uncovering hidden financial relationships between
the powerful dairy industry and unethical scientists
who literally take the money and run (to hell).

This week, a European journal (Public Library of
Science-Medicine, Jan, 2007) concluded:

"Industry funding of nutrition-related scientific articles
may bias conclusions in favor of sponsors' products, with
potentially significant implications for public health."

On one hand, it is personally comforting for me to have
support for beliefs regarding such bias, but on the other
hand, it is frustrating that such lies continue for the
unwary public, and that those lies are reinforced by the
continuous media support paid for and delivered by a
deceptively calculating dairy industry.

The Abstract: PMID: 17214504

Lesser LI, Ebbeling CB, Goozner M, Wypij D, Ludwig DS.

BACKGROUND:

Industrial support of biomedical research may bias
scientific conclusions, as demonstrated by recent analyses
of pharmaceutical studies. However, this issue has not been
systematically examined in the area of nutrition research.
The purpose of this study is to characterize financial
sponsorship of scientific articles addressing the health
effects of three commonly consumed beverages, and to
determine how sponsorship affects published conclusions.

METHODS AND FINDINGS: Medline searches of worldwide
literature were used to identify three article types
(interventional studies, observational studies, and
scientific reviews) about soft drinks, juice, and milk
published between 1 January, 1999 and 31 December, 2003.
Financial sponsorship and article conclusions were
classified by independent groups of coinvestigators. The
relationship between sponsorship and conclusions was
explored by exact tests and regression analyses,
controlling for covariates. 206 articles were included in
the study, of which 111 declared financial sponsorship.
Of these, 22% had all industry funding, 47% had no industry
funding, and 32% had mixed funding. Funding source was
significantly related to conclusions when considering all
article types (p = 0.037). For interventional studies, the
proportion with unfavorable conclusions was 0% for all
industry funding versus 37% for no industry funding (p = 0.009).
The odds ratio of a favorable versus unfavorable conclusion
was 7.61 (95% confidence interval 1.27 to 45.73), comparing
articles with all industry funding to no industry funding.

CONCLUSION:

Industry funding of nutrition-related scientific articles
may bias conclusions in favor of sponsors' products, with
potentially significant implications for public health.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Consider that there are 250,000 journals in this biased
world of ours, and that those studies making it to the
newspapers, magazines, and radio and television programs,
are those which are promoted by rigorous marketing efforts
including expensively catered press conerences paid for
by those with financial product bias. In that sense, there
is no level playing field, and the group of scientists
performing the above research should take that factor into
account in a follow-p study. They would most certainly
discover that the problem of fairly presenting scientific
information to the layperson is much greater than they
even imagined.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com
i4crob@...

Joke's On Them, But They Don't Get It

I received my issue of Hoard's Dairyman
on Wednesday (January 10, 2007 issue).

The very first story (page 3) reads:

"Obesity in America is getting worse, not better.
That is the result of a study conducted by the
Center for Disease Control (CDC) which found that
31 states showed an increase in their obesity rates
over last year's average..."

Directly below that article is a photo of the
winning Future Farmers of America dairy team.
The coach is clearly clinically obese, as is the
man congratulating the team, Neil Limebaugh
from the Dairy Farmers of America.

On page 10, there is a roundtable discussion
consisting of a few families with accompanying
photographs. In one family (the Glammers from
Wisconsin), the mother and father both seem to
be overweight by more than 100 pounds, and all of
the children, who all seem to be under age 10) are
chubby little piggies. In another photo, the eldest
daughter of the Heibri family of Iowa has a big
round face, large protruding stomach, and breasts
that would appear to overflow a 40-D cup...and she's
just a child. The young girl from Wolf Creek farm in
Iowa holds a cow with a slimmer figure than she has.

Then, there's a photo on page 22 of the Carson
family from Michigan. Young Ryan could easily play
the role of a department store Santa...except for
one thing - - the real Santa Claus is a lot skinnier.

Dairy products are very different than other food
groups. Eat too many apples and broccoli and you'll
grow obese. All food contains calories. In addition
to a large amount of calories, dairy products contain
an enormous amount of saturated fat and cholesterol.
Last but not least, dairy products contain powerful
growth hormones which instruct human bodies to grow
and grow and grow.

What are the odds of seeing the following in the next
issue of Hoards Dairyman?

Consider: We have four human subjects weighing 150 pounds
apiece. In order to maintain that same weight, an individual
should (on average) eat 2100 calories every day. (Given:
For every 3500 additional calories an individual consumes
over the course of days, weeks, months, or years, s/he
will gain one extra pound.)

We now add one pound of one of the following
commodities to each person's daily diet.

Apples (100 gm = 48 cal, .13 grams fat, 0 cholesterol)
Broccoli (100 gm = 28 cal, .35 grams fat, 0 cholesterol.)
Carrots (100 gm = 41 cal, .24 grams fat, 0 cholesterol.)
Cheddar (100 gm = 403 cal, 33.14 grams fat, 105 mg cholest.)

IN ONE YEAR:

The individual eating one pound of apples per day ingests
no growth hormones, zero cholesterol, less than 1/2 pound
of fat, and gains 22.7 pounds,

The individual eating broccoli ingests no growth hormones,
zero cholesterol, eats 1 1/4 pounds of fat, gains 13.3
pounds,

The individual eating carrots ingests no growth hormones,
zero cholesterol, eats just under one pound of fat, gains
19.4 pounds,

The individual eating cheddar cheese ingests plenty of
growth hormones, eats 121 pounds of fat, 383 pounds of
cholesterol, and would gain 191 pounds.

Which food do you imagine is most responsible for America's
expanding obesity rate? In 1970, the average American ate
ten pounds of cheese per year. In 2007, the average American
will eat 32 pounds of cheese. With all things being the
same, food is food and calories are calories, and the more
calories one eats, the more weight one gains. However,
all foods are not the same. The dairy group also contains
growth hormones instructing each cell in the body to grow.
As waistlines increase, it becomes less and less easy to
control one's own weight.

Thanks to dairy, the waist is a terrible thing to mind.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com
i4crob@...

Ridiculing Goofy and Dumbo

First, the world praised lemons because lemons contain
coumarins, which maintain overall good health.

Second, experts praised Omega 3 and Omega 6 oils
because these healthy fats insured the growth and
proper function of neurons, axons, and dendrites.

Then they adored broccoli because broccoli contains
dithiolthiones, which prevent breast cancers from growing.

They got around to promoting flax seeds because flax
contains lignans, which make the heart strong.

They went gaga over all cruciferous vegetables because
cruciferous veggies contain glucosinolates, which
lower the bad cholesterol levels while elevating good
cholesterol.

Then they discovered that dark green leafy vegetables
contain inositol, which helps the bones to maintain their
integrity, thereby preventing osteoporosis.

Noble prizes were awarded to physicians who discovered
that isoflavones found in fresh fruit prevented cancers,
promoted cardiovascular health, and prevented bone loss.

Other scientists found that sterols found in vegetables
and fruits helped to cure and prevent diabetes.

They also discovered that protease inhibitors
found in nuts and seeds prevented cancers from
growing.

Finally, they found one and only one very unique food
containing all of the above substances, including coumarins,
dithiolthiones, lignans, glucosinolates, inositol,
isoflavones, sterols, protease inhibitors, saponins,
plus those healthy Omega 3 and Omega 6 oils.

So, with their extreme lack of wisdom, two people started
a successful Internet campaign warning the world of the
dangers of that food called soy. And what warped research
would they use to prove their point? Laboratory rats developed
halitosis and extremely bad attitudes after drinking soymilk
smoothies. Aardvarks became gay after eating tofu. Armadillos
developed leporosy. Great White sharks grew ingrown toenails
and they don't even have toes. Pandas began to pander, and
snarks became boojums.

These two soy naysayers then recommended that good health could
best be achieved by consuming raw meat and unpasteurized high-fat
dairy products. For their full names, perform a Google search.
HINT: I refer to them as "Goofy" Fallon and "Dumbo" Mercola.

The moral of this story: If your name is Jack, sell the
family cow for a handful of beans and then plant them in
the spring to insure your family's good health before the
fall.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com
i4crob@...

Miraculous Simplicity of Milk

Many Notmilk readers have a strong religious belief,
rejecting all modern-day theories of evolution,
while many of my readers accept science as their
absolute, rejecting all religious interpretations
of the world in which they live. Others accept a
variation of both science and religion, while some
are both agnostic and sceptical of both science
and religion.

Debates will be waged over man's origin, and where
each of us is headed, but whatever may be your own
personal belief, there is a unity of thought among
all people. In merging science and religion into one
tiny focal point, there is a resulting profound
respect for the mechanisms of religion and/or science
which resulted in a substance that we call milk.

Milk is both simple and quite complicated. It is as
if God, in his magnificance, or a group of brilliant
Nobel-Prize winning scientists defined all of the
biological, physiological, emotional, and psychological
challenges amd designed a substance to nurture an infant
so that all of the initial needs necessary for a child's
growth would be satisfied.

Milk is much more than just a brilliant design for an
infant. It is also a substance for the mother of that infant.
Milk is the perfect food for the young of each species
of mammal, but as the growing infant in the mother's womb
is maturing, as ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny, the
mother's milk develops within her own body as a different
formula for her still-to-be born child.

What planning! As the fetus develops, a mother's milk
contains substances which nurture her own body. Chemical
messengers such as PIF (prolactin Inhibitory Factor) and
Oxytocin. These complex chemicals are secreted in a mother's
milk into her own body and instuct her own mammary glands
to grow.

Consider this: At the time of her life that the mother
produces such milk, her breasts grow large. A body responds
to the programming of an infinite intelligence. Breasts
were intended to grow in size to contain increased amounts
of milk so that a hungry infant could be fed. At this point
in time, infants are not supposed to be drinking such a
sustance. The last thing God or nature intended was to
produce immature female offspring with large breasts.

In today's world of the absurd, where many attempts to
improve upon God and nature have met with unique and
unexpected failure, dairy cows are routinely milked before
they give birth. Cow's milk is the wrong milk for humans
to be drinking at any time, but milk from cows who have not
yet birthed calves contains similar steroid hormones to human
varieties
.
A debate continues as to why young girls develop large
breasts long before their mothers and grandmothers did.
There is more evidence of this than just memory. There
are photos. Check the fifth grade class picture of
your mothers and fathers and take note of the way
children look today. Little girls have become women
with grown up bodies long before they should have, due
the "accidental" ingestion of a cow's feminizing hormones.
This was neither God's nor nature's plan. This was an
accidental result of man's ignorance and folly.

Milk was intended to be the single perfect food for the
infant of each specific species. Each formula for each
mammalian species differs from the next. One problem
facing milk's designer was that stomach acid would
rapidly break down the nurturing substances. Chemicals
called lactoferrins and immunoglobulins have been
identified in milk from each species. These substances
have been shown to aid a child's development by
providing natural immunities to harmful external events.
Stomach acid is powerful enough to destroy milk's
lactoferrins and immunoglobulins so that a mechanism
insured milk's own post-consumption survival. Milk
contains substances which buffer the acidic environment
so that these chemicals survive digestion.

In that seame sense, milk was never intended to be
consumed with grass or leaves or french fried pottoes
or peanut butter sandwiches. Other foods compromise
digestive processes so that everything within the stomach
will fement and putrify for many hours. Milk was intended
to be the only substance within the stomach. Later in
its growth, as a mammal matures and eats solid food,
there is no need to ingest a liquid which buffers
gastic pH.

In this twenty-first century, cow's milk represents forty
percent of the average American diet. The average child
and adult consumes about 666 pounds per year of milk in
one form or another. Ten pounds of milk are required to
manufacture one pound of hard cheese. In 1960 when I was
a growing child, the average American consumed nine pounds
of cheese each year. Ninety pounds of milk were used to
produce that nine pounds of cheese. In 2007, the average
American will consume 32 pounds of cheese requiring 320
pounds of hormone-rich milk. My fifth grade photo reveals
a classroom of flat chested girls and young boys. Today,
my daughter's recent public school photos show mature
large-breasted young women and many men needing shaves.
Milk is a miraculous simplicity. Is it any wonder that
we have become an obese race of mammals who mature before
we were intended to?

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com
i4crob@...

Is Your Brain Slowly Rotting?

"I don't know how you were diverted
You were perverted too...
I don't know how you were inverted
No one alerted you.
Look at you all...
Still my guitar gently weeps."

-George Harrison, 1968

Are the cells of your brain slowly dying? Will
such cell death lead to the end of your life, or
compromise your joy in old age by subjecting you
to constant care by loved ones?

The latest link to rapid onset brain disease supports
that issue which I've been writing about for a more
than a decade. The study's abstract appears at the
end of this column. A simple summary:

In 1907, Dr. Alzheimer published a treatise about a
disease that would one day carry his name. He had two
young colleagues who worked with him, Dr. Creutzfeldt
and Dr. Jakob, and they too identified a similar
brain-wasting disease that now has the world in a panic.
The brains of cows turn into a sponge-like mass and
their behavior is called "mad."  The human variant of
Mad Cow Disease has been named Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease,
or CJD.  The protein causing CJD has no DNA, and has been
described as more like a crystal than cellular material.
That substance is called the Prion.

In labs, 1000 degree Fahrenheit heat does not destroy this
protein particle.  Some scientists say that once infected,
the incubation period can last anywhere from one month to
thirty years. As the human brain turns into a sponge, this
spongioform encephalitic condition physically debilitates
those so infected.
____________________________________

"Mad cow disease or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)
is a fatal neurological disease of cattle first recognized
in the United Kingdom in 1986...a growing body of (still
largely circumstantial) evidence suggests that BSE may be
transmissible to humans."

J Public Health Policy, 1998, 19:2
____________________________________

"Transmission of prions from infected cattle to
humans by oral intake seems not only possible but
also very probable."

Annals of Italian Medicine, 1998 Oct, 13:4
____________________________________

"The outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy
has had major impacts on the United Kingdom dairy
industry, including the loss of beef from dairy
markets, the culling of more than 900,000 dairy
bull calves, the removal of all cattle more than
30 months of age from the human food chain, and now
slaughter of cohort animals. Impacts on dairy
marketing have yet to be properly assessed."

Journal of Dairy Sci, 1998 Nov, 81:11
____________________________________

"Bovine spongiform encephalopathy and Creutzfeldt-Jakob
Disease belong to a group of degenerative neurological
disorders collectively known as the transmissible
spongiform encephalopathies. All the diseases have long
incubation periods which, depending on the host, may
range from many months to several decades. Death is
inevitable after a slow progressive illness."

British Med Bull, 1998, 54:3
____________________________________

"A 24-year-old vegetarian has been diagnosed with
Cruetzfeld-Jacob disease. Scientists fear that milk
and cheese may be the source of infection."

London Times, August 23, 1997 Michael Hornsby

Scientists' conclusion from latest research:

*********************************************
In view of a recent study showing evidence of prion
replication occurring in the mammary gland of scrapie
infected sheep suffering from mastitis, the appearance
of PrP(C) in milk implies the possibility that milk of
TSE-infected animals serves as source for PrP(Sc).
*********************************************
Medline Abstract Dated December 20, 2006:

1: PLoS ONE. 2006 Dec 20;1:e71.   Links
Prion protein in milk.Franscini N, Gedaily AE, Matthey U, Franitza S,
Sy
MS, Burkle A, Groschup M, Braun U, Zahn R.
Alicon AG Schlieren, Switzerland.

BACKGROUND: Prions are known to cause transmissible
spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) after accumulation
in the central nervous system.

There is increasing evidence that prions are also
present in body fluids and that prion infection by
blood transmission is possible. The low concentration
of the proteinaceous agent in body fluids and its long
incubation time complicate epidemiologic analysis and
estimation of spreading and thus the risk of human
infection. This situation is particularly unsatisfactory
for food and pharmaceutical industries, given the lack
of sensitive tools for monitoring the infectious agent.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We have developed an
adsorption matrix, Alicon PrioTrap(R), which binds with
high affinity and specificity to prion proteins. Thus
we were able to identify prion protein (PrP(C))-the
precursor of prions (PrP(Sc))-in milk from humans, cows,
sheep, and goats. The absolute amount of PrP(C) differs
between the species (from microg/l range in sheep to
ng/l range in human milk). PrP(C) is also found in
homogenised and pasteurised off-the-shelf milk, and even
ultrahigh temperature treatment only partially diminishes
endogenous PrP(C)concentration.

CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: In view of a recent study
showing evidence of prion replication occurring in the
mammary gland of scrapie infected sheep suffering from
mastitis, the appearance of PrP(C) in milk implies the
possibility that milk of TSE-infected animals serves as
source for PrP(Sc).

PMID: 17183703

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com
i4crob@...

Funny Iraq Story

A few months ago, I read a magnificent book regarding
the various factions that rule Iraq. That book was
"The Prince of the Marshes" by Rory Stewart. If only
every American could read this book. There would then
be an understanding of why America cannot possibly
succeed in Iraq.

One of the absurdities pointed out by the author
was that hundreds of millions of dollars are invested
by our great nation to provide unemployed Iraqi
workers with jobs. At the time the book was written,
laborers were hired to re-paint bombed out schools
that would never again be used as schools because
school teachers are given permanent time outs
(bullets to the head) if they dared to step foot
in any one of those freshly painted schools.

So here's the joke that I found funny. Others might
find it pathetic. In calling up an additional 20,000
troops and attempting to rationalize America's new
multi-billion dollar "investment," President Bush
announced that unemployed Iraqis would be given jobs
painting schools. When I read that in the New York
Times this week, I immediately thought of "The Prince
of the Marshes" and laughed at how quickly men forget
one learned lesson after another.

Nearly thirty months ago, on August 6th, 2004, I wrote:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Why Iraqi Children Will Forever Hate America

It's not because of the free milk chocolate candy bars
which taste delicious but cause constipation. It's not
because of the free whey protein powder which congests
their lungs. It's not because of the dried milk powder
which cannot be digested without causing painful
symptoms of lactose intolerance. It's much more than
that, and the children will neither forgive nor forget.

On March 19, 2003, American armed forces began their
bombing of Iraq. Two weeks later, I wrote:

"Thousands of civilians may die from bombs and bullets,
but millions will be affected by dirty water. After the
first Gulf War, outbreaks of cholera and malaria killed
untold thousands of Iraqis. Millions of people became
ill. This is Iraq's absolute destiny...Waste treatment.
Clean water. That's the key, and that will be the true
tragedy of Iraq's near future. Filth carries lethal
disease. Humanitarian aid will feed and clothe the people.
There is not enough time, or clean water, or understanding,
to deter the horror story that is about to be written in
the desert."

Five months later, my prediction had come true. On August
4, 2004, news of an Iraqi epidemic was confirmed by the
New York Times:

"Typhoid and hepatitis E are running rampant through Sadr
City this summer, as residents rely heavily on a sewage-tainted
water supply to endure temperatures of 115 degrees and up. The
outbreak has strained local healthcare facilities and left
Health Ministry officials able to only guess at the scope of
the problem...Broken water lines allow raw sewage to seep into
the regular water supply. Frequent electrical shortages stop
the municipal water pumps, and innovative means of pumping
water from the dry pipes end up bringing in extra sewage...
Other parts of the country are bracing for a disease-ridden
August. The United Nations has warned of a humanitarian crisis
in the southern city of Basra, also because of high
temperatures and a suspect water supply."

Before the war, plumbing worked. After the war, the
toilets no longer flushed. That is what separates
civilized nations of the world from the uncivilized.
Sanitation is the cultural key to longevity. Living
long and healthy is a two-pronged challenge. With
sanitation, one has the potential to live a long and
healthy life. With proper diet, one guarantees that
human destiny is achievable. Without sanitation,
diet's role in longevity is negated.

Something bothers me about the opening weeks of
the Iraqi war. We Americans were told that precision
bombs were used on carefully selected military targets,
yet, sewer systems were destroyed. Either we were lied
to and the bombs were not-so precise, or, America
intentionally targeted sewer systems with state-of-the
art precision weapons, aware of the sickness and death
that would linger upon a devastated population. Ask
yourself why Iraqi children will forever hate Americans,
while imagining the same horror occurring where you live.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The children will forever hate Americans. We cannot
blame this entirely on Bush. We must each take
responsibility, for we are America. We must make things
right, for that has always been the credo of all Americans:
To do the right thing.

The man who suggests that we again paint Iraq's schools
will be appearing on 60 Minutes this Sunday evening.
Having had more than enough comedy lately, I do not plan
on watching his stand-up act. It's an old routine, and
I've seen it before.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com
i4crob@...

FDA is American Public's Best Friend

FDA is the American Public's Best Friend. That's
right! I make that statement in the spirit of another
not-so truism made 137 years ago:

"The Army is the Indian's best friend."
General George Armstrong Custer, 1870

While I was "away," FDA approved the meat and milk
from cloned farm animals for human consumption because,
in their "dumble" opinion, the milk and meat from cloned
farm units is identical to the meat and milk from
non-cloned animals.

On November 9, 2003 (Notmilk Letter #1459), I wrote:

Milk from cloned cows contains more pus than from
uncloned cows, according to a study published in
the November 3, 2003 issue of Cloning and Stem Cells.
Pus cell count is an indication of stressed and
diseased animals, and should be a cause of warning
and concern for regulators and dairy farmers. Although
these numbers are very real, the scientists analyzing
their own data missed their significance. The milk is
different because the cows are different.

America's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has
determined that milk from cloned cows is safe to
drink, and requires no testing or warning label.

This conclusion was drawn from a single flawed
study, one of the poorest designs that I have ever
reviewed. The so-called scientific study is
unscientific. It is a biased presentation of data
brought to you by the same people who developed
the cloning technology.

The journal is called "Cloning and Stem Cells."
Remarkably, the Editor-in-Chief, Ian Wilmut, Ph.D.,
writes these words in an editorial contained in that
same November 3, 2003 issue (Volume 5, number 3):

"Experience shows that it is very difficult to
predict either the outcome of research or the ways
in which new techniques will be applied."

I spoke with the senior author of the study (she
teaches at the University of Utah) and was surprised
that she did not perform an assay on the levels of
bovine growth hormone (bGH) or insulin-like growth
factor (IGF-I) in milk. I was even more surprised
at her lack of knowledge regarding protein hormones.
Her analyses included only caseins and blood proteins.

Before my critique of the milk study performed by
Marie K. Walsh, et. al., you should understand four
major variables that must be considered when testing
milk. First, every cow is different. Every cow gives
a milk containing varying amounts of fat,
proteins, and hormones. Second, there are distinct
differences between species of cows. For example,
milk from Jerseys or Guernsey's might have more
protein than milk from Holsteins, while Brown
Swiss might have a higher fat content. Third,
herds of cows on different farms eat different diets,
so milk from different feeds can produce distinct
differences in mineral content, certain fats (such
as conjugated linoeic acid), and protein yield.
Fourth, cows experience fourteen different lactation
cycles. Milk yield and milk components differ greatly
from one cycle to another.

Each time the scientists found evidence of a difference,
they dismissed that difference by blaming an error
in the design protocol, such as feed differences between
herds. That excuse-making might be appropriate for cocktail
party banter, but it is not appropriate for a publication
in a scientific journal. Note to scientists: design
your studies well, and eliminate such tainted extraneous
variables.

Sadly, none of these methods were employed in the above
study, which was performed in a helter-skelter fashion
on a herd of only 15 lactating cows and only 6 control
animals. The milk from cloned cows represented five
distinct genetic lines and three different breeds. The
small size of the sample tested should ring bells
regarding the validity of this study.

To be performed properly on such a small sample, the
only way to analyze milk is to design a study in which
15 cloned and 15 control cows are raised on the same
farm and fed the same feed.

By definition, the entire study is significantly flawed
and therefore invalid, but it is interesting to compare
the conclusions, and analyze whether their own data supports
those conclusions.

The overall conclusion of the authors, as published in
the abstract (page 213), is:

"Our results lead us to conclude that there are no obvious
differences in milk composition produced from cloned cows
compared to non-cloned cows."

I carefully examined the available data from tables 1-5
on pages 216-218. In order to perform proper statistical
analyses of data, one must possess data from each animal.
In this case, the data is proprietary and unavailable.
Therefore, I relied upon the data, as presented, and
subtracted and divided when appropriate. Here are my
findings. Keep in mind the conclusion of the researchers
that there are no obvious differences between cloned
and uncloned milk.

Milk from cloned Brown Swiss cows contains more 12.5% more
protein and 5% less fat than un-cloned Brown Swiss cows.

Milk from Holsteins contains more 10% protein and
10% less fat.

Milk from a mixed Holstein/Jersey breed contains more 10%
more protein and 13% less fat.

Farmers and dairymen will not be happy by these numbers.
Dairy farmers receive premiums for milk with high fat
content. Fat becomes ice cream, cheese, and butter. Less
fat means less profits.

Somatic Cell Count (SCC) revealed an average count of 225
million pus cells per liter of milk from cloned cows, and
only 165 million pus cells per liter of milk from non-cloned
cows. Considering the fact that the 15 cows in the cloned
herd are pampered investments, and receive the greatest
amount of care and dairy management, this result must be
very disturbing to dairy industry executives.

That is sure to make farmers unhappy too.

Increased protein counts are like red-light danger signals
posted at railroad crossings. Bells ring; lights flash.
What happens to protein hormones? Do levels of IGF-I
and bGH increase too? Consumers will not know the
answers until milk is tested. Please contact your state
department of agriculture, and your state FDA office, and
demand that these tests be performed.
________________________________________________________
P.S.--Over the years, I've developed a kind of intimacy
with many of my Notmilk readers and for that I am blessed.
Blessings can often become less wonderful than they first
appear. During the past two days, I've received more
than 1,500 emails. I've read them all, and that process
has been exhausting, but I am just not able to respond
to each of your letters...please forgive me. Thanks to all
for your love and generosity and compassion and good wishes.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com
i4crob@...

Notmilk News for January 11, 2007

The following was reported by WLNS tv news, Lansing, MI:

http://www.wlns.com/Global/story.asp?S=5917889&nav=0RbQ

Tea Provides Benefits, but Don't Use Milk

Jan 10, 2007 07:15 AM EST

"If you're looking for the benefits of tea, researchers say
'hold the milk.' Studies show that drinking tea can help
reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, but German
scientists say adding milk to your tea eliminates those
protective benefits. The study shows that certain proteins
in milk actually decreases the compounds of tea that boost
the fight against heart disease."

Station News Phone: (517) 372-1300

Robert Cohen (i4crob@...)
http://www.notmilk.com

Other Annapurnas
January 10, 2007

"There are other Annapurnas in the lives of men."
-Maurice Herzog, 1952

Eighty percent of the accidents and fatalities which
occur on Mount Everest take place after climbers reach
the summit. In other words, after achieving his goal,
a man sometimes lets down his guard and loses sight of
his own personal finish line. In the case of the world's
tallest mountain, a small percentage of climbers measure
success by merely trekking from Katmandu to base camp,
while others define any achievement short of standing
atop the world as a failure. In the case of climbing any
mountain, getting "there" and then safely returning so
that other mountains can be scaled is the only true
measure of a man's success.

I have a fascination with mountain climbing books and
have enjoyed reading many dozens of real-life accounts,
particularly the many different perspectives from nearly
every survivor of the ill-fated 1996 Everest
expedition.

Last evening, I finished the best of the genre, Annapurna,
by Maurice Herzog, written in 1952. Rather than offer a full
book review at this time, let me say that Annapurna contains
one of the most powerful commentaries that I've ever read
in literature, and some of the most vivid scenes. "Getting
there" may be "half the fun," as people say, but coming down
to earth after achieving a goal becomes more than a challenge.
It is a blessing that often gives birth to a new commandment.

While I am still faced with many personal challenges
(recovering from one operation and facing two new ones),
the experience of reading and finishing last night's book
has helped me to recognize that I have additional
mountains to climb.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com
To contact me personally: i4crob@...

Dear Friends,

It's been a challenging few months for me, to say the least.
I had a five hour spinal fusion back surgery on June 26th.
The very next day, intent upon setting a record (and making
my own ridiculous courageous statement), I left the hospital
(in great pain) and went home to begin my recovery. Normal
hospital stay should have been three days.

Last week, I learned (after a CAT scan) that the surgery
did not work and that a second surgery would be required.
I've been told that a large piece of cadaver bone will
be necessary to repair the damage from my original injury.
In the meantime, I've learned just how easy it is to become
addicted to pain killing pills.

At about the same time, my father took a serious fall and
fractured two ribs. One complication led to another, and
a few hospital screw-ups compounded his compound fracture,
and I sat alone by my dad's bedside at 3:30 one recent morning
and watched him die.

This is the time of year that leaves fall from trees and
the last bits of summer's crops (pumpkins, cabbage, brussels
sprouts) ere harvested from my own garden. It is a time for
the flowers to die and other plants to turn brown and wilt,
littering the ground with an abundance of seeds. This is a
cold and dark time of the year, and for me, the blacks and
greys and browns of winter make for a depressing season.

That is why any glimmer of color, of sunshine, of rainbow
colors help to cure the darkness of late fall and early winter.

On the Sunday after Thanksgiving, I received a telephone call
from one of my favorite ortganic farmers, Dave Fedor. Dave
grows many varieties of oranges including Satsumas, Navels,
and Kumquats in his small Florida grove. Each year, for the past
five, I've purchased two or more boxes of the sweetest produce
that beats anything found in my local supermarkets.

This year, the oranges mean much more than just nourishment
to me. They represent a cure for the darkness. They are a medicine
for my body which seeks more than one traditional form of healing.

I congratulated Dave on getting through the past few months
without any hurricanes, and asked if he anticipated a more
abundant crop. Unfortunately, I was told that two late
February frosts destroyed many of his tree's delicate
orange blossoms, so that this year's crop will be smaller
than last, but should be sweeter. The fruit will not be
ready to be shipped until around the tenth of December. It
will be picked by Dave and his family the day before, at
the height of sweetness, boxed, then shipped direct to me...
to you...to your friends and loved ones.

For those of you who got shut out last year, here is the chance
to make up for it. Don't delay. Order today, as I just did.

Call: 1-386-985-1654   or go online:

http://www.flnaturalcitrus.com

Best wishes to you all!

I count my blessings for each of my relationships with
friends and loved ones, past, present, and future.
I count my blessings for my father's life, for he knew
what it was to live a full life.
I count my blessings for the ability to enjoy the
sights and sounds and tastes and smells that make
life so magical.

Robert Cohen
i4crob@...
http://www.notmilk.com

Sorry to all who have experienced issues with this forum. This is Dave's
daughter and I'm
working on removing the hacker from this forum. Unfortunately, there are those
who really
have zero respect for others and we're working to remove the offender from the
site.
NotMilk2002 has been banned and Robert Cohen will return soon with another
moderator
name. Thanks for your patience.

Dear Friends,

This messsage comes to you from Lisa Cohen, Robert's wife
and confidante. Good news! One can sooner get a S.T.D.
by sitting on a public restroom throne than obtain a
computer virus by subscribing to a Yahoo Group. Sadly,
some talented but misdirectd cretins (somewhere in Europe)
have declared war upon Yahoo during the past 24 hours, and
you've received some odd Notmilk messages. Be assured that
they are not coming from Robert.

I am proud of Robert. During his recent 5-hour back surgery
he made the very painful decision to leave the hospital the
very next day. His surgeon told him that was a first! Robert
is now wearing a brace, and will soon be starting an intense
therapy program. He cannot yet drive in a car, and is spending
most of his waking hours reading (on his stomach).

Robert is sedated much of the time. He has been given so many
drugs, that rumor has it that he's about to be named an
honorary pharmacist.

In any event, he is improving slightly each day and should be
back to normal in a few months. In the meantime, please apply
liberal use to your delete button after receiving any of the
past and future annoying emails. They may be an attempt to
destroy our good work, and they may be the actions of, or
the random play of immature and misguided souls.

Robert appreciates your cards and good blessings.

Sincerely,

Lisa Cohen

Notmilkman Update

Dear Friends,

I have NOT been checking my email. Should you wish
to contact me, please do so with personal notes or
letters (please NO flowers!)

Robert Cohen
841 Kinderkamack Road
Oradell, NJ 07649

On Monday (June 26th), I shared a chilly fluoresovescent
room with about a dozen wonderful people who were dressed in
green gowns and white masks. My back surgery lasted just a
few minutes longer than the scheduled five hours. My surgeon
informed me that professional baseball players and other
such supermen might go home on Wednesday after spending
two evenings away from home. It was predicted that I would
go home on Thursday.

Instead, I went home on Tuesday. As my doctor now says, "I reset
the bar." The best part of the experience was holding a device which
delivered a instant surge of morphine to my own bloodstream on
Monday night. The worst part was being sent home without that
same  magnificent tool of technology.

Some time before losing his life on the world's most elegant
mountain, a climber named Mallory was asked by a reporter why
he was obsessed with scaling Mount Everest. "Because it is there,"
was his response.

Today, I dressed myself with a brace after taking a long shower.
With the use of mirrors, I changed the bandages covering what will
soon be a 5 inch scar. Earlier, I had lain in my garden picking
5 varieties of lettuce, radishes, tiny yellow and green zucchini,
and garlic, mint, oregano, thyme, and dill which became the base
for a lovely dressing. For dessert I feasted upon freshly picked
cups of strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries.

After the shower, wearing a 30-pound cumbersome plastic body brace,
I trekked up the hill using my cane for aid, taking the scenic route
past Schirra drive which is a street named after one of my town's
residents who had become an astronaut (Mercury 7).

I have many more hills to climb, but will be coming back much
stronger
and wiser.

This past week, two of my daughters and I forged a pact. We would
declare our personal philosophy by placing a tattoo in a private
place upon our bodies. Each one word statement would reflect our
feeling about our own spirit and our world, with a commentary
about how we view ourselves and our relation to others. One child
chose "H'yha" (to live) while another now wears "Emunah" which
means "faith." My single black word upon flesh is "Moshiach,"
because for me, every day in my recent past and continuing future
has and will continue to be a rebirth. My continuing personal
redemption will become a destiny in which one voice becomes a
more powerful statement for the Notmilk, vegetarian, and animal
rights movements.

Robert Cohen
201-967-7001

My Doctor's Scalpel

"I came through and I shall return."
--Douglas MacArthur, 1942

Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator said, "I'll be back,"
and soon became a cyborg of his word in the 1984 movie,
"The Terminator."

Obi-Wan Kenobi returned (his voice did, anyhow...),
miraculously transformed from a Guiness into a
McGregor.

Many people believe that Dumbledore is gone forever,
but I've invested too many hours reading over 3,000
pages in books 1-6 to believe that he'll not be back
in the finale of the Harry Potter series. I predict
Albus Dumbledore will return, or I'm no wizard.

Gandalf came back even more powerful than he was
before his battle with the Balrog, a most terrifying
demon.

So, in a somewhat like manner, utilizing tools
less than metaphoric, with the spirit of a similar
type simile, do I plan on making my return. For now,
this will be my last column for the next 3-6 months.
I've got an appointment with my surgeon, and then a
bit of R&R after battling my own demon.

When I was a very young hockey fan, my favorite
player was New York Ranger, Rod Gilbert. Early in his
career, Gilbert had a spinal fusion operation. I too
will be experiencing the same. Gilbert came back
stronger than ever. I expect to also, and the rest
should also do me good by recharging battered
batteries.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com