Groundhog Day 2009

My list of favorite movies includes Groundhog Day.
If you have not seen it, take my advice and do so.
I'll readily admit to having seen the film at least
20 times, and will view it again this year if it's
on TV.

At approximately 7:25 AM, a groundhog will trek to
Gobbler's Notch to make the official prediction that
six more weeks of winter remain in 2009. Today's
celebration will mark the 123rd consecutive year that
Groundhog Day has been celebrated in Punxsutawney,
Pennsylvania.

Come sunshine, rain, or snow, the groundhog's keeper
has assured us that their little rodent will see some
sort of shadow due to his enormously fattened bulk,
even though it's cloudy and snowing lightly in
Punxsutawney as this message is being posted at
4:45 AM.

The fix is in. They've been feeding him ice cream
during the "off season.

This past year, American consumers have been presented
with the dairy industry argument that consuming dairy
products helps people to lose weight, which makes
absolutely no sense, but makes for great press by
those whose job it is to deceive America into
consuming milk.

On average, groundhogs weigh a little over five pounds
when they emerge from hibernation in the spring. After
a summer of eating, September weights can soar to ten
pounds. The largest wild (free and uncaged) groundhog
weighed in at fourteen pounds!

The bigger news has nothing to do with the eather. It's
why Punxsutawney Phil has become the Holstein cow of
groundhogs. He's the pig of litte furry hibernators. What
has Phil been munching on all winter while observing his
dairy-based weight loss program? Ice cream! The root of
our groundhog's obesity ain't roots. It's dairy!

Bill Deeley, the local funeral home director who emcees
Punxsutawney's much-publicized Groundhog Day Festival and
sees to Phil's needs 365 days out of the year, had this to
say about Phil's diet:

"He's naturally a vegetarian. But he loves ice cream and
strawberry sundaes."

Phil, the groundcow, weighs in at 15 pounds and measures
22 inches in length.

Could an overweight Phil be due to the powerful growth factors
in milk and dairy products? Groundhogs should not be eating a
diet of bovine growth hormones and high calorie-containing
saturated animal fat. Neither should humans, for that matter.

So...eyewitnesses will see Phil spring from his burrow and
report that he saw his own shadow. Winter continues for
everybody. Easy on the ice cream, or you and Phil might
look lousy in bathing suits next summer.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Super Bowl Ad Designed to Fail

News Item: NBC Refuses to Accept Super Bowl
TV Commercial Produced by the People for
The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)

*********************************

This is not the first PETA ad to be banned.
Super Bowl advertising geniuses have once
again been outplayed and outbluffed by PETA.

PETA's censored sexually suggestive ad would
have generated $3 million for NBC. Instead,
PETA's brilliant plan has generated many
millions of dollars worth of free publicity.
A cleverly executed maneuver---let's review
the videotape---no flags on the play!

Unless you're from Pennsylvania (four percent
of America) or Arizona (two percent of America),
the 2009 Super Bowl game just lacks fan appeal.
It will become the lowest rated Super Bowl game
in many years. According to Vegas oddsmakers,
there's little betting action on the game.
According to scalpers, good seats can be
purchased at reasonable prices.

I'll be watching today just to observe clever
commercials. Wanna wager that NBC runs ads
containing more sexually suggestive themes
than this one? Watch PETA's banned ad:

http://www.peta.org

"Please don't fling me into the brier patch.
Drown me as deep as you please.
Skin me.
Snatch out my eyeballs.
Tear out my ears by the roots.
Cut off my legs.
But please, don't fling me in that brier patch."

You might recognize that plea from Brer Rabbit
to Brer Fox. Of course, that is exactly what the
gullible fox (NBC) did to the crafty rabbit (PETA)
who soon made an escape in the brier patch. The fox
was tricked into doing the dumbest thing possible.

LOL - What morons. They've got cow-excrement
for brains.

Thirty second Super Bowl ads costing $3 million
each are for billion dollar companies. PETA
would never spend ten percent of their entire
budget on one thirty second ad when they can
invest zero dollars and receive tens of millions
in free publicity. When it comes to advertising,
PETA is the world's champion!

Television executives have thrown PETA into the
brier patch. PETA's founder/director, Ingrid
Newkirk, was born and bred in the brier patch!

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Ben & Kurt Get All The Breaks

Break: When a bone goes snap.

Break: Device used to prevent runaway train wrecks
(such as dairy industry milkstache advertisements).

Break: Stroke of good fortune, such as when a
mediocre team with a regular season record of
9-7 plays in America's premiere sporting event
which should be re-named "The Boring Bowl."

Break: Interval from one's normal dreary existance
(such as reading clever Notmilk letters).

Kurt Warner was never much of a football player in
college. He was not even drafted by a National
Football League team. During his 11 year career,
Warner does hold one painful record. He is one of
the most injury-prone athletes in sports history,
having suffered through 30 major setbacks including
broken fingers, hands, legs, and ribs. Warner leads
the Arizona Cardinals in tomorrow's Super Bowl, and
he shares the limelight with Ben Roethlisberger in
a new National Milk Processors Milk Mustache ad.

Wonder if Warner got that way by overdosing on milk
and dairy products. After all, milk consumption has
been identified as a key factor in bone disease.
See:

http://www.notmilk.com/o.html

From page 32 of Warner's book (All Things Possible):

"I was a chubby kid, and that was partly because
of my eating habits. I loved fast food and hated
vegetables, two preferences that have followed me
into adulthood. I have a hard time getting my kids
to eat vegetables now because I have very little
credibility on the subject."

We agree, Kurt. When it comes to milk and nutritional
advice, you are the Detroit Lion of credibility.

Ben Roethlisberger has been playing football on and
off for the Pittsburgh Steelers for five years, and
during that time has suffered through three severely
painful series of bone bruises. His brittle right
thumb has been a much-publicized source of pain, and
he's also played with a damaged knee and banged-up
ribs.

Why is Ben so injury prone? He says this about milk:

"I drank a lot of milk growing up as a kid...I drank it
everyday...I probably went through two gallons of milk
a week growing up."

Nice ad copy, thanks to the dairy industry. Here's
the real science regarding milk and bone breaks:

"Women consuming greater amounts of calcium from dairy
foods had significantly increased risks of hip fractures,
while no increase in fracture risk was observed for the
same levels of calcium from nondairy sources."

12-year Harvard study of 78,000 women American Journal of
Public Health 1997;87

So, whoever shall lead his team to a superbowl win will
become America's darling. Super Bowl XLIII will be a
symbolic battle between two quarterbacks with a history
of multiple bone breaks and bruises.

Drink milk and you can be like one or both of these new
American milkstached heroes, bruised, broken, and hurting.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Vice Cream

On Wednesday (January 28, 2009) I reported the opening
of a new vegan non-dairy ice cream store in Manhattan.

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/notmilk/message/3156

Many of you asked for recipes. While I am not very
good at replicating trade secrets, I do have a great
alternative to offer. It's a book containing 70 amazing
dairy-free vegan ice cream recipes.

I first met the author of "Vice Cream," Jeff Rogers, at
a raw food festival in Portland, Oregon, in 2002. Because
Jeff is a proponent of a raw food diet, his book does not
include ice creams made from (cooked) soymilk.

A Viking's last wish is to die with a sword in his hand
so that he might spend an eternity in Valhalla feasting
on nature's bounty. Having tasted Jeff Rogers' Vegan ice
creams, I can state with authority that his concoctions
are as close as we mortals get to Eden, Elysium, and
Valhalla. Jeff's iced-creams do not include body fluids
from diseased animals, saturated animal fat, powerful
growth hormones, or cholesterol. If you want those, but
the Ben & Jerry's version. Jeff's ice creams are made
from fruits, nuts, and seeds harvested from organic
gardens.

One recipe that fired up my taste buds was:

Jalapeno Heaven-Page 44 (Makes about one quart)

Ingredients

1-3 teaspoons minced organic jalapeno chili
2 cups organic cashews or cashew pieces
2 cups purified water
1 cup maple syrup

Combine the jalapeno, cashews, water, and syrup
in a blender. Just 1 teaspoon of jalapeno will
give the vice cream a slight flavor with a little
kick. Adding a second teaspoon will give you more
heat, and 3 teaspoons will deliver quite a punch.
Blend on high until silky smooth, at least 1 minute.

Place the blender in the freezer for 40 minutes to 1
hour or in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or
up to overnight, until well chilled. Pour the mixture
into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the
manufacturer's instructions. Serve immediately or
transfer to airtight containers and store in the
freezer until ready to serve.

Buy Jeff's book and try Chocolate Pecan (page 22)
with Mango Sauce (page 90). I've also enjoyed the
Banana Lemon (page 60) with Raspberry Sauce (page 88).
For pure vegan heaven, try the Black Forest (page 76).

To purchase Jeff's "Vice Cream" book:

http://thenaughtyvegan.com/purchase.htm

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Insanity Strikes Two North Dakota Legislators

Vegans (such as myself) feel that killing cows in
slaugherhouses is barbaric. One does not have to be
vegan to feel the same way about killing horses.
Everybody loves horses, and few Americans find the
thought of eating horse to be a gourmet experience.

Representative Rod Froelich (D-Selfridge) and Senator
Joe Miller, (R-Park River) have introduced North
Dakota House Bill #1496 which will finance a $100,000
study to see if a horse slaughterhouse is viable in
North Dakota.

North Dakota horses are now shipped to Mexico and
Canada for slaughter. Both nations consider horse
meat to be a delicacy.

Representative Miller said:

"The point of the proposed legislation is to humanely
dispose of those animals that have worn out their
usefulness."

In other words, finish last ten races in a row at
the Meadowlands racetrack, and a horse has earned
a knife to the jugular.

Perhaps North Dakota should consider a slaughterhouse
for members of the state assembly who have outlived
their usefulness.

Sometimes I must pinch myself, hoping not to wake
up in the middle of the nineteenth century.

Please let Senator Miller and Representative Froelich
know that if either one runs on the same ticket with
Sarah Palin in 2012, they are not getting your vote.

Senator Joe Miller
Telephone: 701-331-1491
E-mail: joetmiller@...

Representative Rod Froelich
Telephone: 701-422-3769
E-mail: rfroelich@...

I have no idea what the state motto of North
Dakota is, but I know what it should be:

Populus caedo equi. (They Kill Horses).

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Ice Cream Alternatives

This appeared in last Wednesday's New York Times:

***********************************

Ice Cream Without The Cream
January 21, 2009
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

"Rob Sedgwick and Steve Horn own a vegan ice cream
shop. Malcolm Stogo has a job most people would envy:
he's an ice cream consultant. Now his name is on a
vegan ice cream shop in the East Village.

Rob Sedgwick, an actor, owns it with Steve Horn, a
restaurateur.

Ice creams made from soy milk, nut milks and coconut
milk are made by Mr. Horn according to Mr. Stogo's
formulas. The smooth, creamy, gelato-style ice creams,
all sweetened with agave, come in a dozen flavors.

Mango, peach and mixed berry would probably please
lovers of traditional high-fat ice cream.

I'd also give thumbs up to coconut, honey-lavender,
vanilla-goji, green tea and cardamom-pistachio. But
for coffee and chocolate, give me real ice cream.

Cups, $4.25 to $6.25, can be embellished with shots
of organic hot fudge or caramel for another $1.
Toppings, also extra, are available.

Stogo is at 159 Second Avenue (the entrance is on
East 10th Street), (212) 677-2301."

***********************************

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

The BERNIE MADOFF of the Dairy Industry

Somebody once said,

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall."

Actually, it was Jersey Joe Walcott who said that,
referring to opponents who towered over him and
ended up sucking the canvas mat after losing fights
to Jersey Joe. Walcott was boxing's world champion
in the welterweight division from 1901-1904.

Bernie Madoff has fallen from the height of nine
feet unto a marshmallow pillow. That seems to be
more than enough punishment for the biggest
scamster in Wall Street history, a cretin who
lost $50 billion of naive investor's money in a
Ponzi scheme and now serves time under house arrest
in his $7 million New York City penthouse apartment.
Poor Bernie.

So who is it in the dairy industry that did not
play by the rules and receives special treatment?

It's a "connected" Tipton, California dairyman with
282 serious violations of California's wastewater
discharge laws. Feces and urine from his cows have
continuously ended up in California's drinking water,
and frankly, Scarlett, he just does not give a damn.

California's Central Valley Regional Water Quality
Control Board has determined that California Dairies
Inc. need only pay the minimum $846,000 fine for
discharging wastewater into the Tule River.

Millions of gallons of dirty/disgusting discharge
have entered the waterways.

California Dairies, Inc. has received a gentle slap
on the wrist for crimes against their neighbors.

Just for the record:

California Dairies produced 16 billion pounds of milk
in 2008. California Dairies manufactures 60% of all the
milk powder produced in the United States, subsidized
by American taxpayers. That milk powder is purchased
by the U.S. government and is exported to 40 countries
worldwide.

The Chairman of California Dairies is George Borba.
Borba is currently in the process of building two
Kern County, California factory farms which will be
home to 28,000 cows.

Borba is also in the banking business and has a net
worth in the hundreds of millions of dollars. In 2008,
Borba "invested" over $8,000 in political donations,
an expenditure which seems to be paying enormous
dividends.

Bernie Madoff might have urinated on investors, but
he never polluted America's streams. Madoff will
soon occupy a prison cell. Borba will forever be
free, because he's padded the bank accounts of the
"right" people. Justice would be served by having
Madoff and Borba become future Lansing, Kansas
roommates at Leavenworth.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Dairy Industry's New Top-Secret Strategy

We know what they are thinking.
We know what they are planning.

The dairy industry is hurting, crashing, imploding,
going out of business, and drastic measures have
been planned for drastic times.

Their new strategy involves your participation,
Mr. and Mrs. and Miss taxpayer. Pay close attention.

Problems: They are producing too much milk.
Fewer people are drinking the milk. Export
markets have dried up.

Solution: Reduce the number of cows immediately.
Get the United States government to purchase
300,000 cows and immediately slaughter them.

Cost: 300,000 cows X $2,000 per cow equals
a new subsidy of only $600 million, something
Americans can easily afford if we all pitch in.

Am I making this up? No way! Tomorrow morning
(Tuesday, January 27, 2009, a super secret
conference call will be made from Utah between
between the west coast's largest dairy producers
and dairy industry insiders. There is an urgency
to this conspiracy which will go directly to an
oval office desk where the buck supposedly stops.

The conference call will be conducted by Brad
Bateman, chairman of the Western States Dairy
Producer Trade Association (WSDPTA). The
association includes dairy farms in California,
Idaho, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.

Bateman is a third generation milk farmer, but
his dairy (Mosida Farm, Elberta, Utah) is no
family farm. Bateman's 60 employees use the
genetically engineered bovine growth hormone
(rbGH) on their cows, and his farm produces
over 150 million pounds of milk each year.

Will this new secret strategy work?

With the average cow producing 26 quarts of
milk per day, after 300,000 cows are slaughtered,
there will be nearly 3 billion fewer quarts of
milk available to consumers in 2009, and
according to the very nature of supply and
demand, the price of milk will soar and all will
be well again within the industry. What these
nincompoops (bovine unit managers, or BUMs)
do not realize is that once the price of milk
soars, more cows will be bred by those wanting
to capitalize on rising milk prices. This
solution is only short term, and will last long
enough for one giant sales promotion at Burger
King.

WHAT THEY SHOULD BE DOING

These knuckleheads are just not smart enough
to figure this one out for themselves so, the
Notmilkman is coming to the rescue.

Hey guys--

If you kill 300,000 Holsteins averaging 26
quarts of milk per day, you end up removing
7.8 million quarts of milk daily from the
market.

BUT...

If you immediately stop using the genetically
engineered bovine growth hormone (this means
you, Mr. Bateman) which causes cows to
produce, on average, ten percent more milk...

Do I have your attention yet?

According to the University of Nebraska
Institute of Agriculture, a cow can produce
between 10 and 20 percent more milk when
treated with rbGH.

Although biotech companies do not reveal the
actualy numbers, let's guesstimate that
twenty-five percent of the cows in America
are being treated with rbGH. Remove the
(average) fifteen percent increase from
2,300,000 cows (so each cow will produce 22.5
quarts per day instead of 26), and you'll end
up removing 3.5 quarts per animal X 2.3 million
animals or over 8 million quarts of milk from
the market each day.

Removing rbGH is more practical than slaughtering
300,000 cows, and it requires no $600 million
government subsidy.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Maine's Milk Supply Goes Bang(or)

Today's financial question for your consideration is:

How long do honest Americans continue to subsidize
dishonest industries and companies that mismanage
their resources?

The dairy industry has long been a welfare recipient
of precious taxpayer funds, and for what? To make the
healthcare system strong by providing an unending
stream of sick patients needing treatment for a
variety of ailments?

Perhaps we should subsidize the munitions and
firework industries too. Why stop there? Don't
the manufacturers of Tasers and pepper spray
deserve subsidies too?

Today we applaud regulators in the State of
Maine, who have recommended an end to state
financed subsidies for Maine's dairy farmers.

The story as it appeared in Maine's Bangor
Daily News, Wednesday, January 21, 2009:

**********************************

AUGUSTA, Maine -- In another blow to Maine dairy
farmers, a legislative panel is recommending a $4.8
million cut in price supports for milk.

Tuesday's proposal by the Agriculture, Forestry and
Conservation Committee comes on the heels of predictions
last week that milk prices are crashing and could,
within two months, be almost half what farmers received
a year ago.

Julie Marie Bickford of the Maine Dairy Industry
Association said farmers are squeezed to the breaking
point and are facing what she called "the perfect
storm for dairy."

The recommended cut in subsidies represents about 37
percent of the amount officials said would be needed
to fund the program during the coming fiscal year.

The state Department of Agriculture was asked to cut
$4.8 million to help close the state's looming budget gap.

**********************************

Maine's State Motto is "Dirigo", which in Latin
means "I lead". When it came to elections, it was
once said that "As Maine goes, so goes the nation".
It is my wish that Maine becomes the first of fifty
states to end subsidy payments to dairy farmers.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Yesterday Was the Worst Day Ever for Dairymen

January 24, 2009

The current price dairy farmers receive for
Class III milk is $10.68 per hundred pounds.
Class III milk is that milk used to make cheese.

Class I milk is that milk which American's
drink.

Yesterday, farmers were receiving $15.74 per
hundred pounds for Class I milk. In February,
they will receive only $10.72 per hundredweight.

Ouch, ouch, ouch!

That's $5.02 less than January's milk, and
nearly $9 below the price they received one
year ago.

What does this all mean?

If labor was free, and antibiotics were free, and
fuel for farm machines, electricity, and hauling
the milk to market was free, farmers still would
be paying more in feed costs than they will be
receiving for milk. If the genetically engineered
bovine growth hormone was free, it would still
have to be discontinued, as it provides more
milk which translate into bigger losses. The
most financially secure farmers of 2009 will be
those who immediately sell their cows and become
Soy bean growers.

Oh, what a predicament.

Americans are drinking less milk. Dairy farmers
are producing more milk. Bring on the genetically
engineered bovine growth hormone. It's taught
consumers to associate the H word (hormones)
with cow's milk. Dairymen are doomed.

Yes, I am enjoying every moment...

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Justice for China's Milk Criminals

Eighteen months ago (July 7, 2007), the Notmilk letter
reported the execution of China's FDA Director. See:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/notmilk/message/2713

Four weeks ago (December 26, 2008), the Notmilk letter
reported a similar set of crimes with the same murder
weapon identifying the "Chinese Milk Scandal Paradox"
after:

Eight thousand American companion animals died
after eating Chinese-made pet food tainted with
melamine-protein powder.
300,000 children were sickened after eating
the same melamine powder which was added to milk.
Six thousand children developed kidney stones.
Six children died.

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/notmilk/message/3123

Yesterday's news (January 22, 2009) from China:

Three individuals will be executed.
Three milk executives will serve life in prison.

Zhang Yujun was sentenced to death for selling
600 tons of melamine-tainted protein powder to
dairy companies.

Geng Jinpin was also sentenced to death.

A third man received the death penalty with a
two-year reprieve, which means he could be spared
execution.

Tian Wenhua, chairwoman of China's largest dairy
company (Sanlu) was sentenced to life in prison
and fined $3 million. Three other Sanlu executives
received 5-15 year prison terms.

********************************

There is no statute of limitations for murder in
America. Dairy executives should be held responsible
for this magnificent woman's death:

http://www.notmilk.com/deb/flojoms.html

There is a statute of limitations on fraud and bribery.
An American president and dairy criminals got away with
this enormous financial crime against the American people:

http://www.notmilk.com/trickydick.html

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Graham of Protection = Kilo of Cure

Many readers of the Notmilk letter cannot do 10
consecutive abdominal crunches. Some would suffer
in pain for a week after making such an attempt.
Others would cramp up and assume the fetal position
on the exercise mat. A few would have their names
appear in the next day's obit section of their
local newspaper after 10 abdominal crunches were
attempted. One or two might even go into cardiac
arrest after hearing the words "abdominal crunch."

To do a perfect abdominal crunch, you should lay down
on an exercise mat and bend your knees with your hands
either behind your head or across your chest. The next
part is the crunch. Pull your tummy towards your backbone
while flattening your lower back against the mat. Then
pull your shoulder blades a few inches off the mat. OK?
Traction, anyone?

I've revealed the method because I now want to reveal
the madness. Rudy Carti is the world record holder in
doing abdominal crunches. He's done 151,000 in 48 hours,
but who's counting? Don't click on your calculator
accessory. I've already figured this out. That's an
average of 3,145 crunches per hour. That's an average
of 52.4 crunches per minute, multiplied by two full
days with no rest.

Today's column is not about Rudy. Today's column is
about Rudy's coach. Rudy's inspiration. Rudy's Guru.
A quote from Rudy:

"Using Dr. Graham's program and his special sports
drinks, there is no end to my endurance."

Whether you are an endurance runner or speed skater,
part-time athlete or couch potato, there is a method
to improving your athletic stamina that begins and
ends with the foods you eat.

Dr. Douglas Graham's disciples include tennis players
(Martina Navratilova for one), NBA basketball players
(Ron Grandison for one), Olympic and International
competitors and coaches (Doug Dickenson, Don Greene,
Arid Abrahamson, Pam Boteler, Aree Song, etc.), and
one Notmilkman.

Yesterday's Notmilk column was a good start to my final
destination:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/notmilk/message/3149

Today's column represents my final destination. The name
of the book is:

"Nutrition and Athletic Performance"

http://tinyurl.com/ddjrc4

I - Nutritional Clarity
II - Optimum Athletic Recovery
III - Sugars
IV - Mineral Salts
V - Water
VI - Rest and Sleep
VII - Protein
VIII - Fat
IX - Starch
X - Vitamins
XI - Enzymes
XII - Weight Control
XIII - Stimulants
XIV - Food Combining
XV - Bananas and...
XVI - Tips for Athletic Recovery
XVII - Sample Meals for Athletes
XVIII - Sports Drinks
XIX - The Vegetarian Athlete

The author's first sentence in his first chapter:

"It is my intention to clear the smoke
from the field of nutrition, metaphorically
speaking, and make sound nutritional choices
simple for anyone, athlete or not, who wants
to eat the best foods available."

The author's final challenge in chapter 19:

"Every aspect of fitness is directly affected
by the quality of the diet, or lack thereof, and
improves as the diet becomes more closely aligned
with the foods to which we are biologically
adapted. How long do you think it will be
before the low-fat, raw, vegan athlete becomes
the rule, rather than the exception? How long
will it take you to join the leaders?"

From first words to last, Dr. Graham eloquently
proves his points and inspires readers of this
new book to be the best that they can be. I hope
that you become motivated to answer his calling.

To purchase Dr. Graham's incredible new book:

http://tinyurl.com/ddjrc4

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

The Raw Food Bible

When I became a man at the age of 13 as a Jewish
male does when celebrating his Bar Mitzvah, I
remember reading a book which helped me to
understand my identity. That book was "Exodus"
by Leon Uris, and to many Jews, this novel has
become a "second Bible."

In college, as I developed confidence in my
abilities and learned the true meaning of the
human potential, there was another book which
became my new Bible, "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand.

After college, I saw many of my friends become
couch potatoes, and vowing never to let that happen
to me, went on a fitness kick. It was then that
I found my athletic/philosophy Bible, "Running and
Being" by Dr. George Sheehan.

There have been many books during the first fifty
years of my life which became sources of inspiration
for me. I am in a constant search for new Bibles, and
this past month have found such a book which I have
been needing for many years.

The book is "The Live Food Factor" by Susan Schenck,
and I predict that it will one day become the defining
book of the raw food movement. More than that, this
book will become the new Bible which will inspire a
movement whose time has come.

http://tinyurl.com/8wfa52

For fifteen years, I've been taking a series of small
steps to change my diet and lifestyle, not knowing exactly
where I would end my journey. I progressed from meat eater
and dairy user to Notmilk meat eater, then notmilk fish
eater, then vegan. While learning, I found the ultimate
answer but was not quite ready to adopt what I knew to
logically be the healthiest diet. Why? Cooked food
tasted so damned good.

The time has come for me to reverse my aging process. Like
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, I plan on growing
5 years younger by the summer of 2009, and will be ten
years younger come next New Year's Day. How will I do it?

By reading and studying my new Bible, that's how.

The Live Food Factor is the New York Yankees of raw food
books. Huh? What I mean is, this touches every base while
hitting home runs.

After receiving my copy (Amazon.com offers free shipping),
my first impression was that this is one very, very large book.
In fact, it's 660 pages containing 21 chapters and nearly
300 subject headings. The author has done all that is possible
to end many of the heated food controversies by offering
enormous scientific data for each of her subjects.

The recipes are magnificent. The science is convincing. The
writing style is user-friendly. The advice is brilliant.

The Live Food Factor:

http://tinyurl.com/8wfa52

Order a copy today and join me in my new lifestyle.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Eat More Veggies To Prevent Endometrial Cancer

Today's study will appear in the February, 2009
issue of the journal Nutrition (Vol. 139, No. 2,
317-322).

TITLE:
Higher Intakes of Vegetables and Vegetable-Related
Nutrients Are Associated with Lower Endometrial Cancer
(EC) Risks

AUTHORS:
Michael Yeh, Kirsten B. Moysich, ET. AL.

AFFILIATIONS:
Department of Cancer Prevention and Control, Roswell
Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY 14263; Department
of Social and Preventive Medicine, University at
Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14214

SCIENTIST'S CONCLUSION:

"We examined the association between intakes of
selected food groups and nutrients with EC risk
among 541 women with histologically confirmed
EC and 541 women with an intact uterus and noncancer
diagnoses seen at Roswell Park Cancer Institute
between 1982 and 1998. Our results support that
vegetables and related nutrients are associated
with decreased risk of EC."

*****************************

This supports previous conclusions found in
the scientific literature regarding cancer:

"Scientific data suggest positive relationships
between a vegetarian dietand reduced risk for
several chronic degenerative diseases and conditions,
including obesity, coronary artery disease,
hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and some types
of cancer."

Journal of the American Dietetic Association,
November 1997, 97(1)

*****************************

"Vegetarians often have lower mortality rates
from several chronic degenerative diseases than
do non vegetarians."

British Medical Journal,  1996; 313

*****************************

"Vegetarian diets offer disease protection
benefits because higher concentration of
antioxidants such as vitamins C and E,
carotenoids, and phytochemicals."

Am J Clin Nutr. 1996;63(suppl)

*****************************

"Incidence of lung and colorectal cancer is
lower in vegetarians than in non vegetarians."

Am J Clin Nutr. 1994;59(suppl)

*****************************

"Reduced colorectal cancer risk is associated
with increased consumption of fiber, vegetables,
and fruit."

Cancer Causes Control. 1991;1:427-442.

*****************************

"Breast cancer rates are lower in populations
that consume plant based diets."

American Cancer Society Cancer Facts and Figures, 1994

*****************************

My daily pre-dawn breakfast:

SMOOTHIE (Made in VitaMix)

INGREDIENTS

Whole apple (with skin & core)
Peeled Orange
Peeled Banana
Wedges of honeydew, cantaloupe, pineapple
Handful of ice cubes
Orange Juice

METHOD

Add all ingredients to one quart
container, fill with orange juice
Puree until very smoothe

I am drinking my smoothie now at 6:30 AM
and wish you could join me.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Dairy Consumption & Rectal Bleeding

MedicineNet.com (a subsidiary of WebMD.com) offers
authoritative advice on medical matters. MedicineNet
is one on the most accessed health sites on the Internet.

When the subject is Rectal Bleeding, MedicineNet lists
eight major causes:

1) Anal fissure
2) Hemorrhoids
3) Diverticulosis
4) Colon cancer and polyps
5) Polypectomy
6) Angiodysplasias
7) Colitis and proctitis
8) Meckel's diverticulum

After being compromised by one or more incidences of
rectal bleeding, a patients first response would be
to fear the worst. After thousands of dollars of
undignified tests, quite often none of the above
eight "causes" is diagnosed.

Doctors rarely if ever consider that diet may play
a significant role in rectal bleeding.

The January, 2009 issue of Clinical Gastroenterology and
Hepatology (2009 Jan;7(1):120-2) addresses hypersensitivity
to foods as a cause of rectal bleeding. Scientists at the
University of Palermo (Carroccio, et. al.) demonstrated
that hypersensitivity to dairy and/or wheat products was
the cause of rectal bleeding in fifteen percent of their
patients.

Remarkably, after the offending food was removed from their
diets (using a double-blind placebo-controlled experiment)
the bleeding ended. After the food was re-introduced,
the bleeding returned between 1 and 96 hours.

The researchers concluded:

"Recurrent rectal bleeding can be caused by food
hypersensitivity in adult patients."

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Filthier Than Your Toilet Water

Almost five percent (4.7%) of the bacteria in
cow's milk comes from the cow's colon. When you
flush your toilet, the bacteria from your colon
is dumped. When you drink cow's milk, you are
consuming an unwholesome food which is as
disgusting and dangerous as your own colon
contents.

When a cow has mastitis, her udder usually swells and
becomes enlarged, ulcerated, infected, or worse. Cows
with mastitis are either dosed with antibiotics or
culled from the herd and sent to slaughter. FDA
estimates that when one cow in a herd is diagnosed
with visible signs of mastitis, 15 additional cows
in that herd have internal mastitis symptoms not
readily diagnosed.

It has been estimated that thirty percent of the
cows being milked in America have mastitis at any
given time.

Milk from each cow in a herd is pooled with milk
from all of the cows in that herd. It is then held
in a bulk storage tank and then sent to processors
where it is pooled with milk from many dozens or
hundreds of herds, depending upon the geographical
location.

Is it true that all cow's milk is filled with
disgusting bacteria? Consider the above while
reviewing the latest research published in the
January, 2009 issue of the Journal of Dairy
Research (J Dairy Res. 2009 Jan 5:1-9).

TITLE
Prevalence of pathogens in milk samples of dairy
cows with clinical mastitis and in heifers at
first parturition.

AUTHORS
Tenhagen BA, Hansen I, Reinecke A,
Heuwieser W. Freie

METHOD
Prevalence of mastitis pathogens in milk samples
from dairy cows and heifers was studied over a
period of 1 year in ten dairy herds...

RESULTS
Coagulase negative staphylococci (CNS) were the
predominant group of bacteria isolated (46.8% of
samples) from clinically healthy quarters of
primiparous cows around parturition, followed by
streptococci (12.6%), coliforms (4.7%) and
Staphylococcus aureus (4.0%).

In cases of clinical mastitis in primiparous and
older cows, streptococci were the predominant finding
(32.1 and 39.2%) followed by CNS (27.4 and 16.4%),
coliforms (10.3 and 13.1%) and Staph. aureus (10.0
and 11.7%).

*************************

I challenge any scientist or marketing whiz to try
and convince me that cow's milk is not disgusting.

Yeah, I know. I have a prejudice against eating
foods teeming with dangerous bacteria...

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Let Them Eat Stilton

The George Bush Administration is leaving Washington
D.C. in a blaze of pettiness after imposing a harsh
economic penalty against the French as a form of
punishment for France's sanction against American
beef. France is no fan of the steroid hormones
which America's meat and dairy producers use as
a means to rapidly accelerate the maturation of
cattle (and American kids).

Yesterday (January 16, 2009), the United States
tripled the import tariff on Roquefort Cheese
(French version of blue cheese). The old
tariff represented 100% of the price of Roquefort.
The new tariff is equal to 300 percent the price
of Roquefort.

I could understand if such pettiness was applied to
Limburger cheese. After all, that stuff naturally
stinks. This economic retaliation reeks bad enough
to offend even me.

While tripling the tariff on Roquefort, the United
States left unchanged the tariff on English Stilton
(British blue cheese). That's because the British
will eat anything, even hormone-saturated beef.

This is an act of economic warfare, and might not
make headlines in the United States, but it's all
the rage in France.

Barack Obama inherits the most decadent illogical
economic chaos in American history, and his best
solution might be to erase all of the rules, excuse
all of the debt, bail out everybody equally,
and just start all over again.

We would all be better off if there were no tariffs,
no subsidies, no favortism, no insider trading, and
no payoffs, including members of congress who have
created illogical laws to make bribery legal.

Shuffle the cards, Mr. President. The deck is loaded.
It's time for a New Deal!

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

The Latest Dairy Industry News - January 16, 2009

Cheese trades on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in
units commonly referred to as blocks. One block of
cheese weighs between 40 and 44 pounds. Yesterday
(January 15, 2009), the price for block cheese fell
to $1.04 per pound. Thirteen months ago, dairy
processors were getting $1.79 per pound for block
cheese.

The United States government supports the dairy
industry by entering commercial markets and
buying blocks of cheese when the "support price"
falls below $1.13 per pound. U.S. taxpayers have
become the dairy industry's best customer.

Since America's dairy industry helped develop dairy
industries in other nations, America's export potential
has virtually dried up. Furthermore, American cheese
is made with milk from cows treated with the genetically
engineered bovine growth hormone. Of all the world's
consumers, only Americans are foolish enough to chance
eating dairy hormones associated with increased cancer
rates.

Summary: Decreased domestic demand for cheese (consumers
are learning that it is unhealthy), decreased exports,
and increased production (American cheddar production
was up 2.3 percent in November) all have contributed
to this unique government bailout program.

If the price of corn goes down, will the Obama
White House be purchasing boxes of Corn Flakes?

At the same time as the cheese market is melting
faster than a grilled cheese sandwich nuked in a
microwave oven, the liquid milk market is crashing
too. The Class III futures price for milk is now
$10.68 for every hundred pounds produced. In 2008,
the same milk price averaged $17.44 per hundredweight.

NOTE: Class III milk is that milk used to make cheese.
Half of all milk produced in America is Class III.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Cool USDA Food Policy Change

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
has finally implemented a policy which I agree is
cool! Today (January 15, 2009), USDA's new COOL
policy (Country Of Origin Labeling) rule will be
published in the Federal Register. Here is the COOL
summary:

http://www.ams.usda.gov/COOL

You will not see these changes right away, but
they will become effective on March 16, 2009. From
that date on, all fresh and frozen produce, nuts,
fish, meat, and dairy products must be identified
by their country of origin.

Why is that important to me?

Although pesticides and herbicides are legally used
in the United States on our own fruits and vegetables,
even more powerful chemicals are permitted in other
nations, including banned chemicals such as DDT.
Given the choice, and I will soon have such an
option, I will no longer be purchasing any produce
grown South of America's border.

If your supermarket does not comply with the law,
ask that they do so and remind them that failure to
identify country of origin can result in a penalty
of $1,000 for each violation. Become an informed
consumer!

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

USDA Accelerates America's Dairy Collapse

In 2008, the United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA) gave $234 million to 70 U.S. trade organizations
to promote the export of American farm products.

Included in that $234 million subsidy was a $4.5 million
payment to the United States Dairy Export Council. How
effective was this USDA-sponsored milk promotion? The
San Francisco Chronicle answered that question in their
January 12, 2009 edition:

"International demand for America's dairy products -
which had soared in recent years - has dried up...
in October alone, the value of U.S. dairy exports
dropped by 8 percent to Mexico, 28 percent to the
Philippines, 15 percent to Indonesia and 40 percent
to China."

It gets worse.

A tiny portion of USDA's $234 million subsidy went
to Livestock Genetics Export which received $866,640.
Livestock Genetics distributes champion Holstein cow
embryos and bull semen to foreign nations so that
in the future they will never again have a need to
import American dairy products.

USDA's mission has never been to protect American
consumers. USDA's mission is to protect the interests
of U.S. food producers. With this act of betrayal,
USDA has undermined those who they should have
protected. Clearly, those in power at USDA gave a
favor to the Livestock Genetics Export company. Why?

This represents a major fraud at USDA and should be
investigated. If there is an investigation, it might
begin with Livestock Genetics Export's Director,
Michael Phillips. Dr. Phillips is also the Vice
President of the Biotechnology Industry Organization
which includes over 1,000 member companies with
interests in genetically engineered foods. Phillips
also was once the Director of a government agency.
He was Director of the Food and Agriculture program of
the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) of the United
States Congress where he developed and directed food and
agricultural policy studies for congressional committees.
Last, and certainly not least, Dr. Phillips was once a
senior staff member in the Secretary's office at USDA.
Connected? You bet!

At the same time USDA was working against their own
effots, a very-connected American company invested
$100 million to build a major factory dairy farm and
processing facility in China where milk scandals have
made headline news over the past year. China's dairy
industry currently resembles Wisconsin's in 1920;
lots of small mom & pop family farm operations.

Kohlberg, Kravis, and Roberts recognizes China's
need to develop a factory farm op with American
technology. China was once one of America's
largest export dairy markets. After this deal
pays off, China will be exporting dairy products
to the USA. Ever hear of Kohlberg, Kravis, and
Roberts? Look into Republican party politics and
you'll find links directly to George Bush, Sr.
Bush has made tens of millions of dollars with
this firm since retiring from the political arena.
Henry Kravis and George Roberts, the two managing
partners, each have a net worth in excess of 5
billion dollars.

Kohlberg, Kravis, and Roberts will receive all of
the political help they need in making this deal
happen. After all, they've paid for it. Another
example of one government faction not knowing
what another is up to. Their $100 million
investment will work against American dairymen
by eliminating the market for surplus milk.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

California's (Not-so) Happy Cow Farmers

During January of 2009, a California dairy farmer will net
approximately 21 cents for every quart of milk his robotic
machines pump from Happy Cow udders.

It will cost that dairyman just over 40 cents to produce
each quart of milk. My next-door neighbor has an eight-
year-old daughter. I am considering asking her to do the
math, as California dairy farmers seen unready, unwilling,
and unable to do the task.

The majority of California's 1,750 dairy farms are factory-
farm operations with 1,000 or more animals. Dairy farmers
inject their cows with the genetically engineered bovine
growth hormone. In doing so, they produce more milk then
they can market due to decreased demand.

Farmers cannot sell that extra milk, so the federal
government purchases the surplus and then converts it
into milk powder which is donated to nations such
as Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Somalia, Swaziland,
Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The milk powder is then stolen
and sold on the black market by warlords who grow
wealthy at the expense of U.S. taxpayers. Some of that
milk powder is re-purchased with cash from altruistic
organizations seeking to help save starving children.
The kids survive and grow up to become members of
competing militias.

Sounds like a scam designed by that notorious
Somali financier, Mogadishu (Mogy) Madoffi.

Can anybody explain why California dairymen continue
to pay enormous sums of money to biotech companies to
use the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone?
If you have any clue, please do not use words or
phrases such as "knuckleheads" or "low-IQ" in your
response.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Belligerent & Unruly Cows

Every time I hear or read a really dumb comment, I
think that it cannot get worse...but it does. Idiot of
the Year Award is hereby given to Indiana veterinarian
Robert Hargarten who was called to the scene of an
overturned trailer carrying 36 cows to a slaughterhouse.
While the owner of these doomed animals was preparing
to send another truck to transport these dazed and
injured creatures to their painful deaths, the idiot
vet had this comment regarding the survivors:

"I was amazed. I'm sure they're bruised and sore,
and they'll probably feel it tomorrow."

Message to Dr. Hargarten from the Notmilkman:

THEY'LL BE SLAUGHTERED AND DEAD TOMORROW, YOU MORON!

Second place for the Idiot of the Year Award should
go to the newspaper reporter Michael Zennie who wrote
this story. Zennie described the injured and
traumatized accident victims as:

"Belligerent" and "Unruly"

This story appeared in the Journal Gazette of
Fort Wayne, Indiana on January 10, 2009.

_____________________________________

Rig With 36 Cattle Overturns
by Michael Zennie

A tractor-trailer rig carrying livestock crashed
north of Auburn early Friday, closing Interstate
69 for more than an hour as emergency personnel
and local farmers scrambled to corral nearly
three dozen cows.

The crash occurred about 6 a.m. when Dennis L.
Doolin, 28, of Columbia, Ky., fell asleep at the
wheel of his northbound double-deck rig loaded with
36 head of cattle headed for slaughter in Michigan.

Doolin's rig went off the left side of the interstate
and went over a paved median, causing the trailer to
separate from the cab, the DeKalb County Sheriff's
Department said.

The trailer fell on its left side and slid about 300
feet north, coming to rest in the median north of the
Indiana 8 exit.

The cab slid across the southbound lanes and came to
a rest against a state highway fence on the west side
of the road. Doolin suffered cuts and bruises to his
face, the report said.

The crash killed two of the cows and badly injured two
others. First responders had to work quickly to prevent
the surviving cattle from scattering across the
interstate.

Local farmers and members of the DeKalb County Fair
Board helped police and firefighters form a corral
so they could load the cattle into another trailer.

Police called Auburn veterinarian Robert Hargarten so
he could sedate any of the cows that became unruly to
prevent them from running on the highway.

But Hargarten said his services weren't needed – many
of the cows were older Holstein dairy cattle and remained
remarkably calm through the ordeal.

The cows that were injured in the crash were shot at
the scene and their remains – as well as the carcasses
of the two cows killed in the crash – were given to the
Black Pine Animal Park in Albion to be fed to animals
there. The lone glitch came when one cow escaped the
corral and became belligerent. It had to be corralled
again and loaded into the trailer, Hargarten said.

Officers were forced to shoot the animal. Its carcass
was given to Imhoff Quality Meats in Butler, and the
meat was donated to needy families, the sheriff's
department said.

The remaining 31 cows were taken to the DeKalb County
Fairgrounds. But in the meantime, the cattle seemed
almost none the worse for wear, Hargarten said.

"I was amazed," he said. "I'm sure they're bruised
and sore, and they'll probably feel it tomorrow."

They remained at the fairgrounds Friday afternoon,
awaiting their owner to send a second truck to haul
them to their original fate – the slaughterhouse.

END OF JOURNAL GAZETTE STORY
_____________________________________

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Inspiring Cow Story

From Yesterday's Cincinnati Enquirer:

Fugitive Cow Passes Away
By Barry M. Horstman
bhorstman@...
January 10, 2009

Cincinnati Freedom, the fugitive cow that drew worldwide
headlines when she escaped from a Camp Washington
slaughterhouse in 2002 and eluded authorities for 11
days, has died at an animal sanctuary in New York.

The 2,000-pound white Charolais, "adopted" by
internationally renowned artist Peter Max after her
stirring escape in Cincinnati, was put down Dec. 29 at
the Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen shortly after being
diagnosed with spinal cancer. The quickly spreading
cancer, which becomes apparent in cows only when the
size of the tumor puts pressure on the spine, caused
the cow - often called Cinci or Freedom for short -
to lose the use of her back legs.

The day before Cinci's death, Farm Sanctuary officials
noticed her stumbling, and by the following day, she
was paralyzed and couldn't walk, said Susie Coston, the
Farm Sanctuary's national shelter director. Even so,
Cinci, always shy around humans, tried to crawl away
when a veterinarian arrived to examine her, Coston said.

Cinci's closest pals in the sanctuary's herd of about 50
cattle - other slaughterhouse escapees that included
Queenie from Queens, N.Y., Annie Dodge from Vermont and
Maxine from New York - were no more thrilled to see the
vet and dented her car, Coston said.

The evening before, when her immobility kept Cinci in
the pasture, her cow buddies spent the night with her.

"She had some very good friends who were very
protective of her," Coston said.

After the vet determined there was no hope Cinci would
recover use of her legs, sanctuary officials decided
to humanely euthanize her.

Again, the herd surrounded Cinci, with one of the oldest
steers, Kevin, licking her face, while Iris, an older
female, licked her back to soothe her in her final
minutes, said Natalie Bowman, the sanctuary's
communications director. They remained with Cinci
until she was buried, after initially chasing a worker
who arrived to handle the sad task back to his tractor.

"It was very moving," Coston said. "I've never seen
anything like it. You really saw all those basic
emotions at work."

Cinci became a folk hero in February 2002 when,
moments before she was to be slaughtered, she jumped
a six-foot fence at Ken Meyer Meats in Camp Washington
and evaded police and officials from the Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for a week and a
half while foraging in Mount Storm Park.

News outlets from Canada, England, France, Germany
and Australia covered the elusive cow's saga, which
also repeatedly made the national news, including
ABC-TV's "Good Morning America," where then-Mayor
Charlie Luken pledged to give her a key to the city.
In the course of that coverage, reporters left no pun
unturned, milking the story for all it was worth.

After her capture, Max, saying he was "very touched
by this cow's run for freedom, for life," bought the
animal from Meyer Meats and paid to send her to the
sanctuary in upstate New York, where hundreds of
animals rescued from slaughterhouses, stockyards and
factory farms receive lifelong care.

Max named the cow Cincinnati Freedom. He also often
called her Cindy Woo, Coston said.

Sanctuary officials were not certain of Cinci's age,
but estimate that she was 6 to 8 years old when she
arrived in April 2002, meaning she would have been
13 to 15 when she died. "That's a pretty good life
for a Charolais," Coston said.

At the sanctuary, Cinci apparently found that it was
more fun to eat when one did have not to worry any
longer about being eaten herself, gaining more than
500 pounds.

"She was a bit of a chunk," Coston said, laughing.
Still, to the end, Cinci could clear a five-foot
fence from a standstill position, she said. "It was
an amazing thing to see," she said.

Something of a celebrity at the sanctuary, Cinci drew
countless visitors familiar with her story.

"People from Ohio were always visiting," Bowman said.

Coston thinks she understands why.

"She symbolized the will to live, to enjoy life and not
be messed with," Coston said. "We can relate to that."

END OF CINCINNATI ENQUIRER STORY

**************************

It is hard not to be touched by the level of caring
from Cinci's bovine friends. These are not dumb brutes
without feelings or emotions. These are sentient beings
which makes the daily suffering of each one of the
9.2 million cows on America's dairy farms and the lack
of compassion and understanding by humans so difficult
to comprehend.

Consider: Every California "Happy Cow" has a similar
level of feelings, awareness, and emotions as Cinci.

Consider: Every mis-named California "Happy Cow" will
experience the painful loss of a child immediately
after birth.

Each mis-named California "Happy Cow" will end her
life with a stun gun bolt to the head. She will then
be hoisted upside-down and her neck artery will be
sliced. Some will choke on their own blood. Some will
have her legs sliced off by a man with a chainsaw who
protects fellow workers as she kicks in agony and fear
from the ensuing indignities of butchery. All live the
last fifteen seconds of a death which no creature
deserves to experience.

Consider the arrogance of the human who eats her flesh
and dares not come to terms with the origin of each bite.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

The story, as it appears on Vermont's
FOX News Website:
__________________________________

FOX News, Channel 44, Vermont
Friday, January 9, 2009
07:48 PM EST
__________________________________

Vermont Dairy Industry Facing Crisis

Dairy farmers in Vermont are dealing with a pricing
problem so large it's unlike anything the industry
has ever faced before.

"When my wife and I took over this farm from my
parents in 1978 we were receiving $13 cents per
unit; now, we're down to below that 30 years
later," Jacques Parent said.

Dairy farmers like Parent are being paid less
per unit of milk than it costs them to produce it.
The Parent Family Farm milks about 600 cows. Most
of its milk is sent out of state, and some is made
into products to be sold overseas, but the problem
is not many people are buying. According to
Secretary of Agriculture Roger Allbee it's not the
only problem.

"Domestic economy, overseas markets, the fact that
feed costs have been high, energy costs have been
down, but the main ingredient to this collapse is
that the economic conditions have changed almost
overnight," Allbee said.

There are about 15,000 jobs in Vermont relying on
the dairy industry. Parent said the current
situation may cause some farmers to close their
farms.

"It's gonna be very very hard the next six months
to hang on in this business," Parent said.

Allbee went to Washington this week to meet with
other northeast dairy leaders about the prices.

"We all collectively are trying to find out what
can be done and what can be done quickly," Allbee
said.

END OF FOX NEWS STORY

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Do I really want them all to simultaneously go
out of business?

Yes, I do.

These are drug dealers who cumulatively do
greater harm to the health of Americans than
any other factor. I have sympathy for the
individual dairyman and his family whose
work ethic is second to none.

Like other dairy farmers who have closed shop,
he will find work in another field and be
successful due to that same work ethic.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

All Dairymen Are Seduced by MILCs

No, no, NO! MILCs are NOT Mothers in Love with Cows.

MILCs are Milk Income Loss Contracts, and if you
make your living by milking dairy cows, this is a
seductive government subsidy you've got to love,
particularly in these hard economic times.

Dairy farmers have struck it rich by greasing the palms
of friends in high places so that they get their share
of subsidized cream pie along with banks, mortgage
companies, and car manufacturers. Only in America!

If your rich aunt died and left her fortune to you,
then you're already counting the days until the
check arrives. Dairy farmers expect their first
government MILC checks to arrive in February of 2009.

Here's how the system works.

People working normal non-dairy jobs pay taxes.
The government is made up of congressmen and
senators who run for office and receive campaign
donations from public interest groups. Dairy
co-ops donate millions of dollars to these men
and women of low moral character who write laws
benefitting those who gave the most money. The
members of congress then stick it to taxpayers
by rewarding those who donated dollars.

This latest scam will pay a $1.10 subsidy for
every hundred pounds of milk produced by each
American dairyman.

According to www.landandfarm.com there are 86,310
dairy farms in America. The average farm is home
to 105 cows, while the average cow produces
21,990 pounds of milk per year. That translates
into 2,308,950 pounds of milk per farm, or
23,089 hundredweight units. At $1.10 per hundred,
the average dairy farmer will be receiving a
$25,408 payment.

I cannot multiply $25,408 by 86,310 dairy farms.
When I do, I begin to cry.

http://www.landandfarm.com/lf/asp/dairy.asp

Note: There are about 900 happy cows living on
the average California dairy farm. If you were
a California dairyman, you'd be happy with MILCs!

So, I've got just one question left after today's
commentary. What will you be doing with your check?
Me? I'll be putting all of my government subsidies
into soybean futures.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Do Supplemental Vitamins C & E Prevent Cancer?

The year was 1972 when Dr. Linus Pauling came to my
college to lecture. Although he had won his first of
two Nobel prizes twenty years earlier, the subject
of Pauling's talk was his newest passion, Vitamin C.
Pauling was one of the world's great scientists. He
should have won a third Nobel prize ten years before
stepping to my Long Island University stage, but James
Watson and Francis Crick "borrowed" key components of
his work to describe the double helical structure of
DNA, so that year's Nobel prize became theirs.

There were less than 20 people who attended Pauling's
talk that day. I remember him holding up an orange
in his right hand, and a vial of pills in his left
and challenging the audience by saying something like:

"There are 1000 units of Vitamin C in each of these pills
in my left hand, and only 10 units in this orange in my
right, yet, the orange will do your body more good."

So...do supplemental vitamins work?

The short answer is NO!
My advice would be to skip the factory-made supplements
and eat the vitamins in their natural packages.
________________________________

Vitamins E and C in the Prevention of Prostate
and Total Cancer in Men

The Physicians' Health Study

J. Michael Gaziano, MD, MPH; Robert J. Glynn, ScD;
William G. Christen, ScD; Tobias Kurth, MD, ScD;
Charlene Belanger, MA; Jean MacFadyen, BA; Vadim
Bubes, PhD; JoAnn E. Manson, MD, DrPH; Howard D.
Sesso, ScD, MPH; Julie E. Buring, ScD

JAMA. 2009;301(1):(doi:10.1001/jama.2008.862).

Objective

"To evaluate whether long-term vitamin E or C
supplementation decreases risk of prostate and
total cancer events among men."

Participants

"The Physicians' Health Study II is a randomized,
double-blind, placebo-controlled factorial trial
of vitamins E and C that began in 1997 and continued
until its scheduled completion on August 31, 2007.
A total of 14,641 male physicians in the United States."

Results

"Compared with placebo, vitamin E had no effect on the
incidence of prostate cancer or total cancer. There
was also no significant effect of vitamin C on total
cancer. Neither vitamin E nor vitamin C had a
significant effect on colorectal, lung, or other
site-specific cancers."

Conclusions

"In this large, long-term trial of male physicians,
neither vitamin E nor C supplementation reduced the
risk of prostate or total cancer."

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Tip of the Icecreamberg

Only ten percent of an iceberg is visible above
water. The shape of the remaining ninety percent
is impossible to predict, which remains reason
aplenty for North Atlantic ocean-going vessels
to keep a safe distance away from titanic perils.

When it comes to cows and their milk and flesh,
what you see on first inspection ain't necessarily
what you'll be putting into your own body.

On Friday, January 2, 2008, the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) enjoined (issued injunctions
against) two New Mexico dairies, prohibiting them
from further use of illegal antibiotics.

I first learned about the illegal use of LS-50
in dairy cows nearly seven years ago after
receiving a letter from a diary-connected
whistleblower.

LS-50 is a Monsanto-made antibiotic consisting of
two antibiotics, Lincomycin and Spectinomycin.
Ingesting these two powerful antimicrobials are
one primary reason that Americans have become immune
to antibiotics. They are one of the most dangerous
invisible perils in our dairy and meat products.

My 2002 investigation found that the most common
antibiotic residue found in the meat from slaughterhouse
cows was LS-50, a drug prohibited from being used on
lactating cows. The NOTMILK column from 2/2/2002:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/notmilk/message/834

I worked closely with FDA and USDA inspectors and
regulators to solve this problem. The solution was
easy. The politics were complex. There are few men
and women of courage working for government agencies.
This serious problem should have been eradicated.
Sadly, it continues for anyone who has not chosen
a vegan lifestyle.

What happened in New Mexico (pick your cliche) is
just the tip of the iceberg, a drop in the bucket,
shutting the barn door after the horse has escaped,
a step in the right direction, something to put on
the back burner, evidence that where there's smoke
there's fire, additional evidence that you can't
put the toothpaste back into the tube, etc. Who
knows what priority FDA has in setting things
straight? I don't.

I do know that the two New Mexico dairies have
been cited for illegal antibiotic use on multiple
occasions. This week, they were "enjoined."
Enjoined is just not the sort of word which
strikes fear in the hearts of corporate
wrongdoers.

I do know that given all of the alternatives, if ever
I commit a crime which hurts many thousands of innocent
people (theft, murder, etc.), and I am able to select
my own punishment, I would like to be enjoined.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Dairy Milk & Soymilk Alternatives

One of my readers asked for cow's milk alternatives.
In doing so, she reported that many of her patients
report gastric distress after consuming soy so I
was asked to supply recipes for rice milk and almond
milk.

In this era of challenging economic times, each one
of us is aware of rising prices and decreasing value
at the supermarket. Purchasing a one-quart carton of
rice milk or almond milk can cost consumers 3-4
dollars. Fewer people can afford such luxuries and
are cutting back in order to balance their budgets.

So...in the interest of offering a public service,
here are two make-your-own recipes which will cost
you pennies per quart instead of dollars.

First: An apology to those who are poised to jump
on my back for suggesting that you use white rice.
I love brown rice, but my family does not. I cook
white rice with dinners at least three times each
week.

I learned to cook rice by steaming it. Uncle Ben's
or Carolina rice can be perfectly cooked by bringing
one quart of water to a boil and adding one pint of
rice, turning the heat to the lowest setting,
covering the pot, and setting the timer for 28
minutes.

Here's how to make homemade rice milk.

Instead of steaming the rice, boil it as many
restaurants do. Instead of using a two-to-one proportion,
use five-to-one. For two cups of rice, use ten cups
of water. Bring the water to a boil, add the rice,
continue boiling for 15-18 minutes until the rice
is al-dente. Strain the rice and reserve the liquid.
You will be left with about one quart of thick white
rice milk. Serve the rice for dinner and add sweetener
(to taste) and vanilla to the liquid. Refrigerate the
rice milk and enjoy it the next morning with cereal
and sliced fruit.

As for the almond milk, nothing could be simpler. Add
10-15 almonds to one cup of water and puree in a food
processor or blender. Strain through a fine strainer
or through cheesecloth and you'll have a thick
creamy almond milk. Add sweetener to taste. If you
want a thicker milk, add more almonds and use a
VitaMix or other super-powerful blender so as to make
straining unnecessary.

If soymilk causes you gastric distress as it does to
many people, read the label and look for the magic word:
carrageenan. Carrageenan is an enulsifying (thickening)
agent. You could attain the same results after making
your own rice or almond milk by adding a few tablespoons
of Vaseline Petroleum Jelly. It will be thick and
creamy and as disgustingly difficult to digest as the
commercial soymilk made with carrageenan.

Enjoy the homemade almond and rice milk!

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

The Israeli Invasion of Gaza & Crohn's Disease

A Notmilk reader wrote to me:

"I hope you're having a wonderful new year so far.
This will probably be the best one I've had since
'77 when I first came down with Crohn's. This
past November I had the last of my fistulas removed."

(NOTE: Wikipedia defines fistula: In medicine, a
fistula (pl. fistulas or fistulae) is an abnormal
connection or passageway between two epithelium-lined
organs or vessels that normally do not connect.)

She continues:

"I'd been toting that one around for 25 years. My
surgeon ordered a CT scan and he did a colonoscopy
before the surgery. I saw him on 12/30 for my last
follow-up visit and I asked him about the results
of the colonoscopy. He said he'd documented in my
chart that there was no sign of the Crohn's in my
colon anymore. The last one he'd done (in 2005,
I think) did not show any Crohn's lesions either."

I spoke with that reader on Sunday (January 4th)
and after wishing her well, told her that Crohn's
Disease is caused by a bacterium, mycobacterium
avium paratuberculosis (MAP). Sixty-five percent
of America's dairy herds have cows infected with
this bacterium. Cows pass the disease on to humans
who drink infected milk. One hundred percent of
people with Crohn's disease carry MAP bacteria.

Four years ago, researchers discovered that MAP
survives in the human bloodstream. (The Lancet,
Volume 364, Issue 9439, Pages 1039 - 1044,
18 September 2004.)

These bacteria can take many years to culture into
a new colony, and when they do, the Crohn's Disease
returns with a vengeance by invading previously
unaffected human tissues.

Last evening, after going to bed, I gave careful
thought to the process and imagined myself as
an observer in my own bloodstream. My thoughts
were mixed, and jumped from this issue to the
Israeli/Palestinian conflict in the Gaza Strip.
The one thing I know in my heart about any
conflict is this:

We can never achieve true peace by waging war.

With the Crohn's disease, a large colony can be
eradicated by surgery, but unless the etiology of
Crohn's is understood, one will never find a cure.
There is one physician I know of who addresses the
actual problem with a viable solution. If you are
so affected, contact me and I will give you his
name and phone number. For more on Crohn's:

http://www.notmilk.com/c.html

In the Gaza Strip, Israeli soldiers will successfully
disperse Hamas in the short run by destroying their
well established "colonies" of rocket launchers. Hamas
will one day return with a different name and with
more powerful weapons. Iran's support of Hamas coupled
with their development of nuclear weapons is the
ultimate concern for the future.

I hope that all parties rapidly gain the wisdom to
see that there can be no long-term solution based upon
current strategies, and in doing so, extend compassion,
understanding, and dignity to friend and adversary
alike.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

China's Sour Cream

A bullet to the head awaits Tian Wenhua. She and
three other executives are on trial for killing and
sickening children by selling tainted milk. Execution
may very well be the penalty for China's most powerful
dairy exectuives who this week pled guilty of crimes
against the people. If he were alive today, Chairman
Mao would concur. (In China, cows do not moo. They Mao.)

I've been following with great interest the Chinese
Milk trial, which will soon exact justice on milk
executives whose policies allowing dangerous additives
to be out into milk killed six children and sickened
three hundred thousand others.

The milk companies issued a compensation plan this week
which proposes awards of $160 million to the victims.
Five parents protested the compensation as being too low
and attempted to have a press conference. They were
arrested and detained for a day.

The terms of their proposed settlement is as follows:

Families whose kids died are to receive $29,000. Many
children developed kidney stones as a result of drinking
tainted milk. These families would receive $4,380. All
others who were sickened would receive $290.

This ongoing case will be just a drop in the milk bucket
when measured against future milk-related illness in China.
Something of Olympic proportions is rotten in China,
and it's bigger than the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Eight years ago, China launched a national campaign
promoting milk consumption. That story was the subject
of a November, 2000 Notmilk column:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/notmilk/message/343

The Notmilk letter warned:

"China would do well to carefully analyze the effects of
milk and dairy products on Japan. A once healthy nation,
having adopted the American diet, also adopted higher rates
of American diseases. GOT MILK? Got heart disease,
osteoporosis, and cancer."

On April 22, 2008, China's People Daily Online reported:

"At present, the growth of China's milk production
occupies more than half of the world's milk production."

DIABETES

Diabetes rates are soaring in China:

http://tinyurl.com/5beza6

Diabetes.co.UK reports:

"Diabetes in China - The Situation:
Information about the state of diabetes in China is not readily
available, although some experts have stated that it is alarming.
It is estimated that during the 21st Century almost 1 million new
cases of diabetes will occur per year."

ASTHMA

Asthma Rates are soaring:

http://tinyurl.com/6xr46l

The Shanghai Star Reports:

"...the number of children with asthma in Shanghai
has risen over the past few years."

CANCER

Cancer has now become the biggest killer in China.

http://tinyurl.com/6l28l6

According to the Shanghai Star (April 16, 2008):

"China's increasing wealth has brought with it many of the
trappings of the developed world...But along with designer
clothes and consumer goods come increased stress, increased
pollution and soaring cancer rates...Cancer has become
China's top killer..."

Osteoporosis, once rare in China, is now common:

http://tinyurl.com/666n7g

HEART DISEASE

Heartzine.dom reports:

http://tinyurl.com/6e3pc4

"Data from 1957 for China had put diseases of the heart
in a firm fifth place amongst causes of mortality. The
rapid increase in heart disease should ring alarm bells
for the government of China..."

Indeed.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com