Bob Cropp is Totally Full of,,,Himself

"As long as people will accept crap, it will
be financially profitable to dispense it."
  - Dick Cavett

Bob Cropp teaches milk science at the University
of Wisconsin, which reminds me of something George
Bernard Shaw once said.

"He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches."

In his milk-professing capacity, Cropp writes a
monthly milk column assessing the state of the
dairy union. That industry outlook is read by many
dairy farmers, some dairy insiders, and at least
one dairy outsider.

In the most recent issue of his newsletter, Cropp
concluded that a slowdown in milk production is
"leading to the recovery of low milk prices."

Slowdown in milk production?

It just so happens that many dairy farmers have given
up their farms and have sent their cows to slaughter.
Hundreds of thousands of cows have been the victims of
a unification dairy program called Cooperatives Working
Together, or CWT. Dairy farmers recognize that there
is an enormous surplus of milk. In theory, dairymen
rationalize that by destroying healthy cows, they will
dramatically reduce the milk inventory and reduce the
growing cheese and butter surplus.

Simultaneous to CWT, dairy farmers are using the
genetically engineered bovine growth hormone which
results in 15-20 percent greater milk production.
Math was not their minor in agricultural college.
Don't these dairy folk get it? Cropp certainly
does, but GMO is Bob Cropp's middle name.

Simultaneous to CWT, dairy farmers are using sexed
semen which means that the dairy market will be
continuously flooded with more potential milk-
producing heifers than male calves destined for
the veal industry.

More girl cows, more milk. Simple equation.
Dairymen pay exorbitant fees for sexed semen
which is used to artificially inseminate cows
which means more milking cows in the dairy
industry's future.

Simultaneous to CWT, the butter and cheese surplus
grows and grows, surpassing last year's record number
of dairy commodities in storage.

How can milk and cheese and butter prices continue to
rise while consumer demand goes down and surpluses
increase? The answer is simple, and Cropp is well
aware of the insider-players who are manipulating
commodity markets.

Just for the record:

August milk production was down two tenths of one
percent. This is what Cropp is crowing over?

For all the cows killed to lower inventories, 0.2
percent reduction is not a dairy industry victory.
It is evidence of a failed program. Twenty percent
less milk might have an effect on the market, not
a tiny fraction of one percentage point. Yet, Cropp
remains an optimistic sideline cheerleader dispensing
misleading information.

A funny thing happened on the way to Cropp's forum.
Since Cropp wrote on September 28, 2009 that the
decreased two-tenths of one percent milk supply
(due to CWT) is responsible for rising dairy prices,
the wholesale price of butter has dropped. As of
Thursday morning, October 1, 2009:

Butter is down 3.5 cents to $1.23.5/lb.

Mr. Cropp is intentionally full of himself and he
is the first to know that he is a major part of the
problem each time he issues another distortion from
his University of Wisconsin perch. I wonder, though.
Who cleans the cropp from the newspapers lining
the floor of his cage?

Should you wish to discuss any of the above with
Bob Cropp:

racropp@...
Telephone: (608) 262-9483
Fax: (608) 262-4376
Office Address: 224 Taylor Hall
427 Lorch St.
Madison, WI 53706

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Land O'Fakes B-uddder

"...We maintain an unwavering commitment to
honesty, integrity and fairness...show compassion...
and consistently act in a manner that fosters
environmental stewardship and sustainability."
  - Partial Statement of Corporate Responsibility
from the Land O'Lakes company. See:

http://tinyurl.com/yaa8dly

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Land O'Lakes pretends to be a wholesome company
which treats animals compassionately. Yesterday
Land O'Lakes. Today Land O'Fakes.

Ingrid Newkirk is the founder and director of the
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
Here is a video and letter from Newkirk regarding
a recent undercover PETA investigation:

http://tinyurl.com/ybhnrhw

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

Ingrid Newkirk wrote:

A veterinarian who examined this weak, starving,
dehydrated calf on the farm of a Land O'Lakes
milk supplier found that his skin was scalded
from the chronic coating of urine and feces.
Learn more.

You probably recognize the name Land O'Lakes.
You've seen the company's butter and milk
products lined up on grocery-store shelves,
and you may even purchase its products for
your family. Now, please consider the immense
suffering of these cows¯who are given little
more than a numbered tag punched through their
ears - documented by PETA during our new undercover
investigation of a Land O'Lakes supplier.

On the supplier's Pennsylvania farm, our
investigation documented the suffering of cow #506,
who gave birth after a nine month pregnancy and
then collapsed on April 11. A day later, she was
found struggling outside without food, water, or
shelter from freezing temperatures - the flailing
of her head had carved a small trench in the ground
under her face. She was eventually shot and killed.

Cow #826 would not stand up when urged, prompting
the farm's co-owner to electro-shock her to her
feet. Her condition continued to decline over the
course of 21 days, until she was finally shot and
killed. Like many other cows on this farm, she
was not given veterinary care or put out of her
misery in a timely manner. Instead, she was left
to suffer for weeks.

While being milked by a machine, cow #36's
gangrenous, infected teat ruptured, and workers
were told to "amputate" it by binding it with a
tight elastic band. Her condition deteriorated
over the course of 11 days, until she finally died.

These are the stories of just a few of the cows
whose painful experiences our investigator
documented on the farm of this Land O'Lakes
supplier. Others suffered when their newborn
calves were torn away from them shortly after
birth or when their tails were tightly wrapped
with elastic bands in order to "dock" them, and
they were all forced to live in perpetually wet
pens and sheds full of deep excrement, which
leads to the spread of disease. Watch our
investigation video to learn more.

This blatant disregard for animal welfare is
routine in the dairy industry. Cows are kept
constantly pregnant in order to make them
continue to produce milk, and they are hooked
up at least twice a day to machines that extract
the milk intended for their own calves. When
their exhausted bodies are "spent" and can no
longer provide enough milk, they are sent to
slaughter, usually for hamburger meat.

Please take just a few minutes right now to
help cows like #506, #826, and #36 who are
still suffering for Land O'Lakes products.
Write to the company today. Demand that
Land O'Lakes executives watch the horrific
undercover investigative footage and adopt
PETA's 12 - point animal welfare plan, which
will eliminate some of the worst abuses of
cows raised for milk. Of course, the best way
for you to help prevent cows from enduring this
type of abuse is to go vegan and stop consuming
dairy foods. Explore our "Vegetarian Starter Kit"
for recipes and tips and to get started today.

Thank you for speaking out for cows on dairy
factory farms.

Very truly yours,

Ingrid E. Newkirk
President

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

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Milk Story Doesn't Fit Headline

"A newspaper is a device for making the
ignorant more ignorant and the crazy crazier."
  - H. L. Mencken

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

As of today's date (September 29, 2009), the
United States has over 200,000 soldiers and
members of the National Guard serving in Iraq.

Utah's Salt Lake Tribune published this headline
in their Tuesday, September 15, 2009 edition:

*****************************
"Utah and Idaho dairy farmers donate
milk to U.S. military in Iraq"
*****************************
The story has gone national along with the headline.

The dairy industry so badly needs a feel-good story.

And then I read the first paragraph of the story:

"Farmers in Utah and Idaho on Saturday donated care
packages to 350 Army Reservists serving in Iraq, despite
their own economic hardships and the U.S. military
awarding a dairy contract to an overseas firm."

350? They've got to be kidding!
That represents just 1 package for every 571 members
of the military. How udderly un-magnanimous.

Wait a second...the U.S. military awarded a contract
to supply milk to our servicemen to an overseas firm
while America's dairymen are going out of business?

I've got just one two-letter word: Oy!

Where did the donated milk come from?
The story explains:

"More than 80 farmers and milk haulers donated..."

So...on average, each farmer is responsible for
donating 4.5 packages of milk, and this merits
a headline?

In each package was this note:

"Please accept it as a small token of our appreciation
of the sacrifice you are making so that we may enjoy
the freedoms of living in the United States."

So, what do we do with the Salt Lake Tribune's headline
writers?

It's a natural!

Put them in charge of dairy marketing and dairy research.
A lie by any other name is a lie, and these people have
perfected their craft(iness).

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Day of Atonement

Michael Vick tortured and killed dogs and went to
jail for his actions. Eric Ledbetter tortured and
blinded and killed dogs and was praised by his
Cornell University colleagues.

Today (Monday, September 28, 2009) is Yom Kippur,
a day of fasting in which Jews throughout the world
meditate and reflect upon past transgressions. For
a Jew, today's thoughts are reserved for personal
reflection and introspection.

On this day, I dedicate my column to Dr. Eric
Ledbetter of Cornell University. He and his team
of researchers injected herpes virus into the
eyes of (he calls them "naive") dogs, just to
see what would happen. The dogs went blind and
suffered severe pain in the process. Duh.
A link to his June, 2009 study:

http://tinyurl.com/ybqnapx

Should you wish to contact Dr. Heshouldknowbetter
Ledbetter:

ecl32@...

My day of atonement fantasy for Eric would be to
inject herpes virus into his eyes. I know the
results of my study before the conclusion:

In the future, he would see no evil.

Think of what science taught us from his study.
Poke dogs in the eyes with hypodermic syringes
filled with herpes virus and they will need
seeing eye persons.

Who else should spend today atoning for past sins?
A group of Chinese scientists who inoculated tiger
pups with the AIDS virus, just to see what would
happen. A link to their May, 2009 publication:

http://tinyurl.com/ybpnvzj

These so-called people of science must sense that
their work is more than just deceptive and self-serving.
It is merciless. It is shameful. I've never before
heard of tigers with AIDS, but shall forever in the
future avoid tiger bites when I am on safari.

Can Japanese scientists atone for the worst
example of animal research?

I can never forgive the scientists who published the
most horrible of studies in the December 2002 issue of
New Scientist. Can they forgive themselves?

http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993135

These Japanese researchers decapitated the heads
of 12-day-old rats, and implanted them onto the
thighs of adult rodents.

Think of the possibilities for humans! If we perform
this same technique on Americans, in the event of a
nuclear terrorist attack, we'll be able to kiss our
own asses goodbye.

One scientist, Nobufumi Kawai, at the Jichi Medical
School in Tochigi, claims that the grafted heads
could become "excellent models" for investigating
brain function in human infants.

Today I may atone for my own selfish fantasy
which involves Dr. Kawai's upper thigh and the
transplanted head of one of Michael Vick's
abused pit bulls...

Then again, I may not. Perhaps I'll just fantasize
about developing an AIDS vaccine for a group of
Chinese Nazi doctors.

On this sacred day of atonement, there is neither
penance nor expiation for the things men do to
animals.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Notmilkman's Challenge to the NFL

Enjoy today's football games, and watch for
California Happy Cow commercials!

The National Football League (NFL) and the United
States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced
a new partnership on Friday, September 18, 2009.

In order to promote more milk consumption and help
struggling dairy farmers, USDA will be introducing a
new anti-nutrition program to 60,000 schools.

The program is called:

"Fuel Up to Play 60"

This well-financed partnership will be offering free
posters and banners to schools so that children's
cafeterias can be decorated with "role models"
(who are really in it for the money) wearing milk
mustaches. See:

http://www.schoolwellnesskit.org

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack explained that the
program will promote low or not-fat milk consumption.
Vilsack issued a press release after meeting with NFL
Commissioner Roger Goodell and the dairy industry's
quarterback, Thomas Gallagher, CEO of Dairy
Management Incorporated (DMI), the milk
industry's most powerful trade group.

NOTMILKMAN'S CHALLENGE TO THE NFL

Put up or shut up. What's good for a gosling
must be good for the goose. What's good
for 60,000 schools must be good for 30
gaggles of NFL football team plus two high
soaring undefeated skeins (New Jersey Giants
& New Jersey Jets).

If the NFL promotes milk for school kids, they too
should be drinking it as their beverage of choice
during football games.

Replace sideline Gatorade with milk.
Let the players drink low-fat and no fat in between
huddles and tackles. I'm willing to have America
watch such a spectacle on Sunday afternoons
and hope that each game goes into overtime so
that school kids can be witness to long touchdown
passes and projectile vomiting. That could become
a new Olympic sport in which Americans excel!

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Is There Vegan Food in Texas?

"You know the good part about all those
executions in Texas? Fewer Texans."
  - George Carlin

On Sunday night (September 20, 2009), the New
Jersey Giants were the visiting team in the
inauguration of the Dallas Cowboy's new
billion+ dollar 110,000 seat football stadium.

Forget the final score (the Giants won on a
last second field goal). I was interested in
the food.

Many fans had no problem shelling out $12 for
a 12-ounce bottle of sugar-saturated carbonated
carbonated beverage. I might do the same only if
I was crawling on all fours in the Sahara desert.
They sold the equivalent of 7,000 gallons of
soda on opening night.

The big money is in the Dallas Stadium's alcohol
franchise. America's largest beer cooler holds
250,000 bottles of lager.

What really got my attention was the nacho
cheese concession at $8 per portion for a snack
which costs about 10 cents to prepare. Dallas
officials report that they sold over 2,000 pounds
of nacho cheese on opening night.

Pizza figures were not available at press time.
Nor were the number of Yves veggie hot dogs sold,
but my guess is that if they did have them at all,
they must have sold dozens.

The day after the game (9/21/09), I left a message
for guest services at the new Dallas football
stadium, 817-892-4161. I asked whether vegan
snacks were available for the non-meat-eating
public. I gave them my email address and phone
number but have not yet heard back from them,
but it's been only five days. They must be busy
fielding calls from barbecue fans.

On January 3, 2009, the Dallas Cowboys play their
final regular season game hosting the Philadelphia
Eagles with Michael Vick as quarterback. On that
day might they consider organizing a special vegan
"hot dog" event for America's newest animal rights
activist?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBZdjc4RfQA

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Overproducing Milk

"A society that has more justice is a society
that needs less charity."
  - Ralph Nader

Can you think of any other industry which overproduces
a product that nobody wants in order to make a profit?
This is not capitalism and this is not communism. This
is neither socialism or any ism which has a name. So,
let's call it stupor-dism.

It takes 21.2 pounds of milk to manufacture one
pound of butter. Ten pounds of milk are required
to manufacture one pound of hard cheese.

When more cow's milk is produced than the consuming
public wants to swallow, there is just one viable
option left for dairymen. Convert that milk into a
condensed commodity which can be stored until an
unknown future date and just hope for the best.

In the autumn of 2009, "the best" translates into
government subsidies. Here's how the intricate
system works. The dairy industry bribes members
of congress to pass laws creating subsidies.
Ppolitical donations may be legal, but any
CASH donation influencING the outcome of a
judicial proceeding is still a bribe no matter
what it technical pleasantry it might be called.
Then...

Laws are then enacted which utilize taxpayer's
money to pay for dairy farmer's overproduction.

This gets VERY interesting.

The United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA) issued a cold storage report on September
22, 2009. On September 1, 2009, butter stocks
were 264 million pounds. That represented an
increase of 50 million pounds over the September
1, 2008 inventory. Got cheese? There are 985
million pounds in storage. That's 54 million
more pounds than 2008.

GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS

The bad news is that the butter and cheese in
storage are past their expiration date and might
be considered rancid.

The good news is that USDA is in the process of
buying up the old stored butter and cheese at
higher-than retail prices. They will then incude
that inventory in school lunch programs and other
subsidized feeding plans.

There's got to be a joke here, but I am unable to
find it as of this writing. One might conclude
that it's all one big gag.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

General Tso's Mozzarella

What did you do on your summer vacation?
Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle went on a trade
mission to China and he was Shanghaied.

After returning from that trip on Wednesday
(September 23, 2004), he commented:

"China wants Wisconsin's help with dairy production."

Doyle explained that the Chinese produce only
liquid and powdered milk. Chinese dairy officials
recognize Wisconsin as the cheesehead state and
they want their American too. And Swiss. And
cheddar. Although the Chinese revere the elderly,
they have made it perfectly clear that they have
no interest in Bret Favre.

Another taxpayer-sponsored trade mission...what's
in it for Wisconsin? After teaching China all of
their manufacturing secrets, this represents the
evaporation of an enormous export market for the
United States. As a child, I read about the fall
of the Roman Empire and wondered how that was
accomplished so rapidly. I am now living through
a similar process in my own lifetime and in my own
country which should have been invulnerable to
such collapse.

Yesterday, I watched a five minute video which
explains a big part of it. It left me extremely
disturbed. Watch if you dare:

http://tinyurl.com/r9xwso

Coming soon to a Chinese takeout near you:

Snow Peas With Gorgonzola Sauce
Hunan Cheesesteak Spring Rolls
Pan Fried Eggplant Parmesan
Moo Shu Broccoli Au Gratin
Peking Cheese Dumplings
Szechuan Cream Cheese
Lo Mein String Cheese
Sweet & Sour Yogurt
Buddha's Disgust

And 30 minutes after eating the new Chinese
dairy food you'll feel like having some Milk---
of Magnesia!

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Health Regulators Cook Raw Milk Farm

"My illness is due to my doctor's insistence
that I drink milk, a whitish fluid they force
down helpless babies."
  - W. C. Fields

How long does it take to ruin the future health
of an innocent child? See the end of this column!

This summer, 35 Wisconsin raw milk drinkers were
diagnosed with campylobacter jejuni, a bacterial
infection causing gastrointestinal pain, diarrhea,
and severe vomiting.

The majority of victims blamed their infections on
raw milk consumed from infected cows at the Zinniker
dairy.

Wisconsin health officials closed the Zinniker farm
on Saturday, September 19, 2009.

On March 7, 2009, the Notmilk letter predicted that
dairy consumers would soon become sickened after
drinking campylobacter bacteria in their milk. See:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/notmilk/message/3194

Wisconsin identified the farm which produced the
campylobacter-tainted milk on August 29, 2009. It
took them three weeks to close down the filthy dairy
and their illegal raw milk operation. What took them
so long? Initially, 13 people were infected. Today
the total number of infected people has nearly
tripled.

Sally Fallon's Weston Price Foundation endorses
raw milk and wrote this about the Zinniker farm:

"For the past three years, Michael and Emma Eicher
have organized a co-op on Madison's East Side. They
have 8-10 people who take turns driving on Sundays
to pick up milk (the Zinniker's sell bottles and
everyone obtains their own coolers). Milk is $5 per
gallon and a the Zinniker cow-share program costs $20.
Members are expected to drive to East Troy once every
two months. The other members pick up their milk at
Mike and Emma's home on East Dayton. For further
details, call Emma at 608-246-0703."

Long term affects of campylobacter.

At the beginning of this column we asked:

How long does it take to ruin the future health
of an innocent child? Wisconsin health regulators
waited three weeks.

The Centers for Disease Control has this comment
regarding the consumption of raw milk and subsequent
infection from campylobacter:

"Some people develop arthritis. Others may develop
a rare disease called Guillain-Barre syndrome that
affects the nerves of the body beginning several
weeks after the diarrheal illness. This occurs when
a person's immune system is 'triggered' to attack
the body's own nerves resulting in paralysis that
lasts several weeks and usually requires intensive
care."

Charles Manson did not kill anybody at the Sharon
Tate home or the LaBianca residence. Instead, he
urged his followers to take action. Sally Fallon,
Dr. Mercola, and other raw milk advocates did not
purchase the infected raw milk for the victims,
but their recommendations resulted in a crime
which harmed innocent victims.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Christmas in Autumn

"The American Republic will endure until the day
Congress discovers that it can bribe the public
with the public's money."
  - Alexis de Tocqueville

Today (September 22nd) is the first day of Autumn,
and that means it's Christmas time for members of
Congress and the dairy industry. On this date
gifts will be exchanged so that the first day of
Autumn shall represent American taxpayer's fall.

Today, the California dairy industry descends upon
Congress to grease the palms of those empowered
to return enormous favors at the expense of
middle-class America.

And it's not just members of congress who will be
getting goodies. Rolex watches for congressional
aides may be illegal, but there is no better way to
guarantee the writing of industry-friendly legislation
than by "tipping" those who do the real nuts and bolts
work on Capitol Hill. Gift certificates and pre-paid
Visa cards gain entry to an aide's heart, and the
price to purchase favors is quite cheap. There are
435 members of Congress. A $100 Starbucks gift card
times 435 equals $43,500. Compare that to the
$3 million cash bribe given to President Richard Nixon
by the dairy industry on March 23, 1971. See:

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

What gift are California's dairy leaders asking from
Uncle Samta in exchange?

They are looking for an additional $350 million subsidy
so that USDA can purchase surplus cheese which is
sitting in storage. Oh, what a merry Christmas this
will be for dairymen.

The dairy industry movers and shakers who will be
meeting behind closed doors with congressional
powers this week are:

James Davis of Ta-Ro-Lee Holsteins, Chowchilla, CA
Matthew Evangelo of D & E Dairy, Hanford, CA
Paul Sousa of Western United Dairymen, Turlock, CA
John Taylor of Bivalve Dairy, Pt Reyes Station, CA
Chris Van Egmond of Greendale Dairy, Acampo, CA
Dustin Wagner, OF Wagner Dairy L.P., Escalon, CA

Merry Christmas to all, and to all (of us) a good night!

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Deadly Implications: The M.R.S.A. - M.E.S.S.

"Disease is the retribution of outraged Nature."
  - Hosea Ballou

There is a species of Staphylococcus bacterium
which is resistant to antibiotic treatment.
Mean stuff! It's called MRSA which stands for
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus.
*********************************

Nearly 68 months ago (February 4, 2004),
Notmilk reported that one of Monsanto's
antibiotics was being used illegally to
treat dairy cows. In fact, that antibiotic
(LS-50) is the most common found antimicrobial
in the meat of slaughtered cows. See:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/notmilk/message/1548

Notmilk wrote:

"New strains of bacteria causing new emerging diseases
(such as E. coli 157:H7, VRE or Vancomycin Resistant
Enterococci, and Staphylococcus aureus-MRSA) have
developed immunities to antibiotic treatment. Some
consumers ingest these pathogens and become ill,
unable to be cured by overused antibiotics which
no longer work."

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

After posting the above column, I filed a Freedom
of Information Act Request and discovered that
Monsanto may very well have genetically engineered
a new species of bacterium now known as MRSA.
After making an error during the processing of a
batch of the genetically engineered bovine growth
hormone, Monsanto dumped their "batch contamination
error: in the European sewer system where their
factory was located. America's Centers for Disease
Control (CDC) confirmed that MRSA was first discovered
in Europe.

I worked closely with the Food & Drug Administration
(FDA) and had Monsanto's factory closed, causing the
company hundreds of millions of dollars. Yes, I am
very proud of that!

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

On December 13, 2007, Notmilk wrote:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/notmilk/message/2856

The final piece of the jigsaw puzzle has just fit
perfectly into place. Click.

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

In about one week, the Journal of Dairy Science
will publish a study with terrifying implications
for all milk drinkers.

(J Dairy Sci. 2009 Oct;92(10):4988-91.)

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
has conducted a study (Centers for Epidemiology and
Animal Health) to determine the possible presence
of MRSA in bulk milk samples on 542 dairy farms.

The shocking findings?

The methicillin resistance gene, mecA, was found
in 190 of the 542 samples which brings to mind
an appropriately familiar song...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvCI-gNK_y4

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Spectacular! Awesome! Stunning! Brilliant!

I tried to think up four words to describe the
vegan food I feasted upon last evening, as if I
was awarding four Michelin stars **** to the
best restaurant in America.

I might have started with brilliant, because I've
never before imagined that vegan cuisine could
be created which could fool the palates of the
most discerning meat eaters. I was wrong.

I have traveled from coast-to-coast and have
enjoyed the finest gourmet vegan restaurants
in America. I have dined in England, Canada, and
Korea, and attended vegetarian conferences
at which great vegan chefs have prepared
food to die for. Men and women such as Ken
Bergeron, Ron Pickarski, Juliano, Fran Costigan...

I attended the Culinary Institute of America as
a student and have owned restaurants and dined
in many of New York's finest restaurants when
I was a meat eater. Places like the Box Tree,
Quilted Giraffe, Four Seasons, La Tulipe, La
Caravelle...

I pride myself on being a gourmet, and am
appreciative when I find great food. I've got
a discerning palate and my favorite television
show is anything on the Food Channel.

So, without further ado, let me state with
the self-appointed authority within me that
I've found the greatest gourmet food provider
in North America:

The Veggie Brothers.

http://www.veggiebrothers.com
Toll Free Tel: 877-VEGAN-55 (877-834-2655)

I began my experience with the Veggie Brothers
by ordering nine dishes which turned out to be
enough to easily serve four with plenty of
leftovers for the dog. I ordered:

Charcoal grilled flank stead au jus
Salisbury steak with mushroom gravy
Grilled soy chicken cutlet with garlic lemon sauce
Vegan chicken noodle soup
Grilled Mahi Mahi fish steaks
Meatballs in marinara sauce
Hot & spicy soy chicken buffalo wings
Hamburger
Soy chicken cacciatore

The range of tastes and textures were unbelievably
true to the essence of the meat-dish equivalent.
The presentation (appearance) of each dish was a
pleasant surprise. Before the package of foods
arrived at my home I anticipated a disaster. Each
dish was plastic-sealed in its own package and
the entire box was shipped with dry ice. Grill marks
appeared on the chicken cutlet and mahi-mahi and
perfect large sprigs of fresh rosemary accompanied
the faux fish dish which actually came with a
whiff of the ocean's bouquet. How do they do that,
I wondered?

Even Tyke (my Boston Terrier) loved just about
everything although she was not too enthusiastic
about the Spicy chicken wings. That makes one of
us. I adored them and will order these delights
by the platter in the future.

Speaking of the future...

Fantasy Super Bowl Party/Feast

This year, I'll start by eating Southern-style ribs and
spicy buffalo chicken drumsticks. In the second half,
I'll enjoy crab cakes and meatballs. Will there be room
for dessert? That depends upon whether or not my
New Jersey Giants are beating my New Jersey Jets
by a big score. Otherwise, it will be nail-biting time.
Human fingernails aren't vegan. Everything else will be.

I'll be ordering my food a few days before the big
game from the fabulous Veggie Brothers. See:

Appetizers:  http://www.veggiebrothers.com/appetizers
Entrees:  http://www.veggiebrothers.com/entrees
Soups: http://www.veggiebrothers.com/soups
Sides: http://www.veggiebrothers.com/sides

Room for dessert? I'll keep it simple by asking Michael
to prepare a platter of chocolate chip cookies.

http://www.veggiebrothers.com

Toll Free Tel: 877-VEGAN-55 (877-834-2655)

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

In the Afterlife, Are All Creatures Equal?

There is never an acceptable justification
for the action of one human taking the life
of another.

Never. Not in peace. Not in war. By accepting
such rationales, we support violent war as a
logical way of settling differences. It is not.

There is no rehabilitation for one who kills
another human. Acts of anger, passion, revenge
in which lives are taken are the least logical
of solutions, and those who take another's life
are capable of repeating that same action in the
future.

There is also no justice for a society taking
the life of a killer. Most enlightened nations
have banned such punishment. Those who have not
include China, Iran, and the United States.

In the case of well-publicized murders, society
always asks "why." Killers are rarely given the
opportunity to explain their violent act. Instead,
they are either sent to a penal institution, or
placed in a high security mental hospital where
"experts" ask why.

Those same experts rarely share the answers, with
the exception of those who write best selling
tell-all books. Even in those cases, we get
Bugliosi-like interpretations of a crime and do
not hear from the actual killer. (Vincent Bugliosi
was Charles Manson's prosecutor and made his
fortune by writing "Helter Skelter", a best seller
based upon his insider knowledge of the Manson case.)

There was a recent murder which captured the
interest, compassion, and then mourning spirits
of Americans. A young girl about to be married
was murdered in her Yale University animal research
laboratory by a lab technician who had previously
been angered by her inability to follow research
protocols.

That much has been released by the media.

What exactly were those protocols which the
young woman refused to follow? Will we ever
be told?

Annie Le was experimenting on mice. What
exactly was she doing? Was she training them
to turn right or left in a maze or press a Skinner
Box lever while being rewarded with a food pellet?
Or was she treating her research mice with one
drug or another, then killing them and cutting
their bodies open to learn the effects of her
experimental "protocol?" I want to know.

Does it make a difference? Not really. Annie died
a horrible death in pain and terror. Many laboratory
animals experience similar emotions during the final
moments of their own lives. To thee gentle creatures,
Annie Le was the one wearing the butcher's apron.

More than one billion people believe that there is an
afterlife in which all living creatures go to a "better
place." These are people who believe that all living
beings are one with God. Each living creature has
emotions and can give and receive love and has
the ability to feel pain.

In their philosophy, many people extend a concept
of harmlessness to other living creatures. The word
they use to describe that harmlessness is "Ahimsa."

In Revelations 4 (King James version of the Bible) we
read of a God in heaven, surrounded by angels and
other non-human creatures. Verses six and seven:

"...In the midst of the throne, and round about the
throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.
And the first beast was like a lion, and the second
beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as
a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle."

So, in Revelations, the Bible tells us that there are
animals in heaven who are worthy to sit at the feet
of God. Are not all such living creatures equally
worthy?

At Annie Le's funeral, men of God console mourners
by suggesting that she now resides in a "better place."

Is she in a better place? A place in which Annie now
shares a spiritual plane with the same mice who died
violently in her laboratory as a matter of routine?
What are your thoughts?

Google now returns millions of Internet links to
Annie Le searches. There have been thousands of
stories written about her tragic death. Yesterday
(Friday, September 18, 2009) I read one such story
in New York's Daily News which proposed that Annie
Le led a heroic life and died a heroic death as she
was seeking a cure to mankind's greatest disease.
Was that actually true? I immediately sent this
email to the author:

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

Friday, September 18, 2009, 2:13 PM
RSchapiro@...

Dear Mr. Schapiro,

In today's story (Suspect's quiet as a mouse in a
cage) you and your colleagues wrote:

"...Le conducted complicated experiments with
implications for cancer treatment."

Having once run an animal testing lab and conducted
rat experiments, I would be interested in knowing the
nature of Annie Le's work. What was "complicated"
about her research? What implications does her work
have for cancer treatment?

Thanks for your consideration!

Robert Cohen
i4crob@...

********************************
In death, newspaper reporters are attempting to
create sympathy for this victim by making her larger
than life. I sent a second request at 5 PM. My third
and final request was sent at 8:30 PM. I've yet to
receive a response to my simple queries. Nor do
I expect to as I caught the lying creep with his
pants down.

I suspect  that the reporter attempted to fool his
readers with an untruth. Princeton University stocks
over 160,000 of the 250,000 journals being published
weekly or monthly. There are millions upon millions
of scientists performing research, and none of
them will cure cancer in my lifetime. Since Nixon
declared war on cancer 38 years ago, billions of
laboratory animals have suffered needlessly
because scientists do not observe professional
protocols. These scientists are not heroic. When
they die from any one of society's horrific crimes,
attempts to make them something which they are
not become pathetic deceptions.

Annie Le's tragedy is an example of one man's horrific
pathology. It is a sickness and an act which will
terrorize us all, robbing us of a trusting innocence
while reminding us that such abnormal behavior will
forever compromise and contradict logic. Her death is
nothing more and nothing less and the manner of her
passing is to be forever remembered.

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

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Weather Watching

"...I saw a white flower standing straight and proud,
shapely as a lily, and yet knew that it was hard, as
if wrought by elf-wrights out of steel. Or was it,
maybe, a frost that had turned its sap to ice, and
so it stood, bitter-sweet, still fair to see, but
stricken, soon to fall and die?"
  - J.R.R. Tolkien

**********************
On September 7th, 2009, NOTMILK reported on the
availability of frost insurance to farmers. See:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/notmilk/message/3381

For the past ten days, I've been studying weather
forecasts and weather charts. Everybody needs a
hobby.

It's looked as if corn growers were safe from frost,
and options for corn futures dropped as experts
expected no early sub-30 degree Fahrenheit chill.

The first sign that all was not well, was an early jump
in corn future prices on Monday of this week. Corn
futures jumped nearly 29 cents to settle at $3.47
cents per bushel in anticipation of shortages due to
the coming frost.

America's National Weather Service shows that
next Friday (Sept. 25th) the geographic frost line
could extend as far south as Tennessee. Some
forecasts call for a killing frost in America's corn
belt from September 23 through September 26th.
The corn belt consists of thirteen mid-western states.
Four of those states (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and
Ohio) produce 50% of America's corn.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Baby Formula IQ Controversy: Truth or Scam?

A group of Scientists are claiming that infants
consuming baby formula with an additive have
higher IQs than breast-fed children.

When publishing an article in a scientific journal
an author MUST list any possible conflicts of
interest.

Before examining their outrageous claim, let's first
go to my amazing bottom line discovery, shall we?

Conflicts of interest are often difficult to uncover.
When investigating possible bias within a scientific
publication, I first investigate the lead author.
When publishing journal articles, a lead author is
often times a graduate student or the person
responsible for obtaining grant support or the
recipient of an honorary gift of "lead author" for
one reason or another. Lead authors often
insulate and buffer "the brain behind the scam."

The lead author of today's study is James Drover.
After investing hours of my time for investigative
research, I've come to the conclusion that he's
clean. Having researched subject number one, I
moved on to number two.

The second listed author is where things get interesting.
Let's examine Dennis R. Hoffman. My investigation has
uncovered some powerful conflicts. When considering
the study's conclusion, the conflicts becomes criminal
in their self-serving deception.

The study conclusion which is fueling the controversy
is that baby formula may be healthier for an infant
than milk from the mother's breast.

You'll see that conclusion on news broadcasts, in
your local newspapers, and on Internet bulletin
boards.

The conflicts?

I've discovered that Dennis R. Hoffman has a
financial arrangement with Mead Johnson.

Mead Johnson is the world's number-one manufacturer
of baby formula. Mead Johnson manufactures many brands
including Enfamil. During the three month period ending
June 30, 2009, Mead Johnson had sales of $719 million
and earned a gross profit of $483 million and net
income of $134 million.

Dennis R. Hoffman expects to become a very wealthy man
as he has a patent pending for the use of the same
baby formula additive as is the subject of today's study.

United States Patent Office; #20040048926.

The September 14, 2009 study is published in:

Child Development
Volume 80 Issue 5, Pages 1376 - 1384

Researchers studied 229 9-month-old infants,
assigning them various tasks after feeding, and
came up with their conclusion that Hoffman's
formula was significantly better than chopped liver.

The scientific paper's conclusion:

"In the 12-month feeding and 6-week weaning studies,
supplemented children had more intentional solutions
(successful task completions) and higher intention
scores (goal-directed behaviors) than controls. These
results suggest that (LCPUFA) supplementation improves
means-end problem solving."

I am certain that Dr. Hoffman has solved his own
problem (goal-directed behavior) of how to finance
the future construction of his new $50 million home
on Paradise Island.

Things I'd Like to See:

A baby in the (control) breast-feeding group was
asked,
"Does this study have validity?"
She responded,
"Ga-ga-goo" which means, please change my poopy
diaper.

A second baby in the experimental group which
received Hoffman's additive was asked the same
question but he refused to answer. After being
asked the question a second and third time, he
put down his copy of Tolstoy's War and Peace,
and responded,
"Would you permit me to finish reading this chapter
without any further intrusions?"

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Notmilkman's Butter Bawl Prediction

On Friday, 09/11, 2009, at 4:06 AM Notmilk wrote:

****************************
"Dairy Will Spark America's Inflationary Spiral
Friday, September 11, 2009 will be day one.

"This time around, the wholesale price increases
will be so rapid and dramatic that processors will
react again with overnight price increases.

"The cost of bread and cake will rise. The cost
of processed cereal will rise...everything else
containing lactose and whey and casein will go
through the proverbial supermarket roof.

"On Friday, September 11, 2009, farmers will begin
to see the end to their recent price collapse..."

****************************
I've been monitoring the prices of dairy commodities
and trades on a daily basis. Block cheese. Barrel
cheese. Non-fat milk powder. Whey. Butter.

For the past few months, butter has had very
few commercial trades, and the price remained
unchanged at $1.17.

The day my column was posted, butter went up
a penny to close at $1.18. That once cent rise might
not seem significant, but it represents many millions
of dollars in increased income to dairy farmers. On
Monday of this week (September 14, 2009) butter
rose another 1.25 cents.

Yesterday (September 15, 2009) butter went up
an additional 4.75 cents to close at $1.24!
In just four days, the wholesale price of
butter went up seven cents, or 5.6 percent!

Notmilk's 9/11 prediction was right on the money!
Tighten your seatbelts, folks. Hello, inflation.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

The Pancreatic Cancer Fathead Diet

Patrick Swayze is dead, a victim of pancreatic cancer,
and in the eight months before his death, he took the
advice of those who suggested that he consume a
high fat diet consisiting of ice cream, cheese, and
pudding.

Red Dawn, Dirty Dancing, and dozens of other films
were to his credit. Patrick Swayze is now a Ghost for
having chosen cancer fuel as his cancer cure. See:

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

If only Patrick Swayze had seen this in time:

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

Pancreatic Cancer: Dairy & Meat Consumption
(A Scientific Study)

CONCLUSION:

"These data provide some evidence that beef or lamb,
eggs, dairy, fat, or cholesterol may increase the
risk of pancreatic cancer."

JOURNAL AND PUBLICATION DATE:

Cancer Causes Control. September 1, 2007.

RESULTS:

"...positive associations (for pancreatic cancer) were
observed for several beef/lamb and individual animal
protein items, including beef/lamb as a main dish,
regular hamburger, whole eggs, butter, and total dairy."

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

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Is Vitamin D Supplementation Effective?

Journal Article: Bone. September 4, 2009

Title: Does vitamin D supplementation of healthy
Danish Caucasian girls affect bone turnover and
bone mineralization?

Author & Affiliation: Lrnkjaer, et. al., Department
of Human Nutrition , Faculty of Life Sciences,
University of Copenhagen Denmark.

Study Objective: "To investigate the effect of
Vitamin D supplementation 12 months in 11-12
year-old girls on bone mass and bone turnover."

Result: "There was no effect of vitamin D
supplementation on biomarkers for bone turnover
or on whole body or spine bone mineral augmentation."

Conclusion: "...there was no effect on indices of
bone health in the entire group of girls."

For more on Vitamin D:

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

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Does Milk Consumption Increase Circulating IGF-I?

Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) has been
identified as a key factor in the growth and
proliferation of every human cancer. See:

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

Cow's milk contains an exact duplicate IGF-I
protein as that produced by the human body.

Milk industry scientists have denied that IGF-I
in milk increases blood levels of IGF-I in human
milk consumers. Science contradicts their
self-serving wishful thinking.

An article in the September 10, 2009 issue of the
International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition
concludes:

"Randomized controlled trials indicated that the
circulating IGF-I level was significantly higher in the
milk intervention group...The current evidence suggests
that milk consumption may increase the circulating
IGF-I level."

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

So many people die from cancer.
So many resources have been wasted to find a cure.
So many animals needlessly suffer in research labs.
So many ignore the simplicity of cancer's growth
mechanism, fueled by nature's most powerful
growth factor.

"Where have all the graveyards gone? Covered with
flowers every one. When will we ever learn? When
will we ever learn?"
- Pete Seeger, 1961

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Have We Blamed the Wrong Culprit for Lung Cancer?

Japanese men over age 50 have an extremely low rate
of lung cancer when compared to the percentage
of males in the same age demographic diagnosed
with lung cancer in the United States.

Scientists call this "The Japanese smoking/lung
cancer paradox."

On September 8, 2009, the journal Cancer Research
identified IGF-I and the IGF-I receptor as keys to
understanding lung cancer growth. Researchers
conclude:

"IGFs act...to enhance lung carcinogenesis...the use
of selective IGF inhibitors may be a rational approach
to controlling lung cancer."

Everybody "knows" that smoking causes lung cancer,
but those same everybodys also ignore the "missing
link" which answers that paradox.

Japanese males born before 1960 drank very little
milk. Japanese males born before 1950 drank no
milk at all. Dairy products were just not a part of
the Japanese culture as it is in the United States.

Cow's milk contains insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I),
a growth hormone identified as the key factor in the
proliferation of every case of lung cancer, breast
cancer, and prostate cancer. For scientific support,
see:

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

In Japan, every year since 1946, tens-of thousands
of persons have been interviewed and their diets
carefully analyzed along with their weights and
heights and other factors such as cancer rates.

In 1975, 21,707 persons from 6,093 Japanese households
were included in the sampling. The results of the study
were published in a respected scientific journal,
Preventive Medicine (Yasuo Kagawa, Department of
Biochemistry, Jichi Medical School, Japan, 7, 205-217,
1978).

According to the Preventive Medicine study, per-capita
yearly dietary intake of dairy products in 1950 was only
5.5 pounds. Twenty-five years later the average Japanese
ate 117.4 pounds of milk and dairy products per year.

While milk and dairy consumption increased by
twenty-one times from 1950 to 1975, breast cancer
rates increased 77 percent. Colon cancer increased
77 percent. Lung cancer increased by three hundred
percent.

All of the wasted millions of dollars donated to various
research foundations supporting the dosing of laboratory
mice and rats with cigarette smoke...what a waste!

The "The Japanese smoking/lung cancer paradox"
is hereby solved through a scientific understanding
of the one true lung cancer foundation.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Dairy Will Spark America's Inflationary Spiral

Although inflation is that dirty "I" word which
politicians and economists equally fear, inflation
is the ultimate remedy for America's current financial
woes, and that cure will all begin on Friday morning
with dairy leading the way.

Friday, September 11, 2009 will be day one. One year
from today after America's cost of living has increased
by ten to twenty percent due to increased food costs,
consumers will be able to mark September 11, 2009 as
the beginning day of America's greatest economic
collapse, and subsequent recovery.

It all revolves around dairy, and here's why.

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

HEADLINE: September 10, 2009 - National Milk
Producers Federation (NMPF) Press Release

http://tinyurl.com/omoln5

NMPF urges congressional leaders to direct $350
million toward the purchase of cheese claiming
that such subsidy "would enhance dairy farmer
income by $1.3 billion several months."

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

Rather than allow natural events to equalize the disparity
between profits and losses in the milk industry, congress
has allowed itself to be bought so that favorable new
laws coupled with enormous subsidies have rapidly acted
to dramatically raise the wholesale price of milk making
dairy farmers the sole beneficiaries.

How will such piracy change America?

Walk through your supermarket and read the labels on
processed foods. A majority of food items include one or
more milk products on their ingredient lists. Even while
dairy farmers allowed themselves to go broke this past
year and invested millions of dollars to bribe members
of congress to enact legislation, dairy food processors
were smart enough to react to the market and raise
prices so that their bottom lines were not affected.
Such is the nature of free and honest commerce.
As a matter of fact, profits have never been higher
for dairy distributors and processors.

This time around, the wholesale price increases will be so
rapid and dramatic that processors will react again with
overnight price increases. The must do so to break even,
and their goals are to do a lot better than just break even.
Their reactions will break the banks of many consumers.

The cost of bread and cake will rise. The cost of
processed cereal will rise. The cost of a cup of coffee
and everything else containing lactose and whey and
casein will go through the proverbial supermarket roof.
This is trickle up economy, and as the cost of basic
foods and commodities rise, the cost of labor and fuel
and everything else will rise to.

The economic illness that America is about to experience
and the suffering which follows will be unprecedented,
but good things are down the road to recovery. As
inflation raises the prices of everything, so too will
the values of homes rise. In the "magic" 1980s,
fortunes were made when home prices doubled in just
a decade. A typical hundred thousand dollar home
with a $50,000 mortgage became a two hundred
thousand dollar home with a $50,000 mortgage. How
easily money was made by what I call artificial equity.
Multiply that example by tens of millions of homes
and you see the effect that inflation will have to
create new "paper" wealth.

The inflationary avalanche will bury many people in its
wake. Once the avalanche begins, it will be too late to
alter the wake of destruction. Few will stop to consider
that every avalanche begins with just a single snowflake.
It the coming economic avalanche, the snowflake is
represented by dairy.

On Friday, September 11, 2009, farmers will begin to
see the end to their recent price collapse by celebrating
ten to twenty percent increases in the payments they
receive for their milk. That is the beginning. Take a deep
breath and jump feet first into the murky waters of a
black lagoon, and don't let that creature who resides
there grab onto your legs.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

A Study of ONE Autism Patient

Researchers can hardly agree upon the conclusions of
studies in which data is collected from 50,000 or more
subjects, so what value can a study of just one
subject hold for the scientific community?

The answer is often complex and revealing.

When a therapy works on just one, it is often repeated
on another and another and another until word gets
around in the medical community and such novel
therapies become commonplace standard operating
procedures.

In today's Notmilk column, we present only the abstract
from a paper published in an Asian journal. The subject is
Autism.

JOURNAL: Chang Gung Med J.
CITATION: 2009 Jul-Aug;32(4):459-65
TITLE: The effects of a gluten and casein-free diet in
children with autism: a case report.
AUTHORS: Hsu CL, Lin CY, Chen CL, Wang CM, Wong MK.
AFFILIATION: Department of Physical Medicine and
Rehabilitation, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taipei,
Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan,
Taiwan.

ABSTRACT

"A boy with autism, growth and developmental retardation
was brought to our clinic. He was diagnosed with CHARGE
syndrome. Subsequently, various therapies were introduced
when he was 5 months old yet the developmental delays
persisted.

"Gastrointestinal problems such as frequent post-prandial
vomiting and severe constipation were noted as well. At
the age of 42 months, the boy was subjected to a gluten
and casein-free diet. Soybean milk and rice were substituted
for cow's milk, bread and noodles.

"After 2.5 months, interpersonal relations including eye to
eye contact and verbal communication improved.

"At 5.5 months the boy was capable of playing and sharing
toys with his sibling and other children, behavior noted to
be closer to that of an unaffected child. In addition, the
decreased frequency of postprandial vomiting led to a
significant increment in body weight, body height (from
below the third percentile to the tenth percentile) and
vitality after 11 months on the diet.

"In view of the lack of consensus on the benefits of
dietary intervention in patients with autism, we are
suggesting an adjuvant therapy that is simple, safe
and economical. In addition, the therapy may be more
feasible in Taiwan as opposed to western countries
because of cultural factors such as dietary preference
and product availability."

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

No comment is necessary on the Notmilkman's part other
than a suggestion that you share this with friends, family,
and pediatricians just in case such future challenges
present themselves closer to your own home.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

The Joy of Reading Dairy Ads

Although by their very nature, advertisements are
designed to hype a manufacturer's products, they
are also designed to dose readers with appropriate
facts.

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals owns a division which markets
a line of drugs to dairy farmers and their veterinarians.
The name of Wyeth's dairy cow division is "Fort Dodge."

http://www.fortdodgelivestock.com

Fort Dodge has announced that they have developed a
new single dose vaccine which is intended to:

"...meet the needs of dairy producers and veterinarians
in protecting their cattle from major bovine diseases."

Just what dairy farmers do not want consumers to know...

And what diseases does "Pyramid 10" protect cows
and the milk-drinking public from? According to the
Fort Dodge ad:

"PYRAMID 10 is a highly effective, single-dose vaccine
that provides protection against 10 respiratory and
reproductive bovine diseases, including infectious bovine
rhinotracheitis (IBR), bovine virus diarrhea (BVD) types
1 and 2, parainfluenza type 3 (PI3),  bovine respiratory
syncytial virus (BRSV) and five strains of leptospirosis."

The ad leaves me with two questions.

First...What about the cows not injected with Pyramid 10?

Second: How does one tell the difference between
bovine diarrhea type I and bovine diarrhea type II?

Bottom line: When drinking milk or eating cheese, one
consumes body fluids from diseased animals living
their lives in the most unsanitary of conditions.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Ovarian Cysts & Cow's Milk Hormones

Lately, I've been hearing about increased instances of
ovarian cysts in friends, colleagues, and members of
my own family. My observation is by no means scientific.
FDA would consider my increased familiarity with
ovarian cysts to be anecdotal.

Most ovarian cysts never develop into cancer. Most
pre-menopausal women have ovarian cysts. When they
are diagnosed, it becomes a terrifying experience for
the woman who rarely is told that these cysts are the
rule and not the exception. The incidence of ovarian
cancer in the United States is 15 cases per 100,000.
That translates to 22,000 women with 16,000 deaths.

The September 15, 2009 issue of the journal Theriogenology
includes a study which examines ovarian cysts in cows.

(Theriogenology is that branch of veterinary science
which focuses upon the physiology and pathology of
male and female reproductive functions.)

The authors (Braw-Tal R, Pen S, Roth Z.) write:

"We examined the hormonal and morphologic changes
associated with ovarian cyst formation in high-yielding
dairy cows.

"Insulin-like growth factor-binding proteins activity was
about 10 times higher in cysts than in preovulatory
follicles.

"Because IGF-I and/or insulin play an essential role in the
final stage of follicle development, it can be speculated
that abnormal levels of these metabolic hormones might
lead to follicle dysfunction, resulting in follicular regression
or cyst formation.

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

The authors did not comment (perhaps they do not know)
that IGF-I in cows and humans is identical.

Nor did the authors comment that the consumption of
cow's milk containing IGF-I or other hormone-rich dairy
products might play a role in influencing ovarian cyst
growth and proliferation in human females.

**************************
"Human Insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I) and bovine
IGF-I are identical. Both contain 70 amino acids in the
identical sequence."
-Judith C. Juskevich and C. Greg Guyer. SCIENCE,
vol. 249. August 24, 1990.

**************************
"IGF-I is critically involved in the aberrant growth of
human breast cancer cells."
- M. Lippman. J. Natl. Inst. Health Res., 1991, 3.

**************************
"IGF-I produces a 10-fold increase in RNA levels of
cancer cells. IGF-I appears to be a critical component
in cellular proliferation."
- X.S. Li, Exp-Cell-Res., March, 1994, 211(1)

**************************
"Serum IGF-I levels increased significantly in milk
drinkers, an increase of about 10% above baseline
but was unchanged in the control group."
- Robert P. Heaney, Journal of the American
Dietetic Association, vol. 99, no. 10. October 1999

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

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

The Chilliest Gamble for Farmers

Come early October, I'll be focusing upon whether
the New York Yankees can beat the California Angels
in this year's baseball playoffs and go on to play in
the World Series. It gets cold in New York late in the
season, despite the fact that Mr. November's bat
(Derek Jeter) has been hot of late.

Due to a very rainy spring and historically wet early
summer, many of America's farmers planted their
2009 crops later than they might have wanted to,
and therein is their problem. Many of those farmers
have circled in mid-to-late October as their harvest
time.

Their number-one worry? Frost!

There is now a creative frost remedy being offered by
insurance companies ready to gamble away farmer's
dollars.

Insurance companies offer an exciting game. With life
insurance, they gamble that you are going to live while
while you gamble that you are going to die. Silly wager,
yes?

With frost insurance, they gamble that temperatures
will not drop below 30 degrees Fahrenheit in a specific
geographical region, while the farmer gambles that frost
will arrive before they harvest their crop.

Crop damage does not matter and nobody from the
insurance company comes into your field to assess
possible losses. It's strictly a numbers game. Chilly
weather? The farmer wins and the insurance company
loses.

So, are you willing to put your global chilling dollars
where their global warming mouth is?

Here's how the wager works.

You select the nearest city to a respected weather
station able to monitor universally accepted readings.
You then let the insurance company know how many
acres of property you wish to insure.

Let's say you've selected Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Many "experts" are predicting a September 25th
frost for the Minneapolis area. Today (September 7,
2009) it would cost you $10.60 per acre to insure
the possibility of a frost before September 25th. If
such a frost occurs, you win...er...you are paid out
$100 per acre. A thousand acre farm could cost
$106,000 to insure, but if frost arrives, your
gamble returns a cool million!

The cold facts of previous years weather data is available,
but as we approach the date you've chosen, insurance
margins increase. It's a big gamble, but for those with
ice water in their veins, the rewards can be substantial.

Can dairy farmers get in on this too? Win or lose, they'll
eventually end up with either milk or ice cream. Of course,
if things stay very warm they'll end up with sour cream.

Should you wish to visit the Corn & Cabbage Casino
to wager on frost insurance, visit:

http://www.fcianet.com

Notice to insurance companies: There is always somebody
ready to use a system or gimmic to beat the odds.
Somewhere in Smallville, Kansas, an evil scientific genius
(Lex Luthor?) plots the release of an enormous canister
of liquid nitrogen near the local weather station just to
record those magic sub-30 numbers and fix the game!

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Terrifying Global Warming Forecast

Inland Empire News Radio (IENR) is a news network
broadcasting on many radio stations in Southern
California. On Wednesday, September 2, 2009,
this story was reported by IENR:

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

The Midwest will see the most dramatic temperature rise in
upcoming decades due to global warming, according to a
new analysis of U.S. climate data released by the Nature
Conservancy.

In just the next 40 years, if greenhouse gas emissions
continue to rise at their current rate, average temperatures
are expected to rise by more than 5 degrees across much
of the US, with the greatest temperature increases
expected in Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri and Illinois.

"The surprise was that the biggest changes were in the
Heartland and the Great Plains," says Jonathan Hoekstra,
director of climate change for the Nature Conservancy.
So far, he said the western US has been the area that
has seen the most warming.

The changes will be even more dramatic by the end of
the century. "In many states across the country, the
weather and landscapes could be nearly unrecognizable
in 100 years," he adds. By 2100, states such as Kansas,
Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota could see average
temperature increases of more than 10 degrees.

The analysis was based on data from the U.N.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and was
produced in conjunction with the University of Washington
and the University of Southern Mississippi.

According to the report, some of the impacts Americans
could see by 2100:

— America's $200 billion agriculture industry could face
serious threats as higher temperatures dry out soil and
shift production patterns.

— The dairy industry could suffer significant declines,
since dairy cow productivity starts decreasing above 77°F.

— Many states could lose their official birds as they
move out of state in search of cooler climates, including
the Baltimore oriole of Maryland, black-capped chickadee
of Massachusetts, and the American goldfinch of Iowa.

This was the second report this week to highlight the
threats posed by global warming in the USA. On Tuesday,
the National Wildlife Federation reported that strong heat
waves in coming decades will adversely affect cities and
farmers and threaten wildlife with extinction.

The reports come just before debate on a major climate
change bill resumes in Congress.

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

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Free Swine Flu DVD

I received this Email from Dr. Michael Greger.
You'll never receive a better offer than this:

Michael  mhg1@...  wrote:

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

The World Health Organization (WHO) maintains that
billions of people may become infected with swine flu.

"This virus travels at an unbelievable, almost unheard
of  speed," the WHO Director-General was quoted as
saying last week.

The "most worrying fact," according to the Director-General,
is "that 40 percent of the fatalities concern young adults --
in good health --who die of a viral fever in five to seven
days."

In light of the current situation, last week I released my
latest presentation "Flu Factories: Tracing the Origins of
the Swine Flu Pandemic" on DVD.

Here is a list of the chapters. Video previews at:

http://www.humanesociety.org/swineflu

1. Introduction
2. 1918 Pandemic
3. Swine Flu Stable for 80 Years
4. North Carolina, 1998
5. Triple Hybrid Mutant
6. Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza
7. Pork and Poultry Industrialization
8. Strep suis
9. Nipah Virus
10. Ebola in Pigs
11. Mad Cow Disease
12. Multi-Drug Resistant Bacteria
13. Acceleration of Human Influenza
14. Aquatic Virus to Airborne Flu
15. Harmless to Deadly
16. Emergence of the 1918 Flu
17. Poultry Industry Response to Bird Flu
18. Intensification of the North Carolina Pork Industry
19. Factor 1: Sheer Numbers
20. Factor 2: Geographic Density
21. Factor 3: Overcrowding
22. Factor 4: Stress
23. Meat Industry Defense of Intensive Confinement
24. Factor 5: Lack of Adequate Fresh Air
25. Factor 6: Lack of Adequate Sunlight
26. Factor 7: Cesspools of Waste
27. Factor 8: Preponderance of Disease Vectors
28. Factor 9: Pharmacological Crutch
29. Factor 10: Long-Distance Transport
30. Family Farms to Factory Farms
31. What if Swine Flu Combines with Bird Flu?
32. Factory Farm Moratorium
33. Pandemic Prevention
34. The Meat Industry Responds
35. Single Biggest Human Disaster
36. Banning Gestation Crates
37. Pork Industry Response to Swine Flu
38. Industry Cover-Up
39. Conclusion
40. Additional Resources

Thanks to the generosity of The Sheepdrove Trust,
subscribers to this newsletter can get a free copy
of this new DVD by mailing a self-addressed stamped
envelope to the address below. The envelope should
to be at least 6 inches wide (15cm), stamped with at
least $1.39 in postage for domestic mail ($2.28 international).

It looks like we may be in for a tough flu season this year.
While the focus is understandably on mediating the impact
of the current pandemic, by exploring its roots we may be
able to lower the risk of future emergences of such viruses.

Michael Greger, M.D.
Director, Public Health and Animal Agriculture
Humane Society International
2100 L St., N.W.
Washington, DC 20037
direct line: (202) 676-2361
fax: (202) 676-2372

http://www.birdflubook.org
http://www.humanesociety.org/swineflu

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

Would you go through the effort of putting the
postage on a self-addressed stamped envelope to
receive a solid gold trinket? Of course you would!

This offer is pure gold and if this DVD is half as
good as Dr. Greger's Bird Flu book, it's well worth
the minimal effort to get your free copy!

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Dr. Mercola's Children Return Home From Summer Camp

On March 7, 2009, the Notmilk letter predicted that
dairy consumers would soon become sickened after
drinking campylobacter bacteria in their milk. See:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/notmilk/message/3194

This past week (August 29, 2009), Notmilk's forecast
came true for Wisconsin milk drinkers.

In March, Notmilk warned:

Summer Camp Disaster Just Eleven Weeks Away

Summer Camp is not that restful place nestled in the
mountains, midst the fields and streams. Summer Camp
is Campylobacter, that horrible food borne bacterium
which trusting people get by drinking body fluids
from diseased dairy cows.

The March 4, 2009 issue of the journal, Future
Microbiology (pages 189-200), contains an article
which presents the story of a new emerging form
of Campylobacter which has developed an
antibiotic resistance...Scientists...reached
four major conclusions:

1)"Campylobacter is a leading food borne bacterial
pathogen, which causes gastroenteritis in humans."

2)"This pathogenic organism is increasingly resistant
to antibiotics, especially fluoroquinolones and
macrolides, which are the most frequently used
antimicrobials for the treatment of campylobacteriosis
when therapy is warranted."

3)"Campylobacter has a broad animal reservoir and
infects humans via contaminated food, water or milk."

4)"Antibiotic usage in both animal agriculture and
human medicine, can influence the development of
antibiotic-resistant Campylobacter."
__________________________________________

A few days ago (August 29, 2009), Wisconsin health
agencies warned consumers not to drink unpasteurized
milk after 13 raw milk drinkers tested positive for
campylobacter infections from milk consumed between
August 14th and August 20th.

Parents of sickened children presumed that they were
receiving good advice after reading Dr. Mercola's
internet promotion for the virtues of raw milk.

Notmilk's prediction:

Having suffered from this horrible illness, those same
young raw milk-drinking victims have lost all desire
to ever return to Dr. Mercola's summer camp.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

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

At the conclusion of today's column there is the
link to a one-minute BBC video which makes this
one of the greatest ironies you will ever encounter!

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

What Did A Farmer Just Sell for $77 Million?

Is this a farmer's daughter Ebay auction story? Nope.
Did the farmer sell his land? No.
Did he sell cows? Uh, uh.
Marijuana futures on Chicago's Mercantile Exchange
for this year's THC-rich crop? Not this year.
Did he sell ten million pounds of boutique cheese?
No.

The farmer's name is John Vidovich. Mr. Viovich
grows cotton, wheat, soybeans, and corn. In 2008,
farmer Vidovich received government subsidy checks
for $2,755,634.

Vikoch lives in a Palo Alto home valued at over
$11 million. Some say he also owns more commercial
real estate than "The Donald".

On September 1, 2009, Mr. Vidovich sold his rights to
14,000 acre-feet of water to the Mojave Water Agency
in San Bernadino County for $5,500 per acre-foot. That
translates into $77 million.

The water company estimates that one acre-foot will
supply the needs of one urban home for a year. Just
what Southern California does not need: more homes
and less water for California farmland which is now
operating under extreme drought conditions.

Notmilkman's thought...Where does this water which
Vidovich sold come from? Is it really his to sell?
Anybody see the magnificent French movie, Jean de
Florette? If not, get to the video store and then
make your fortune...

The related video referenced atop this column:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8213868.stm

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

Stupid Kids Grow to Become Dumb Scientists

It's true. If you're a stupid kid in your youth, chances
are that you will grow up to become a dumb scientist.
Scientific evidence has been published in the August
20, 2009 issue of Pharmacology Biochemistry & Behavior.

OK, I admit it. That's not what the study concludes, but
it might just have jumped to that outlandish conclusion
as the one it did reach. Here's the headline which caught
my attention:

"Milk consumption during adolescence decreases alcohol
drinking in adulthood."

Pay attention now, readers. Did the scientists go into
bars to conduct their research, or did they simply attend
high schools junior proms and perform double blind, double
deaf, and triple dumb studies?

Here is the methodology and conclusion drawn by Pian JP,
Criado JR, Walker BM, and Ehlers CL at the Department of
Molecular and Integrative Neurosciences, The Scripps
Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA:

"The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of
adolescent consumption of four solutions: water, sucrose,
sucrose-milk and milk on ethanol drinking in adult rats."

Aha. They went to rat bars. How clever. Instead of shot
glasses, they must have brought thimbles.

The conclusion of the researchers:

"Our findings suggest adolescent exposure to sucrose
increases, whereas, exposure to milk reduces ethanol
consumption in adult rats. Our results may provide a
new theoretical approach to the early prevention of
alcoholism."

This research and conclusion is about as absurd as
anything I've ever read. If it wasn't so pathetic, I might
still be laughing. Based upon more than 15 years of Notmilk
experience and observation, expect to see this headline
(taken from the title of the scientific paper) in future
newspaper and magazine stories:

"Milk consumption during adolescence decreases alcohol
drinking in adulthood."

Now I'm wondering. If adolescent rats were to drink beer
in their youth, might that prevent them from drinking milk
as adults? Do young rats succumb to peer pressure? I
can hear the rat taunts now: "Are you a man or a mouse?"

NOTE (Regarding Conflicts of Interest): The Scripps
Institute is regarded as one of America's top graduate
educational colleges. In 2009, US News and World Reports
ranked America's P.h.D. programs and awarded Scripps
Rankings of #7 in Biological Sciences and #6 in Chemistry,
#6 in Biochemistry, and #6 in Organic chemistry.

While I neither have the time nor the resources to spend
days or weeks investigating each of the authors, I did
discover that the lead author (Jerry Pian) of today's rat
study (milk consumption in adolescence leads to a decrease
of alcohol consumption in adulthood) was awarded a
pre-doctoral fellowship from Kraft Foods in 2004.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com