Calendula - Son may have Tourette's

[calendula]

You're welcome Marianne! What is Balm of Gilead used for? Is it used similarly to Calendula Salve? I was reading that it smells nice.

Oh boy, I am dragging a$$ today. Stayed up late last night to watch fireworks, and was up early today. The kids were so grouchy! It's going to be early bedtimes for all of us tonight! But we had a good 4th. The chickens did not enjoy the 4th of July festivities as much as we did, however. Chickens are pretty chicken when it comes to fireworks.

I ground my sprouted wheat on Saturday. I can see why people started buying bags of flour from the store. It's a lotta work. Maybe we just ordered a not-so-good grain mill. It's a hand-crank deal. It took over a dozen passes, and even then, it was still pretty coarse. I ended up running it through the coffee grinder to finish it off. But, I will say that it was definately worth it! I made empanadas, and they were so good! I had some problems with the dough being crumbly since the flour was a little coarse, but that didn't affect the taste in any way. It was a good meal, and the family enjoyed it. Which they better have, since I spent all day on it! I'm thinking we should invest in an electric grinder? We'd keep the hand-crank one of course, just in case.

I am getting frustrated trying to find good-quality dairy products. It's not legal to sell raw milk here, so all I can find is ultra-pasturized, homoginized stuff. There is a new bill SB108 that gives me some hope, but there was apparantly some kind of recent outbreak being blamed on raw milk, so who knows what will happen now. Scott Walker, our gov., has said that he would sign a raw milk bill, but we'll see. He also said that he would repeal the state-wide smoking ban, but backed out of that one (I'm not a smoker, but that one bothered me). All I know is that I wish the government would stop trying to "protect" me from myself.

Otherwise, not too much else going on except for some nice, warm, beautiful weather. Hope everyone had a great 4th!

 

[Wifezilla]

In Colorado we have to do milk shares if we want raw milk. It is strange that WI is more restrictive about milk than Colorado. In the good old days when I was in WI, all you had to do was talk to a farmer. Too bad those days are gone.

 

[calendula]

Yeah, no kidding. I thought we were supposed to be the dairy state?

I am going to write a letter to the governor. I've never written to an elected official before, so I'm not sure how I should word it and all, but I asked my mom to help me. She writes people all the time. I did read that you should keep it short and to the point because basically all they want to know is whether you are for or against the issue.

My husband's grandpa has a small dairy farm, so we can probably get some raw milk from him, but I don't think that the cows are put out to pasture. It still would be better than nothing I suppose.

 

[framing fowl]

I would agree with you on the milk, it may not be from grass-fed cows or be organic but it would be RAW. Definitely a step in the right direction.

 

[calendula]

I would agree with you on the milk, it may not be from grass-fed cows or be organic but it would be RAW. Definitely a step in the right direction.

I think so too, we're going to go talk to him this week. Just don't tell the milk-nazi's

I found this letter that was written to our former governor, Jim Doyle, re: the raw-milk bill he vetoed. It's pretty good, though a little harsh.

Governor James Doyle
The Little House on the Lake
Madison, Wisconsin

Dear Governor Doyle,

Im a Democrat, and I held my nose and voted for you in the last election. I will not do that again. The primary is coming, and youre toast.


You see, I think its okay to drink milk right from a cow. Like people have been doing for, oh, I dunno, about ten thousand years.


So when you decided to veto the raw milk bill, which gave the right to Wisconsin farmers to sell raw milk directly to consumers, I was skeptical of your magnanimous and paternalistic sentiment to protect the uneducated and uninformed citizens of your state from the evils of raw, unpasteurized, pure, unadulterated milk.





Um, remember our old license plates? The cool yellow and black ones that said Americas Dairyland on them? I think the average Wisconsinite is smarter than the average [insert one of the other 49 states]s citizens when it comes to things bovine. We know milk comes from cows. It comes from the faucets in the back end of the milk holder thing. Right.


Okay, so Im a sample size of one. But I grew up drinking raw milk, and I didnt die. Bear in mind that this was in California, land of factory farms galore (ever hear of Altadena Dairy? Its basically the city of Altadena). I never got sick. The quality of the milk was great, and my mom paid dearly for it because she understood its benefits, and furthermore, she liked supporting local businesses.


Check your facts, Governor. The CDC data shows almost no incidence of illness due to raw milk or raw milk products, despite the scary words. Here. Looky.

Raw milk can cause serious infections. Raw milk and raw milk products (such as cheeses and yogurts made with raw milk) can be contaminated with bacteria that can cause serious illness, hospitalization, or death. These harmful bacteria include Brucella, Campylobacter, Listeria, Mycobacterium bovis, Salmonella, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, Shigella, Streptococcus pyogenes, and Yersinia enterocolitica.
Ooh! Scary Latin names of things!
From 1993 to 2006, 69 outbreaks of human infections resulting from consumption of raw milk were reported to CDC. These outbreaks included a total of 1,505 reported illnesses, 185 hospitalizations and 2 deaths. Because not all cases of foodborne illness are recognized and reported, the actual number of illnesses associated with raw milk likely is greater.
Okay, lets look at the numbers. Thats what scientists do when making informed decisions.

In 13 years, 1,505 people got sick from raw milk. Two people died. Thats too bad.

This must be understood and burned into your mind, Governor. Two people. Nationwide. In 13 years.

The data for those years is available, but I dont have the time nor the patience to download the years, compile the data and report out. Instead I used the CDC datasets and grabbed what I could, which was 1999-2006. 8 years was the best I could do.

Here are the results. Do not laugh. Death is not funny.

■Raw milk 2 deaths.
■Volcanic eruption 3 deaths.
■Wrong fluid used in infusion 4 deaths.
■Marasmic kwashiorkor 5 deaths.
■Intentional self-harm by blunt object 16 deaths.
■Crushed, pushed, stepped on by crowd or human stampede 33 deaths.
■Contact with hot tap water 334 deaths.
■Rider or occupant injured by fall from or being thrown from animal or animal-drawn vehicle in noncollision accident 619 deaths.
■Atherosclerotic heart disease 1,695,716 deaths.

So, this means that volcanos, incompetent nursing staff, a rare African disease, crowds, hot water heaters and horses and/or buggies all are more lethal than raw milk. Not to mention someone clubbing themselves to death with a piece of firewood. Then theres heart disease. Just for a reference.

Then, Governor Doyle, you did an equally ridiculous thing. You did NOT veto the pickle bill, which allows home production of canned goods for sale so long as the amount is under $5,000. This means that a little old lady with six cats milling around her kitchen while she cans beets to sell at the swap meet is, by your logic, less of a danger than a well-managed dairy herd.

Governor, I promise you that Id rather have E. coli from raw milk (you recover from that) than Botulism from a jar of canned beans (you dont recover from that). In fact:

■Botulism 27 deaths.


And yes, I used to work for the Bureau of Public Health as an epidemiologist.


Bottom line: Why not let people decide what they eat? We have decided to allow undercooked eggs in restaurants, so long as there is a warning on the menu. Same with sushi. Why not do the same thing for milk? Put it on the label and allow consumers the exact same choice. I decide if my over easy eggs are worth the chance of contracting Salmonella. For me, it is.


Of course, I expect a canned response stating you take my comments seriously. I dont, of course, expect a thoughtful answer to my last question.


Because there is no thoughtful answer.


Respectfully submitted,


Canoelover

P.S I must add, because of my puerile sense of humor, that Priapism (mortality code N48.3) caused two deaths between 1999 and 2006. Yep. Maybe we should outlaw Viagra and Cialis.

 

[framing fowl]

I love his PS!

 

[freemotion]

That letter is hysterical! I'd like to add that tobacco is legal and causes FAR more illness and death than raw milk ever could. Tainted veggies are far more poisonous and deadly.....and common. Hamburger caused more deaths. Why are these things not outlawed? SHEESH!

 

[calendula]

I emailed the gov. yesterday, but I just got an automated response back.

I like to respond individually to every letter and telephone call I receive; however, I cannot respond to each e-mail individually due to the volume.

I think I will have better luck with snail-mail.

 

[calendula]

Here's a few pics of how the garden has been doing lately:

This is in front of the greenhouse, where we have mostly tomatoes, corn, potatoes, herbs, and beans.

This is behind the greenhouse, where we have more potatoes, the kids' little garden plots, the cucumbers, some more tomatoes, peppermint and lavender.

You can see the frame for the cucumber trellis that my husband is working on leaning against the back of the greenhouse. Hope he finishes it soon, the cukes are starting to get big...

We only have one cabbage. My sons class all got free cabbage plants to take home. It's growing nicely.

The herbs are doing well:

Catnip

Thyme

And Peppermint

I just started my lavender from seed this spring, so it is still pretty small. I'm guessing it wont do much this year, but I don't really know, it's my first time growing it.

And the chickens are doing well. They are mostly staying in the shade and taking dirt baths:

They are still picking on our little Polly, but things are getting better.

 

[MyKidLuvsGreenEgz]

I absolutely LOVED that letter you found. Didn't realize there were only 2 deaths in 13 years. The fearmongers make it seem like so much more. Like .. if you drink raw milk, you take your life in your hands. You die.

Geez.

Thanks for that post.