pus in milk

[theist 1]

 

 

 

 

 

From PETA's web site:

 

 

Have some … pus with your cookies? If you down a glass of cow’s milk, you will. It may be white, but researchers say that every cupful contains somatic cells, i.e., pus.

 

The dairy industry knows that there is a problem with pus in milk. Accordingly, it has developed a system known as the “somatic cell count” to measure the amount of pus in milk. The somatic cell count is the standard used to gauge milk quality. The higher the somatic cell count, the more pus in the milk.

 

Any milk with a somatic cell count of higher than 200 million per liter should not enter the human food supply, according to the dairy industry. Therefore, anyone living in a state where the somatic cell count is higher than 200 million shouldn’t be drinking milk. There’s only one problem—every state but Hawaii is producing milk with pus levels so high that it shouldn’t enter the human food supply! At the bottom of this page, you can see how high the pus levels in your state’s milk are.

 

One culprit causing the hundreds of millions of pus cells in every liter of milk may be “bovine growth hormone,” the Monsanto chemical company’s growth hormone marketed as Posilac. Posilac is now widely used by dairy farmers to increase the amount of milk that their already overburdened cows produce. Because cows are not built to produce this much milk, they are prone to a painful udder infection called mastitis. When they are milked, pus and bacteria from the infection flow right along with the milk. The journal Nature reported that Posilac increases somatic cells—pus—in the milk by a whopping 19 percent! Researchers estimate that an ordinary glass of milk contains between one and seven drops of pus. This isn’t just disgusting—it can also be dangerous. Pus can contain paratuberculosis bacteria, which are believed to cause Crohn’s disease in human beings.

 

Dairy farmers try to control the rampant mastitis with large doses of antibiotics—but these antibiotics also wind up in the milk. Children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of too many antibiotics, which researchers believe can inhibit the development of the immune system.

 

Dairy farmers don’t tell consumers that every glass of milk is contaminated with pus, bacteria, and perhaps with paratuberculosis. The only way to avoid drinking pus is to avoid cow’s milk.

 

PETA is calling on the USDA to lower the legal limit of allowable pus cells in milk to the limit used by the rest of the industrialized world. Presently, our limit is nearly twice that. Seventeen states are producing milk that would be illegal to sell in Europe!

 

 

Links

 

Dr. Michael Greger’s article on pus and Crohn’s disease

 

NotMilk.com’s exposé on pus in milk

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Great news Theist!

Our diets are going to be narrowed down further if we have to eliminate milk and all of it's by-products.

Goes to show we should have set up self sufficient communities with go-seva like Prabhupad advised long ago, instead of arguing and fighting over all those other issues, we'd be ready for all this crap when it arrived.

All the lessons too late for the learning.

[Guest guest]

Just as I was about to hit the fridge for a tub of yoghurt and pus.

Somehow it'll never taste the same again.

[theist 1]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.You are so right about the self sufficent communities.

 

The modern dairy industry is a sibling of the slaughter industry.Personally I quit dairy long ago due to health reasons but find the way they treat the cows to be so brutal that I wouldn't buy it now for that reason alone.

 

Sorry for all the bugs left in the text above.Too late to edit them out now.

[Guest guest]

The bugs are coming!

My virus scanner came on as soon as I wrote this word

I think there is a latest bug circulating called bugbears

It dredges for passwords and finds out personal account details.

It's not going to find too much in mine and most of my passwords are to vaisnava sites so it's welcome to use them.

[theist 1]

This may apply only to the West.Can we support this?

 

-------

 

From Peta's site:

 

Corporate-owned factories where cows are warehoused in huge sheds and treated like milk machines have replaced most small family farms. With genetic manipulation and intensive production technologies, it is common for modern dairy cows to produce 100 pounds of milk a day— 10 times more than they would produce in nature. To keep milk production as high as possible, farmers artificially inseminate cows every year. Growth hormones and unnatural milking schedules cause dairy cows' udders to become painful and so heavy that they sometimes drag on the ground, resulting in frequent infections and overuse of antibiotics. Cows -- like all mammals -- make milk to feed their own babies -- not humans.

 

 

Male calves, the "byproducts" of the dairy industry, endure 14 to17 weeks of torment in veal crates so small that they can't even turn around. Female calves often replace their old, worn-out mothers, or are slaughtered soon after birth for the rennet in their stomachs (an ingredient of most commercial cheeses). They are often kept in tiny crates or tethered in stalls for the first few months of their lives, only to grow up to become "milk machines" like their mothers.

 

 

 

 

[ethos 0]

Theist, this is truly gross. I just had some milk. I think I'm gonna be sick.

 

My wife has an Indian Auryuvedic praticioner at work who says all the chemicals put in the cow contaminate the milk... so much so that's it's not good for you. And the proof of this is how quickly the milk will turn ransid. Natural milk from wholesome cows is sweet and will last uh, indefinately(?) without refrigeration.

 

My wife says the organic milk is about $7.50 a gal. We plan on buying it as soon as our bills are paid.

[theist 1]

from rediff.com

 

 

The Rediff Interview/Maneka Gandhi

'Ayurveda actually lists milk as one of the five white poisons'

She has stirred a hornet's nest with her campaign against milk. Even hardcore veggies have attacked Maneka Gandhi and religious leaders have openly come out to contradict her. Curiously, on her side now is global research and modern science, of which she has been a long-term critic. They are the ones defending her now. Pritish Nandy talks to Maneka Gandhi about the controversy she has stirred.

 

You have come out very strongly against milk. Why are you so hostile to it?

 

There are three reasons. The first is health. The health of people is compromised by milk. Two, I am against cruelty. The third reason is the pollutants in milk.

 

Would you like to explain why you think milk is unhealthy?

 

There is this belief that milk is a complete food and an important source of protein, iron and calcium. Not only does it have no iron, milk in fact blocks the absorption of iron. As far as calcium is concerned, the ability of the body to absorb calcium from milk is barely 32 per cent. Whereas it can absorb, say, 65 per cent from cabbage and 69 per cent from cauliflower. As far as protein is concerned, milk has less protein than any vegetable. Even if it had more, it would be useless for human beings require only 4-5 per cent of their daily calorie intake in proteins. Even if you just have chapattis and potatoes for instance, you will get more than that.

 

So milk is not the best food in the world as it has been touted for generations?

 

Even if it was, no one can digest it. Certainly no Asian, no African. Why do I not eat plastic? The reason is: I have no enzyme to digest it. We do not have lactase in our body and so we cannot digest lactose. If we cannot digest milk, how do we get any of its ingredients? Apart from this, milk has something called IGF-1. All cancer studies show that when IGF-1 rises in your body you get cancer. All the IGF-1 in milk stays in the body, making you prone to cancer. Milk also has a very strong role to play in causing asthma. In fact, asthma patients all over the world are told to avoid milk and milk products.

 

The problem with doctors in India is that they are not taught nutrition in medical colleges. So they have a limited knowledge of food. Their knowledge of nutrition comes from the same source as yours and mine -- grandmothers and teachers. Add to this the confusion caused by our local religious leaders, particularly the ones who espouse vegetarianism.

 

What is specifically wrong with milk? What is specifically harmful?

 

The calcium contained in milk actually becomes a health hazard as the undigested portions of it are deposited in the urinary system and become kidney stones. Another condition milk aggravates rather than alleviates is osteoporosis or bone loss. Studies have shown that it is excess protein rather than lack of calcium that causes this. So the more milk you drink, the more you are prone to osteoporosis. Countries like Sweden that have the highest milk consumption also have the highest incidence of osteoporosis.

 

Another misconception is that milk helps ulcers. Ulcers are caused by the corrosion of the stomach lining. When you drink milk it gives you immediate relief from pain. But that is only temporary. Milk actually causes acidity and further destroys the stomach lining. Besides, ulcer patients who are treated with dairy products are found to be two to six times more prone to heart attacks. This seems only logical because milk is designed to be the food on which a calf increases its body weight four times over in one month! It is so naturally high in fat that it leads to obesity, the cause of all modern disease. Ayurveda actually lists milk as one of the five white poisons.

 

Indians have been drinking milk for centuries. All of them did not fall sick.

 

It depends on what you call illness. Most people regard arthritis, osteoporosis, asthma, headaches and indigestion as normal for the body and look on cancer as an act of god.

 

By looking at milk as evil, are we not turning our back on our tradition and culture?

 

For thousands of years people thought the sun went around the earth. Copernicus was the first person who said it did not. There was a huge backlash against him. Indian tradition also talks of sati, thuggee and eating opium. Should they be legalised now?

 

I have written a book on Hindu names for which I had to read every single sastra. Nowhere was there any mention of milk being drunk. There is ghee mentioned and that too for havans. Unfortunately, our memories are short and the things we are most adamant about are those we know the least about. Dr Spock is the guru when it comes to child nutrition. Now he apologises for having advocated milk and says children must be kept away from it.

 

Dr Kurien has described the dairy industry as the gentle industry. You claim it is just the opposite?

 

No industry can be gentle. The fact that supply caters to demand makes the cow the ultimate victim. It may have been gentle when each household had its own cow and treated it as a member of the family. Not any longer.

 

How is milk produced now?

 

The cow is forced into yearly pregnancies. After giving birth she is milked for 10 months but will be artificially inseminated during her third month so that she is milked even when she is pregnant! The demanded production of milk is more than her body can give. So she starts breaking down body tissue to produce milk. The result is an illness called ketosis. Most of the day she is tied up in a narrow stall, usually wallowing in her own excrement. She gets mastitis because the hands that milk her are rough and usually unclean. She gets rumen acidosis from bad food and lameness. She is kept alive with antibiotics and hormones. Each year 20 per cent of these dairy cows are sent illegally by truck and train to slaughterhouses. Or they are starved to death by letting them loose in the cities.

 

It is no secret that the slaughterhouse in Goa was made by Amul Dairy. No cow lives out her normal life span. She is milked, made sick and then killed. Even worse happens to her child. The male calves are tied up and starved to death. Or sent to the slaughterhouses. It is not by chance that a calf is no longer called bachda in India. It is called katra, which means one who is to be killed. Even Dr Kurien admits that in Mumbai every year 80,000 calves are forcibly put to death.

 

But the doodhwalas love their cows. They live off them.

 

Have you seen how cows are milked? In the villages they practise phukan. A stick is poked into the cow's uterus and wiggled, causing her intense pain. Villagers believe this leads to more milk. In the cities they are given two injections of oxytocin every day to make the milk come faster. This gives her labour pains twice a day! Her uterus develops sores and makes her sterile prematurely. Oxytocin is banned for use on animals but it is sold in every cigarette shop around a dairy. Every illiterate milkman knows the word. In human beings, oxytocin causes hormonal imbalances, weak eyesight, miscarriages, cancer. Recently, Gujarat started raiding dairies for oxytocin. In one day, they found three-and-a-half lakh ampoules in Ahmedabad alone!

 

You mentioned pollution in milk. What does that mean?

 

The ICMR did research on milk for seven years and took thousands of samples from across India. What did they find? Large amounts of DDT, poisonous pesticides called HCH. Under the food adulteration act only 0.01mg/kg of HCH is allowed. They found 5.7 mg as an average! They found arsenic, cadmium and lead. This causes kidney damage, heart disease, brain damage and cancer. Their findings, based on 50,000 samples, were released at a press conference. What did Dr Kurien and the Operation Flood people have to say? More samples should have been taken!

 

Other things put in your milk are sewage water, vegetable oil and liquid soap. In some cases we have found that earthworms are put in because they excrete slime which increases the density of the milk!

 

You have said that drinking milk is akin to drinking a cow's blood?

 

Milk and blood come from the same source -- the body cells of the cow. Every time you drink a glass of milk, remember it comes from a sad, suffering mother whose own child was killed before her eyes and who herself will be killed when she dries up.

 

Won't the stoppage of milk lead to thousands being unemployed?

 

A large number of people are dependent on smuggling, thievery, begging, drug pushing, gun-running and terrorism. Do we buy their products to help them?

 

What is the substitute for milk?

 

What is the substitute to a placebo? Anything else. To me, soya bean milk, green vegetables, dal are all effective substitutes. My son has never drunk milk in his life. He is six feet tall and has never been sick for even a single day!

 

 

[stonehearted 0]

Around the world, you may find folks, many of them devotees of Krishna, who actually protect cows, calves, and bulls. Here on the Big island, two devotees have cows and make milk from cows which are protected, not exploited, available for sale. My wife and I buy milk from my Godbrother Dayal Chandra ; it's better and cheaper than commercially available "organic" milk. He takes better care of his cows than many people do of their children, doesn't abuse them in the ways we read about, and will never sell them for slaughter. He has said that the number of cows he can protect depends only on theamount of land available to him.

 

I also know devotees in Southern California who keep cows. Sadananda, a disciple of Gour Govinda Maharaj, has a fram 1 1/2 hours from San Diego, where he has a herd of zebus and miniature zebus. Their milk is the best I've ever had. He's done research into the matter, and he says that when Ayruveda talks about the benefits of milk, it means zebu milk.

 

Also, even Srila Prabhupada told us that all we need is a cup of milk inthe morning and a cup in the evening. He said that much more than that isn't good for us.

[Gauracandra 1]

If we had developed our farming communities we could properly support a small dairy farm. Consider this, how many gallons of milk per week do you go through? Lets say it is 1 per week (thats a lot for me). And just for simplicity sake lets assume $3 per gallon. So on a yearly basis a person would spend $160 per year. Now suppose to properly take care of a cow you had to charge $6 per gallon. Essentially, it would cost a devotee an additional $160 per year, which relatively is very little (an additional 40 cents per day). If we considered these dairy farms as a donation, then a reasonable size devotee community of 100-200 people I think could support a small dairy farm. Each devotee would simply need to commit to purchase its milk from this dairy farm. The money would stay within the devotee community, and it would enable a few devotees to live simply on a farm and protect cows properly. Even if each devotee didn't buy every single week but simply promised to sponsor 5 gallons per year it would help alot. Another idea would be to branch out and connect with other Vaisnava organizations. For instance, I know my local Sri Vaisnava temple does a weekly abhisek. Imagine if Indians who often bring their own store bought milk, were given the option to purchase Vaisnava protected cows milk. Certainly this is fit for the Lord. So with some outreach we could work towards a sustainable dairy sub-industry. Another thing to consider is if the organization were non-profit, one could write off the portion of the milk that was greater than the value of milk itself as a donation. Also, the temples purchase a lot of milk. So donations through a temple which would purchase milk only from such a co-operative would help sustain it. I think these are some ideas that might work.

[stonehearted 0]

Dayal Chandra charges us $8.00 a gallon ("organic" milk is $10.00 here on the Big Island), and I think Sadananda was charging about $6.00 in San Diego. We use a gallon a week; we use the milk to make sweets for our Deities (shalagram-shila and two Govardhan-shilas). We're willing to pay this because we feel the Deity should have the best (this is the sort of milk Krishna is used to), the money stays in the family, and we want to help support real cow protection. If no one buys the milk, how do the cowherds take care of the cows? This only works if we all make it work.

[Gauracandra 1]

Thanks for those specifics Stonehearted. Actually, my estimates were off quite a bit. I usually only buy half-gallons of milk, and the price is like $2.50-$3.00. So a gallon should be double that. In such a case, these prices you mention are very reasonable for cow protection. The only concern I haven’t figured out is what to do with the bulls? This is the problem with the industrial milk industry. A cow in order to give milk must give birth. The odds are 50% of all births will be bulls. So what to do with them? I don’t think an organic farming with bulls will be that efficient. I can see charging enough per gallon of milk in order to set aside a trust fund that will be used for each calf born. Some portion is used for daily maintenance of the cows, some portion goes to the cowherd, and some is set aside for bovine retirement.

[Guest guest]

for those who are needing to have cows milk it is best to get the organics and make the yoghort with it. Just a few dollops of this per diem is all that is needed to be supplement the grain, pulse, fruit and vegetable diet with the milk prducts. This will being economical way of taking dairies in a digestible formats.

 

This way one is not using more than 1 pint in a week and the yoghort is making all ingredients in milk accessable even if one has the laktoose intoleration.

 

Moo !

[theist 1]

My body is lactose intolerant.If I use any dairy product I get all the symptoms of a cold.Nasal congestion etc.Curds and Yoghurt included.Others that don't have that problem still have to contend with the issue of the horrific way these dairies treat the cows.

 

Remember the bull calves are used for veal.

 

I don't see how commercial milk can be offerable.It's contaminated on so many levels.

 

I remember an ISKCON guru sometime back being challenged by a vegan on these issues.It was so odd that the vegan was more for protecting the cows than the devotee.The devotees point centered on the cows being benefited by their milk being offered.That may be possible.I suppose if Krsna wants He can track back all those molecules of milk and know which came from which cow as it is all comes from a common pot of millions of cows.

 

The devotee cared for cows seems to be the only rational option for continued milk use.I know this is an emotional issue for some bhaktas.Nevertheless it is one that needs to be addressed I feel.Especially by a group that prides itself on cow protection and loudly preaches it.

 

Jaya Gopala!

[stonehearted 0]

Gaurachandra brings up use of bulls. That is a big problem. Using oxen is, I believe, real organic farming. The machines are products of Kali and are very expensive and polluting. Proper utilization of bulls is essential to real cow protection. That's a big part of the case Balabhadra and Chaya devi make at ISKCOWP. It's also hard to do; you need trained men and women, as well as land to work, to make it work. No, It's not necessarily going to be particularly "efficient" farming in the modern, industrial sense; however, it's the most human and humane framing.

 

Srila Prabhupada dealt with this issue and instructed us to offer even the commercially available milk when necessary. The fact that it seems so widely necessary even now is a harsh indictment of our movement and its leadership. I say that because I know Srila Prabhupada also instructed repeatedly us to institute cow protection so temple sould buy real milk.

 

When he visited the farm we had here on the Big Island in the mid-70s, Srila Prabhupada instructed that we should not use machines but use oxen instead. He told us that wherever there are cow, crops and Krishna is Vrindava. He spoke at great length about the glory of transcendental village life.

 

As I said before, we prefer to avoid conventional commercially produced milk products as much as possible. We buy milk products for the worship of our Deities (including a shalagram-shila and Govardhana-shilas), and we feel that milk produced by honest devotees is most offerable.

[Guest guest]

 

Theist said in response to Guest who signed off as "moo":-

 

"My body is lactose intolerant.If I use any dairy product I get all the symptoms of a cold.Nasal congestion etc.Curds and Yoghurt included.Others that don't have that problem still have to contend with the issue of the horrific way "

 

 

 

You dont seem to have paid proper attention to what this Guest suggested. It was quite clear despite the strange english. The suggestion was to amke pure natural yoghourt out of just the natural raw milk without any additions such as you get in commercial curds with the addition of milk powders and so forth.

 

The other thing is you dont get cold like symptoms from lactose intolerance. Those effects are more due to reactions/ allergies to the casein or milk proteins.

 

 

[theist 1]

It may be that it is the proteins in milk that give me the problems and not the lactose.I have heard of those with true allergies to milk having much more sever reactions however which show up immediately.Perhaps there are degrees of allergies.Or maybe I have both problems.I just know it is a poison to my system.

 

I don't see how using even organic milk would overcome the fact that ones body is not producing the enzyme lactase which is essential for digesting the milk sugar lactose.

[Guest guest]

organic raw milk (unpasteurised) that is certified disease free can be used to make curd NATURALLY. This will happen at body temparaure WITHOUT having to boil the milk.

All the innate minerals in the milk necessary for proper utilisation will remain in their pristine and utilisable condition. The lactose milk sugars are already processed by the good bacteria in the clabbering process.

The milk proteins reamin wholesome and not the hydrophobe condition of heated proteins which are more disagreable to human metabolism.

 

You should try it first before rationalising its demerits

on the basis of inadequate info and experience.

 

Read Br Henry Bieler's writings on the advantages of raw milk V pasteurised milk in his book "Food is Your Best Medicine". I forget the publishers. It was written in the 60's.

[theist 1]

 

]You should try it first before rationalising its demerits

on the basis of inadequate info and experience.

 

 

Thanks but I've tried raw milk as well.I've had this problem since childhood.Same problems arise,raw or not.If your body can utilize it that's great.Mine can't and I see no need to try and force it.I'm doing well with soy products although nothing tastes like cows milk,that I admit.I also know some can't handle soy products due to allergies.

 

Guest, do you know how the cows are treated by those whom you get you milk from?A few do,perhaps you are one,but most don't.I think they should find out before glorifying the glass of milk in their hand.Don't you agree? We want to avoid cruelty to cows right?

[Guest guest]

I am not taking the milk at all. My advices was being the based on IF you MUST be having milk products then be taking onbly curds from raw milk.

 

The milk of the soya beans is even more CRUEL.

Why? Millions of acres of woodland is destroyed for the monoculture cashing crop of soya beans. Millions of creatures homes destroyed and lives ruined. Echosystems unbalanced. Can one be having ecobalance with monoculture cash systems?

[theist 1]

If, in the west at least, you buy commercial cows milk you should know that you are supporting extreme cruelty to cows.

 

That is not debateable.The bulls born can't produce milk so they spend 14 to 16 weeks standing in a crate so small they can't even turn around.This lack of excercise is supposed to make the meat more tender or something.So at about 16 weeks the calves are slaughtered.

 

Got milk?

[Guest guest]

No, I am not taking any milk including the soya milk. Too much cruelty.

[ethos 0]

Theist thanks for posting your rather disgusting article on milk puss. I couldn't bring myself to drink it anymore.

 

My family has been drinking organic milk for about 4 weeks now. It last alot longer in the frige. It is also sweet and wholesome.

 

I feel this goes much further than the flat processed milk we used to drink... it did have a snotty consistency to it. Anyway, this will hopefully make us smarter and undoubtedly be better for our overall health.

[theist 1]

ethos I just happened to see the article on a PETA site and knew I had to let others in on it.

 

I'm sure there are some cows out there who would like to thank you for reexamining your milk habits.

 

The Krsna culture society as a whole puts great emphasis on cow protection. We must make sure our actions support the preaching that we do.

 

That said I have never been known to refuse a milk sweet that came from the Lord's plate. I not for making a scene at the altar but we should confront this issue a bit more I think.

 

Hare Krsna

[Guest guest]

does organic farming means that cows are treated without cruelty?

 

how about bringing the use of organic milk to the attention of head pujaris in iskcon temples? or is there a different way that this should be done?