Mark McAfee, a California raw milk producer whose product has been recalled several times recently due to avian influenza contamination, was approached by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s team to guide the incoming administration on raw milk policy. said.
McAfee, whose dairy products were recalled after state officials detected avian influenza virus in milk samples, was hired by Kennedy’s transition team to advise him on raw milk policy as he is a candidate for secretary of Health and Human Services. He said he asked people to apply. and standards development. The idea, he told the Guardian, is to create a Raw Milk Ordinance that mirrors the existing federal Standard Milk Ordinance.
Mr. Kennedy is a noted fan of raw, or unpasteurized, milk, including McAfee products. If confirmed, he said, he would seek to remove restrictions on raw milk regulated by the Food and Drug Administration and the Food and Drug Administration. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The (CDC) has so far recommended against consumption.
Mr Kennedy’s team did not immediately respond to the Guardian’s request for comment.
If McAfee, the nation’s largest milk producer, wins a role in the next administration, it would be in line with the incoming administration’s broader edict to give industry leaders a role in regulating the very products they sell.
President Trump also nominated oil executive Chris Wright as secretary of energy and Wall Street executive Howard Lutnick as secretary of commerce.
McAfee’s Raw Farm in Fresno supplies raw milk and dairy products to grocery stores across California and has the unique distinction of supplying kefir used in smoothies at celebrity-favorite Erewhon Market in Los Angeles. Masu.
Nicole Shanahan, Kennedy’s running mate for the Republican presidential nomination against Trump, interviewed McAfee for a documentary about raw milk released earlier this year. She told McAfee that Kennedy was a fan and that she drank his milk when she was at home in Malibu. In an October post on X, President Kennedy said that with President Trump in office, the FDA’s “war on public health” would end, as would its “active suppression” of raw milk.
Raw milk that is not heated to kill harmful pathogens has been linked to outbreaks of bacterial infections. E Escherichia coli It can cause kidney failure. McAfee’s farm is also embroiled in several lawsuits stemming from a salmonella outbreak that sickened at least 171 people in California last year.
Although the federal government does not regulate the sale of raw milk, each state does, and the FDA prohibits the interstate sale of unpasteurized milk for human consumption. In 2008, McAfee’s company pleaded guilty to Paste a “Pet Food” sticker It is used to illegally sell raw milk across state lines for human consumption.
McAfee and other raw milk advocates argue that raw milk contains more beneficial enzymes and a variety of probiotics than pasteurized milk. Current FDA and researchers argue that milk is not a significant source of probiotics, and that the bacteria in raw milk enters the dairy environment through infected udder tissue and the dairy environment, such as soil and cow manure. . ) and milking equipment are not the kind that benefit our digestive systems.
But raw milk consumption has come under particular scrutiny this year amid the avian influenza (H5N1) pandemic, which has also seen the first recorded human infection of the virus. Although there are no known cases of avian influenza virus infection in people who drank raw milk, there have been three cases in North America where the source of infection has not been determined. However, contact with and handling of raw milk is associated with infections, especially among dairy workers.
According to research, milk has the following benefits: huge amount of virus particles. “The most contagious food from cows is milk,” says Megan Davis, a molecular epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University who studies environmental health. In some cases, the virus was found to be present in the milk of cows whose respiratory tract tested negative for H5N1.
Consuming raw milk during an avian influenza outbreak is inherently dangerous, Davis said. Most people infected with bird flu report mild symptoms, but people with weakened or suppressed immune systems can experience more severe symptoms. And the more people are infected, the more likely the virus is to mutate and develop more contagious or severe strains, potentially affecting a wider population.
“The impact of the new pandemic will be terrible,” Davis said. “Pandemics in particular have a huge impact not only on humans but also on the animals that produce our food.”
Cat that drank infected raw milk exhibited He developed severe neurological symptoms and died.
Still, McAfee strongly denies that raw milk poses any such risks.
“This is the latest platform for the FDA to attack us,” McAfee said. “There have been no reports of the following illnesses in the United States. [bird flu] And raw milk. zero. But still they say the sky is falling. ”
Like other raw milk advocates, he suggests that milk from infected cows increases immunity to bird flu by transmitting antibodies. However, antibodies against H5N1 have not been detected in raw dairy products, and it is thought that antibodies from cows do not confer immunity to humans.
Law Farms this week suspended all milk and cream products manufactured between November 9 and 27 after the avian influenza virus was detected in retail samples and at dairy product storage and bottling sites. It was recalled voluntarily. The California Department of Food and Agriculture also quarantined the farm and stopped distribution of raw produce produced after Nov. 27.
