Today's letters: Raw milk isn't good for you

Chemist and bacteriologist Louis Pasteur, who originated the heat process known as pasteurization. SES

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A reader reacts to our recent story on raw milk, and another takes on the unfairness around harassment allegations – for both the victim and the accused. You can write to us too, at

Thank you, Louis Pasteur

Re: Raw milk, raw deal? Farmer fined $1,500, quits milking operation, Jan. 29.

I was dismayed when I read the article written by Kelly Egan giving publicity to the dangerous practice of selling raw milk. The science on the merits of pasteurization is robust and clear.

The myth that raw milk is healthier and a good source of beneficial bacteria is simply not true. Also, at least one-third of raw milk samples contain at least one dangerous pathogen. Relying on occasional or periodic testing to ensure the safety of raw milk is not trustworthy because the bacteria multiply rapidly during storage. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that unpasteurized milk is 150 times more likely to cause food-borne illness and results in 13 times more hospitalizations (and death) than illnesses involving pasteurized dairy products.

As Dr. Tim Jones, epidemiologist with the Tennessee Department of Health, puts it: “Those who consume raw milk are playing Russian roulette with their health; the glass they drink today may not have deadly micro-organisms, but the one they drink tomorrow may cause serious health problems or even death.” I am very grateful that Health Canada prohibits the sale of raw milk under the Food and Drugs Act and that local Health Units enforce this legislation.

People can either trust the expertise and data of Health Canada, FDA, CDC and the vast majority of food scientists/microbiologists or they can believe Mr. Ilgert’s anecdotes. Every day I drink milk and am grateful to Dr. Louis Pasteur for his invention 153 years ago that has saved the lives of millions of people.

William Enright (PhD, specialization in Dairy Science), Eganville

Righting the pendulum for both sexes

Re: Editorial cartoon, Jan. 30.

Your editorial cartoon almost perfectly captures the pendulum swing of power between accuser and accused. The only problem: balance. The image shows three women, three men. Equal. But the long history of female victimization vastly outweighs the public allegations against males in recent months. 

For thousands of years, women have been unfairly victimized by sexual assault and harassment. If a woman was raped, she was the one shunned and vilified, not the man. If a woman chose to accuse a man of assault, she knew she would face derogatory comments, shaming, slander. Reputations, careers, lives of women were disrupted or destroyed instantly. That our laws and societal norms allowed it to go on for so long is a travesty. We all — men and women collectively — should have done better a long time ago.

Now, men are being accused. Their name is made public before they can defend themselves. The women remain anonymous. Reputations, careers, lives of men are disrupted or destroyed instantly. Men are outraged. “That’s not fair!” they cry. They’re right. It’s not.

But, please, take a moment to understand how exasperating it is to women that it, in order for something to be recognized as a problem that needs to be fixed, it has to happen to a man.

Women unfairly victimized for hundreds of years? What’s the problem? But men potentially unfairly victimized? Well, now, there’s something we need to jump on right away! Can you see how insulting that is to us?

Nevertheless, all people, male and female, need to have their bodies and minds treated with respect. All people, male and female, need a fair system. Accused people, male or female, should not have their names made public unless the allegations are proven. All accusers, male or female, need to assume the power they hold responsibly.

That our laws and societal norms allow something other than a balanced system now is a travesty. We all — men and women collectively — need to do better right now.

Arlene Smith, Nepean

A hospital trumps a festival

Re: Hospital location less than ideal, letter, Feb. 2.

A letter-writer concerned about the site of the new Civic hospital campus notes that the site is surrounded by many cultural attractions: Little Italy, Dow’s Lake and the Tulip Festival. 

This is going to be a state-of-the-art hospital for more than one million people, yet some are worried about the tulip festival.  Time to get a life.

Roger Power, Ottawa


A Feb. 5 column contained inaccurate information about the Loblaw $25 gift card. The card does not disqualify recipients from participating in a class-action lawsuit. 

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