Pasturize it!

There has been a food fad sweeping the Athens/Oconee locavores: raw milk.
It's a national movement really, and the gist of the pro-raw milk argument is this: grass fed cows who have been exposed to the germs in their environment develop stronger antibodies, and subsequently, healthier milk. By pasteurizing this milk, we lose the health benefits of these enzymes, antibodies, and friendly bacteria. A really great article detailing the raw milk debate in North Carolina can be found here and here.

For many of raw milk's fans, policy and regulations against the beverage keep them from getting to what has recently been hyped as a bit of a super food, one that will cure what ails ya if you start drinking it early enough. Germs get onto animal udders from feces, and even though sanitary milking procedures can get rid of these germs, pasterization is the most sure fire way to kill unwanted microbes in milk.

University of Georgia researchers though have been working very hard against this hype, reminding people that unpasteurized milk contains bacteria and disease and drinking it can lead to serious infections. Amid any hoopla about getting back to nature, and raw milk being healthier for the earth, it is easy to forget that food still needs to be handled properly to get rid of pathogens that can cause e. coli, listeria, and in some cases, rabies. Ag extension agents across the state have seen more cheeses and other products made from raw milk cropping up at farmer's markets lately.

To know whether or not you are buying products made from raw milk or pasteurized milk, look at the label. A standard label includes the manufacturer, the weight of the product in ounces and in grams, a list of ingredients and whether or not it is made from pasteurized dairy.

Pasteurization is an easy process to perform on milk, and it neither changes the flavor or promotes new allergens. Moreover, when Louis Pasteur introduced the process in the 19th century, fewer people than ever got sick from drinking their milk.

Keeping Track of Doctors

The South is known as a bit of a refuge for shady doctors, the ones who bill patients inappropriately and order unnecessary exams. The ones who abuse pills and perform drunken exams. The ones who touch patients when there not supposed to. The ones who have escaped suspensions in other parts of the country, and come here to seek new practices and patients. Florida is a notorious den for these charlatans, and if all bad pennies shake to the bottom, then Georgia may not be far behind.

Industrious patients keen to know more about their doctor can check on the easy to access and use Georgia Medical Board website, www.medicalboard.georgia.gov. The internet savvy can cycle through old articles, suspension notices and legal actions against doctors. It is a thorough and up to date record, and the Medical Board of Georgia should be commended for their accurate and up to date record keeping.

Witht that being said, there are still lions in the mist, those who seek out and prey upon paitents. The doctor/patient relationship is one built out of trust, and many patients many do not feel comfortable enough to speak up and charge their doctors with impropriety. The NIH has developed a patient's bill of rights. This document outlines the expectations that patients should have for their doctors, and elucidates many different facets of care that unseasoned hospital-goers may not be aware, such as the right to complete information about a diagnosis, the right to refuse to be used in research, and the right to have secondary physicians communicate information with your primary physician.

So then, what to do when your rights have been violated? The AMA has a complete list of state license boards and agencies that will take patient complaints about ethics violations, as well as details the procss of reporting a violation. Still, if you believe that your doctor has broken the law, then your local police department can investigate and arrest him or her, usually in conjunction with the state medical board.

The unfortunate reality is that very few people are watching out for the welfare of patients, but there avenues to deal with dubious docs.

Economic woes hit Oconee County, too.

So, it might be common knowledge that Oconee County is one of the richest in the state, but this does not insulate the entire population from the woes that come from an economic meltdown. The Northeast Georgia Food Bank, the Athens Area Food Bank, and several smaller churches have all seen nearly double their normal demand.

In Oconee County, ACTS, (Also known as Are Churches Together Serving), is the traditional place to go for people who do not have food. For the past several years, the ACTS food bank has served around 80 families a month, mostly African-American. Recently though, the demand has ballooned to 200 families a month, with an even mix of ethnic groups. this suggests that poverty in Oconee is much less segregated than I originally thought.

The Athens Banner-Herald is running an article on the ACTS Food Bank this Friday, and it should be disclosed that fellow UGA health blogger James Hataway is the writer. He brought this to my attention, and after I made some calls and talked to a few local government officials, it seems that the commonly held notion that "poor people just don't like in Oconee County, because it is easier to move to Athens" is starting to fall apart.

The stereotypical food bank client is often seen as an impoverished person or family, having an incredibly difficult time pulling together enough money to meet all the household needs. One demographic that might be fueling the local need the often over-looked and maligned "asset-rich, cash poor" group. These people probably live in nice houses, drive their own reliable and completely paid for cars, but like many families in this economy, no longer have a consistent source of income. Assets like cars, houses, art, and other possessions require time to be sold and turned into cash, and so to live in the interim, many formerly affluent families can find themselves struggling to get by.

Charlotte, NC based food bank Loaves and Fishes has long been aware of this dynamic, and director Beverly Howard says that families living with debt may have at one point found that debt manageable, but given the changing economy, leveraged mortgages and declining stocks, these financial demands become just as insurmountable. "It is a hard situation to explain, and can be counterintuitive to people who deal with poverty for a living. We, like most other people I'm sure, sometimes get bitter when those who have more stand in line to receive the same services."

The key though isn't to blame the rich. It is important to realize that household economies, just like large national ones, are also currently in flux, and can leave the people behind the wheels of the Bentley's and inside the McMansions just as hungry and wanting during the short term. You can't invest in food and save it for a rainy day. It is a consistent need and it requires a consistent pay check, and when any family loses there income, they still need to go places to find some food.