This ‘natural’ milk trend is sending kids to the hospital and Florida officials say it’s getting worse

Some wellness and fitness influencers have been promoting raw milk as more beneficial for human consumption than pasteurized milk because, among other benefits, it has more nutrients than its alternative. Now, 20 people, including 6 children, have fallen ill in Florida after consuming raw milk.

HuffPost reports that the people who fell sick had E. coli and campylobacter bacteria-related illnesses which may cause kidney failure. State health officials linked the infections to a specific farm that remains unnamed at this particular time but the number of those affected are growing. The farm is believed to have sanitation practices that are unsatisfactory for milk production meant for human consumption.

Normally, Florida doesn’t even allow raw milk to be sold for human consumption as per state law. It’s usually used for the production of animal food. However, there seems to be a policy shift, and in the statement released by the State Health Department that was warning and acknowledging the harm caused by the consumption of raw milk — this time the department also added extra encouragement to people who prefer raw milk. The statement released in part read, “Consumers have reported benefits of raw milk consumption, including better taste and protective effects for asthma and allergies.”

There’s a popular medical content creator who’s taken to TikTok and other social media to push back against the growing trend — Dr. Zachary E. Rubin. Dr. Rubin attributed the outbreak of bacterial diseases to a “result of the lies that have been spread across the internet, social media, by some celebrities and influencers talking about the potential benefits of raw milk that are not better than it being pasteurized.”

Florida has been very pro-Trump administration and even granted Trump no pushback in his plans to build the controversial Alligator Alcatraz for holding immigrants. So it’s no surprise that they would also not necessarily fully dispute another Robert F. Kennedy Jr.-encouraged conspiracy within its state, despite it clearly causing illnesses to grow within the state. Before RFK Jr. became the Secretary of Health and Human Services, he infamously tweeted that “suppression of raw milk” was an example of the FDA’s war on “public health.”

FDA’s war on public health is about to end. This includes its aggressive suppression of psychedelics, peptides, stem cells, raw milk, hyperbaric therapies, chelating compounds, ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, vitamins, clean foods, sunshine, exercise, nutraceuticals and anything…

— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) October 25, 2024

Another RFK Jr. common foe, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), also put its weight behind disputing this growing trend of encouraging the consumption of raw milk. The government agency assured the residents of Florida that pasteurized milk actually offers similar benefits to raw milk — it’s just safer.

RFK Jr., during his tenure, has been pushing any conspiracy theory that comes across his desk — from drinking bleach to disputing whether measles immunization is necessary. Trump, on the other hand, has exhibited leadership that is very transactional. As long as MAGA doesn’t ask him to release the Jeffrey Epstein files, he’s willing to allow anything else to happen under his watch.

It’s also worth mentioning that RFK Jr., through the FDA, suspended a program for testing the quality of fluid milk and other dairy products. Their jobs were cut in the DOGE government financial cuts, and now kids are sick — partly due to overzealous conspiracies, partly due to the removal of checks and balances.