RFK Jr. & the Pasteurisation Controversy

Lawrence P. Garrod, 1944 (Commentary, History)

Consider the so-called War on Raw Milk. I was amazed to discover in my Grandfather's scrapbook an article from 1944 debating the benefits of unpasteurised (raw) milk. These are echoed today by the public health nihilist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

"Posting to X (formerly Twitter) on October 25 2024, RFK Jr spoke about how he believes the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is preventing people from having access to things like raw milk, saying: '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 else that advances human health and can't be patented by Pharma." [1]

As with any regulatory body, the FDA is vulnerable to outside influences, including pharmaceutical companies. Could the FDA do better in this regard? Yes, of course. But to state the FDA is preventing people from having access to… clean foods, sunshine, & exercise is just silly. RFK Jr has no medical background but claims to know better than experts when it comes to vaccines and public health. HE DOES NOT! What he does have is financial interest in anti-vaccine and anti-science organisations. The current measles epidemic is the direct result of his influence. Children have already died.

The facts about raw milk are pretty straight forward. Pasteurisation (heating milk for a short period) kills most pathogens including the new and potentially dangerous avian flu. It does not decrease the nutritional or immunological aspects of milk. [2]

"From 2009 to 2014, raw milk and cheese, which are consumed by only 3.2 percent and 1.6 percent of the U.S. population respectively, accounted for a staggering 96 percent of dairy-related illnesses, according to a 2017 study published in Emerging Infectious Diseases, a peer-reviewed journal from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Prior to the widespread adoption of commercial pasteurization in urban areas in the early 1900s, milk-borne illnesses such as diphtheria, tuberculosis and various gastrointestinal infections posed significant public health risks." [3]

The More Things Stay the Same

Contrast the above with this article from 1944 [4], click title to see full article:

Commenting on The Case Against Pasteurisation by John P. Bibby, Dr. Garrod knocks down all the deceptions, obfuscations, & misdirections in the subject text. I counted at least seven:

1. Obfuscating tables and figures
2. Unsound use of statistics
3. Assuming correlation implies causation
4. Cherry-picked data
5. Non-standardised data
6. False equivalence (infection vs vaccination)
7. Ignoring evidence

The arguments presented by Mr. Bibby are surprisingly similar to RFK Jr.'s eighty years later:

• The risks of drinking raw milk are minimal.
• The benefits of raw milk outweigh the risks.
• Infections are good for children overall, even if some die.
• The public health establishment is preventing people from being healthy.

They are all false statements.

• [1] RFK Jr. Promotes Raw Milk—What Does the FDA Say?, Newsweek, Nov 15, 2024, https://www.newsweek.com/ rfk-jr-raw-milk-fda-warnings-ill-sick-1986273, accessed Sept 2025
• [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasteurization, accessed Sept 2025
• [3] RFK Jr. slammed by doctors after chugging 'dangerous' milk with controversial influencer, MSN, Jun 2025, https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ rfk-jr-slammed-by-doctors-after-chugging-dangerous-milk-with-controversial-influencer/ar-AA1FWtGK
• [4] An Opponent of Pasteurisation, Lawrence P. Garrod, Country Life, September 29, 1944