The Big Elephant In The Room

MAP is the big elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about. The milk industry pretend it’s not there but growing evidence means it can no longer be ignored. The elephant is getting bigger.


MAP stands for “Mycobacterium Avium subspecies Paratuberculosis”. Here is an extract from an article published in the Los Angeles Times:

Milk May Be the Carrier of Crohn's


If, as some scientists are now convinced, Crohn's disease is caused by a microorganism, the question becomes: How is it transmitted?


The shocking answer, they say, is through that most sacrosanct of beverages--milk. The microorganism under suspicion, Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis, or MAP, is common in U.S. dairy herds, activists argue, and it is not killed by conventional pasteurization.


Transmission of MAP from infected cattle to humans through milk could explain much about the occurrence of Crohn's, including its geographical distribution and rising incidence.


The purported spread of MAP through milk "constitutes a public health disaster of tragic proportions," said Dr. John Hermon-Taylor of St. George's Hospital Medical Center in London.


Both the U.S. dairy industry and the Food and Drug Administration argue vehemently that the U.S. milk supply is safe and that pasteurization is effective at removing any potential threats.


Source: LA Times, September 18, 2000, Home Edition, Section: Health, Page: S-1.

In recent years the incidence of MAP in pasteurized milk has been getting worse, not better. Here is an extract of a recent study on the incidence of MAP in milk:

MAP causes Johne’s disease in ruminants, a chronic enteritis evocative of human inflammatory bowel disease. In industrialized countries MAP has been cultured from pasteurized milk, compounding the increasing concern that MAP may be zoonotic. We corroborate the presence of viable MAP in the food chain reported from industrialized countries. With the increasing concern that MAP may be zoonotic, these findings have major implications for healthcare in India.


Source: Presence of MAP in commercial pasteurized milk, and milk products in India (Shankar H, et al, International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2010 Feb;14(2):e121-6. Epub 2009 Jul 2).

But wait, from the horses mouth there’s more :-). Even the British Food Standards Agency (which includes dairy farmers on its board of directors) admits that “MAP is found in approximately 2% of pasteurized milk on retail sale”.


As if that’s not enough, here is a letter just posted to the Daily Mail newspaper in the UK

I strongly advise that pregnant women should be extremely careful drinking any milk, raw or pasteurised. This advice to drink more milk by health officials led to my wife contacting Crohns Disease & Ulcerated Colitis, that very nearly KILLED her. Until the Dairy Industry can be bothered to get MAP- Mycobacterium sub species avium Paratuberculosis out of milk, it is NOT SAFE to drink for many. MAP is Zoonotic, animal to human, survives pasteurisation, cannot be made by human, comes from outside source, & the cow who suffers with Johnes disease ( Crohns in humans ) passes this MAP bacteria to humans via it's milk & faeces which also go into water supplies, also infecting other animals in the environment. MAP can travel the birth cord to the unborn as it can cow to calf. Cattle with MAP are now to be treated with a new dna anti-map vaccine which is being developed for humans at Kings College Hospital with Prof John Hermon Taylor backed by my campaign - The Chronic Crohns Campaign UK.


Source: Letter to The Daily Mail, by Tim Page, Wadhurst, East Sussex, United Kingdom, 27/5/2010.

How much longer will the big elephant be ignored?


Keep well,
Russell Eaton


P.S. For the world’s best collection of non-dairy milk recipes see The Foolproof Diet (www.the-foolproof-diet.com).