No news on the milk scare but Alice seems to be enjoying the Buffalo milk. I have since heard that goat and sheep’s milk have the same dramatic effect on eczema so if you know of anyone with the ailment please get them to visit their local supermarkets for some goat’s milk and give it a try, or see if there is a producer in your area.

I have had a great year in my vege patch thanks to my hose pipe. The dry spell has made my lawn go brown but the sun and warmth has added extra sweetness to my courgettes, french beans, carrots and tomatoes. As usual though a marrow suddenly appears when I find myself too busy to walk to the end of the garden for a few days.

I am now off to make chutney using many local ingredients including the monster marrow and will report again on Tuesday.

Some types of milk could be bad for us!

Aussie doctors say ‘Yes’. UK Dairy Council say ‘Not conclusive’

Scientists in Australia and New Zealand have discovered a protein in milk called A1 casein they believe could be linked to heart disease, diabetes & many allergies children suffer including eczema. (see news for a more complete report)

Further research shows that that nearly all dairy products contain the protein as it is produced by one third of British cows. Currently the only way to avoid this new food scare is to switch to goats, sheep or buffalo milk which only has the safe, A2 protein.

This story was sent to me by a local buffalo farmer who is now selling his milk via two local Waitrose stores in Bedfordshire and who claims that it is a wonder cure for eczema. If it is, does it prove the Aussie scientists to be correct?

Doctors reject alternative remedies far too often unless they can be scientifically proved. How long will it take to persuade the Dairy Council that there is a problem with milk and that the NHS should prescribe A2 milk for children with allergies?

Down under farmers are already phasing out A1 protein cows from dairy herds to be replaced with A2-producing cows. How long will it take to do the same in this country?

At BigBarn we want to find out whether this scientific research is conclusive so we have given a two-week supply of buffalo milk to 3 year-old Alice, who has suffered from painful eczema since birth.

We’ll keep you up-to-date on our experiment as we discover whether Alice’s mum can finally throw away all the eczema steroid creams the NHS have prescribed her. And we’ll continue to bring you news of the UK Dairy Council’s perspective on further research as well as news of more food issues and reports.

Watch this space for the buffalo diaries/dairies…

BBC news

Scientists believe a substance found in milk could be responsible for thousands of cases of heart disease world-wide.

They plan to test their theory by examining heart disease among Channel Islanders on Guernsey and Jersey.

The theory has been put forward by New Zealand scientist Dr Corrie McLachlan, chief executive of A2 Corporation.

Dr McLachlan’s company plans to market milk which does not contain the protein he believes could be responsible for heart disease.
Guernsey cows produce milk which does not contain the protein, while those from Jersey do. Dr McLachlan believes his research will show that heart disease is much less common among people from Guernsey than among the population of the neighbouring Channel Island.

Casein
His theory centres on the protein casein, which is found in four different varieties in milk.
He believes that one of the forms of casein, called beta-casein A2 is harmless, but that the other three – most notably A1 – are linked to heart disease.

The differences between the variant forms are very small – too small, some scientists believe, to be significant.
But Dr McLachlan points to the fact that Finland has the highest consumption of A1 in the world – and the highest rate of heart disease.
Conversely, milk in Japan, where heart disease is relatively rare, has low levels of A1.

The UK has relatively high levels of A1 in milk, and a relatively high level of heart disease.

Writing in the journal Medical Hypotheses, Dr McLachlan also highlights evidence from France and Northern Ireland. He says: The populations of Toulouse in France and Belfast in Northern Ireland have almost identical collective traditional risk factors for heart disease, yet the respective mortality rates vary more than threefold.
People from Northern Ireland are estimated to consume 3.23 times more beta-casein A1 than the French.
The remarkable agreement between mortality and consumption suggests that this factor is worthy of serious consideration as a potential source of cardiovascular disease.

Dr McLachlan believes that A1 is more likely to break up in the bloodstream and cause damage to the arteries. He points out that the protein has also been linked to the development of diabetes in children.

Dairy council
The Dairy Council issued a statement which said that Dr McLachlan had been unable to demonstrate demonstrate conclusive evidence of cause and effect. Jill Eisberg, Head of Communications at The Dairy Council said: Whilst we are always interested in new research into dairy products, we need to be entirely sure about the credibility of the research behind the A1 versus A2 argument.

Even the companies specialising in genetic testing are still monitoring the situation.
In contrast, new research published in the New England Journal of Medicine has confirmed that a diet which includes lots of low-fat dairy products, fruit and vegetables is effective in lowering blood pressure, a risk factor for coronary heart disease.

A spokesperson for the British Heart Foundation said: This new research highlights some interesting theories – but further evidence and evaluation, on a wider scale, is needed before so called healthy forms of milk should be proactively marketed to the public as a way of helping to reduce the risk of heart disease.

More and more functional foods are becoming available for consumers, concerned about their heart health.
But until more conclusive evidence can be found to support the ideas presented in this study, the British Heart Foundation recommends that people should continue to follow well established guidelines about healthy lifestyles. That includes a diet low in saturated fat (found in many dairy products) and high in fruit and vegetables.
BBC news

Have you ever tasted pheasant? If not now is the time to try. Pheasant is a delicious, in-season alternative to chicken and, as the shooting season comes to a close, over supply means very low prices – especially if you go direct to your nearest game dealer.

Pheasant are about the size of a small chicken and can be purchased oven ready to roast, casserole or stew. As these birds spend most of their lives running wild they are a naturally free-range meat, low in cholesterol, high in protein with NO drug residues or growth promoters.

My advice is to buy some now from your local game dealer: Chris Jordan my local dealer near Bedford (01234 376 556) is charging £1.80 per bird, oven ready, and will be selling from his freezer throughout the year. If you find pheasant selling at much higher prices, (I’ve seen �4.55), someone is making a large profit – havent we heard this story before!

Check out our recipes for pheasant and see if you have a game dealer in your area. If you cant find one we will soon have a product search facility available for you to use.

It was reported last week that at St Pancras station a shop was selling a half litre bottle of water for 80p and the same size bottle of milk for 42p. Someone has since suggested farmers should genetically modify their cows to produce water!

This story sums up the crazy state of the food industry.

As a 4th generation farmer I have, of course, always been interested in food production and over the years recognised the trend towards the commoditisation of food, and the way big business has forced producers and consumers apart. All the recent food scares we have experienced have been caused by big businesses cutting costs to make more profit, their prime focus.

How can we stop this trend?

If you buy direct from farmers for fresh and accountable food you have a say in how the food you buy is produced. BigBarn’s plan has always been to find the farmers, put them on the map and encourage them to team-up and offer consumers a wide range of produce from one location, in essence, a farmers market open all the time with trolleys and tills!

We have even sought your help by asking visitors to BigBarn.co.uk to register their details so that we have a source of possible customers to make a producer group viable. If you would like one in your area please get your friends to register.

Supermarkets are also listening – you said 221No222 to GM and are now saying “More locally produced food please.” They are reacting by trying to stock regional speciality food, but working so many suppliers into their distribution system and stock records makes ‘local’ more difficult. They need a push from you and a pull from BigBarn to help get more farmer groups together to supply them locally.

I’ll be reporting on our progress as we battle to make changes in the food industry. Pointing out wrongs, helping make changes and celebrating success, (even those in my vegetable patch & kitchen). Please have a good look round the new BigBarn site and feel free to send us your view in feedback.