It’s hard to believe that as the fraught year of 2024 is drawing to a close, we are revisiting the science behind the pasteurization of milk. I don’t suppose many of us older folks are milk drinkers–although I do admit to enjoying ayran, my favorite yogurt drink–but fans of RFK Jr. should still exercise caution about feeding raw milk to their kids and grandkids. As Dennis D’Amico, animal science professor of the University of Connecticut, says, “… there’s no reason to have raw milk,” he said. “It’s a risk that is not necessary.”  Hmm, I just felt a slight tremor…Louis Pasteur must be rolling over in his grave.

The quote above appears in the Well Being section of the Washington Post in an article by Teddy Amenabar, November 21, 2024  titled, RFK Jr. says he drinks raw milk. How safe is unpasteurized milk? The subtitle states, “Raw milk is risky to drink, especially for children and older adults, food scientists say.”

I would like to think that I’m preaching to the choir. Sometimes it’s hard to tell these days when faced with full-blown and scornful dismissals of medical science and science-based institutions. Oh, I know, someone will haul out well-worn arguments pointing out the errors committed and counterindications where science and medicine have dropped the ball. So what? Mistakes occur in every human endeavor. There is no absolute guarantee of error-free progress in all of human history. Nor is there any absolutely risk-free procedure in medicine–that’s why you sign a consent form before your doctor undertakes even a small procedure on your behalf. You acknowledge that you understand the risks. But such criticism should likewise encompass the flagrant mischief committed by popular pseudoscience where false or exaggerated claims about treatments and cures are rarely subject to rigorous scientific scrutiny or real accountability. At its best it has been ineffective, at its worst it has caused harm that was totally unnecessary, but occurred because of popular gullibility. People should remember some of the nonsense that has been spread around by quackery: remember the Laetrile controversy back in the 1970s? It was touted that “Laetrile will cure cancer, but the medical establishment is suppressing it.” How many desperate people ran off to Mexico to obtain laetrile treatment at “clinics” run by quacks because it was discredited as a cancer treatment in the United States? That had tragic consequences for many cancer sufferers. Other more recent examples of quack medicine are available for examination by anyone interested. I won’t attempt go through the history of quackery, it is too tedious, and I have little incentive to do the research and collect it all. But the lineage of quack medicine and pseudoscience is a long one.

All right, next. Is there corruption in some of the mainstream institutions? Does Big Pharma have too much influence over the pricing and availability of pharmaceuticals? Do the insurance companies have too much clout in determining medical treatments? Etc., etc. Those are legitimate questions, and unfortunately the answers to some of those questions are disturbing, even scandalous. But the concerns generated by those controversies do not constitute a legitimate basis for the wholesale trashing of medical or scientific advice and the institutions dedicated to the investigation of the myriad issues in science, medicine, and human health. Such hyper-generalized criticisms–most often but not exclusively launched at government institutions–only feed the confirmation bias of certain peculiar ideologies that in themselves have no foundation in logic and rational inquiry, but rather represent a growing, popular trend: the peddling of dark conspiracies where none exist and the sowing of mistrust of any traditional or “mainstream” institutions of health, science, and education. Populism has a long history, not all of it edifying or decent, but generally it represents the response of angry swathes of the population who feel ignored and misled by their leaderships: i.e., an acute sense of disgust, disillusion, and deprivation. The answers to their problems fall properly under the categories of political reform, social policy, education, and civics, but too often they find their outlet in the adoption of absurdities peddled by unscrupulous self-promoters and opportunists.

The power of special interest groups and corporate lobbyists to influence decisions affecting the public inrerest constitutes a major problem for society in general. These entrenched interests leverage their connections to win government contracts and promote their organizations’ brands and products, and certainly their profitability. They are not easy targets for political reform–indeed, they are major contributors to their political favorites and expect tit for tat. So it will take determined long-term efforts by individuals and groups acting in the public interest to improve the situation. But the search for truth goes on. Knowledge grows with experience, and science has its fits and starts while always acknowledging the tentative nature of current theories and welcoming the process of continued discovery of new ones, validated by the scientific method. Society must not be encouraged to dismiss scientific evidence. If your conclusions are not supported by evidence, you must question them, and look for the truth. I would put it simply this way: a head in the sand invites a kick in the ass.

So why have I given this post a title in German that translates as, “Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain”? To answer that, here’s an explanation I copied from Wikipedia, “… the quote is from Friedrich Schiller’s play Die Jungfrau von Orleans (The Maid of Orleans), written in 1801. It’s a powerful line that reflects the struggle against human folly and ignorance.”  

We have a cultural tendency to throw babies out along with bath water. We want simple answers to complex problems, no matter how unproven or absurd, and we rush to adopt those that conform to what we want to believe, facts notwithstanding. We admire and praise those who purvey them, whatever their reputation, and hasten to support their agendas and follow them: Education and Experience Not Necessary, Apply within!

“What fools these mortals be.” Ah, Puck! Whither art thou gone”?