Dr Ronald Hall, a microbiologist from Victoria Austrailia testified recently at the trial of Michael Schmidt (pictured here), the farmer advocating for a legal way for those who want to purchase raw milk.

The testimony is important becuase he explains how raw milk has the ability to protect us from bad bacteria and help us build our good bacteria. The world has become so bacteria-phobic that basic science has been overlooked and the protection that nature gave us in our food has been forgotten

A very dedicated woman put up trial interviews and Raw Milk Symposium speeches, all 52 clips (many about 10 min long). It includes "raw farm-fresh unprocessed milk" having its own immune system (at the trial there was a distinction made between raw milk destined for pasteurization and "raw farm-fresh unprocessed milk" destined for human/pet consumption directly.  There is video footage of Dr. Hull but it is broken up into 4 seperate parts - headings "Raw Milk Symposium" and the part numbers 9,10,11,12.  The link to the whole list of 52 postings
is: http://www.youtube.com/user/rawmilkklimwar?gl=CA&hl=en

For more information on Michael's battle check out the blog:

The Bovine

Here is the statement that Dr Hull gave to the court:
 
I, Ronald Robert Hull, being of sound mind and body and duly sworn, do hereby make the following statements based on my personal knowledge and ...
Here is the statement that Dr Hull gave to the court:
I, Ronald Robert Hull, being of sound mind and body and duly sworn, do hereby make the following statements based on my personal knowledge and to the best of my information and belief.
I am a resident of Mount Waverley, Victoria, Australia.
I earned my Bachelor of Science (Honors), and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from the University of Adelaide, South Australia in 1967 and 1971 respectively.
My PhD thesis topic was the Mode of action of Colicins. Colicins are antibiotics produced by certain strains of Escherichia coli em.
I completed my post-doctoral training in the Molecular Oncology section of the Department of Pathology, Stanford University Medical Centre, Palo Alto, California in 1974.
In the period 1974 to1984 I was a Research Scientist at the Dairy Research laboratory, Division of Food Science and Technology, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial research Organization (CSIRO) in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. During that time I developed a new technology for control of virus infection in dairy fermentations. The technology was widely adopted by the Australian dairy industry and is now used worldwide.
I was Curator of the CSIRO Starter Culture Collection, the primary reserve of several thousand strains of lactic acid bacteria used by the Australian dairy industry to manufacture cheese and fermented milks.
I was a guest researcher at Christian Hansen Laboratories, Denmark in 1985, researching commercial production of lactic cultures for cheese manufacture and probiotic cultures.
In the period 1986 to 1994 I was Head of the Dairy Microbiology section in the CSIRO Division of Food Science in Melbourne. In this period a probiotic product was developed for oral immunization against rotavirus disease in newborn horses; and killing factors active against Helicobacter pylori were identified from lactic acid bacteria.
In the period 1994 to present I am Principal Consultant and owner of Ron Hull & Associates, a technical food consulting business with clients in milk production and processing, distribution and retailing. I am also Technical Director of Semor Pty Ltd, Melbourne, Australia, a bakery ingredient supply company.
I was Chairman of the Organizing Committee for the First International Conference on Intestinal Micro-flora and Human Health, held in Australia in 1996.
I am a coauthor of several books on dairy microbiology and fermented foods.
I have published more than 80 peer-reviewed articles on dairy microbiology, lactic acid bacteria, probiotics and the use of probiotics to control disease.
During my career, I have been a member or officer of five professional organizations.
I have taught dairy microbiology, dairy technology, and food microbiology and food safety to science and graduate students at the University of Melbourne and the Victoria University of Technology for twenty years.
I have served as a member of the Reference Group to the Food Standards Committee of the Victorian Department of Health for five years.
I have testified several times in courts of law as an expert in dairy microbiology and food safety.
A true and accurate copy of my professional curriculum vitae is attached as Attachment A.
Based on my professional training, education and experience I will be offering testimony on the topics outlined below.
Raw milk is a safe food that provides immunity to infection. It is the first food of newborn mammals including man. It contains immunity factors and lactic acid bacteria that colonize the gastrointestinal tract establishing a microbial ecosystem that is stable and provides immunity to infection by pathogens.
Hygiene is defined as the science of health, its preservation and the prevention of disease. It is the practice of measures designed to attain and prese...
Dr. Hull's statement to the court continued: Hygiene is defined as the science of health, its preservation and the prevention of disease. It is the practice of measures designed to attain and preserve health. Disease is the unhealthy state caused by toxic chemicals or by harmful microbes called pathogens. The scientific hierarchy of control of disease, including food-borne disease in order of importance is; a. Immunity b. The chemistry of the food; and c. The pathogen Milk is available in two different forms, raw fresh milk and cooked (pasteurized or UHT) milk. Raw milk is a live food like fruits and vegetables. It contains many living systems that kill or inhibit pathogens. Most of these systems are destroyed by pasteurization. The public health problems historically associated with raw milk are scientifically understood and are controlled on an organic dairy farm. The key problems and their controls are a) Diseased and stressed cows produce contaminated milk. These are problems in intensive farming where non-traditional feeding and housing of dairy cows is practiced. They cause the cows to shed pathogens. The milk of diseased cows is easily recognized by the uneven texture of the milk. b) Water adulteration (addition of non-potable water) to milk, which adds pathogens directly to milk and also destroys the live components of milk. c) Use of sanitizers such as quaternary ammonium compounds that destroy the live components of milk. These sanitizers are promoted to farmers as a method of reducing the bacterial count in their farm milk. These compounds kill lactic acid bacteria used in Cheese and yoghurt making and also kill the immunity promoting bacteria in the gut of humans. Raw milk contains lactic acid bacteria, a key component of gut immunity, which is absent in pasteurized milk. Raw milk will always ferment to an acid product like yoghurt or cheese on storage and is harmless to consume; whereas pasteurized milks go rotten (putrefy) and will make one sick if consumed. Exhibit A, raw milk and Exhibit B, pasteurized milks. Pasteurized milk was first introduced to extend the shelf life of fresh foods such as milk (Pasteur). Today it is a useful food safety tool in marketing bulk farm milks that have a high probability of including milk from diseased or stressed cows. Both raw and pasteurized milks are safe foods and should be considered as different foods.