JEFFERSON\WAUKESHA WAPF CHAPTER

Kids who drink raw milk have less asthma, allergies
By Frederik Joelving

NEW YORK | Tue Sep 13, 2011 5:16pm EDT

(Reuters Health) - Children who drink raw milk are less likely to develop asthma and allergies than those who stick to the safer pasteurized version, according to a large European study.

FDA tyranny exposed: The real food-raw milk movement strikes back Wednesday, May 25, 2011 - Omkara World by Adam Helfer

Font Size - + | Comment | Tweet | Share | Email | RSS | More | Ask Adam a Question     WASHINGTON-May 24, 2011. Amish Farmer, Dan Allyger, who was recently caught in a FDA sting operation for allegedly transporting and selling raw milk across state (Pennsylvania) lines, is not backing down from the fight.

Attorney Jonothan Emord (who has defeated the FDA seven times in federal court) will be representing Allyger and the local buying club ‘Grassfed on the Hill’. This case has turned into the new “David vs. Goliath,” and could be a real turning point over the issue of consumer choice and food freedom.

This incident is just one in an ongoing trend of FDA raids on small farms. The “Food Safety Modernization act” that was enacted earlier this year expands the jurisdiction of the FDA onto farms, and gives it almost unlimited authority to decide if food is harmful, based on having a "reason to believe" a problem exists and not needing credible evidence.

Support Food Choice! (Photo: Emma Bedlin)

Bad Timing by the Federal Government

The surreal nature of the case has drawn ire across the nation and attracted major media coverage. This is, in fact, directing more attention to the federal government abusing its power, and wasting tax dollars in a delicate time when the federal budget is under intense scrutiny.

Informed citizens are irate at the FDA over the following points:

• Citizens should be able to choose what food they want to consume. The FDA allows health-damaging junk food to be consumed, along with cigarettes and alcohol, to be used at a person's own risk and discretion. Yet a citizen cannot make an educated, informed, healthy food choice in purchasing raw grass-fed milk from a farmer they have a relationship with. The FDA and other federal government agencies should not interfere in private, direct relationships between farmers and consumers.

• The FDA (ironically, the authority on protecting the health of the citizens) doesn’t have the proper aptitude to incur correct research and data when coming to conclusions about the health and safety of grass-fed raw milk. The confusion seems to arise from the FDA not understanding and differentiating between conventional milk (which needs to be pasteurized for safety) and raw milk from healthy, pastured animals and clean conditions. It is to be noted that grass-fed raw milk has been consumed safely by cultures for thousands of years.

• The FDA doesn’t take into account the broad and distinguished difference of health effects between conventional pasteurized milk and raw grass-fed milk. While conventional milk has been linked to many health maladies and digestibility issues, raw grass-fed milk has been attributed to a long list of benefits. Members of the Grass-fed group have personally listed profound health benefits such as: Reversal of allergies • Increased immune system functioning • Healing of the gut and digestive system disorders • Enhanced overall health and wellbeing • Weight loss • Reduced skin diseases • Reversal of autism symptoms in autistic children.

In direct reprisal to the Allyger case, Congressman Ron Paul introduced the unpasteurized (raw) milk (Bill HR 1830). Bill 1830 will allow the shipment and distribution of unpasteurized milk and milk products for human consumption across state lines. This bill would remove the unconstitutional restraint on farmers who wish to sell or otherwise distribute, and people who wish to consume, unpasteurized milk and milk products.

Food and Farm Freedom Rally held in D.C. 

A peaceful demonstration was held last week in D.C. supporting Allyger. Several hundred people from all races, religions, and socio economic backgrounds attended under a banner of food freedom and the protecting the power of choice.

Representing attorney and keynote speaker Jonothan Emord focused on the deeper issues that this case stems from. Emord emphatically stated:  “We would not be here today were it not for the fact that over the past seventy-five years, the Congress of the United States has delegated away to some 230 independent regulatory commissions the power to make law, the power to execute the law, and the power to judge law violation.

Attorney Jonothan Emord (Photo: Eleanor Kaufman)

That delegation of governing power from Congress to the unelected heads of the regulatory agencies violates the Constitution, which vests exclusively in Congress the obligation to make law.

Nine-tenths of all laws are no longer the product of our elected representatives, they are created by the unelected heads of the bureaucratic agencies.

Those agency heads are unaccountable to the courts, the Congress, and the American people.

One such agency that engages in this unconstitutional governance is the Food and Drug Administration.

It is the action of that agency that we examine today, because it offends the very foundation of liberty of our Republic.

Dan Allgyer, an Amish farmer from Kinzers, Pennsylvania has become an “enemy of the state”- Not because he is a violent man; not because he performs acts that threaten the lives or property of others; not because he is involved in some plot to overthrow the government; but because he dared to sell unpasteurized milk.

No proof exists that Dan’s milk is unfit for human consumption. No proof exists that anyone who ever consumed Dan’s milk became ill. To the contrary, Dan’s milk is wholesome. Unpasteurized milk, or natural milk, has been consumed safely for thousands of years. So long as it comes from healthy cows, is kept refrigerated, and is consumed before expiration, it is a healthy food.

This nation was built by yeoman farmers just like Dan Allgyer. The nation those farmers constructed was instituted among men to protect the rights of the governed, the very rights FDA now violates. 

Rally Attendee (Photo: Eleanor Kaufman)

As Thomas Jefferson put it in his First Inaugural Address: “A wise and frugal government shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned.”

This is not just a case and situation that pertains only to raw milk drinkers. This is a blatant case in point of federal government abusing its power and authority. If the federal government is allowed to convene in this manner, what's next? Stay tuned for updates on the case and feel free to contact your congressman if you feel the government is abusing its authority in this situation and that the Food Safety Modernization act is unfair to small farms.

For a list of Government Raids on Small Farms and Organic food buying clubs-  Click here.

For the FDA’s official statement of this case, click here.

For more information on Real, Raw Milk, please visit www.realmilk.com and the Raw Milk Symposium site.

Please visit ‘Farmageddon’ – an upcoming documentary exposing the assault on Americas small farms and organic buying clubs.



 

Amazing...Just As Story of WI Kids Sickened By Raw Milk Gets Interesting, the Food Safety Hysterics Fade Into the Woodwork...Did I Hear Someone Say "Hypocrisy"?
Wednesday, June 22, 2011 at 01:02PM In golf, when you slice the ball into the other fairway, or dribble it into a pond, you may decide to take a "mulligan"--pretend the errant shot didn't happen and just take another shot.

The state of Wisconsin seems to have decided to take a mulligan over the "poisoning," (a favorite term of the food safety lobby when people become ill from food-borne illness) of 18 people, many of them children, in Wisconsin...from raw milk last week.

This is the story that was breathlessly broken by Bill Marler on his blog last week. "I expect to hear that it is part of a FDA sponsored conspiracy against expanding raw milk sales in Wisconsin.  Raw milk is not 'magic.'  It has real risks." When the story first broke, commenters on his blog and on a food safety list serve were practically apoplectic. "There should be a FEDERAL LAW against serving raw milk in a school," one of the hysterics stated.

Yes, as long as he and his groupies assumed the milk was provided by a wacko raw milk dairy, it was fun to blame raw milk advocates and their supposed focus on "conspiracy" and "magic." But once the facts of the story began dribbling out, and it became possible that the the milk was provided by a red-blooded American dairy farmer that serves the huge dairy processing establishment, well, suddenly the tone changed.

A number of the food safety blogs published a press release that regulators in Wisconsin had genetically linked the campylobacter found in the sick children to that found on a Wisconsin dairy. But no name calling and sarcasm and holier-than-thou scolding. Instead, radio silence by the food safety lobby/anti-raw milk hysterics.

Why did the busybodies suddenly go stone silent? It's pretty obvious when you learn the story of what happened, as I did yesterday when I spoke with Donna Gilson, the press spokesperson at the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture and Consumer Protection. (She says, by the way, that the number of sick people is up to 18. While most are children, some adults have apparently contracted the campylobacter via secondary infections from their children.)

What happened is that a relative of a Wisconsin dairy owner stopped by the farm several weeks ago and, unbeknownst to the owner, filled a few jugs with milk from the dairy's bulk tank. This individual went off to a public school function, where the milk was served. DATCP won't reveal the dairy's name, but Gilson says, "It's not one of the farms that has sold raw milk." This dairy is "a larger farm that has a good record with us." In other words, it's a member of the club; its milk is sold commercially to a processing plant that pasteurizes and homogenizes it. It's part of the huge dairy establishment, selling unprocessed milk, often at a loss, to keep big processors profitable.

Now, anyone who knows anything about milk production knows that unpasteurized commercial milk is dangerous. That's why any number of people on this blog and elsewhere continually reiterate that there are two raw milks in this country. There have been any number of studies showing that unpasteurized milk destined for the processing plants has a significant chance of containing pathogens. Here's what I say in my book, The Raw Milk Revolution: "Raw milk of the first kind, which is really almost all milk produced in the U.S., has significant rates of pathogen contamination before pasteurization. A study published in a 2004 issue of the Journal of Dairy Science found that in milk samples taken from 861 bulk tanks in twenty-one states around the country, 2.6 percent contained salmonella and 6.5 percent tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes...the Journal of Dairy Science noted that the contamination 'highlights the need for vigilance in maintaining hygienic conditions in milking and processing environments'..."

You'd think that 18 people becoming ill with campylobachter from raw milk in a major dairy state like Wisconsin would be a big deal to these busybodies who are certain they are better judges of what we should eat than we are. They can't tell us often enough that it's all about protecting the children. I've come out here on this blog and in talks and pushed raw dairies to pay closer attention to their sanitation practices and to focusing on reducing and eliminating illnesses.

Now, if we were living in a less-hysterical country where people were still at ease about the idea of being able to consume the foods they choose to consume, I wouldn't be terribly upset about what just occurred in Wisconsin. No, it's unpleasant, but as I've said any number of times, we can get sick from pretty much any food, and screwups of the type that occurred in Wisconsin can occur anywhere by honest well-meaning people.

But since we aren't living in that type of country any more, I feel compelled to point out the obvious hypocrisy and double standard at work here. If the food safety establishment was being consistent and as concerned about safety as they always tell us when they feel real nutrient-dense food is creating a problem, there would   have been lots of tears here, where raw milk was served in a public school to children whose parents had no idea what was being served. I mean, I can't think of a recent situation where that occurred with milk intended to be served unpasteurized.

In addition to the illnesses, this little screwup in Wisconsin has some practical consequences. It's very likely the 18 Wisconsin illnesses will become part of the database of illnesses attributed to raw milk by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, and then waved in our faces during hearings about whether or not to legalize sales in various states, including Wisconsin, where such legislation is pending. Just like the two deaths since 1998 that the CDC always includes in its data to fearmonger about raw milk--these were almost certainly due to the same sort of raw milk as in Wisconsin--commercial milk sold to individuals who concocted home-made queso fresco cheese.

So what should be done to learn from this episode? Here are a few off-the-cuff suggestions:
-- DATCP should issue a warning to all Wisconsin residents to never drink unpasteurized milk from a commercial dairy.
-- Commercial dairies should be required to place warning signs on their bulk tanks, "This tank contains a bio-hazardous substance. It should not be consumed by any person, at any time."
-- The CDC should commit to not attributing these illnesses to raw milk, but rather should create a new category, something like "Unpasteurized commercial milk."  

Why aren't the busybodies making these kinds of suggestions? They've moved on. This case doesn't fit their theology of kooks pushing raw milk and complaining about a concerted government effort, alas, maybe even a conspiracy, when state and federal agents try to shut them down. Their view is very much the view they attribute to raw milk producers and consumers: So what if a few kids got sick. Collateral damage. Leave this one go. Since it will count as a black mark against raw milk in any event, it's a win no matter which way you slice it. Very sad.

Why Rawesome Foods does not need a license – a Civil Rights issue

•  

Mike Adams
Natural News
August 7, 2011

(NaturalNews) There’s a tremendous amount of disinformation being put out on the internet about the Rawesome Foods raid, even by people who should know better. The most common complaint against Rawesome Foods is: Why don’t they get licensed?

The answer is because they are not a public store. Rawesome Foods is a private member club where members actually own a percentage of the cows, goats and farms that produce the raw dairy. The Rawesome Foods facility is merely a distribution point where people pick up the food they already own; food which they could have theoretically picked up at the farm, but it’s more convenient to bring it to a central distribution point.

This Rawesome Foods distribution point is a private location, not a public grocery store. The buyer’s club itself, from a legal point of view, is private behavior, not public behavior. And yet the state of California is aggressively trying to force Rawesome Foods to be licensed and regulated as a public grocery store, which it is not.

The key element here is that the state wants to collect sales tax on these foods when people pick them up from the Rawesome distribution point. That’s why the California Franchise Tax Board was secretly funding the prosecution of Rawesome Foods (http://www.naturalnews.com/033254_R…).

As usual, this is all about the state wanting its share of the pie (or the cheese, in this case). The state is horrified by the idea that people might enter into their own private ownership agreements of “farm shares” and then pick up their food without paying a state sales tax. And yet, in reality, no point-of-purchase “sale” is taking place at all. People are merely picking up the food they already own because they are partial owners of the farms, the cows, the goats and the chickens which naturally produce this food.

'Food Freedom' back in the legislature ‎
Casper Star-Tribune Online (blog) - Joshua Wolfson - 1 hour ago
A week after its apparent death, the Wyoming Food Freedom Act is back in the Legislature. Rep. John Eklund, R- Cheyenne, has introduced a revised version of ...

3 senators propose legalizing sale of raw milk
Three state senators have proposed easing restrictions on the sale of raw milk in Minnesota. Their bill would legalize most sales of raw milk, ...

Sting Against Amish Raw Milk Producer Results in Federal Case  Kurt Nimmo
Infowars.com
May 1, 2011

A year long sting operation against an Amish “contraband” raw milk producer in Pennsylvania has resulted in a court case against Rainbow Acres Farms. The government filed a ten page complaint against the Amish business in federal court last week.

“It is the FDA’s position that raw milk should never be consumed,” said Tamara N. Ward, spokeswoman for the FDA.

According to the complaint, the FDA began to investigating Allgyer’s farm in late 2009, when an investigator in their Baltimore office used aliases to sign up for a Yahoo user group for Rainbow Acres’ customers, and began to place orders under the assumed names for unpasteurized milk, according to the Washington Times.

In order to make the case federal, orders were delivered to private residences in Maryland, where the investigator, whose name was not disclosed in the documents, would pick them up. By crossing state lines the milk became part of interstate commerce, thus subject to the FDA’s ban on interstate sales of raw milk, Stephen Dinan writes for the Times.

The FDA also says bottles of milk were unmarked, which is also a violation of FDA regulations.

In April of 2010, Amish farmer Dan Allgyer was raided two FDA agents, two U.S. Marshals, and a Pennsylvania state trooper for the crime of selling raw milk. “We have credible evidence that you are involved in interstate commerce,” FDA investigator Joshua C. Shafer told Allgyer.

“An investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has determined that you are causing to be delivered into interstate commerce, selling, or otherwise distributing raw milk in final package form for human consumption,” the FDA said in a letter to the farmer.

“These busybodies are citing Allgyer’s violation of the misinterpreted commerce clause, which was originally intended to prevent states from prohibiting individuals from doing business with one another across state lines. In other words, the federal food authorities are doing the exact opposite of their constitutional mandate,” writes Andrew Ward of Campaign for Liberty.

“Thank God for the federal government keeping us safe,” writes a FavStocks blogger sarcastically. “Perhaps, they will start strip searches at airports and feeling old lady’s boobies up to protect us from radical Islamic terrorists or some scary guys wearing camouflage who shoot guns on their own private property. Oh, wait, the federal government is already doing that too.”

Stock up with Fresh Food that lasts with eFoodsDirect (Ad)

Advocates cite evidence raw milk is more healthy than pasteurized milk when purchased from responsible farms. They say that pasteurization made sense in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when sanitation was poorly understood and practiced by players in the milk production/distribution chain, leading to outbreaks of milk-borne disease in urban areas, according to Craig Weatherby, writing for Vital Choices.

Raw milk food rights advocates in B.C. set to launch constitutional challenge
This just in from Ontario raw milk farmer Michael Schmidt:
read

More Raw Milk Bans Challenged ‎
Food Safety News - Dan Flynn - 8 hours ago
People who stretch or break raw milk laws in the US and Canada often are more likely to emerge as folk heroes rather than ...

BNR sues state agency
By Tim Damos | Posted: Wednesday, January 12, 2011 3:30 am | (1) Comments

A lawsuit filed Monday by the Baraboo News Republic seeks the release of documents detailing a state agency's investigation of a Loganville raw milk distributor.

The state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection did not provide proper justification for denying the newspaper records related to the investigation of farmer Vernon Hershberger, a complaint filed by the newspaper states.

State officials have said releasing the documents could compromise their case against the farmer.

In early June, DATCP obtained a warrant to search Hershberger's organic dairy farm. The agency suspected Hershberger was
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Pot OK in Humboldt, but not Milk NBC Bay Area - Matt Baume - ‎19 hours ago‎ Tonight, the Board of Supervisors will debate whether to legalize the sale of raw milk. That's milk that hasn't been pasteurized to remove ...

Legalizing Sale of Raw Milk May Be Revived WTAQ - ‎5 hours ago‎ MADISON, Wis. (WTAQ) - A new effort will be made to legalize the sale of raw milk in Wisconsin. Several legislators say they might revive a bill that former ...

Raw milk issue could resurface in Legislature Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Rick Barrett - ‎7 hours ago‎ Another attempt to legalize the sale of raw, unpasteurized milk to Wisconsin consumers could be coming in the state ...

Gov. Walker, "I'll Sign Raw Milk Bill With Safeguards"
Posted Friday January 7, 2011

MADISON, Wis. (WTAQ) - Governor Scott Walker says he would sign a bill to let farmers sell raw milk – as long as it has safeguards to protect public health and the integrity of the dairy industry.

The Republican Walker made the comment Thursday, after several lawmakers said they would bring back a bill that was vetoed last year by former Governor Jim Doyle. Assembly Democrat Chris Danou of Trempealeau sponsored the original measure.

A task force is studying the health-related concerns. Its findings are due next month, and Danou says supporters will “hit the ground running” after that.

Senate Republican Glenn Grothman of West Bend says people should have the right to choose whether to drink unpasteurized milk directly from dairy farms.

Supporters say raw milk has natural health benefits. But the Wisconsin Farm Bureau says it will oppose the new bill. Spokesman Casey Langan says his members don’t want to see it move forward unless there’s a, “air tight resolution that would protect the dairy industry.”

The Farm Bureau says Wisconsin’s worldwide dairy reputation would be tarnished if just one person gets sick from drinking raw milk sold in the Badger State.

Legalizing Sale of Raw Milk May Be Revived WTAQ - ‎5 hours ago‎ MADISON, Wis. (WTAQ) - A new effort will be made to legalize the sale of raw milk in Wisconsin. Several legislators say they might revive a bill that former ...

Who knows more about health - the mainstream media or those that believe in "conspiracy theories"? Well, the truth is that time after time after time those in the "alternative media" and those who believe in "conspiracy theories" have been proven to be far ahead of those in the mainstream media when it comes to matters of health.  Sadly, the mainstream media receives so much funding and so many advertising dollars from the pharmaceutical industry, the medical industry, the big chemical companies and the health insurance industry that they are extremely cautious to report any information that would be harmful to any of them.  So for years, the mainstream media generally refused to talk about the dangers posed by things such as fluoride, aspartame, prescription drugs, genetically modified crops and cell phones.  But now the alternative media has been making so much noise about many of these health issues for so long that the mainstream media has been forced to acknowledge that some of these "conspiracy theories" about health are actually true. Not that the mainstream media is all of a sudden turning their backs on the financial giants that are pumping billions of dollars into them.  But the truth is that we are starting to see just a little bit more honest reporting about health issues from the mainstream media these days.

The following are 8 conspiracy theories about health that the mainstream media has been forced to admit are actually true....
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All Jesse Ventura Conspiracy Theory Documentaries In One Place
VIDEO IS INTERACTIVE EPISODE GUIDE

Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura • Clickable Episode Guide → Pentagon • Gulf Oil Spill • Great Lakes • JFK Assassination • Police State • Wall Street • Area 51 • Plum Island • Apocalypse 2012 • Manchurian Candidate • Secret Societies • Big Brother • Global Warming • 9/11 • HAARP

Raw milk issue could resurface in Legislature Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Rick Barrett - ‎7 hours ago‎ Another attempt to legalize the sale of raw, unpasteurized milk to Wisconsin consumers could be coming in the state ...

In Sunday-evening surprise, Senate unanimously passes food safety bill The Senate unexpectedly approved food safety legislation by unanimous consent Sunday evening, rescuing a bill that floated in limbo for weeks because of a clerical error.

The Senate passed the Food Safety and Modernization Act on Nov. 30 by a vote of 73-25. But the bill was later invalidated by a technical objection because it was a revenue-raising measure that did not originate in the House — Senate staff had failed to substitute the food safety language into a House-originated bill.

[ READ MORE (The Hill) ]

Would new legislation make the food supply safer?

Questions about the adequacy of federal food-safety regulation have dominated news coverage of food-borne illness outbreaks over the past 20 years. Doubts grew even more insistent following the two most recent major outbreaks.

In this year's egg contamination case, federal and congressional investigations showed that health issues were nothing new for the DeCosters' Wright County Egg operation. The farm had been declared a “habitual violator” of environmental laws by the state of Iowa as far back as 2001 and paid $219,000 in fines.

[ READ MORE (CQ) ]

The Raw Story: Is Raw Milk a Superfood?

Let's just say I've been curious for a while. Every week I walk by the raw milk booth at my local farmers' market, casting an interested but furtive look at both what's on offer and the sort of people that are in line to make a purchase. Today I finally took the plunge and walked over to bring home some raw whole milk, the same kind that my mother and the FDA have always told me to stay away from. But after I was given a sample of the white elixir, I asked for a quart to take with me. The cost? Just $4 dollars.

Why raw milk? As a long-time sufferer of Crohn's disease, and auto-immune disease that attacks the digestive system, I've been interested in raw milk. I've read that raw milk is a sort of super food, known to ease the symptoms associated with Crohn's and other maladies, big and small. The enzymes and bacterias found in raw milk don't come in pasteurized milk, and Crohn's sufferers that I know who drink it say that it has had a dramatic effect on their health.

[ READ MORE (Treehugger) ]

What Is 'Raw' Food? Is There Cause for Concern?

Colbert highlights Raw Dairy Raid in Venice, CA and it begs the question: Why are some people: celebs, athletes, and not-so-local folks enduring LA traffic and paying to join a private club (Rawesome) so they can consume these products?

Rawesome was just a local private food club selling some of the best produce, oils, prepared food, nuts, supplements, smoothies, raw meats, wild fish, and yes, raw dairy, that happened to be up the street from me. When I met volunteer Lela Buttery who introduced me to James Stewart, a co-founder of Rawesome Foods in Venice, it was for an interview about what food is and isn't today, how a grocery store could be run, and how one man's journey to heal himself led to a business of helping others. So excited about what I saw and tasted, I became a member and began to write a story about James' personal journey -- how switching to whole organic, and yes raw dairy, foods helped him both physically and emotionally. My story would focus on words and phrases like "honesty" and "consumer trust" and "ethics in food production" and the interdependency of "food costs and health costs" of which James spoke so eloquently and passionately. My story wouldn't be the story of raw dairy, it would be about quality food and the return of the truly local grocery store.

[ READ MORE (Huffington Post) ]

FDA Report Reveals The Amount Of Antibiotics Used On Factory Farms

The FDA recently released a report estimating the amount of antibiotics used in food-producing animals in 2009 at 29 million pounds.

Past estimates have put the number between 17.8 and 24.6 million pounds, but no official data had been released by the government until this year’s report.

[ READ MORE (Indiana Public Media) ]

Customers Step In To Help Cheesemaker Survive

Loyal customers are stepping up try and help an award winning cheesemaker survive after federal agents shut the business down.

[ READ MORE (KIROTV) ]

How Convincing Is the Evidence for Destroying Morningland Dairy's Entire Cheese Inventory?

Morningland Dairy, the small Missouri cheese producer caught up in spillover from the June 30 raid of Rawesome Food Club, has begun a legal journey that it hopes will allow it to get back into business.

Morningland has been in business for thirty years without any illnesses, but has been ordered by the Missouri Milk Board to destroy $250,000 worth of cheese because of the discovery of listeria monocytogenes in some samples. Since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration made the original announcement about the discovery, it's assumed the FDA has been pushing the regulatory and legal nightmare that Morningland has had to deal with over the last five months. The FDA was the organizing force behind the June 30 raid of Rawesome, in which Morningland cheese was included in the food confiscated, and in August found to test positive for listeria monocytogenes by the FDA and the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

[ READ MORE (Complete Patient) ]

First ever open debate about raw milk between Michael Schmidt and a public health representative, in Saskatoon

Legalizing raw milk in Canada was the opening debate at the NFU Canadian convention, between Michael Schmidt, a raw milk shipper from Ontario and Dr. Robert Buckingham, Dean of the School of Public Health, University of Saskatchewan.

Canada is the only G8 nation that does not allow raw milk to be legally sold in some form. As a result, the fast-growing production and distribution here, “has gone haywire underground,” Schmidt said. “There is a disaster looming if it’s not brought out into the open and regulated.”

[ READ MORE (The Bovine) ]

Nanny-state mentality runs amok

What do the following have to do with one another: a California lawsuit against McDonald's Happy Meals, unlicensed pig butchering and raw milk sales? They're all examples of the nanny-state mentality gone mad.

Just this week it was announced that the American advocacy group, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Monet Parham, a 41-year-old Sacramento mother of two. Parham feels McDonald's should be forbidden from advertising burgers or chicken nuggets in combination with a free toy because these Happy Meals appeal to children who then pester their parents to bring them to the fast-food chain.

[ READ MORE (Edmonton Journal) ]

Senate passes food-safety bill

A bill that would overhaul the nation's food-safety laws for the first time since the Great Depression came roaring back to life Sunday as Senate Democrats struck a deal with Republicans that helped overcome a technical mistake made three weeks ago and a filibuster threat that seemed likely to scuttle the legislation.

After a weekend of negotiations, tense strategy sessions and several premature predictions about the bill's demise, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) reached a deal with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) that the GOP would not filibuster.

[ READ MORE (Washington Post) ]

Finally, an In-Depth Look at Raw Milk Cheese; Ahem, About That Food Safety Crisis Congress Is About to Respond To The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has suggested on several occasions over the last few years that there are safety issues associated with raw milk cheeses. It has further suggested it wants to lengthen, or do away entirely with the current 60-day aging requirement and just ban raw milk cheese altogether. That would put a big crimp in raw milk distribution and consumption, and presumably hurt producers of raw milk, which often sell significant amounts to artisanal cheese producers. All this, of course, would be in line with the FDA's express goal of reducing or eliminating raw milk consumption.

The driving force behind the FDA's offensive, which has taken the form of inspections of well over 100 cheese producers this year, including the shutdown of two that made no one sick, would be expected to be safety. The agency makes a big deal about raw milk consumption being the equivalent of "playing Russian roulette with your health."

[ READ MORE (Complete Patient) ]

A Look Inside the 'Raw' Milk Underground

It didn’t look like a batch of groceries that could get someone in trouble.

I inspected the cardboard box full of two half-gallons of milk, two cartons of eggs and a white plastic bag with some chicken livers inside. All of the goods were straight from the farm, including the milk, which was "raw," or unpasteurized.

[ READ MORE (DNAinfo) ]

The Calgary [raw] goat milk seizure

I have a lot to say and a lot has happened this month. Most of you know that Alberta Health Services came into our store and seized Abigail’s raw milk. Cody was charged with assault charges for chasing after the health inspector in the parking lot trying to take back Abigail’s life force nutrient dense raw goat milk.

Here is a direct email from the health inspector: The fact this product is being stored, displayed, and dispensed in your facility is more than enough reason for Alberta Health Services to take an interest in it. As a permitted food establishment, you may not store, display or provide any food that is not from an approved source, or food that is unfit for human consumption in your facility. The unlabeled and, presumably, unpasteurized milk is most likely not an approved product nor from an approved source. You may not continue to store or distribute this product from your facility unless you can provide evidence that this product is from an approved source and safe for public distribution.

[ READ MORE (The Bovine) ]

Is the food safety bill bad for small farmers?

I buy milk, eggs, bacon, beef, chicken, pecans and honey from local farmers here in Cowley County. Every summer I look forward to shopping at Winfield’s farmer’s market for produce I’m not already growing myself. I know the items I am buying - most of which are grown without the use of pesticides or growth hormones - are good quality. I know because I ask. And I want to be able to continue buying locally grown products like these and more as they become available.

A few weeks ago I wrote about the food safety bill that was going through Congress. Language in the bill that would allow the FDA to scrutinize health supplement companies (as if they were prescription drugs, which they are not) and penalize any offenders with ten year prison sentences has been removed from the bill. But, it’s still a dangerous piece of legislation.

[ READ MORE (News Cow) ]

Mythbusting: Cheap food does not equal higher quality of life

For decades, the federal government has watched idly while a few gigantic companies grabbed ever-greater control of the food industry. As big players gobble smaller ones, they concentrate power at the top of the food chain -- and apply relentless pressure to cut costs, giving rise to many of the things I hate about the food system. Workers, farmers, the environment, animals, public health -- all get abused so that mega-retailers like Walmart, meat producers like Smithfield, and corn processors like Cargill can keep costs down while profitably selling cheap food.

Well, in a sharp break from its predecessors, the Obama Justice Department is actually acknowledging the problem and contemplating actually doing something about it. The DOJ has been holding public meetings to let players in the food system air out thier views on the issue.

[ READ MORE (Grist) ]

Iowa Activists Are "Ready to Rumble" with Factory Farms

Elections bring a change of regime. It's not just the politicians who get voted in that matter, but their advisors and the appointments they make to various government agencies at all levels. In Iowa, Governor-Elect Terry Brandstad just appointed a new head of the state's Department of Natural Resources (DNR). There are some serious questions being raised about Roger Lande, a lawyer and industry insider, who is set to take the post. Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (ICCI) intends to keep a close eye on Lande and make sure he is keeping a close eye on polluting factory farms.

Lande is a shareholder and director of the law firm Stanley, Lande, and Hunter, which has represented some pretty bad agribusiness actors like Monsanto and the Iowa Farm Bureau. Lande is also the former chair of ABI, a lobbying firm that recently called for the de-regulation of the factory farm industry. So ICCI has some legit concerns about Lande. Vern Tigges, ICCI's Board President, says that the group intends to make sure Lande's past work "won’t prevent him from fulfilling the DNR’s primary mission to protect the environment...We expect Lande to stand up for clean air and water and to crack down on factory farm polluters."

[ READ MORE (Change.org) ]

Raw milk advocates push back against state officials

Raw milk drinkers are angry over the state's raid and confiscation of hundreds of gallons of raw milk at a drop site in the Twin Cities this week.

They want the government to legalize sales of unpasteurized milk, and they're taking a wide range of positions on how to work toward that goal, everything from legislative action to civil disobedience.

[ READ MORE (MPR) ]

The bill that won't die: S510 (hide your raw milk)!

Food Bill S510* is back in the Senate, after the House hid an amendment in an appropriations bill last night. The closure (now known as H.R. 3082) has passed and is now one step closer to becoming the nightmare those loving their food freedom fear.

If the bill passes, as many as 4,000 new FDA agents will be hired, beefing up the already omnipotent agency. This bill hides behind a "food safety" issue; however, all the most recently publicized issues, with food safety, have come from industrial farms.

[ READ MORE (Examiner) ]

Food-safety bill a bad idea

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., reportedly is pursuing a vote on a massive expansion of food regulation. Proponents contend the very security of America's food supply is at stake. Rhetoric aside, the nation's food supply has never been safer, thanks largely to technological advances and market forces. Consequently, granting vast new powers to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would raise the cost of food without increasing consumer protection.

Spanning about 150 pages, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, sponsored by Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd District, would authorize the FDA to dictate how farmers grow fruits and vegetables. It even would include rules governing soil, water, hygiene, packing, temperatures, and what animals may roam which fields and when. It also would increase inspections of food "facilities" and tax them to do so. And, fulfilling the dream of a long line of agency officials, the bill grants the FDA unilateral authority to order recalls.

[ READ MORE (Republican American) ]

The state has no place in the pantries of the nation

In this week’s Post, constitutional lawyer Karen Selick reproached the police for their aggressive treatment of a hunter who butchers his own pork, well within food and safety guidelines, packaging it for his own needs and for a friend who buys for his own consumption. He did not know that what he was doing had been illegal for the past five years. There are two issues here: the first is the right of people to prepare animal products for themselves (legal) and to sell small amounts to friends (a 2005 regulation disallows dressed products going off your property) ; the second is the heavy-handed actions of the police in dealing with the “butcher’s” transgression of a regulation he didn’t know he was breaking.

[ READ MORE (National Post) ]

Global Elites Push to Starve the World and Control the Food
December 14, 2010 by Dr. Laurie Roth
NewsWithViews

The push by global elitists to control the world’s food supply is collecting dangerous and globalist bed buddies. Monsanto, the globalist Agribusiness giant has now bought Blackwater, a huge, well funded and controversial, mercenary group. Blackwater has recently changed its name to Xe to help alleviate some of the heat it has received over the years. You may recall their major mess up in Iraq back on Sept. 16, 2007, when Blackwater contractors were reported to have shot and killed 17 civilians in a crowded area in Baghdad. Food manipulation with gun control. Isn’t that pretty?

Blackwater was founded by Erik Prince, a former Navy seal who inherited a huge fortune and started to grow his well funded, mercenary company for hire largely made up of law enforcement who were contracted for large money as security in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Now, Monsanto who does research world wide into altering crops and seeds, now has mercenary, armed and dangerous protection that can kill. One of the many ‘food controlling’ efforts Monsanto is involved with is the creation of what is called a ‘terminator’ seed. This is where they plant genetically modified crops that will not produce seeds to grow other plants and food. This would force all farmers to contact Monsanto or other globally controlled ‘seed controllers’ to grow more crops.

Monsanto admits researching these ‘terminator seeds’ but not following through with it. Funny how numerous other investigative sources say they are already well into this agenda worldwide. Can you imagine the twisted vision of an Agribusiness company of any kind creating ‘suicide seeds’ known after a first year planting to self destruct and be sterile? How would doing research on a large scale to destroy the viability of seeds do anything to help humanity and stop starvation? It doesn’t. In fact, it does the exact opposite.

Now, armed and dangerous, global elite Monsanto, intends to control and destroy the worldwide food supply and make farmers come begging to them for more seeds, which no doubt have compromised nutritional value by design for the masses.

Read Full Article

December 07, 2010  Department of Agriculture stealing milk and delivery truck. It started in California, guns drawn over nuts and honey. Now it is in Minnesota.  We the people can get our food from a farmer if we like. The government is already losing on this one in court. This milk truck thievery by government agents proves the war is far from over. Big government regulation and Con Agra pesticides or organic farm fresh, you choose. The time is now.

by David GumpertWhen the 20 agents arrived bearing a search warrant at her Ventura County farmhouse door at 7 a.m. on a Wednesday a couple weeks back, Sharon Palmer didn't know what to say. This was the third time she was being raided in 18 months, and she had thought she was on her way to resolving the problem over labeling of her goat cheese that prompted the other two raids. (In addition to producing goat's milk, she raises cattle, pigs, and chickens, and makes the meat available via a CSA.)

But her 12-year-old daughter, Jasmine, wasn't the least bit tongue-tied. "She started back-talking to them," recalls Palmer. "She said, 'If you take my computer again, I can't do my homework.' This would be the third computer we will have lost. I still haven't gotten the computers back that they took in the previous two raids."

As part of a five-hour-plus search of her barn and home, the agents -- from the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office, Los Angeles County Sheriff, Ventura County Sheriff, and the California Department of Food and Agriculture -- took the replacement computer, along with milk she feeds her chickens and pigs.
 
While no one will say officially what the purpose of this latest raid was, aside from being part of an investigation in progress, what is very clear is that government raids of producers, distributors, and even consumers of nutritionally dense foods appear to be happening ever more frequently. Sometimes they are meant to counter raw dairy production, other times to challenge private food organizations over whether they should be licensed as food retailers.

The same day Sharon Palmer's farm was raided, there was a raid on Rawesome Foods, a Venice, Calif., private food club run by nutritionist and raw-food advocate Aajonus Vonderplanitz. For a membership fee of $25, consumers can purchase unpasteurized dairy products, eggs that are not only organic but unwashed, and a wide assortment of fermented vegetables and other products.

The main difference in the two raids seems to be that Palmer's raiding party was actually much smaller, about half the size of the Venice contingent: Vonderplanitz was also visited by the FBI and the FDA.

In the Rawesome raid, agents made off with several thousand dollars worth of raw honey and raw dairy products. They also shut Rawesome for failure to have a public health permit, though the size and scope of the raid suggests the government officials might have more in mind. Regardless, within hours the outlet reopened in defiance of the shutdown order.

Earlier in June, agents of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, escorted by police and also bearing search warrants, raided and shut down Traditional Foods Warehouse, a popular food club in Minneapolis specializing in locally-produced foods. They also raided two farms suspected of illegally selling raw milk. And in a national first among such raids, agents searched a private home and made off with computers; the family's offense appears to have been that it allowed one of the raw dairy farmers to park in its driveway to distribute raw milk to area residents who had ordered it. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture has declined comment on such raids, saying they are part of an ongoing investigation into raw milk distribution in the state in lieu of eight illnesses in May linked to raw milk.

Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection has launched three raids over the last three months on the dairy farm and farm store of Vernon Hershberger, near Madison. The day after DATCP agents placed seals on his fridges storing raw dairy products in July, Hershberger cut the seals, and announced he was going to challenge the agency's contention he needs a dairy and retail license to sell his products. Obtaining such licenses would be problematic, though, since Wisconsin prohibits sale of raw milk, except "incidental" sales, and defining "incidental" has been a bone of contention for many years. In any event, Hershberger contends he sells only to consumers who contract privately for his food.

What's behind all these raids? They seem to stem from increasing concern at both the state and federal level about the spread of private food groups that have sprung up around the country in recent years -- food clubs and buying groups to provide specialized local products that are generally unavailable in groceries, like grass-fed meats, pastured eggs, fermented foods, and, in some cases, raw dairy products. Because they are private and limited to consumers who sign up for membership, these groups generally avoid obtaining retail and public health licenses required of retailers that sell to the general public.

In late 2008 and early 2009, the representatives of state agriculture agencies in Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois met via phone conferences with representatives of the FDA to map a plan for targeting raw-milk buying clubs in the Midwest. The meetings came to light after Max Kane, the owner of a Wisconsin buying club who was subpoenaed by Wisconsin authorities for the names of his customers and suppliers, obtained email accounts of the sessions via a Freedom of Information request to Wisconsin's Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection department. (Kane has since been prosecuted by Wisconsin authorities for contempt of court for failing to give up the names; his case is under appeal after he was found guilty last December.)

Now, the Midwest program seems to have gone national, and the recent spate of raids suggests a quickening pace and broadened scope. While most raids before the Midwest government meetings had been related to raw-milk distribution, some, like a December 2008 armed raid of Manna Storehouse, an Ohio food club near Cleveland, have been about licensing issues. In that raid, armed law enforcement officers held a mother and eight young children being home-schooled at gunpoint for several hours while they searched the home and food storage areas. A legal challenge to the raid by the family is still tied up in court.

The current uptick has Pete Kennedy of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund concerned, not only about the spreading of the raids, but about the seemingly easy willingness of judges to hand out search warrants. While the U.S. Constitution's fourth amendment suggests judges should exercise tight controls over search warrants ("no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause..."), Kennedy observes, "I haven't seen an agency turned down yet" over the last four years in requests for search warrants connected with raw milk and other food production and distribution.

Given that the targets of search warrants don't get a say in court as to whether they should be issued, legal experts and those who have been raided say the most that food producers can do is take steps to prepare themselves to weather the raids as best they can.

Here are five suggestions they offer:

1. Be wary of strangers who want to join your private buying group or herdshare: Before they seek out a search warrant, regulators invariably nose around and infiltrate private buying groups or raw milk herdshares to gain information on "probable cause." They'll often make up sad stories as to why they should be allowed to join. Gary Cox of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund recalls how an undercover agent from the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets infiltrated Meadowsweet Dairy LLC, a private organization of 120 Ithaca consumers who bought shares to gain access to raw dairy products, in 2007: "He was insistent. 'I live so far away, and I only come here so very infrequently, so can't I at least have some (milk) today, PLEEEEEEEASE, because otherwise I won't be able to get any for a long time.' Barb Smith felt sorry for him and relented. We know what the consequence was of her kindness." The consequence was an open-ended search warrant that agents used several times in late 2007 and early 2008 to confiscate product, leading up to a legal challenge to the LLC that is currently under appeal following rulings in New York state courts against Meadowsweet.


2. Have a video camera at the ready: Since search warrants are usually specific as to what can be searched and/or seized, a video recording of events inhibits abuses by regulators and other law enforcement personnel. Regulators and law enforcement officials definitely don't appreciate being videotaped, and sometimes will simply disconnect videos or order targeted individuals to put the videos away. According to Aajonus Vonderpanitz, in the June raid of his Rawesome Foods outlet, "They unplugged our surveillance camera to hide their actions. They threateningly refused video capture of their raid when members commenced filming."


3. Have a plan of action: Much like planning how your family might escape a fire, decide in advance who will handle the video camera, who will collect business cards or take down the names of all agents, and who will interact with the regulators. The regulators and police count on the element of surprise to sow confusion, and keep the targets from responding intelligently.


4. Read the search warrant fine print: Sometimes there are limitations on the search warrants that targets can exploit. Vernon Hershberger, the Wisconsin dairy farmer, was able to slow the regulators down because he knew the search warrant in his case likely wouldn't allow forcible entry, so when agents returned a second time, after he cut the seals on his fridges, he locked his farm store doors and they were forced to leave. They eventually returned with an amended warrant that specifically allowed them to take his computer.


5. Keep computer backups: In nearly all such raids, the authorities confiscate computers so they can document transactions and customer interactions. If you don't have a backup of what's on your disk, you can literally be put out of business. Moreover, it's advisable to monitor what information you keep on the computer in the farmhouse or in your food club. There's something to be said for backing up every few days onto another computer kept off-site.

145233 David Gumpert is the author of The Raw Milk Revolution: Behind America’s Emerging Battle Over Food Rights (Chelsea Green, 2009). He is also a journalist who specializes in covering the intersection of health and business. His popular blog has chronicled the increasingly unsettling battles over raw milk. He has authored or coauthored seven books on various aspects of entrepreneurship and business and previously been a reporter and editor with the Wall Street Journal, Inc. magazine, and the Harvard Business Review.

by: David Gumpert
Wisconsin agriculture and public health regulators have a message for the state's raw dairy farmers in lieu of the governor's veto two weeks ago of the legislation that would have allowed direct-from-farm sales: We're in charge here and we have the hammer.

Today, inspectors from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection, and from a local public health department, accompanied by six sheriff's deputies, descended on the Grazin' Acres farm owned by Vernon Hershberger. He says the search appears to be in connection with raw milk made available from his dairy, and a demand that he have a retail establishment permit for his store, which sells goods from the farm.

The inspectors had a "special inspection warrant" signed by a local judge, and proceeded to spend more than five hours going through the farm's coolers and refrigerators cataloguing the farm's dairy and other food offerings. The inspectors obtained the warrant after Hershberger initially refused to let them conduct an inspection. Near the end of the search, the inspectors prepared to take dairy samples.

Grazin' Acres has been distributing raw milk to consumers under previous exemptions allowed by DATCP for some raw dairy producers, including a 2004 decision signed by Rod Nilsesteuen, secretary of agriculture. Since last fall, though, "DATCP has been harassing us." This included a lengthy request for information several months ago that sought information on the dairy's customers and suppliers going back many years. Hershberger says, "We answered it, but did not give any information. "

JESSICA VANEGEREN | The Capital Times
A Sauk County dairy farmer who was handed a warrant Wednesday for operating a farm without a dairy license and selling raw milk products said he is ignoring the authorities and is open for business.

"This is how I make a living," Vernon Hershberger, a Loganville dairy farmer, said Thursday morning. "We are going to go right ahead and do business."

Hershberger said roughly 100 families, including some Madison customers, purchase raw milk, yogurt, cheese, butter and ice cream from a store on his farm read story here

Last week, we heard Sally Fallon Morrell speak in defense of raw, un-pasteurized milk on a local National Public Radio (NPR) broadcast.

Sally is president of the Weston A. Price Foundation, which advocates for traditional diets, including raw milk and fermented foods.

NPR was covering the story because growing numbers of Americans are convinced of the nutritional superiority and safety of raw milk from local farms … and because some are being prosecuted for their purchases.

Why do many people agree with the Weston A. Price Foundation that raw milk is better?

The Foundation and others cite evidence that raw milk is more healthful than pasteurized milk, and no less safe when purchased from responsible farms.

They say that pasteurization made sense in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when sanitation was poorly understood and practiced by players in the milk production/distribution chain, leading to outbreaks of milk-borne disease in urban areas.

Raw milk fans claim that even small farms practice safe milk production, and that the FDA misrepresents illness reports in ways that distort and exaggerate the dangers of raw milk, while ignoring the nutritional and health shortcomings of the pasteurized product.

On the other side of the debate sit most public health authorities, who echo conventional wisdom that pasteurized milk is safer and equally healthful, and crack down on raw milk purchasing clubs.

Educate yourself on the debate

Our sympathies lie with those who want the freedom to choose the best food for themselves and their families … as long as care it taken to protect from pathogens.

So far, we’re pretty well persuaded that raw milk is healthier than pasteurized milk, and that it’s possible to get safe raw milk.

Given the complexity and emotionality of the issue, you should research the issue, hear both sides out, and decide!

Rather than attempt to summarize a complex issue here, we direct you to a website produced by the Foundation, called Real Milk, which provides ample information … including point-by-point rebuttals of FDA positions and presentations.

Raw milk advocates win first round in lawsuit against FDA regulations

The raw milk issue is in the public eye thanks to recent prosecutions of people who buy direct from farms … especially through buyer’s clubs where the end consumer is getting the milk at no extra cost from a fellow club member.

These prosecutions led to a lawsuit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), filed by the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF) and eight other plaintiffs.

The lawsuit argues that federal regulations prohibiting the sale of raw milk across state lines are unconstitutional.

Last week, federal district court Judge Mark W. Bennett refused to grant a motion by the FDA to dismiss the lawsuit, handing raw milk proponents an initial victory.

The regulations in question appear to prevent people from traveling from a state where it is not legal to purchase raw milk, to a state where it is legal, and then return to the original state to consume the raw milk themselves or give it to their friends or family members.

Fresh food that lasts from eFoods Direct (Ad)

Safety of milk depends in part on farm practices

Raw milk might not be safe if it came from conventional factory farms, where the animals’ diets promote disease, and it can be harder to maintain control over sanitary conditions.

Conversely, just because a farm is small and family run doesn’t mean that its milk is safe or unsafe.

If you decide that raw milk is superior, the obvious solution is to get it from small family farms that observe stringent sanitation practices and feed their animals in ways that promote optimal nutritional value in the milk and maximum immunity to pathogens in the cows.

Andy Mastrocola speaks at today's rally, encouraging Governor Jim Doyle to sign into law the raw milk bill.
Credit:Linda Falkenstein

There is an old and very true saying...."follow the money" . We shall soon see what his next career move is. Dairy industry??? maybe he has a job lined up already as a reward for using his power of veto. Time will tell the truth to the story.
In the mean time we will boycott all those companies that encouraged a veto on SB 434. SARGENTO, WISCONSIN GROCERS ASSOCIATION, TREGA, MAPLE LEAF CHEESE, GREAT LAKES CHEESE, SAPUTO CHEESE USA, MIESTER CHEESE COMPANY, BEL GIOIOSO CHEESE, SEYMOUR DAIRY PRODUCTS, BURNETT DAIRY, BAKER CHEESE FACTORY, DUPONT CHEESE, EDELWEISS CREAMERY, TAYLOR CHEESE CORP, WISCONSIN DAIRY STATE CHEESE, LAGRANDER'S HILLSIDE DAIRY, DECATUR DAIRY, MASTERS GALLERY FOODS, CRAVE BROTHERS FARMSTEAD CHEESE, GRANDE CHEESE COMPANY, CEDAR VALLEY CHEESE, AND FOREMOST.

Dear Mr. Sheehan,

I would like to respectfully ask your help in overturning any laws about obtaining, selling, and transporting raw milk.  Drinkers of raw milk are an intelligent (I have a Master's Degree for example) and varied group of people--one I personally know is a 93 year old urban dweller who is doing great and cured her lifelong asthma drinking raw milk.

I feel the right to food choice is a basic American right.  A little perspective is in order.  If in trying to commit suicide a person takes poison, they are not prosecuted.  The makers of the poison are not prosecuted.  Thousands of deaths are attributed to tobacco and alcohol each year and they are not illegal and they can be taken across state lines with impunity.  What about the genetically modified food we are forced to eat in our food supply that we don't want?  If downed cows can be put into chicken feed and chicken poop can be put into cow feed, doesn't that subvert the ban against feeding downed cows to other cows and still leave us open to contracting mad cow disease since that process doesn't kill it?  There are far worse food safety hazards than raw milk.

As a taxpayer, I object to my money being spent to suppress a healthy food choice.  Even Louis Pasteur recanted about the process named after him.  He finally stated that it was NOT introduction of bacteria that sickened a person, but it was the health of the host (person) that determined if they would get sick.  Raw milk contributes to the health of the host.

The small family farms that produce raw milk are scrupulously clean.  Their cows are pastured and grass fed.  The biggest health problems derive from factory farms and corn fed cattle which results in acid resistant bacteria, that is extremely dangerous to human health. Your authority would be better used to clean up these factory farm practices including CAFOs.  Also stepped up livestock inspection.

I ask you to cease and desist from harassing family farms, organic farms, and raw milk producers--NOW!

Thank you,
L. P.

RE: Senate Bill 434 and Assembly Bill 628 - Vote YES

Dear Senator’s & Representative’s:
Please support & vote YES to Senate Bill 434 and Assembly Bill 628 to legalize the sale of PURE unadulterated and unpasteurized milk, butter & cheese.

Wisconsin consumers should have the right to purchase PURE unpasteurized milk legally from our farmers.

Consuming raw milk products is not dangerous and is NOT A Safety or public health risk issue.

We, the Wisconsin consumer are choosing to vote with our dollars by purchasing organic, RAW & locally grown food such as fruit, vegetables, beef, poultry, eggs.   Wisconsin consumers should also have the same legal right to purchase our dairy products, unpasteurized, from our farmer!

We, the Wisconsin consumer’s, are choosing to purchase our food locally to not only reduce interstate transportation & related carbon emissions, but we are choosing to purchase locally grown raw food to also support our small farmers, sustainable agricultural practices and also so we know exactly where and how our food is grown. Please don’t allow this bill to fail.

Consumer demand & sales of wholesome and organic & raw locally grown foods in Wisconsin and the United States is continuing to see record growth, and that momentum is not going away.  This demand is witnessed by the rise and success in the number of local farmer’s markets and proliferation of Urban Gardens such as Growing Power in Milwaukee.  This demand is also witnessed by the success & healthful response of health minded television programs such as the Biggest Loser.

In a time of epidemic obesity, diabetes and massive food recalls by industrial food giants, educated consumers are reaching out for better food choices.  Wisconsin consumers have a right to purchase unadulterated food!

Why has the Wisconsin Department of Agricultural Trade and Consumer Protection opposed to legalizing the sale of unpasteurized, PURE milk?

Our state’s law and statutes are contradictory, for example:

The Wisconsin Dept of Agricultural Trade & Consumer Protection states on it own website, under FAQ, that YES, it IS legal for farmers, their families and household guests to consume their raw milk.  Based on this statement by the dept., it is clear that The Safety and public health risk of consuming raw milk is NOT AN ISSUE.

Lisa's Follow Up Letter
To: Sen.Darling@legis.wisconsin.gov, Sen.Grothman@legis.wisconsin.gov, Sen.Holperin@legis.wisconsin.gov, Kapanke@legis.wisconsin.gov, Sen.Kreitlow@legis.wisconsin.gov, Sen.Leibham@legis.wisconsin.gov, Sen.Schultz@legis.wisconsin.gov, Sen.Taylor@legis.wisconsin.gov, Rep.ballweg@legis.wisconsin.gov, Rep.berceau@legis.wisconsin.gov, Rep.Danou@legis.wisconsin.gov, Rep.gunderson@legis.wisconsin.gov, Rep.Hilgenberg@legis.wisconsin.gov, Rep.kerkman@legis.wisconsin.gov, Rep.lemahieu@legis.wisconsin.gov, Rep.Milroy@legis.wisconsin.gov, Rep.Newcomer@legis.wisconsin.gov, Rep.pope-roberts@legis.wisconsin.gov, Rep.pridemore@legis.wisconsin.gov, Rep.richards@legis.wisconsin.gov, Rep.Roys@legis.wisconsin.gov, Rep.Soletski@legis.wisconsin.gov, Rep.sherman@legis.wisconsin.gov, Rep.vos@legis.wisconsin.gov, Sen.Coggs@legis.wisconsin.gov, Rep.Grigsby@legis.wisconsin.gov, Rod.Nilsestuen@Wisconsin.gov, Steven.Ingham@wisconsin.gov, Sen.Vinehout@legis.wisconsin.gov, Sen.Plale@legis.wisconsin.gov, Sen.Harsdorf@legis.wisconsin.gov, Sen.Kapanke@legis.wisconsin.gov, Rep.Garthwaite@legis.wisconsin.gov, Rep.Jorgensen@legis.wisconsin.gov, Rep.Hraychuck@legis.wisconsin.gov, Rep.Clark@legis.wisconsin.gov, Rep.Dexter@legis.wisconsin.gov, Rep.WoodJ@legis.wisconsin.gov, Rep.Meyer@legis.wisconsin.gov, Rep.Davis@legis.wisconsin.gov, Rep.Nerison@legis.wisconsin.gov, Rep.Murtha@legis.wisconsin.gov, dvonruden@wisconsinfarmersunion.com, sschultz@wisconsinfarmersunion.com, cstatz@wisconsinfarmersunion.com, jsmetro@journalsentinel.com, rbarrett@journalsentinel.com, rmial@lacrossetribune.com, kim.hartke@gmail.com, milwaukee@bizjournals.com, scingham@wisc.edu, news@todaystmj4.com
Date: Friday, March 12, 2010, 1:42 AM

Dear Senators Kreitlow & Danou,

 

Thank you very much for proposing this bill.  Thank you to the Senators & Representatives who introduced and cosponsored this challenging issue.  Thank you to everyone who was instrumental in setting up the hearing.

 

Wednesday's hearing had an impressive turn out and incredible testimonies!  I am from Milwaukee, we left here at 5 AM, arrived at 9:30. I immediately signed up & was able to give my testimony at 4PM!  My 75 year old mother & I stayed to almost 8PM, the bitter end, to listen to almost all of the compelling testimonies.  And then drove 4 hours for home in dense fog. Pretty full day for all of us!  Kudos for the committee’s graciousness and endurance throughout.

 

I still am not sure why the hearing was held in Eau Claire instead of Madison, our legislative capitol? Or held in such a small auditorium?  I keep hearing that it was a tactic to reduce media exposure and make this critical meeting as inconvenient as possible for many more constituents & their representatives to attend?  I still have not heard back from the respective committees on this matter.

 

My apologies in advance but I would like to add to my short testimony, another thought, after hearing all of the evidence on Wednesday.   My hypothetical question I posed there was this:  

Why is the DATCP so opposed to legalizing the sale of unpasteurized, PURE milk?  They are not making the laws, they are appointed to safeguard the laws created, which ever direction these laws take. 

 

Hmmm... so I came to the conclusion that it may be answered in the possibility:

If more evidence reveals, the case publicly, that naturally pure milk is in fact healthier than pasteurized, and pasteurized could be harmful...  terribly harmful to Wisconsin's $26 billion dollar 'conventional' dairy industry.  Sadly, I suppose, it could have litigious outcomes to the DATCP as well as to our economy. 

 

I certainly hope we can move forward in a direction that helps everyone!

 

Finally, I would like to give thanks to the Wisconsin Farmer’ Unions for announcing their support to this bill. 

 

Thank you everyone and Best Wishes.

 

My name is Rachel C. I am a horticulturist, a mother, a voting and taxpaying citizen and a consumer of raw milk. I am here to urge you to pass the proposed Raw Milk legislation before you.
I live in Delavan Wisconsin, not far from many exceptional, still operating dairy farms. One of these farms endeavors and succeeds in producing exceptional, organic, grass fed dairy cows. Their attention to detail, organic and sustainable practices and commitment to healthy animals, healthy soils and healthy milk has earned my business. I purchase a superior quality product from them.
The milk I buy leaves the cows, runs through clean, impeccably maintained equipment, into clean refrigerated tanks. Within minutes I receive my product. I know this; I see it; I have done my job as a consumer. There is no fresher milk available to me. I am spending my hard earned dollars, I have looked, researched, and found a producer who provides a superior product at the price I am willing to pay, and yet this perfectly acceptable practice in every other American enterprise is illegal. I should be able to buy a superior product. My milk man should be able to sell a superior product. It is the American form of free enterprise and my basic freedom to buy whatever I want with my money.
With modern practices and already standing standards, pasteurization is unnecessary. Both pasteurization and homogenization of milk are scientifically proven to alter the product so significantly that it only remotely resembles the original product in nutritional value and does more harm than good. I am the mother of two teenage boys and am greatly concerned with the epidemic of obesity and childhood diabetes in this country. I firmly believe that over processed and manufactured food “products” are partly responsible for this epidemic. As a consumer I am doing my job, why is the government standing in my way? My milk man isn’t standing in my way.
I am putting my hard earned dollars into my local community, connecting with people who care about me and my family and I care deeply for them and their families. We are a COMMUNITY and it this strength in community both emotionally and ECONOMICALLY that makes this region viable. We can set a precedent here; we have a rare and precious commodity, fine rural land, organic and sustainable farmers who collectively possess knowledge and experience to create good, healthy, and wholesome food. Please let us buy it. It’s the American thing to do.

Thank You

Here is my Thank you follow up letter

Dear Senators and Representatives:
 
I  am writing as a follow up to my testimony on Wednesday at the Raw Milk Hearing.
 
I wanted to Thank You all for the graciousness you showed to me and my fellow supporters and the detractors to the sponsored bill. You showed grace and patience and genuine interest in all the testimonies given.
 
When I left my barn much earlier than usual I told the livestock to get on with breakfast because I had important business to attend to. I hurriedly drove the 4 hours up to Eau Claire excited to participate in my governmental process. I stayed the nearly the whole time finally giving my testimony at 7:30 pm. Driving home late into the evening through the fog I was invigorated and energized by the experience. I was amazed by the whole process at work and heartened by the time and patience our senators and representatives showed. The hearing was long, many testimonies were repetitive and I'm sure much of what was said was not news to the panel but they heard everyone out and even asked many questions. They answered our questions respectfully  and even injected humor into the discussion where appropriate. They created a safe zone for people to really speak from the heart about their personal experiences. It became apparent to me they understood that they were there not just to learn our information but to hear us individually. That they are tasked to not only make decisions that affect the voting public, but to " hear the People"; to create forums for the people to speak to them. This means that we the people have to continue to "show up" and make our voices heard. This is the lesson I learned on Wednesday. Our representatives did their job and finally I understand my job as a citizen.
 
I was moved emotionally by my participating in our democratic process and my faith in our government has been strengthened by this experience. I am only disappointed I didn't take my sons out of school that day and bring them with me. Maybe they would not have to wait until they were 44 years old to really participate in their governement process. I will bring them next time, yes- I will return to participate.
 
Thank you so very much
 
Rachel C