News
July 24, 2008 - R-CALF: Groups Urge Congress To Immediately Halt Any Further Advancement Of NAIS
cattlenetwork - The Source for Cattle News
Washington, D.C. – In formal correspondence sent today to the leaders of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, two national groups and nine others – all from different states – requested that Congress immediately halt any further advancement of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) and to conduct an oversight hearing on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) NAIS activities to carefully and deliberately investigate the full ramifications of USDA’s NAIS-related actions and proposals.
Full Story
July 24, 2008 - Organically reared cows produce healthier milk says Newcastle University
Valerie Elliot, Consumer Editor
From The Times
Milk from organic cattle that eat a fresh grass diet is likely to be better for your health, according to a new study by the University of Newcastle
This organic milk contained more good fatty acids such as omega-3 and conjugated linoleic acid known as CLA9 than milk produced at intensive commercial dairy farms. The difference was even more marked during the summer with levels of CLA9 about 60 per cent higher in milk from cattle that graze in fields.
Full Story
July 24, 2008 - Got raw milk?
ER doctor calls for research into disease-fighting components.
By Loren Muldowney
A Rodale Institute Article
Mark E. Gebhart, M.D., spoke April 3 on “Raw milk: a microbiology primer.” Gebhart is assistant professor of emergency medicine at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, where he serves dual directorships of EMS/Medical Readiness and the Homeland Emergency Learning and Preparedness (HELP) Center in addition to his teaching responsibilities. He also practices clinical emergency medicine as a staff member of a local hospital. Dr. Gebhart began with the disclaimer that any views he expressed were his own.
Full Story
July 20, 2008 - What is happening to farming - and to your world.
by Linn Cohen-Cole
http://www.opednews.com
I will keep this simple.
Farming here and around the world is in terrible trouble.
Kissinger said control food, you control populations.
Full Story
July 20, 2008 - Local food movement grows in Central Texas, converting more 'locavores'
The ranks of locavores -- people who try to eat locally, usually for environmental or nutritional reasons -- are growing, as part of a nationwide "local food movement" that seeks nothing less than to revolutionize the way food is grown, sold and eaten.
Full Story
July 17, 2008 - Odiferous Overcrowded Dairy Farms Not Just A Problem for Cows
Published July 17, 2008 08:30 AM
Envoronmental News Network
Vegetarians and concerned carnivores alike have long protested the way livestock is raised at many large farms. But it's taking some time for Americans to view this not only as an animal-mistreatment issue but one that directly affects human health. The Union of Concerned Scientists has taken the issue up, and is driving its point home by citing a recent event in which rural Minnesotans actually fled their homes as a result of animal crowding's side-effects.
Full Story
July 16, 2008 - Australia - Cattle producer ordered to pay $17,300 for NLIS tag breach
26/06/2008 5:12:00 PM
Cattle producer Stephen Blair has been convicted in Albury Local Court, NSW, for incorrectly tagging an estimated 177 cattle at Little Billabong Station near Holbrook with National Livestock Identification Scheme (NLIS) tags assigned to his Victorian property.
Mr. Blair was fined $1800 under the Stock Diseases Act and ordered to pay court costs of $15,500.
Full Story
July 14, 2008 - Controversy Raised Over Raw Milk
Massachusetts Farmers Say Demand Is Growing, Despite FDA Warning
TheBostonChannel.com
BOSTON -- Milk is widely seen as one of the most healthy beverages available. But some people argue the milk we buy in stores is not healthy, and some turn to local farms to buy raw milk, despite warnings from the Food and Drug Administration that raw milk may not be safe.
Full Story
July 14, 2008 - LET'S CLEAR THE LAST COMMITTEE HURDLE FOR SB201 The Fresh Milk Act of 2008!
We are getting closer to passage of SB201, the Fresh Milk Act of 2008, which will replace AB1735 (the "sneak attack" against raw milk) and guarantee the future of raw milk in California. We appreciate all your support so far in making calls, which helped the bill pass unanimously out of two committee hearings.
Full Story
July 11, 2008 - Cutting Out the Middlemen, Shoppers Buy Slices of Farms
New York Times
July 10, 2008
By SUSAN SAULNY
CAMPTON TOWNSHIP, Ill. - In an environmentally conscious tweak on the typical way of getting food to the table, growing numbers of people are skipping out on grocery stores and even farmers markets and instead going right to the source by buying shares of farms.
Full Story
July 9, 2008 - Fighting For A New Freedom Of Choice
By: Mary B. Worthington,
For The Bulletin
07/08/2008
"The idea of having all the vitamins boiled out of my milk and then put back in doesn't sound nearly as appealing as getting it straight from the cow!" exclaimed Mountain MacGillivray.
Mr. MacGillivray, 35, discovered what he calls "authentic" milk three years ago when he was exposed to research showing its health benefits. "I tried it, and it tasted just as good, so I figured it was the way to go."
Full Story
July 9, 2008 - Raw milk may lose its gray dye
2 JUL 2008 • by Suzanne Nelson
In a rare move, the N.C. Department of Agriculture is supporting legislation to overturn the agency's own regulation requiring all unpasteurized milk sold in the state to be dyed gray. The House overwhelmingly passed the bill last week; the Senate is set to take it up in the next few days.
Full Story
July 8, 2008 - Raw Milk Victory
Rules Proposed in California Could Go Nationwide
July 3, 2008 at 6:19AM by Deirdre Dolan
A critical hurdle was just cleared in California where the threat of raw milk becoming illegal (as it already is in many states) was looming. The Assembly Health Committee voted unanimously for SB 201, the Fresh Raw Milk Act of 2008. They are also close to passing legislation that will codify making it safe and legal, hopefully to be used as a template in other states.
Today is the hearing before the Assembly Agriculture Committee, that is expected to vote in favor of the bill. After that the bill goes to the entire assembly.
California readers can check in here for more details on when to make critical phone calls in support.
Full Story
July 7 - Of Locavore Interest
Support your local farmer
Movement to eat food grown within 100 miles of home is gaining traction
By Gerry Smith
Chicago Tribune reporter
July 6, 2008
Last month, Lenae Weichel embarked on an ambitious dietary experiment: to feed her family for a year with food produced within 100 miles of her Rockford home.
Inspired by a Vancouver couple who wrote a book on their "100-mile diet," she joined a community-supported agriculture program, visited her local farmers market and started growing fruits and vegetables in her backyard.
Full Story
July 2, 2008 NC - VICTORY -
PET MILK DYE RULE REVERSED!
HB 2524 UNANIMOUSLY PASSES THE SENATE -
WE WON !!!!!!!!
NORTH CAROLINA RAW MILK ACTION ALERT
From Ruth Ann Foster,
Greensboro, NC Chapter Leader,
Raw Milk Coordinator
July 2, 2008
I have just received word from Representative Pricey Harrison that the Senate unanimously passed HB 2524. (Yesterday, it passed unanimously out of the Senate Agriculture/Environment/Natural Resources Committee.) We have successfully reversed the dye rule.
Full Story
July 1, 2008 - UPDATE on Appropriations Provision to Link NAIS to the School Lunch Program
The House Appropriations Committee adjourned on Thursday without reaching the Agriculture Appropriations bill. The reason was a partisan flare-up between the Ranking Member, Jerry Lewis (R-CA) and the Chair, David Obey (D-WI), dealing with the Interior Appropriations bill. It's not clear what will happen with any of the appropriations bills now.
Full Story
June 30, 2008 - Dairyman wants super-quality raw milk in retail stores
Jerry Snyder has spent two years asking milk experts what standards it takes to produce the highest-quality fluid milk around. His 50-cow, grass-based herd is showing what’s possible when cow health and meticulous care come together.
By Greg Bowman
Online at Rodale Institute
June 30, 2008 - Raw Milk Soiree
Online Story from Lancaster Farming
Tracy Sutton
Northern Editor - Lancaster Farming
BETHESDA, Md. — Mark Nolt has a friend in Lyn Rales. The Washington-area socialite threw a legal defense fundraiser for the embattled Mennonite dairyman who is appealing charges levied against him for selling raw milk without a permit. Last Saturday Rales held a soiree to “spread a little sunshine” for the Nolt family at her Bethesda home and raised $12,000.
Full Story
June 26, 2008 - FTCLDF and 61 other organizations ask Congress not to link the School Lunch Program to the National Animal ID System
June 25, 2008 - THE REAL DEAL ABOUT REAL MILK SEMINAR
Sponsored by the Pennsylvania Independent Farmers and Consumers Association (PICFA)
DATE:
August 2, 2008
7:30 am - 6:00 pm
LOCATION:
Cedar Crest High School
115 East Evergreen Road
Lebanon, Pennsylvania 17042
Full Story
June 24, 2008 - ACTION ALERT: Mandatory Requirement for NAIS in School Lunch Program Put in House Agriculture Appropriations Bill. CALL NOW!
The House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee has included pro-NAIS provisions in the Agriculture Appropriations bill for 2009. According to the press release, the bill would require USDA to purchase meat products for the School Lunch Program from livestock premises registered with National Animal Identification System beginning in July 2009. This is a back-door method for mandating NAIS through the power of the purse strings. The bill also provides a total NAIS funding level of $14.5 million or about $4.8 million above 2008. We must stop these provisions from going any further!
Full Story
June 21, 2008 - Crema, California Real Milk Association is a brand new raw dairy consumer group with 3500 members statewide. A former NBC news producer helped them produce a video to help get concerned citizens involved in trying to pass SB 201 a new Fresh Raw Milk Act to make sure raw milk remains safe, and legal in California.
Full Story
June 20, 2008 - School Lunches and NAIS
June 18, 2008 - Farmers and Federal Judge Oppose NAIS Flawed Plan
Opponents Welcome US Federal Judge's Ruling
Agriculture Online
3:41 PM, June 16, 2008
KANSAS CITY (Dow Jones)--Opponents of the National Animal Identification System Monday are commending a Federal District judge for his action in a case seeking to keep the U.S. Department of Agriculture from applying Privacy Act safeguards to the information it has on hand.
Full Story
June 16, 2008 - Court issues temporary restraining order suspending application of Privacy Act to NAIS
June 12, 2008 - Health officials crack down on unpasteurized milk
By PAUL ELIAS, Associated Press Writer
Wed Jun 11, 5:25 PM ET
SAN FRANCISCO - Dairy owner Mark McAfee started selling raw milk in 2000, marketing it to customers who believe it contains beneficial microbes that treat everything from asthma to autism.
The unpasteurized milk swiftly caught on as part of the growing natural food movement. But the Food and Drug Administration considers McAfee a snake oil salesman and recently launched an investigation into whether his dairy illegally shipped raw milk across state lines. The agency even tried to recruit one of his employees to secretly record conversations with him.
Full Story
June 10, 2008 - Society soiree to benefit embattled dairy farmer
UDDERLY RIDICULOUS
Society soiree to benefit embattled dairy farmer
Lexus crowd gathering on behalf of horse-and-buggy Amish man
Posted: June 09, 2008
10:27 pm Eastern
By Bob Unruh
© 2008 WorldNetDaily
The Lexus crowd will assemble for a society soiree in exclusive Bethesda, Md., later this month to benefit a horse-and-buggy Amish farmer.
The announcement comes from Lyn Rales, whose invitation offers the opportunity to "Spread a little Sunshine into the lives of the [Mark] Nolt family."
June 10, 2008 - Organic Raw Milk & Live Foods
California to Lead the Nation with Highest Raw Milk Standards
June 9, 2008
Senate Bill #201 Comes to Life
Senator Dean Florez said it best when he held hearings on Farm Fresh Milk in April of this year. He said we want "World Class Raw Milk for California." SB 201, sponsored by Senator Florez, Senator Perata and Assemblymember Berryhill accomplishes just that.
Full Story
June 09, 2008 - Missouri Governor Signs Farmer Relief Bill That Prohibits Mandatory NAIS
Friday, June 6, 2008, 1:50 PM
by Katie Allen and Julie Harker
Missouri Governor Matt Blunt signed a bill into law today that he says will ensure Missouri agriculture continues to thrive.
Senate Bill 931 is the first collective agriculture bill to pass the General Assembly in three years. Prohibiting the Missouri Department of Agriculture from making the USDA’s National Animal Identification System mandatory and creating a program to provide loan assistance for student veterinarians interested in large animal medicine are two key features.
The bill also provides a sales tax exemption for fencing supplies and a tax credit for the building of stations that sell alternative fuels.
June 05, 2008 - 2008 Farm Bill Analysis
National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture Priorities
Full Story
June 05, 2008 - Black market milking
Farmers get raw product to the buyer
Meghan Howard
SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
On May 5, dairy farmer Mark Nolt emerged from a court hearing in Mount Holly Springs, Pa., to find a band of supporters applauding him.
His crime? Involvement in a local black market: raw milk.
The Mennonite dairy producer was arrested April 25, then charged and fined for selling raw milk and other raw dairy products without a permit. Police seized and destroyed more than $25,000 worth of milk and some equipment at his small farm in Newville, Pa.
Full Story
June 05, 2008 - Forced sheep tagging not viable, says meat industry
By Neil Merrett
05-Jun-2008 - UK meat processors have backed the country's farmers over concerns at the cost of implementing European directives requiring compulsory electronic tagging on sheep in the next few years.
The European Commission is currently requiring all farmers in the bloc by 2010 to individually track and record sheep and goat in the market through use of an Electronic Identification (EID) and reader system.
Full Story
May 30, 2008 - Got Milk? Get Investigated
By David E. Gumpert
THE NATION
May 27, 2008
The undercover agent takes two guises in our national consciousness. At one extreme is the highly trained professional who risks his or her life to go after the worst drug dealers and mobsters. At the other extreme is the apolitical and poorly trained apparatchik, designated by a bureaucratic superior to infiltrate a group deemed subversive or otherwise troublesome to authorities. The infiltrator may even become a provocateur as a way to give the authorities an excuse to crack down. Government agents did a lot of this during the 1960s, while monitoring civil rights and far-left organizations. At this end of the spectrum, the work is not only unglamorous but ethically questionable. Who wants to rat on their fellow citizens asserting rights guaranteed by the Constitution, like free speech, assembly and those not even mentioned because they seem so obvious, like consuming the foods of their choice?
Full Story
May 29, 2008 - FTCLDF files comments opposing CO proposed NAIS rule
May 23, 2008
The truth about milk
“Raw” milk proponent and dairyman Mark McAfee sheds light on pasteurization, the benefits of consuming unadulterated food, and the war on bacteria.
By Loren Muldowney
Full Story
May 21, 2008
C’mon get happy: Study finds dirt could be the new Prozac
Researchers at the University of Bristol and University College London have identified certain soil bacteria that activate a group of neurons that produce the brain chemical serotonin. The researchers said the bacteria altered the behavior of mice in a way similar to the effect of antidepressant drugs.
Full story
May 13, 2008
Raw Deal for Raw Milk
By Senator Mike Folmer
Prior to Gov. Ed Rendell's administration, state government was supportive of the Commonwealth's proud heritage of raw milk production. In recent weeks and months, however, state authorities have become hostile toward our raw milk farmers.
On April 25th, Mennonite raw milk farmer Mark Nolt of Newville had his farm raided for the second time. This time Nolt was arrested, while officials from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) seized $30,000 worth of cheese and other products intended to feed families, including his own.
PDA agents also seized parts from equipment necessary for Nolt to run his raw milk operation, thus crippling his livelihood and means for providing for himself and his family.
The significant volume of raw milk foods seized by the authorities was thrown away, even as nearly 1.2 million Pennsylvanians are at risk for hunger, according the PDA's web site.
Elizabethtown dairy farmer Glenn Wise is a farmer-member of a private organization that sells milk only to community members. He was issued three citations for allegedly selling raw milk without the proper state permit.
While Wise, Nolt and several others have been targeted for allegedly being in violation of the state's requirement to have a permit to sell raw milk, other raw milk farmers who have permits have also been subject to the Rendell administration's harassment. Additionally, those wishing to obtain a raw milk permit have suddenly found it more difficult to do so.
Why the crackdown on the Commonwealths' longstanding raw milk tradition?
Answer: the administration has succumbed to an irrational fear of the health aspects of raw milk.
The truth is this: properly collected from cows fed with organic grass, raw milk has no appreciable negative consequences for the consumer. In fact, raw milk from grass-fed cows contains natural antibiotic properties that help protect it from pathogenic bacteria. Raw milk is also more nutritious than pasteurized milk because pasteurization destroys heat-sensitive vitamins and minerals, including Vitamin B and thiamin, as well as positive enzymes.
Pasteurization also destroys friendly, pathogen-eating bacteria. Pasteurized milk sickens people in far greater numbers than does the more heavily regulated raw product, although admittedly far more people drink pasteurized milk.
Let me offer an important disclaimer: any food can be contaminated, including raw and pasteurized milk. What matters is how the milk is produced, handled and packaged.
Consumers should always employ the concept of caveat emptor ("buyer beware"), and use their good sense when purchasing raw milk and its byproducts.
The bottom line is this: state government needs to get off the backs of our raw milk farmers. The overwhelming majority are hardworking, conscientious people who take great pride in producing a safe, healthful product to the numerous consumers in Pennsylvania who appreciate the taste, quality, and benefits of raw milk.
2007 C Senate of Pennsylvania
UDDERLY RIDICULOUS
Farmer fined $4,000 for dealing raw milk
Feds SWAT raid hauls away 'illegal' products, equipment
Posted: May 05, 2008
8:29 pm Eastern
By Bob Unruh
© 2008 WorldNetDaily
A Pennsylvania farmer has been fined $4,000 for dealing in raw milk in violation of the state's bureaucracy that demands he hold a permit to sell his natural products to friends and neighbors.
A rally protesting the governmental action against Mt. Holly Springs farmer Mark Nolt drew more than 100 people today outside the courthouse, where a magistrate threw out one count filed against him but pronounced a guilty decision and $1,000 fine on each of four other counts.
Click to continue
Rally in Defense of Mark Nolt
May 1, 2008 --Mt. Holly, PA-- Raw milk supporters will rally in support of of dairy farmer Mark Nolt’s constitutionally protected right to direct farm-to-consumer sales without permits or government interference.
The Mennonite father of ten’s farm was raided by police and department of agriculture officials on April 25. Nolt was led away in handcuffs while agents confiscated over $25,000 worth of cheese along with parts of his processing equipment.
Click to continue
Raw milk lovers upset over Amish arrest
BY MATTHEW LYSIAK
DAILY NEWS WRITER
Thursday, May 1st 2008, 4:00 AM
It's the milk spill that crossed state lines.
Brooklyn raw milk enthusiasts are crying over the loss of their supplier - a horse and buggy-driving Amish farmer from Pennsylvania.
Mark Nolt of New Line, Pa., was arrested and shut down last Friday for selling the contraband.
Click to continue
Mark Nolt Farm Raided – Fox 43 Newscast - link
baltimoresun.com
Regulators rue raw milk vogue
Despite claims of healthfulness, disease risks abound
By Stephen J. Hedges
April 27, 2008
WASHINGTON
Mark McAfee just might be the most closely watched farmer in America.
His Organic Pastures dairy farm in Fresno, Calif., is the subject of a federal grand jury investigation and near-constant scrutiny by the Food and Drug Administration and California health officials. Lawyers have slapped him with lawsuits seeking damages for food-borne illnesses.
Sale of cream from his 250-cow milking operation was suspended briefly last month by state officials citing health concerns - claims McAfee says are bogus. Last week he testified before the California Legislature about a state law that could undermine his livelihood.
What's the source of all this suspicion? Milk, or rather what's known as raw milk, milk that isn't pasteurized.
Pasteurization is the heating process that kills dangerous bacteria.
Click to continue
PA - PDA Raids Nature’s Sunlight Farm; Mark Nolt Arrested
By Pete Kennedy
April 25, 2008
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) officials and police descended upon Nature’s Sunlight Farm in Newville this morning arresting Mark Nolt and seized around $30,000 (by Nolt’s estimate)in products, supplies and equipment including cream separator parts and lighter pieces of cheesemaking implements. PDA had secured a search warrant from a magisterial district judge in nearby Camp Hill.
Click to Continue
A Mennonite Farmer is Hauled Away
By LINN COHEN-COLE
On April 25, 2008, in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Mark Nolt, a Wenger Mennonite (Horse and Buggy Mennonite) dairyman, threatened for months with arrest for selling raw milk without a permit was removed from his property by state troopers.
Jonas Stoltzfus, a friend, fellow farmer, and Church of the Brethen, was asked by Mr. Nolt to speak for him, and said of the raid yesterday - "Six state troopers and a man with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture trespassed onto his property, and stole $20-25,000 of his product and equipment."
Click to Continue
April 25, 2008 - IMPORTANT RAW MILK UPDATE
CRITICAL COURT DATE TOMORROW
Today is the eve of a most important event in A Campaign for Real Milk. Tomorrow, Friday, April 25, all eyes will be on California, at the preliminary injunction hearing against enforcement of AB1735, a "sneak attack" bill that mandates standards so stringent, it would be impossible for raw milk producers to stay in business.
Click to Continue
Rodale: Farming is the cure for global warming
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 21, 2008
Rodale Institute Begins Mission to Fight Global Warming – with Farms
New CEO Tim LaSalle Calls Organic Farming "The Brightest Hope for Our Planet"
KUTZTOWN, PA – Timothy J. LaSalle took over as CEO of the Rodale Institute with a mission: to tell the world that a practical solution to global warming already exists. And farmers are standing on it.
Click to Continue
Apr 18, 2008 - UNESCO Ag Report Encourages Paradigm Shift to Local and Sustainable Farming
3-year agriculture report release coincides with food riots
By JAMEY KEATEN, Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press
updated 12:19 p.m. ET, Tues., April. 15, 2008
PARIS - As riots erupt over food shortages in the Caribbean and Africa and hunger approaches crisis stage in parts of Asia, an international report said farmers worldwide must reduce dependency on fossil fuels and better protect the environment.
Click to Continue
April 17, 2008 - JOEL SALATIN TO SPEAK TO HOUSE COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM REGARDING MEAT INDUSTRY– APRIL 17.
JOEL SALATIN TESTIMONY
Joel Salatin
Polyface Inc.
43 Pure Meadows Lane
Swoope VA 24479
Polyface@ntelos.net
www.polyfacefarms.com
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM
SUBJECT: AFTER THE BEEF RECALL: EXPLORING GREATER TRANSPARENCY IN THE MEAT INDUSTRY Apri 17, 2008
Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I am honored to be invited to present my message before you today. As a Christian libertarian environmentalist capitalist, my testimony will not fit neatly partisan stereotypes; rather, it will cross broad cultural boundaries. One more caveat: while my comments may appear overbroad, I will not participate in overnarrow, typical myopic analysis of this topic.
Click to Continue
24 Hour Count Down to Raw Milk Destiny
Joint Senate Hearings
"Farm Fresh Milk — Assuring Safety and Consumer Choice"
April 14, 2008
If you cannot attend the Senate hearings on Tuesday, April 15th, you can really help by calling the senators listed below and requesting that they attend the hearings.
Sometimes senators will miss hearings even though they sit on the committees. We want to make double-sure that as many senators as possible attend so they can hear, in person, our expert and consumer testimony about raw milk.
Sally Fallon and other high profile raw milk experts will be testifying!
If you can attend the hearings it would be fantastic. We need raw milk supporters to "pack the house" for this history-making event.
Please call now and ask these committee members to attend!
ABEL MALDONADO, Chairman
916/ 651-4015
DENISE MORENO DUCHENY, Vice Chair
916/ 651-4040
DEAN FLOREZ
916/ 651-4016
SHEILA JAMES KUEHL
916/ 651-4023
JEFF DENHAM
916/ 651-4012
Senator Migden
916/ 651-4003
Senator Vincent
916/ 651-4025
Click For More Information
Apr 9, 2008 - Review of State Raw Milk Legislation 2008
The increasing popularity of raw milk has not translated into success in passing pro-raw milk legislation at the state level. Since the Colorado legislature passed a bill legalizing cow shares in 2005, no significant legislation favorable to raw milk has passed anywhere in the country. Unfortunately, the news for this year has not been much different. Some excellent bills have been introduced but up to this point none have passed into law. What follows is a summary of efforts made during 2008. ... continue
Apr 8, 2008 - Top health issues of 2008 | Health & Fitness | Reuters
By Terri Coles
If 2007 was the year of the toy recall and mental gymnastics over what we eat, then what will 2008 hold? Raw milk, melting fat, the end of cheap food... the crystal ball is still a little cloudy but here are some of the stories to watch.
1. Raw Milk
People will go to extreme lengths to get it, farmers will risk their businesses to sell it, and most state governments want nothing to do with legalizing it. Raw milk -- milk that hasn't been pasteurized or homogenized -- was one of the most talked-about foods of the year.
Its fans say that pasteurization removes proteins, enzymes and healthy bacteria from milk, making it less nutritious, and that the taste of raw milk is incomparable. Those opposed to raw milk consumption -- including health agencies like the Centers for Disease Control -- argue that the harmful bacteria are of primary concern, and that the dangers posed by E. coli, salmonella and listeria are not worth the risk.
The debate is sure to continue in 2008 as raw milk goes mainstream, governments try to make it unappealing and people find more creative ways to get their hands on it.
Apr 3, 2008 - Breaking News on Raw Milk Grand Jury Probe!
Mar 31, 2008 - Fresh Farm Milk: Assuring Safety and Consumer Choice
Mar 31, 2008 - Victory against New York's Department of Agriculture and Markets
Mar 24, 2008 - Got Raw Milk? by David Gumpert
Mar 17, 2008 - VDACS TO VOTE ON "NAIS" SCRAPIE REGS
Mar 17, 2008 - Call your Senator today to fight NAIS in Kentucky!
Mar 17, 2008 - A friend of yours highly recommends you read this health article
Mar 6, 2008 - USDA Bets the Farm on Animal ID Program
Mar 6, 2008 - Milk Wars
Mar 6, 2008 - More dairies going raw, citing benefits of unpasteurized milk - The Boston Globe
Mar 4, 2008 - National Small Farm Lobby Day and Legislative Reception
Feb 14, 2008- - Martha Stewart visits the Smith Family Farm in Maine to show you the inner workings of an organic dairy farm.
Feb 14, 2008--Old McDonald Had a Farm...and He Got Arrested?
by David E. Gumpert
Read the online article from "The Nation"
Jan 29, 2008 --UPDATE ON CALIFORNIA RAW MILK SITUATION
There has been a lot of confusion about the situation in California and several members emailed us after contacting the California Assembly Appropriations Committee, in response to our last update, to tell us that the favorable raw milk bill AB 1604 was not on the docket as we had reported.
Jan 28, 2008 --AFTER AB 1604: Where Raw Milk stands right now.
Nicole Parra has withdrawn AB 1604 from the legislative process after receiving heat from many different sources and losing some support from her own Ag Committee. Most of the opposition came from Big Dairy and Food Safety Interests. Because AB 1735, with its baseles coliform standard, is now the law of the land, it was impossible for many to view AB 1604 in a positive light, as it seemed to reverse food safety standards.
Jan 10, 2008 --ACTION ALERT – Missouri Raw Milk Bill. State Representative Belinda Harris (D/Hillsboro) is set to introduce a bill to clarify the law on the sale of raw milk in Missouri. Rep. Harris is looking for co-sponsors for her bill before she officially files it. Under state law, once a bill is filed co-sponsors can no longer be added to it. Your help is needed to convince members of the State House of Representatives to sign on as co-sponsors for the bill, particularly those on the House Agriculture Policy Committee and the House Agri-business Special Committee.
Dec 27, 2007 --The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund today filed suit on behalf of Claravale Farm, Inc. and Organic Pastures Dairy Company, LLC against the State of California and the California Department of Food and Agriculture challenging the constitutionality of recently enacted legislation, AB 1735. The suit, brought in the form of a declaratory judgment, makes three claims: the statute is a violation of...
Dec 21, 2007--The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund today filed a motion for a preliminary injunction and a temporary restraining order on behalf of Meadowsweet Dairy LLC and Steve and Barbara Smith against the State of New York Department of Agriculture and Markets. The TRO and preliminary injunction requested that the State of New York be prohibited from conducting inspections, executing search warrants, taking other...
Dec 13, 2007--The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund has filed a complaint against the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets on behalf of its members Steve and Barbara Smith and Meadowsweet Dairy LLC. The complaint alleges that the Department of Ag. and Mkts. does not have the legal authority to regulate in the area of private affairs, and that all harassment, intimidation and interference with the raw milk operations at the Smiths' farm should cease.
The complaint stems from a long history with Ag. and Mkts. Since March 2007...
Dec 11, 2007--AB 1735 ACTION ALERT THE FINAL PUSH - As a direct result of your actions last week, we now have the support
of all key assembly representatives to overturn AB 1735.
However, your assemblymen have expressed concern that we do not
have the support of the California Secretary of Agriculture, Mr.
A.G. Kawamura.
He appears to be the last raw milk challenge standing.
Dec 07, 2007--California
Raw Milk
Action Alert: Immediate Action Needed to Stop AB1735. We have been given very specific "political marching orders"
to win reversal of AB 1735 without a lawsuit and hearings!
Dec 4, 2007--The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund has been retained by Organic
Pastures Dairy Company LLC of California (OPDC) to represent it
in its challenge to AB 1735, a new law passed by the California
Assembly and signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger. Although
AB 1735 does not expressly outlaw, prohibit or ban the sale of raw
milk in California, it’s limitation of 10 coliform in the
bottle is so stringent that compliance with the new limit may well
be impossible. If that is the case, then the effect of AB 1735 would
be to ban the sale of raw milk. The new legislation is expected
to go into effect on January 1, 2008.
Nov 29, 2007--Pennsylvania
Dairy Label Ruling Shelved. A controversial decision by the state Department of Agriculture
concerning dairy labeling is under review after facing strong public
backlash.
Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff announced last month that the
department would crack down on what it viewed as misleading labels
on dairy products, including claims that milk was made from cows
not treated with artificial growth hormones.
Oct 24, 2007--Urgent
Alert: Call the Senate Agriculture Committee IMMEDIATELY. The Senate Agriculture Committee has just released the draft language
of the Farm Bill, which will be discussed by the Committee tomorrow.
The bad news is that the Livestock Title includes the National Animal
Identification System (NAIS)! Senator Harkin has included a provision
that defines NAIS and addresses confidentiality of the information
collected under it. This section implies approval of the USDA's
program, without addressing the many problems with NAIS, including
the USDA's misleading and coercive tactics.
Sep 8, 2007-- beautiful fall day in the thumb area of Michigan was the site
of the official Michigan Launch of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense
Fund (FTCLDF). An initiative of the Weston A. Price Foundation,
the FTCLDF will help to revolutionize farming and the availability
of nutrient-dense food in the United States. Memberships are available
for both Farmers and Consumers. A FTCLDF membership puts the power
of a 24-hour legal hotline, sample contracts and forms, and the
wealth of knowledge of the Weston A. Price Foundation and members
around the country in the hands of each of you!! An affordable annual
price of $125 for farmers and $50 for consumers makes this a bargain
that should not be passed up.
September 1, 2007--The Live Oak, FL launch was
held in the hay barn on Dennis Stoltzfoos' farm in Live Oak. The
launch was hosted by Dennis and Florida A & M University. Pete
Kennedy spoke during the lunch break of a full day seminar featuring
Joel Salatin for 300-400 people . Dennis Stoltzfoos provided raw
milk in Dixie cups for all to toast Farm Freedom.
August 30, 2007--The Tampa, Florida launch was
held in an art gallery for 150 people; hosted by local Weston A.
Price Foundation Chapter Leaders Sarah Pope and Cynthia Calisch.
Pete Kennedy spoke prior to the evening lecture by Joel Salatin.
Aug 20, 2007--Pete Kennedy to speak at Florida Launch Parties
August 30 and September 1. Pete Kennedy will speak prior
to the evening lecture by Joel Salatin August 30 in Tampa, Florida.
This is being held in an art gallery for 150 people; hosted by local
Weston A. Price Foundation Chapter Leaders Sarah Pope and Cynthia
Calisch.
Pete will also speak during the lunch break of a full day seminar
featuring Joel Salatin for 300-400 people September 1. Dennis Stoltzfoos
is providing raw milk in Dixie cups for us all to toast Farm Freedom.
This is being held in the hay barn on Dennis' farm in Live Oak,
FL. Hosted by Dennis Stoltzfoos and Florida A & M University.
Farmer, state government square off about 'raw' milk
By Alex Roarty, Sentinel Reporter, August 19, 2007
On most days, people passing by the family farm of Newville resident Mark Nolt would see cows grazing on grass and children playing in the field.
Two weeks ago, people would have also seen police raiding his barn.
About six police officers and a handful of trucks paid Nolt a visit to confiscate his hold of illegal unpasteurized milk and other dairy products. The raid came after Commonwealth Court injunction in July ordered him to stop selling the dairy products, and after a judge found Nolt in contempt of court on Aug. 2 for disobeying the order.
The dispute is simple: The government says so-called "raw" milk, yogurt and cheeses could make customers ill, but Nolt says pasteurizing milk does as much harm as good and the government is infringing on his civil rights.
"The Constitution clearly spells out we have the right do private business," Nolt said. "And the Constitution spells out life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
Pennsylvania law forbids selling raw milk without a permit, according to Chris Ryder, a spokesman for the state Department of Agriculture. He also said farmers are not allowed to sell almost any raw dairy product, like soft cheeses or yogurt, even with a permit because their longer shelf life makes them too unsafe.
Although a debate about pasteurization sounds more appropriate for 1907 than 2007, Nolt is not alone. Raw milk proponents have sprung up across the country recently to argue against a process regarded as one of the biggest boons to public health of the last century.
On July 4, a Washington D.C.-based food advocacy group formed a legal defense fund to help give farmers the right to sell raw products.
Nolt said pasteurization kills as much good bacteria and vitamins as it kills harmful bacteria.
"It would destroy natural vitamins and goodness of milk and milk product," Nolt said.
And, he said, raw milk and its various products taste better.
But Ryder said drinking raw milk can be harmful.
He said Nolt might be endangering customers, especially the elderly and children, because without a permit the milk has greater potential to make somebody ill.
"We do not get any reports of people getting ill from pasteurized milk," he said. "We do get reports from people drinking raw milk."
He said the state has decreased the risk of drinking raw milk with the permit system because inspectors can make sure barns are clean and cows healthy. But he said even then, people still run a risk when drinking the milk.
Still, Nolt, who at one time did own a permit but dropped it because it did not apply to most non-milk dairy products, said he defied the court order because he thought his customers deserved unpasteurized milk.
"We would feel very bad not doing for our customers what we would want them to do for us," Nolt said.
But if Nolt continues to sell raw dairy products, he said the police told him he will go to jail.
The loss of business has been a hardship on his family, he said, but his religion helped him persevere.
He even took his police "visit" in good humor.
"The 'visit' was what really amused us," Nolt said. "It was a full-scale raid."
Jul 28, 2007--Annual Consumer membership fee reduced to
$50. Good news for consumer members! "We have listened
and responded to the many requests of consumers who want to join
the Fund to support their farmers. Our reduced fee will make it
possible for the Fund to attract a large, strong and active consumer
membership, necessary to support the work ahead," says Taaron
Meikle, Board President. All benefits apply. Any consumer who already
applied for membership will receive the reduced fee.
Jul 04, 2007--Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund Launched.
Press Release. Pictures. |
