Why Would the Marler Blog Misrepresent the Facts Regarding Role of the FTCLDF in a Pending Raw Milk Case?
Wednesday, September 23, 2009 at 09:07PM 
I’ve always thought that, if nothing else, lawyers are precise. You may not agree with their interpretations, but their legal briefs and reports are presumably linked strongly to real facts.
Of course, I’ tvehought the same about public health professionals as well. As we found out last week, Massachusetts public health officials were way off in asserting that there have been only three outbreaks involving pasteurized milk over the last thirty years.
Clearly, when it comes to raw milk, anything goes from some opponents. Now, we have what I would call misrepresentation about a legal case involving raw milk, from the lawyer representing the plaintiffs.
Food poisoning lawyer Bill Marler published an item on his blog today with this heading: “Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund Loses Bid to Keep Documents Secret in Raw Milk Litigation.” It goes on to talk about a judge’s decision in a Missouri case, asserting “the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund tried to keep from the public documents it appears that it rather keep secret.”
Hmmm, I thought. I follow the FTCLDF’s cases, and I’ve never heard of a Missouri case in which it’s involved. Well, it turns out the FTCLDF hasn’t either.
So I called Bill Marler, and he explained that the whole thing relates to a case his firm filed against a Missouri raw dairy and a grocery store in connection with illnesses alleged to be from raw goat’s milk. It turns out, this is a significant case, according to the Marler firm, with two children having allegedly become serious ill with Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome.
A previous article on the case provides heart-rending descriptions of the allegedly serious illnesses of two of the children, and how they are at risk for life-threatening illnesses as they get older.
I don’t know about you, but when I read the Marler firm’s heading today, and the brief story, I understood that the FTCLDF was actively involved in the case ("tried to keep from the public documents..."), and had suffered a setback.
But that’s not the situation at all, the lawyer told me in a conversation today. The attorneys representing the grocery and the dairy his clients are suing have nothing to do with the FTCLDF. They simply argued in court that some documents emailed from the FTCLDF to the defendants before the case even launched (presumably simple bills of sale and boarding agreements, according to the FTCLDF), represented privileged information, protected from public scrutiny. Marler’s firm argued the documents should be available, and the judge agreed. The important thing is that FTCLDF didn’t make any arguments in the case, didn’t even know the arguments were being made.
Bill Marler told me he didn’t agree that the heading and article were misleading.
Am I missing something? If so, I'd like to know about it. But it seems to me you don't have to be an English major to understand that the heading and article strongly suggest active involvement by FTCLDF in arguing about release of the documents. Why would the Marler firm want to suggest that?
I’m not sure. Maybe because he doesn’t like the FTCLDF and the fact that it does represent other raw dairies, and fights for freedom of food choice. If you listen to state and federal regulators, they view producers of raw dairy products as nothing less than scofflaws.
If nothing else, this situation suggests, once again, as if we need reminding, that the war over raw milk isn’t a war about public safety, but rather a war for hearts and minds. It’s a political war.
***
As Mark McAfee of Organic Pastures Dairy Co. points out in a comment following my previous post, the court suit against California officials over the coliform standard contained in AB 1735 isn't dead yet. I had reported last month that the suit was being withdrawn because Claravale owner Ron Garthwaite had had enough. It seems the appeals court wants to consider whether to rule on the case. I guess as one-time Yankee catcher Yogi Berra says, "It ain't over till it's over."
The Complete Patient
If you tried to use the link to the offending post by the Marler blog, you saw it doesn't work. That's because the post I describe above was taken off the site. Gary Cox of the FTCLDF describes in his personal comment following this article his email correspondence with Bill Marler, which seems to have led to the removal of the post. Like Gary Cox, I would have preferred to see an explanation of why the error occurred, with some kind of apology. We all make mistakes, after all. I've made my share and, while it's no fun to own up to them, I've found most people to be forgiving when I do own up.
The Complete Patient
It's not easy to say you're wrong, but to his credit, Bill Marler says that about his erroneous posting concerning the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund. Thanks to Amanda Rose for her alert in the comments here. He uses the admission to launch a four-part series "Comparing the Food Safety Record of Pasteurized and Raw Milk Products." I'll have something to say on that upcoming.
Reader Comments (47)
The Art of the Dark Side of the Raw Milk Political War is Deception to the benefit of Corporations being protected by Executive Branch Agencies.
That is clearly the definition of fascism....it does not matter how much lipstick you try and slap on that pig....it is still fascism. If the courts find that AB 1735 was and is unconstitional....CDFA will fall to their knees. We will have won one little piece of our country back. Eternal vigilence is then required... keeping one eye open at all times.
I am hopeful that there are islands of democracy still above water in this nation and on those islands we will create change. I am praying for an appeals judge with a moral center that is still grounded.
If CDFA wants a coliform standard that is fine....just hold the hearings and make the scientific arguments for all to see. No more ambushes. We must hold our executive branch agencies responsible.......no one else will!!
Being passive is a slipperly slope towards a country no longer free and certainly not inhabited by the brave. When the current paradigm does desparate crazy things to stay in power that is a great sign that things are changing....we are making a difference and progress is being made. I am booked solid for my Share the Secret ( raw milk ) presentations in CA. A law huge lawfirm in Sacramento has scheduled a presentation next month and want to have Raw Milk Explained to them. They want samples and Get Raw Milk Tee shirts. Things are on fire. Do not blink or hesitate. This is how the beginning of the Raw Milk Tipping Point feels. The big dairy lie that GOT covered up for 70 years by Got Dead Milk is now uncovered. People want to know what the hell happened and how they GOT duped causing them tremendous gas, diarrhea and abdominal pain.
Lactose Intolerance is Pastuerization Intolerance!! People are pissed and then over joyed to find that they are just fine...it was the damn processed fake dead food.
Interesting to note that the medical abreviation for Lactose Intolerance is " Lie " .
Fancy that!
Mark
FDA Violation of the Rule of Law by Johathan W Emord ESQ.
Very interesting read. If we do not know history we do not know where we have been nor do we know where we are being "taken" to!
then i contacted his law firm via email and informed him he was grossly mistaken in his post, suggesting he retract it, post a new one with the correct information, and make an apology to the farm-to-consumer legal defense fund. he returned my email and advised me to contact the defense counsel!!! i replied to him and basically asked "why should i do that? you posted the blog, not defense counsel."
he then replied via email and indicated that he has since removed the post and did so because david gumpert and i are "confused." amazing; not wiling to admit he made a mistake (or did he?).
he's been advised to post another blog, retracting his erroneous post, stating the true facts of the case, and making a public apology to the farm-to-consumer legal defense fund. we'll see if he fesses up to his erroneous ways.
should prove interesting.
Indeed. Methinks Marler is playing you guys.
When he had his staff author a faked up date stamped video of Chris Martin in an ICU bed days after I met with the Martins when Chris was recovering and not in ICU...this tells me everything I need to know about Mr. Marler. He is a champion of deception and winning wars.
He uses deception and power granted to the economically priveledged to smash his victums using any and all means possible. Winning is everything. He has the taste of blood money in his mouth and he loves it. When I challenged Marler about the faked video...he immediately hired a defense attorney in LA to grovel with me to drop my charges. I had no money to fight and he did...but he dropped the video and stopped telling lies for a short time.
That is Marlers strategy...ambush attack and then retreat having inflicted the damage. He does not even have the morals to say sorry after he drives a stake through you...accidentally. It is like shooting someone and then saying whoops that bullet was accidentally shot in your direction.....but no apologies are given. You still got shot and no one holds him accountable.
With Marler...there are no accidents. It is all intentional deception and all about winning his war fought his way. Winning is everything!!
Don...thank you so much for posting the Emord link. It is mandatory reading for all employes at OPDC starting tommorrow morning and I will post at our Website for all to read.
The heading will read " know thy enemy at our creamery door".
Now I know exactly why I hate the FDA with every ounce of my being. If you are a moral person...it is a moral obligation to hate the FDA. If you are conscious it would be unAmerican not to hate them. I do not use the word "hate" ever....
The FDA is highly Hatable and they earned it all themselves. They are killers in the name of greed and drug companies profits. I really like Emords recommendations to fix the problem.
Now who has the GUTS and GRIT to fight the Greatest Fascist Mafia every empowered?
God I love raw milk and Davids Blog. Let freedom ring!!!
In your face FDA!! Raw Milk heals and cures Asthma and rarely causes lactose intolerance like your NCIMS Got Dead Milk does.
So take that!!! My First Amendment is mine!!
Mark McAfee
I've been following The Ethicurean discussion, and am curious why you don't respond to the many questions raised in this discussion thread. Do you fear going beyond David's blog to a place where "know your farmer" means something?
http://www.ethicurean.com/2009/07/20/raw-milk-2/
"My attacks were not unfair. They were harsh and direct - and as you’ll notice Mark McAfee disappeared after being challenged. He seems to like making grandiose claims of fact about nutrition and microbiology, yet can’t seem to grasp the issues involved or back up his claims. What is particularly scary is that McAfee seems to deny that pathogens get in the milk, yet simultaneously agrees that pathogens get in the milk and that this is good - that it acts as a vaccine against future infections. Couple that with a blame-the-victim mentality that any infections that occur are due to the ‘weak immune systems’ of those victims. I would probably trust someone like McAfee to raise cows, but not to make judgements about the health of human beings.
Point of fact - OPDC’s website states that no pathogens were ever found in the milk. But we know that campylobacter was found in their products. The slight-of-hand is that the campylobacter was found in the milkfat floating on the surface of the milk, but not the milk. It’s still in the bottle, and would be all over the place is you shook it up (as you’re supposed to), but OPDC misleads by making this distinction but not pointing out the distinction they are making."
Excerpt from Inoculated Mind on September 23rd, 2009 at 10:46 am
IMHO the real test of credibility will be to see if he admits being human; my bet is he will probably continue to speak with booming voice from behind the green curtain calling others "confused."
http://www.marlerblog.com/2009/09/articles/lawyer-oped/i-was-wrong-about-farmtoconsumer-legal-defense-fund-but-raw-milk-is-still-risky-business/
If memory serves, this MO case is one where the vendor told the customer that raw goat milk is as good as mother's milk. I always wondered if this would be the case where Marler would sue WAPF. Maybe not. (See this article if you don't know my reference: http://www.ethicurean.com/2009/07/20/raw-milk-2/ )
In any case, Marler is kicking off a four-part response to WAPF in that post that will include an analysis of the risk of raw versus pasteurized milk. It should be an interesting week.
On to the serious stuff. Marler's series might be interesting, Amanda, but only if you like to read feeble papers like one of the first ones he cites, by one Oliver at the University of Tennessee (with several other co-authors). The 2009 Oliver paper purports to examine the risks in raw milk. However in doing so, the central part of the paper analyzes the pathogens found in the bulk tanks of a series of commercial dairies. No discernible attempt was made in the paper to analyze the bulk tanks of dairies which produce raw milk which is intended to be consumed without pasteurization. In other words, the Oliver paper simply stands for the common-sense proposition, that it's pretty risky to drink the raw milk from farms where milk is intended to be pasteurized. Notwithstanding, the paper is interesting for other facts which they report, e.g. that about 60% of dairy farm families drink milk which they produce, and approximately 3% of the US population drinks raw milk. If the latter statistic is correct, this would imply something like 10 million people are drinking raw milk. Now that's really interesting.
This "pig flu' is no more dangerous than regular seasonal flu. The hype is amazing and for what reason? Just as tptb misrepresent/lie in regards to raw milk.
It is just more misrepresentation of facts. The majority of people don't change.
A full accounting of pathogens at OPDC is on our website....including campylobacter found in one sample of cream with no associated illnesses. Repeat testing was negative for campylobacter. The milk samples taken separately ( from whole milk bottled and labeled for sale ) were negative for campylobacter. Cream and Milk are separate products and tested separately.
No sample of raw milk at OPDC has ever been found positive for a pathogen. That is an uncontested fact that CDFA will agree to support.
On to better news..."California Dairies"....a cooperative of CA milk producers has sent a letter to all of its hundreds of members warning of the huge interest in CA Raw Milk. I find it fascinating that 400 raw milk producing cows ( 65 at Claravale and 330 at OPDC ) has had any effect against the power of 1.9 million CA CAFO cows that produce GOT DEAD MILK. The letter goes on to describe the consumers of RAW MILK as IGNORANT. Our OPDC surveys show that a majority of our consumers are highly educated. There must be something very threatening that we have done to deserve this distinction and acclaimation. If I was California Dairies management I would immediately fire their marketing research firm....they have not done their market research or listened to real people. People that get severe diarrhea when they try to follow a movie stars pose and try to put on a DEAD MILK mustache. Perhaps we have exposed that Lactose Intolerance is actually Pastuerization Intolerance. Stanford will have the study and science to back this statement up in the spring when their raw milk study is published.
Pioneering is so much fun especially when the grass roots highly educated consumers love you.
Mark
Gary Cox states (referring to Bill Marler), He’s been advised to post another blog retracting his erroneous post, stating the true facts of the case, and making a public apology to the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund. We’ll see if he fesses up to his erroneous ways.
The Steve Bemis states (referring to Bill Marler), IMHO the real test of credibility will be to see if he admits being human; my bet is he will probably continue to speak with booming voice from behind the green curtain calling others “confused”.
So Bill admitted he made a mistake. http://www.marlerblog.com/2009/09/articles/lawyer-oped/i-was-wrong-about-farmtoconsumer-legal-defense-fund-but-raw-milk-is-still-risky-business/
Now, will the king and queen of raw milk humble themselves and admit they have made a mistake. Gary and Steve, will you hold Mark McAfee and Sally Fallon to the same ethical standard that you’ve expected of Bill Marler?
Mark, I want to thank you for making it perfectly clear why you are so confused about the facts regarding Chris’ video and also clarifying for me why Sally Fallon is making the statements she does about my son and his illness. Everything she says comes straight from you mouth and then out of hers.
Let’s see what you’re made of Mark. Do you have the capacity to make a public apology to me for your misinformed statements? I like to refer to them as down right lies, but I realize why you believe them to be true. I also expect public apology from Sally.
Here’s what you said, “When he (Bill Marler) had his staff author a faked up date stamped video of Chris Martin in an ICU bed days after I met with the Martins when Chris was recovering and not in ICU...this tells me everything I need to know about Mr. Marler. He is a champion of deception and winning wars.
Here’s what Sally said, “Marler’s story about the OP case is very different from Mark McAfee’s. Whom to believe? When Marler took this case, he posted a video on utube showing one of the children, Chris Martin, sick in a hospital bed and hooked up to a ventilator. The date on the video was close to the date when Mark McAfee visited the child—the child was sitting up in be, not on a ventilator and eating normal food…after Mark notified Maler that the dates on the dialogue information on his video were incorrect, he took it down. Looks like Marler’s staff made a phony video and took advantage of a child or his own aggrandizement.”
Mark, Chris arrived at LLUCH at 9:00 p.m on September 14, 2006. He was in the PICU (5700 unit) until September 27th. For two days, he was moved to the 5800 wing (PICU step-down unit) He had a seizure on September 29th (the day of your rally) and was moved back to the 5700 unit for 6 more days (3 of those days he was on a ventilator again because they had to do all of these brain tests.). On October 4th he was moved to back to the 5800 unit. On October 14th he was moved to the 5200 unit (regular hospital care) and on October 20th he was moved back to Kaiser. He finally went home on November 2nd.
When you came to LLUCH for your visit, Lauren Herzog was in the 5800 unit. This is the step-down PICU. Once kids start recovering, they are moved from the 5700 unit to the 5800 unit. You visited Lauren in her room in the 5800 unit. She was not on a ventilator and by this time was eating food. This is who Sally Fallon is referring to in her statement. She has the stories of the two kids mixed up. You never visited Chris in person. You were able to visit Lauren because the person who gave her the raw milk got you in for a visit (Lauren’s father’s girlfriend).
I can envision you looking around the 5800 unit for Chris and not seeing him anywhere and coming to the conclusion that he had recovered. You were not in the PICU for severely ill kids. That is the 5700 unit, which happens to be a locked unit. Chris was in this unit when you came to visit. The 5800 is on one side of the waiting room and the 5700 unit is on the other side. I was sitting right out side this unit when you approached me in the hospital.
The video of Chris is accurate. Dates have not been doctored. Nothing has been altered. If you had taken the time to read David Gumper’s posts, you would know this. http://www.thecompletepatient.com/journal/2008/8/29/how-i-erred-on-the-martin-tape-and-the-new-lessons-i-learned.html
Both David Gumpert and Bill Marler have the courage to admit when they have made an error. It is your and Sally’s time to do the same. I expect a public apology from both of you.
I also expect Sally to take remove the lies she has about Chris on her website. I’ve been asking for this for 2 years. Gary and Steve, can you help me out with this? You both have expectations for high moral standards. Bill took down his post because it was mistaken information, so I expect the same from Sally. http://www.realmilk.com/update-ca.html
Mary McGonigle-Martin
I am pretty certain that people from the raw milk movement like Mark McAfee and Sally Fallon will never admit to making a mistake. But, if they did, maybe I'd volunteer to drink from a jug of swill (outsourced) dairy raw milk from OPDC like Martin Sheen:
http://www.endlesssimmer.com/2008/09/16/martin-sheen-poisoning-your-babies-with-ass-milk/
Pablum would be interesting if what you're watching is the signaling game. I can go read the primary articles myself if I want to delve into the content.
Amanda
there is no conclusive link to your sons illness and opdc. none, zero, nada.
you're an opportunist who targeted opdc to sue so you could get some money.
since that's all the facts that are really known why are you here? guilt? you need to keep repeating the lies that got you into this conflicted position (in your own head) so that if you say it enough/ push your false agenda enough it will become true in your memory.
you really are a sad case, but don't be confused, i have zero sympathy for you.
lyke, you're just a shill... (look it up)
The day you have your name in the chapter of a book written by David Gumpert, we can discuss why I still blog here. Until then, I will continue to pray for you. You are a mean spirited human being. I feel really sorry for you.
sadly and for many reasons some people are born defective, some are just unable to learn skills needed to survive, some are leaches and some are preditors. there was a time when society dealt with unsustainable lives. the tribe/village had a carrying capacity and everyone knew it.
now we keep horribly defective babies alive, now we support those too lazy or too stupid to support themselves. now we consider a clump of cells a human life.
well that and all the other unsustainable, self destructive (to society) and non-productive stuff that our society "holds high" is fine with me. i don't care what anyone else does with their resources. but when that sucking of resources forces my family and me to go hungry or shoeless let me be clear here: i will say no more.
in fact you may be able to read in my words that i'm plain fed -up with all of ya'all. americans are greedy seflish ugly souls anymore and yes i realize there are still a lot of wonderful folks out there, but those good ones are a silent majority.
it's the noisy whining minority that is the problem, people who think they know what is "best" for others. like cp, lyke, and you mary. you need to be put in your place, you need to be forced to live in the world you've created for all of us. you need to be held accountable. but you won't be by the current sustem.
what will show you the light is down the road a bit. we have a completely unsustainable society running toward the cliff as fast as it can at this point. no one is looking back, no one can fix it. it's completely unfixable because we need to maintain the status quo first and foremost...
while i doubt anymore that i'll be gone before it hits you can be sure that your son will live and or die through it / because of it.
wanting to "protect" individuals at the sake of society is insanity. while i'm very sad at the extent we are destroying our own ability to live on this planet i am not evil or mean or ugly. what i am is fed-up and not willing to tollerate the clammering of minority "know-it-alls" any longer. so instead of being a member of the silent majority, as i have been for 50+ years i now take the role of telling you special interest know-it-alls what i really think of you. i doubt you can dislike my thoughts as much as i dislike yours, but hey, what do i know...
i am working as hard as i can to build a sustainable poly-farm that can support maybe 40 famlies. raw milk is a vital part of the effort. i don't care much what you or anyone else do. what i care about is that you be constrained to do it only to yourself.
the rest of us want to be and now demand to be left alone.
while i truly believe our society must be allowed to crash i also believe there will be pockets of sustainability left to rebuild from. i am creating one small pocket in hopes of setting a place here for a few to hold out through the first wave of that wreckage.
what happens after that is unknowable and unplannable. if nothing happens because god or aliens pop in and save us (the only way i can imagine the crash not happening) well, then i have learned to farm and had a good time doing it. i also can then provide real food to a few families.
on the other hand should you cry babies who want to save everybody by employing Science (that's a capital S) and corporate foods and drugs win completely and then find you were wrong... what damage will that have caused?
choose your sides wisely mary and lyke... you may have to live with the results, but even if you don't your children will.
Do you feel better now? Got that off of your chest? I find it amazing that you think you know who I am, my beliefs systems, and how I live. Just ask yourself this question, if I’m so unlike you, why did I choose raw milk for my child to consume?
I’m sorry that you don’t like the pathogen message—raw milk can host pathogens and it can make people sick. This is a fact not a theory. There have been multiple raw milk outbreaks over the past three years.
I’m sorry that you are so offended that I insist that Mark McAfee and Sally Fallon tell the truth about my son and his illness. It is immoral to use deceit to make people feel safe about drinking raw milk. The facts of our case can stand on their own two feet. I can respect if you come to a different conclusion than I did about the facts, but lying about simple issues like what my son ate and how ill he was is wrong. That is my beef. Have you even asked yourself why they would do that? Who gains from the lies? Let’s see. They wound up in the latest version of the Untold Story of Milk.
I admire that you are attempting your own sustainable farm. We should all have access to good healthy food. If selling raw milk is part of your practice, informing your customers of the pros and cons of raw milk consumption is the ethical road to take. Raw milk can host pathogens—it is a simple message. Let your customers decide how they would like to consume their milk. Home pasteurization is an option for people. Raw milk is only ONE aspect of a healthy diet.
We do agree on one thing….my son will be living through hard times due to the selfish choices of the generations before him. We are killing our world. It is very sad.
I am not your enemy. I am a mom asking for a balanced, truthful message about raw milk from the raw milk leaders and community.
Mary McGonigle-Martin
Illness and death happen, and we come to different conclusions about what caused it. Some of us want restrictions on all kinds of things, thinking that will save more people. But often those kinds of restrictions make things worse. I have been written up at work when I helped a coworker save someone's life instead of signing a paper in patient rooms that is supposedly legal documentation that I've been in that room every hour to check on my patients. The people doing the Quality Assurance checks for the hospital did not bother to find out what any nurse who didn't sign the paper wasn't doing - just picked that day to have people written up and went back into their little offices. Shoot, should I have let my coworker's patient die in order to sign some red tape? What message does this send me as a nurse? I'll tell you. After 13 years, I don't think increased regulation necessarily saves lives. I think it puts them at further risk.
We are the most interventionalist country in the world for childbirth. We also have one of the worst infant mortality rates for developed countries.
So Lykke and Hugh Betcha; Mary and Mark; have at it. I'm going somewhere else again for a while, and none of you have changed MY opinions one teensy bit. When you're up to actually discussing something of interest and import, I might show up again. Raw milk should not be regulated - people need to feed themselves and their communities. Marler needs to go buy himself a farm and raise food for people in Africa who are starving.
See ya'll sometime later, maybe.