Mark McAfee and Michael Schmidt present “permit” to Scott Trautman.Michael Schmidt, the Canadian dairy farmer who’s been fighting the Ontario government’s campaign to put his raw dairy out of business for the last 17 years, came up with a seemingly humorous stunt at the Raw Milk Symposium Saturday in Madison. He decided to award Scott Trautman, the Wisconsin dairy farmer who lost his Grade A dairy license last fall in a battle over raw milk, “a grade A+ permit to provide raw milk.”
The permit was signed by 30 symposium attendees—“a private certifying body” that had toured the Trautman farm the evening before. “Trautman Family Farm meets standards more stringent than those standards established by the state of Wisconsin,” the permit stated. “The undersigned, as free persons, being of sound mind and body and competent to make and enter into legally binding contracts, do hereby waive the public protection of the health laws of the state of Wisconsin and voluntarily enter into this agreement,” the document concluded. (A video of the symposium’s panel discussion I led, produced by Max Kane, includes part of the “permit” ceremony.)
Attendees chuckled and applauded as Schmidt and Mark McAfee of Organic Pastures Dairy Co. presented Trautman with his permit, but Schmidt made clear in a talk that followed, that the permit, and the harassment of raw dairies by regulatory authorities in the U.S. and Canada is a deadly serious matter, and requires active consumer involvement. “We live in a dictatorship,” he stated. “To be silent makes a mockery of those (farmers) who have fought…Let’s be inspired by them. Let’s be prepared to suffer…Let’s be prepared to die.”
Schmidt’s talk, among more than a dozen at the Second Annual Raw Milk Symposium, was the only one that rated a standing ovation. But the message—that dairy farmers need to draw on consumer support, was one that was repeated throughout the day, both at the symposium and in the hallways outside the hotel meeting rooms. For example:
–Pete Kennedy, president of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, reported that the pending Wisconsin legislation that would allow Grade A dairies to sell raw milk from their farms, could be voted into law as early as next week. But it’s anyone’s guess how the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection might enforce it. According to Elizabeth Rich, a member of the FTCLDF board, and the sometime lawyer for buying club owner Max Kane, DATCP’s year-long assault on raw dairies is unprecedented. Having studied the agency’s actions in the dairy arena, she said, “I see no evidence that any kind of enforcement as what’s happening now has ever happened in the state…They have infiltrated buying clubs, carried out surveillance of farms, that includes writing down license plate numbers of cars going into and out of farms.” The agency, she said, is guilty of “regulatory overkill.”
–Speaking of regulatory overkill, Max Kane is due to appear once again before DATCP attorneys to be questioned about his customers and dairy suppliers. He says he expects once again to refuse to testify, and wonders if this is the time he really is threatened with jail.
–Steve Smith, of Meadowsweet Dairy, says he and his wife, Barb, are contemplating an appeal of the recent appeals court decision that rejected the right of their limited liability company to serve its 100-plus members without state interference. The appeal would be based on “rights,” rather than the fact of the case.
–New York State’s crackdown on raw milk continues with Chuck Phippen—you may remember, the raw dairy farmer who’s been shut down at least eight times over the last three years in connection with listeria in his milk. He’s refused to pay the agency’s fines, and now the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets is taking him to court, says Pete Kennedy. That may be an opportunity for him to plead his case, since his arguments disputing anyh danger in the state’s findings have been ignored. Seems he has one obvious argument: there have been no reports of illness from listeria in raw milk in New York, not only from his dairy, but about a half dozen others shut down for the same reason.
–Winton Pitcoff, the raw milk coordinator for the Massachusetts chapter of the Northeast Organic Farming Association, reported that a fourth Massachusetts raw milk buying club has received a “cease and desist” order from the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources. Three buying groups have been arguing for weeks with DAR officials about the legality of the orders—not surprisingly, DAR officials refuse to concede the orders might be without any legal basis–but now the groups are moving to encourage their members to write legislators and the state attorney general and governor. “If DAR has the ability to interpret the laws they way they want to, so should the farmers,” says Pitcoff.
The one good piece of news from Massachusetts is that Doug Stephan, who had fought local public health authorities for nearly a year to sell raw milk out of his Framingham, MA, dairy, is finally open for business. It’s only the second in the Boston metropolitan area. “We sold 400 gallons in the first ten days,” he says.
–David Hochstetler, the Indiana dairy farmer whose milk may have sickened cowshare members in Michigan and Indiana last month, was at the symposium, and reports that he’s back to distributing milk to cowshare owners he supplies. He had initially refused to allow agents from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to conduct a search of his dairy, and subsequently did allow them to inspect his facilities, but not his business records. He says he has had no word of lab findings tying his milk to campylobacter illnesses, aside from his own tests, which have shown no campylobacter.
–Jacquie Stowers of Manna Storehouse, the Ohio food cooperative that was raided by heavily armed police in late 2008, was at the symposium. She told me that one son, who was in Iraq at the time of the raid, is back home, while another son is now in Kuwait. A civil suit is bogged down in seemingly endless delays, and an appeal has been filed in another suit where a state judge ruled the cooperative has to be licensed as a retail establishment.
While Michael Schmidt won a major victory in Canada in February, even his case isn’t final, since the Ontario government has filed an appeal.
On Saturday evening, following his keynote speech, Mark McAfee handed out “Freedom Fighter” awards to several individuals active in opposing the government’s campaign. They went to Max Kane, Michael Schmidt, Gary Cox of the FTCLDF, Scott Trautman, and yours truly. McAfee says he is focusing his efforts on educating and mobilizing consumers on behalf of raw milk. He’s definitely on to something. The national campaign against raw milk, managed and directed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, shows little sign of ending any time soon. Court action is slow and uncertain. Farmers can be picked off by regulators one by one. Outspoken consumers bugging their legislators offer the best hope of coming to the aid of farmers–just be ready to come under surveillance by the agriculture authorities.
***
For some reason, foodies of the Slow Food variety tend not to take the matter of food rights very seriously. I guess as long as they can join CSAs and find nice restaurants serving a little locally-produced foods, what’s the problem? So when foodies meet food rights people, there can be culture clashes. That’s the feeling I get from reading what I can only term a smarmy account of the Raw Milk Symposium on The Daily Page. Bill Anderson, a Wisconsin consumer and cheese maker, writes an intelligent rebuttal.
I can just imagine what the FDA spies are reporting right now back in DC.
There are 16 scheduled "Share the Secret" raw milk educational seminars set for the next 60 days. People are awakening!! The movement is reaching a fever pitch in CA with Jamie Oliver and his food revolution, Bill Meher with Alice Waters the other night.
OPDC sales have never been higher, people have never been happier.
Mark
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ieGiHj8MpfBc6yCtOWjWW-2ihtfAD9F1C8983
STATES WOO CALIF. DAIRYMEN WITH LESS REGULATION
Michael Marsh chief executive of Calif. based Western Union Dairymen calls Calif. a
"REGULATORY NIGHTMARE FOR FARMERS" and Mike Meissen of the Iowa Area Development Group estimates that each dairy cow has an economic impact of $15000 a year.
So maybe MONEY talks and COWS walk to near by states. Less bad germs in the other states??? LOL
http://www.examiner.com/x-35532-Dallas-Political-Buzz-Examiner~y2010m4d11-Ron-Paul-Twenty-top-applause-lines-at-SRLC—Video
At least one VIP inside the beltway GETS IT!!! Perhaps the diet of all the others has left them SHORT CHANGED shall we say! LOL
http://www.planetjh.com/news/A_106054.aspx
Officials order raw milk pulled. by Ben Cannon
iI is ILLEGAL to SELL raw milk in Wyoming but is it RIGHT or is it WRONG?
"State health officials BELIEVE raw milk infected a Laramie County girl who fell seriously ill with E. Coli.
http://www.realrawmilkfacts.com/about-us/
Look at the "working group" participates. See how they are using the words " Raw Milk Symposium" These are not the same people I assume that would have attended the events this weekend in Wisconsin? Then scroll further down and see the participants name of Ron Schmidt – very close to "Ron Schmid" – author of the untold story of milk.
The table on the home page looks very familiar to the real "working group" taking place in Michigan. On FAQ see how they call raw milk "fresh unprocessed milk", like the Michigan group does. Compare them. http://www.miffs.org/MIfuwmilk
Don’t you just love the middle picture on the home page of hand milking into an open bucket – isn’t that just how all of us milk nowadays?
"opyright policy. Unless otherwise noted, Outbreak Inc. is the legal copyright holder of the material on this website and it may not be used, reprinted, or published without written contest."
Follow the money…wonder how many web sites Marlar has? As said, every time something is misrepresented, come back with facts, and just keep repeating the facts….
http://www.outbreakinc.com/
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-04-15-rawmilk15_ST_N.htm
Though, it does mention that Marlar put up $20,000.00 for it.
Much of what is printed on his new wedsite is true but told in a twisted fashion…I do not disagree with much of the data. However, I really do disagree with the tone of the content and the lack of invitation for editorials from myself and others that know raw milk very very well.
The realrawmilkfacts site goes far beyond advice and data…it has a deep agenda and it is not fairly written at all.
Bill…please start a blog so we can join in the discussion and post the data that you chose to avoid and fail to print.
There are so many university studies that you fail to publish…there are so many pieces of data you are ignorring.
I dare you to allow comments that are posted….
I will have thousands of people email comments to you about their personal experiences with immune system rebuilding and very specific things that raw milk did for them. They will also tell you about how sick pasteurized milk made them!!
You say that raw milk is promoted by the dairymen as a snake oil marketing gimmick.
If that is so then why does the Weston A Price and other non profits speak so highly of raw millk?? Why did an MBA graduate from an Ivyleague University found CREMA and the raw milk moms website in CA. http://www.californiarawmilk.org
They do not produce raw milk they just love it for what it has done for their families health and they want others to know the truth about it.
Yourwebsite was paid for by you and must be considered a second Marler mouth piece.
Bill, the next $20,000 dollars you spend should be on a suggested food safety program for raw milk dairymen. That is what is needed nationally. If you really want progress, help with good advice so that raw milk can be even safer than it already is.
Raw milk is not even listed in the top ten risky foods in America….Bill you have really gone over the top. I am surprized you have not become concerned about ethical issues. You do not just legally bring suite against raw milk violators…you are becoming a participant in the fight yourself. You are fully one side of the raw milk battle and a surrogate for the FDA that truly has lost any integrity and have failed to establish good standards for raw milk at all.
Mark
Reuven Rasooly ?, Paula M. Do
Western Regional Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Albany, California 94710, United States
Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli have been associated with food-borne illnesses. Pasteurization is used to inhibit microbial growth in milk, and an open question is whether milk pasteurization inactivates Shiga toxins. To answer this question we measured Shiga toxin’s inhibition effect on Vero cell dehydrogenase activity and protein synthesis. Our data demonstrate that Shiga toxin 2 (Stx2) is heat-stable and that
pasteurization of milk, at the various suggested temperatures and times by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, (63 C for 30 min, or 72 C for 15 s or 89 C for 1 s), did not reduce the biological activity of Stx2. However, treatment at 100 C for 5 min inactivated the toxin. These data demonstrate that Stx2 is not inactivated by conventional pasteurization. Published by Elsevier B.V. International Journal of Food Microbiology 136 (2010) 290294
HMMM Anyone still foolhardy enough to swallow the "stuff" of the SAD? And any of you antiraw dairy warriors still willing to give your nod of approval to armed raids on small FAMILY FARMS that refuse to feed chicken dropping to bovines? Will history say of our time this was truely THE DARK AGES down on the farm?
Man Paralyzed with Guillain-Barr after Drinking Raw Milk Contaminated with Campylobacter
http://thefoodsafetylawyer.com/2010/04/man-paralyzed-with-guillain-barre-after-drinking-raw-milk-contaminated-with-campylobacter/
Raw Milk Website Launched
http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2010/04/raw-milk-website-launched/
Wisconsin senate approves limited raw milk sales
by Scott Bauer
First you say youre impressed with the new raw milk website, then you suggest that money would be better spent on a national safety program for raw milk (I thought raw milk was safe) and then you end calling Bill Marler a surrogate for the FDA. Youre all over the place. It must have been the shock of discovering the website.
I find it humorous that you think this website should have a place to post comments. Last time I checked the realmilk website doesnt have a comment section.
I havent had a chance to do a thorough read of the realrawmilkfacts.com website, but from what Ive read so far it appears to counteract much of the misinformation spread by WAPF. I like the format, especially the question and answer section, the videos are thought provoking (Is raw milk worth trying?) and the eclectic group of educated contributors brings rationality to the subject of consuming raw milk.
Kudos to Bill Marler for sponsoring this website.
cp
If you were pro-food-safety, than you would support the establishment of safe practices for raw milk production.
Instead, you would rather support a website whose only purpose is to scare people and instill fear.
I find it very interesting to learn that the Shiga toxin created by E. Coli 0157h7 is heat resistant. Not much unlike the entero-toxin created by Staph Aureaus.
Perhaps it is time to re-evaluate the PMO, because it is very clear that it has nothing to do with actual food safety, and everything to do with upholding false pretenses of food safety which only serve to benefit big bussiness.
Tim Wightmans video and handbook are posted to educate people about safety protocols for producing raw milk. Another video and picture are used to demonstrate unsafe practices. How anti raw milk could this website be if they posted this information?
As for E.coli 0157:H7, the Shiga toxin is the result of die off of the bacteria. So if pasteurization kills the E.coli bacteria, but not the Shiga toxin, the Shiga toxin by itself, not in the presence of the bacteria, must not attach to the intestines the same way. If it did, you would have people sick daily from pasteurized milk.
cp