Declaration of Food Independence unveiled today in Wisconsin; signed by Vernon Hershberger and others

 

'Today at the raw milk / food freedom rally taking place in Wisconsin at the legal hearing for raw milk farmer Vernon Hershberger, organizers unveiled a Declaration of Food Independence. The document asserts the individual right to grow, trade and access real food without government intervention or control.'

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The Milk Cure for Healing Lyme Disease

 

'This amazing story was sent to me by Melanie, a Mom who has been drinking nothing but raw, pastured milk for over 100 days to heal her Lyme Disease. Nothing else has worked for her over the past 4 years.
 
Her healing journey is based on the use of raw, pastured milk for reversal of serious illness as practiced in the early 1900′s by the Mayo Foundation, a forerunner of the famed Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota.

If this story is of interest to you, read more about The Milk Cure 2012.'

Here is Melanie’s story ….

From Normal Mom to Near Invalid

'Four years ago I was an active wife and mother: cooking, cleaning, running errands, volunteering at my daughter’s school – the usual “stay at home” mother activities. Without warning, I suddenly became very ill after being exposed to loud noise for several hours.  

I developed excruciating pain in both ears and was subsequently diagnosed with “hyperacusis”, painful sensitivity to sound. I could not bear any noise louder than normal conversation without intense pain and became confined to my home. At about the same time, I began suffering from severe insomnia and night sweats, and I began to rapidly lose weight.'

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Amish raw milk dairyman Dan Allgyer shuts down his farm in the face of FDA harassment and court injunction

 

'Pennsylvania Amish farmer Dan Allgyer has decided to shutter his farm, ending his ordeal with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Justice Department.

He made his decision after Judge Lawrence Stengler went along with the agencies, and imposed a permanent injunction on Allgyer last week for supplying the private Grassfed on the Hill food club with raw milk. 

I wasn’t able to reach Allgyer, but he told those who run the food club that the decision was a personal one, based in significant measure on the family stress created by the two years of federal government harassment, beginning in February 2010, when FDA agents sought to inspect his farm without a warrant.'

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Sheriff who stood up for Amish farmer against the Feds wins award from peers

'He recalled, “On December 1, I received a call from an Amish farmer in my county. He said, ‘I’m having a problem with the federal government.’ He told me how the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) had been to his farm several times in 2011 alone. I went to see him. I could see it was a clean operation. The problem for the federal government was that he was selling raw milk to cooperatives in Illinois and Michigan. 

After the third or fourth time the FDA was there, he was subpoenaed before a federal grand jury in Detroit.” As Rogers recalled it, “I told Mr. Hochstetler, ‘I will protect you in Elkhart County. I can’t protect you in Detroit.’ I asked him, ‘Are you ready for some sparks to fly?’ He said he was.” '

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Amish Dairy Farmer Selling Raw Milk Won’t Be Cowed by FDA

 

'Milk may do a body good, but selling it without the government’s stamp of approval does not. Dan Allgyer, an Amish dairy farmer, is finding that out the hard way. The federal government is trying to slap a permanent injunction on him preventing him from selling his cows’ product to willing customers in other states — all because Allgyer and his customers prefer to trade in milk that has not been pasteurized.

The sale of unpasteurized, or raw, milk is legal in Pennsylvania, where Allgyer lives. In Maryland, where some of his customers live, it is not. The Food and Drug Administration has decided that interstate sales of raw milk, particularly when the state for which the milk is destined bans its sale, are illegal; and that is why Allgyer now finds himself in hot moo juice with the feds.'


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FDA Escalates War Against Amish Dairy Farmers

 

'Kinzers PA – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) apparent war on Amish raw dairy farmers increased on December 6 when they filed a “motion for summary judgment,” with Pennsylvania judge Lawrence Stengler asking for a permanent injunction against dairy farmer Dan Allgyer to forbid him from selling fresh milk out of state. FDA regulation 21 CFR §1240.61 criminalizes any selling of milk intended to cross state lines.'

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California regulators frame Organic Pastures and force raw milk shut down over fabricated E. Coli scare

 

'This unsubstantiated, knee-jerk reaction on behalf of the State of California is hardly surprising, as both it and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have been on a crusade to destroy raw milk for decades. But what might be surprising to some is how easily these government agencies were able to target Organic Pastures without first providing a single, credible piece of evidence linking the dairy's milk to the outbreak.'

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Raw milk freedom riders to ride again, to challenge FDA on fetching milk for others across state lines

'On December 8, a group of mothers and others will defy the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) ban on “distributing” fresh milk across state lines by transporting 100 gallons of raw milk from Wisconsin to Chicago’s Independence Park and distributing it to customers waiting at the park. Federal law 21 CFR § 1240.61 prohibits interstate movement and distribution of raw milk for human consumption. The FDA regulation applies to individuals, or “agents” acting on their behalf.' 

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Raw Milk Crusader Liz Reitzig: End Prohibition - Legalize Raw Milk! 2/2

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It’s been a good week for food rights

Michael Schmidt reads his letter to McGuinty following a Queen's Park news conference last month. 

'It's been a good week for the emerging Food Rights movement. Today, day 37 of dairy farmer Michael Schmidt's hunger strike, he met with Ontario's premier, Dalton McGuinty. It seems Schmidt was meeting with the premier's chief of staff this morning, when McGuinty decided to join in. According to one report, McGuinty reiterated Ontario's opposition to raw milk. No matter. Schmidt can now toast his achievement with a tall cool one. (Actually, word is he had a few sips of soup at lunch to begin breaking his fast.)' 

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Raw Milk Freedom Riders - The Revolution Will Not Be Pasteurized

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Farmer’s Month-Long Hunger Strike for Raw Milk: Growing Weak, Vows to Continue to Death

'This is a call to action! Please, help keep Michael Schmidt alive and support your right to freedom of food at the same time!

Michael Schmidt is on a hunger strike for the right to produce and sell raw milk—and for everyone’s right to food freedom. He is a highly educated dairy farmer, and is also a classical musician and conductor of symphonies and choral groups. His hunger strike has gone on for a full month—and Michael is growing weak. But vows to continue to death, if necessary. He’s asking for a meeting with Ontario, Canada’s Premiere, Dalton McGuinty to discuss the issue. Schmidt has described his motivation:'

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U.S. citizens urged to speak up for Michael Schmidt and food freedom

'A campaign to flood U.S. and Canadian lawmakers with letters of support for a Canadian farmer who was convicted on charges connected with selling raw milk products has spread to Michigan.
Sample letters, contact addresses, and background of the case were re-posted this morning in EatLocalSWMich, a Kalamazoo-area online for people interested in local foods.'

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Max Kane and Vernon Hershberger join Michael in his raw milk hunger strike

'Max Kane and Vernon Hershberger have joined the hunger strike. What a great tribute to the cause of food rights. Two dear friends south of the border called me to tell me that they have joined the hunger strike for Responsible Food Freedom as it relates to our very personal decision what to put in our body. 

Max Kane has been fighting for raw milk and struggling with the justice system in Wisconsin and openly challenged the actions of the State of Wisconsin. I went to Wisconsin to support his rally in defiance of unjust laws and he came in January 2010 to be part of the great Kowarsky ruling. He was severely sick and recovered because of access to raw milk.'

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Ontario farmer convicted in raw milk case launches hunger strike

'Farmer and raw-milk crusader Michael Schmidt has launched another hunger strike in his nearly five-year legal battle to make Ontario the only province to legalize the sale of unpasteurized milk. The move comes after the Ontario Court of Justice on Wednesday found Schmidt guilty of selling and distributing raw milk and raw-milk products. 

In a 77-page decision, Ontario Justice Peter Tetley convicted Schmidt of 15 of the 19 criminal offences charged under the province’s Health Protection and Promotion Act and the Milk Act. In January 2010, Schmidt was found not guilty of 19 charges related to his cow-share business. This week’s decision essentially reverses the acquittal and now Schmidt may face fines, but is unlikely to see jail time.' 


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Not your grandma’s milk

'Milk is truly one of the oldest, simplest whole foods - and we certainly drink a lot of it. According to the USDA, Americans consumed an average of 1.8 cups of dairy per person, per day in 2005. But is the milk Americans are drinking today the same milk our ancestors drank thousands of years ago? Is it even the same milk our great-grandparents were drinking a hundred years ago? By and large, the answer is no.'


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“Perils of Provincialism” : Raw Milk Cheese (French and Americans)

From the “3 Wheeled Cheese” blog:

' “Sometimes you just have to shake your head in wonder at the FDA’s bureaucrats. The New York Times and even the Valley News have recently run articles describing the controversy over the use of raw milk by artisanal cheese makers, many of whom work in New Hampshire and Vermont. Today raw milk may legally only be used in the U.S. in the production of cheeses that are aged at least 60 days before being sold. The current debate asks if this time limit should be lengthened or the use of raw milk banned entirely.'


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The Failure of Raw Milk Prohibition

 

'The August 3, 2011 shakedown of the Rawesome food cooperative in Venice, California, in spite of the tragic outcome, has produced one positive result. The ruthless raid on the part of miscellaneous government agencies has sparked a wave of unprecedented discord over the question – How can government dictate what we choose to eat when we each have unique standards for good nutrition?

This federalista blitzkrieg came at a time when raw milk alarmism had reached an all-time high. The folks who wish to banish raw milk can’t leave the issue alone, and instead they have ramped up a cacophonous crusade against one of nature’s natural glories. Day after day, articles and news bits appear in the mainstream media, full of fear mongering and panic-producing propaganda in regards to the safety of raw milk.'

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The War on Raw: Your nanny state boils the milk, but you don’t have to drink it

 

 Michael Schmidt, Raw Milk Folk-Hero

“It’s banned in Canada and 18 US states, but it’s legal in Europe and always has been. Three in California were recently arrested for selling it. In other states, everyone from local police to the FDA take it upon themselves to eradicate it, even where laws permit its production and sale.'

'Is raw milk really the pathogen-loaded drink of insanity that the mainstream media has made it out to be? Of course not. Is there any reason to prefer it over pasteurized milk? Well, people wouldn’t be going to jail in their determination to consume and sell it if there wasn’t.

We tend to think of pasteurized milk as the norm, but really, it’s only a recent phenomenon. The practice of pasteurization began around the period of industrialization in the US – the late 1900s and early 20th century. Around this time, farmers quit their livelihoods in mass numbers to take jobs in the cities.'

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Big dairy and FDA teaming up against raw milk farmers sez Business Insider

 

' “Last night I went to see the documentary Farmageddon in Chicago.

I also stayed for the full panel discussion. The film is shocking. Documentaries are supposed to shock you. Michael Moore has made millions presenting slanted facts to us.

Documentaries are designed to get you to do something. This documentary illustrates the plight of the organic farmer, specifically the organic dairy farmer. If a dairy farmer wants to sell raw milk, they will be run out of business and many times imprisoned by the federal bureaucracy.'



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