Articles by David Gumpert

Get Ready for Massive Economic Turmoil if America Goes Tyrannical

OpEd News, 8/23/2018 America is the world’s most influential economy in large measure because of its political freedoms and the rule of law. The economic consequences if America goes tyrannical could be profound, including the jailing of its top entrepreneurs and the neutering of the Fed.

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Is There Some Hidden Gain in America’s Infatuation with Russia?

OpEd News, 7/28/2018 America’s right wing is increasingly enchanted by closer American-Russian relations. It’s easy to understand why Putin wants to be on more favorable footing with the U.S. But what does the U.S. stand to gain by being closely allied with Russia? That is the unspoken question, maybe because it doesn’t have an easy answer.

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The Is What Tyranny Looks Like: Where Migrant Family Separations Could Lead

OpEd News, 6/20/2018 The current crisis of migrant family separations is much more than an example of bureaucracy run amok or Washington power politics. At its core, it represents the first stirrings of out-and-out tyranny. We can tell by looking at similar events in other countries that went tyrannical.

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Once Children Become Political Fodder, Look Out Below

OpEd News, 4!2/2018 The Holocaust should have taught us about the warning lights that flash once children become accepted targets for political abuse. Now they flash once again with the targeting for political bullying of survivors of the Parkland, FL, school massacre.

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One Easy Way to Turn Back the Clock on Gun Massacres

OpEd News, 2/18/2018 Because of a shift in laws, it’s now much easier for  children in Iowa to legally get their hands on guns than on unpasteurized milk. Indeed, there was a time 30-40 years ago when the U.S. had minimal gun restrictions in place, and little concern was expressed that the Second Amendment was in danger. Yet in recent years, we as a country seem intent on loosening any and all restrictions on guns, even for children and the mentally ill, and even as the frequency of gun massacres mount.

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Is Trump’s Reichstag-Fire Moment Close at Hand?

OpEd News, 2/10/2018 Trump has been following the “Hitler game plan” for tyranny in many ways. Is his next move to exploit a Reichstag-fire moment, to use the Mueller investigation as a pretext to grab wider powers?

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Can Local Food Survive America’s Food Oligarchs?

The Alliance for Democracy, Winter 2015 — My article helps lead off the inaugural issue of “Justice Rising” magazine, from the food sovereignty movement.

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Ice Cream, You Scream….A Dessert Listeria Epidemic?

OpEdNews, 5/8/2015 — The 2015 deaths and illnesses from listeria in commercial ice cream send a clear message, I argue in this op-ed: There is lots we don’t know about food safety.

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Presto! How 21 Illnesses from Raw Milk Turned into 20,000-Plus

Alternet, 2/5/2015 — Using unusual epidemiological methodologies, along with curious mathematical modeling and extrapolations, a CDC-sponsored study reckoned there were more than 20,000 illnesses from raw milk in Minnesota, rather than the 21 that had been previously reported by public health authorities as attributable to raw milk. Quite a leap. In an article on Alternet, I examine the creative math behind this highly questionable study, which received wide media attention.

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Doing Something About the Raw Milk Misinformation Campaign

Cornucopia, 2/3/15 — How and why I came to write The Raw Milk Answer Book

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How the CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics Coordinated Efforts to Slam Raw Milk

PRWatch, 1/30/14 — In late 2013, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the American Academy of Pediatrics put out press releases within a few days of each other with big news about the supposed dangers of raw milk. It turned out the announcements were likely coordinated by the two agencies to sabotage the growing campaign on behalf of raw milk in state legislatures, as I document in this article in PR Watch.

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A Model for Reconciliation Over Raw Milk?

Modern Farmer, 8/1/13 — How a six-year effort by proponents and opponents, in the first state to ban raw milk sales, led to a remarkable meeting of the minds. The working group succeeded by rejecting key FDA tenets about raw milk and nutrient-dense food. In this Modern Farmer article, I detail how the agreement came to be, and its key conclusions.

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Inside Story of a “Juror Revolt” in Amish Raw Milk Trial

Modern Farmer, 6/13/13 — Jurors who convicted raw milk farmer Vernon Hershberger of a single count of violating a hold order were so upset after the trial to learn the real facts about that charge, that they petitioned the judge in the case. This amazing story of jurors with a conscience was the most read article for a week at Modern Farmer.

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Dairy Farmer Vernon Hershberger Wins Big in Criminal Trial

Modern Farmer, 5/28/13 — Here is some of my coverage of the Wisconsin trial of farmer Vernon Hershberger, on criminal charges of failing to have retail and dairy licenses.

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4 Questions Raised by the Amish Raw Milk Trial

Modern Farmer, 5/17/13 — In this article in Modern Farmer, I explore the possible legal ramifications of the trial of Wisconsin raw milk farmer Vernon Hershberger.

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FDA and Health Canada Hone in on Limiting Raw Milk Brie and Camembert

Food Safety News, 2/18/13 — The American and Canadian health agencies have just published a 189-page report arguing that the soft raw milk cheeses are up to 160 times likelier than pasteurized milk cheeses to cause illness…even though there are no reported illnesses. How did they come to their conclusions? I try to figure it out, in this article on Food Safety News.

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Stiff Competition (Something More Personal)

Boston Magazine, 2/2013 — After I recovered from prostate cancer surgery, I decided to write about the challenge of deciding on a course of treatment.

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Without Fanfare, CDC Reports a Sharp Decline in Foodborne Illnesses

Food Safety News, 1/31/13 — You’d think the CDC would be celebrating a one-third decline in foodborne illnesses, but instead, it buried the information in a new report. In this article in Food Safety News, I explain how CDC hid the data, and why it’s important.

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The Food Safety Police May Have an Eye on Your Kitchen

Cooking Up A Story — As well intentioned as the proposed restrictions on sugary drinks in New York City appear, they are really another step down an unfortunate path of food regulation. In this analysis on Cooking Up a Story, I argue that, in our growing obsession with food safety and public health, we risk creating a legal and regulatory quagmire over food.

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Raw Deal: Maine Residents’ Fight for Unregulated Food Draws Crackdown

Grist, 6/29/12 — Eight Maine towns have passed simple ordinances that allow farmers and other food producers to sell their products direct to consumers, without having to worry about permits and regulations–known as Food Sovereignty laws. The towns thought there might be opposition from the state and feds, but nothing on the scale that’s occurring. In this article on Grist, I chronicle a court suit against one farmer, threats of another against a second farmer, high-level political maneuvering, and efforts to link non-dairy-related illnesses to farmers producing raw milk.

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Raw Milk Debate: Thorny Issues of Food Safety, Food Rights, and Public Health

Cooking Up A Story, 5/2012 — In this article at CookingUpaStory, I provide an overview on the polarizing and emotional debate over availability of raw milk.

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Got Raw Milk

Boston Globe, 3/23/08 — I wrote a lengthy feature article for The Boston Globe Sunday Magazine about the controversy over the growing consumption of raw milk. I examined the history and science around milk, along with trends in Massachusetts mirroring national trends.

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Milk Wars

The Nation, 3/17/08 — I’ve written several articles about food and nutrition for The Nation. My most recent one is about a crackdown on small dairies trying to become sustainable by producing raw milk.

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Articles and Interviews about my book The Raw Milk Revolution: Behind America’s Emerging Battle Over Food Rights

Want Raw Milk? Lease a Farm and Hire a Lawyer (Grist.org)

Raids Are Increasing On Farms and Private Food-Supply Clubs–5 Tips For Survival (Grist.org)

Making the Business Case for Dairy Farmer Civil Disobedience (Huffington Post)

Pressure on Raw Milk Dairies Misguided (Worcester Business Journal)

Organic Valley Lays Down the Law on Raw Milk (Grist.org)

Crying Over Spilled Milk: MA Ag Bureaucrat in Desperate Maneuvers (Huffington Post)

The Fight Over Raw Milk Moves East Amid Charges of Collusion with Big Dairy (Huffington Post)

Is Raw Milk Becoming Too Popular for Its Own Good? (Grist.org)

Whatever Happened to the Government’s War on Raw Milk? Just a Shift in Tactics (Grist.org)

Is the Obama Administration About to Eat the Foodies’ Lunch? (Grist.org)

Can a New USDA Advisory Committee Make the Dairy Industry Less Pathetic? (Grist.org)

An Amish Entrepreneur’s Old-Fashioned Approach (Bloomberg Businessweek)

Boring Conference Food: Our Culinary Future? (Grist.org)

Getting Past Religion in the Raw Milk War (Food Safety News)

Don’t Be Afraid of Food: Are We Being Needlessly Hysterical About Food Safety? (Alternet.org)

Small Food Producers Question Greater FDA Power (Bloomberg Businessweek)

Don’t Ignore Dairy Farmers’ Pricing Problem (Bloomberg Businessweek)

Convincing Consumers Your Food Is Safe (Bloomberg Businessweek)

A Small Food Business Lets Its Customers Do the Financing (BloombergBusinessweek)

Tainted Loans, Tainted Food (thenation.com)

Got Raw Milk (Boston Globe Magazine)

Milk Wars (thenation.com)

USDA Bets the Farm on Animal ID Program (thenation.com)

Old McDonald Had a Farm…And He Got Arrested? (thenation.com)

A Farmer Cries Foul About New York State’s Lab Testing

Customer Protests and Media Attention Lead to Happy Ending in Michigan Raw Milk Case

At This Farm, Tending the Goats Is a Family Affair

Behind the Scenes: When Disease Hits a Small Farm

Privacy Concerns Dog RFID Startup

Animal Tags for People?

Farmers Discover a Business Opportunity

Farmers say NO to National Animal Identification System (NAIS)

A Raw Milk Raid Leads to a Special Thanksgiving

Ohio Plays Can-You-Top-This with Its Enforcement Against Raw Milk Producers

Ripple Effects from Michigan’s Raw Milk Sting Operation Hit Retailers

Busting Farmers: Now It’s Michigan’s Turn to Get Tough on Raw Milk Producers

A California dairy farmer specializing in raw milk feels the full brunt of the government bureaucracy

Entrepreneurs who “play God”: business gets complicated when so many decisions have a moral and ethical overlay

FDA enforcers in action: the government’s pursuit of cherry farmers

Selling snake oil: a popular holistic doctor’s unfortunate web business

Big Pharma tries to get the FDA to do its bidding against small makers of women’s hormones


Writings on Entrepreneurs & Business Plans