When it comes time to slaughter cattle and pigs at Amos Miller’s farm in Bird-in-Hand, PA, the process has been pretty much the same for decades. One of the Amish farm hands brings out a pistol, and shoots each animal between the eyes. “You have to hit them in just the right spot,” the designated farm hand told me a few years ago when I visited the farm. “With the pigs, if you miss, the bullet bounces off the skull. They have a real hard skull.”
The shooter does his work outside the main barn, and works fast to clean up the blood, especially with the pigs. “If you don’t clean the blood up right away, the other pigs will roll around in it.”
A group of Mennonite butchers are at the ready to skin the hides and take the carcasses to their own facility for butchering.
But that long-established traditional process is in jeopardy as the U.S. Justice Department moves full speed ahead on its court suit against Miller filed in April (reported on here). to potentially shut down the farm for refusing to use U.S. Department of Agriculture approved facilities for its meat slaughtering.
Also in jeopardy is the well established private food club model, under which hundreds of private food clubs have been established around the U.S. to obtain food from farms like Miller’s. These farms avoid involvement in state and federal regulatory systemsby virtue of their direct contractual sales to food club members. For many years, government agencies have mostly refrained from challenging such farms, and left them in a legal gray area. However, the U.S. Justice Department, assuming a tough-guy posture against the small Amish farm, bragged in its April announcement about the suit that it represented “the first-ever suit of its kind where FSIS is seeking an injunction against a so-called ‘private membership association’ farm business to enforce food safety laws.”
There has already been a pretrial conference June 13, when the judge in the case encouraged both parties to seek a settlement. Miller last week wrote his food club members to say he has tried for a settlement, but is pessimistic because the USDA and its inspection arm, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) have shown no interest in compromise.
“On approximately June 18 we got a letter from the court with a date of July 18 in Philadelphia for the settlement conference, and after reading the full letter, in there it stated, ‘Please notify the court if settlement is not a real possibility.”’ I had to think about this. I made a few phone calls to see if there could be a chance. I had a conversation with USDA/FSIS Director Troy Hambright for a while and the opinion I got from him is that we have to follow all their rules, otherwise we will be in violation. No exceptions. We did talk about the citric acid solution which seems to be most commonly used in USDA inspected plants. We have a few team members on duty to look at USDA requirement rules and regulations and they are not comfortable with what USDA/FSIS calls safe or that we can call safe at all due to our very chemical sensitive members.”
As a result, Miller appears ready to do something few Amish farmers have ever done: fight back with an aggressive legal strategy. A number of his food club members have launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise $23,000 to hire a team of lawyers committed to defending the farm and its private member association.
The new GoFundMe site notes: “Our Farmer, Amos Miller, needs your help to preserve traditional farming the way God intended. In order to defend the way the farm has produced its pure foods for more than 100 years, Amos has to hire civil rights attorneys to argue the farm’s case in court against the army of lawyers that the USDA are bringing to the courtroom. Amos has been advised that the preliminary defense of his Amish farm will cost at minimum $23,000 and he needs help raising the money to preserve this time-honored way of traditional farming practices.”
In bold type, the request for donations adds: “Please note that accepting contributions are not typically allowed in the Amish culture. The Amish believe in earning what you have – through hard work. But Amos needs help to defend our Association and he agreed to accept donations through the GoFundMe campaign, as this is a true ‘Emergency.’ “
In his note to members, Miller included statements from more than 1,000 members who have written notes of support. They are nearly unanimous in opposing having their meat go through USDA facilities, where various acids are used to clean the meat and facilities. Here is a selection of their comments:
“USDA facilities have had many instances of meat contamination over the last few years (even some cows discovered with mad cow disease in your processors facilities) whereas, Miller’s Organic Farm have had none. I am strongly opposed to USDA’s requirements of processing meats at their facilities, especially how you spray citric acid and the use of other preservatives on carcasses (and I have heard that USDA also uses bleach to wash carcasses) . These type practices reflect that you do not care for the health of us humans and what we consume, but reflect that you have dirty, germ infected facilities that require such practices to keep outbreak of diseases as low as you can, but you still infect healthy people with outbreaks of Salmonella and other germs because of your practices…..”
“Every customer of Miller’s Organic Farm signs a contract clearly stating their intended desire to receive food products that are processed and handled according to Miller’s Organic Farm standards, regardless of their adherence to Federal regulations. This is an agreed upon risk by the customer of these products, and as such, Miller’s Organic Farm should, provided the contract continues to be signed by all prospective and current customers at the necessary intervals, not be required, pressured, or forced in any other manner to begin processing its meat products at USDA facilities.”
“As a free individual and a citizen of the United States of America, I have made the decision to purchase Amos Miller’s raw dairy and grass fed, self processed meat products. I have purchased food from him for years, and feed my wife and children this food not only without reservation, but with pride. I take comfort in knowing exactly where my food is coming from, who is caring for it, and how it is cared for. It would be a disservice to his customers and quite frankly the country to force his animals and his product out of his control and oversight.”
If there is a hopeful sign, it is that the judge in the case, William G. Smith of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, has in previous hearings involving Miller and the USDA, shown himself to be open and direct in his questioning of the parties and inclined toward compromise. In other words, he doesn’t seem as intent on crushing the farmer, as the U.S. Justice Department and USDA seem to be.
In the meantime, you can support Amos Miller’s legal fight at his GoFundMe site.
As in all things government, follow the money. Which big conglomerate stands to profit from this?
There is something to this. According to multiple media reports, large American farms and conglomerates that buy from them are being killed by the trade war with China. To retaliate for the crippling tariffs on Chinese products, China has shifted its agricultural purchases–of soybeans, meat, other products–to other countries, like Brazil, Argentina, Russia. I heard a report last night on NPR that it took years for American companies to establish sales in the huge Chinese market, and now those markets are being decimated in a matter of months, never to be recovered.
https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/will-the-trade-war-mean-us-pig-farmers-miss-out-on-their-single-greatest-sales-opportunity-in-china/
What that means is the conventional farmers begin pressuring their trade organizations to “do something.” That “something” may well include having the government put pressure on small farms with substantial private sales. Government has done it before to try to crush raw milk.
AMERICA (USA) first not China, not Mexico, not Central America, or any other country or countries.
Oh Dear God, just read in the NYT that Trumps trade wars are going to cost America first families more than a thousand bucks a year. just to buy the same products. He is so stupid and cannot even be bothered to learn how trade works that those poor soybean farmers are going to be costing the rest of us for the welfare they now have to receive since they have lost their buyers forever. The rest of the world is either laughing at us or feeling deep sorrow for us having a con man at the helm and let us not forget he went bankrupt only 6 times and yet his Dad bailed him out even after Trump ran through the 400 million he inherited. And let us not get into all the workers he stiffed along the way. But yeah of course he is capable of making America first. I blame the Democrats for abandoning the voters for the last 40 years and taking bribes to protect the corporations and the ultra wealthy and keeping wages stagnated. Of course the Republicans always have looked out for the rich and spit on the rest of us but being abandoned by the democrats is what got us Trump, they used to be the party of the workers and unions you know. So of course Trump’s fake populist campaign sounded good, how was the innocent public to know just how inept and uncaring Trump is? We in NYC knew what a con man he was, we knew people he stiffed. So now the those suffering from Trump’s idiotic decisions are trying to destroy healthy food for the rest of us. It is amazing how everything Trump touches turns out so badly. A friend of mine knows a woman who used to live next to Donald’s family and she said he would throw rocks at the family dog over and over again, injuring the yelping animal. The neighbors complained and I hope the dog was removed before it was stoned to death. Poor Donald never did grow up and we have a man child as president, a racist bigot, well his father was in the KKK. But even children have empathy usually. But if making America first means applauding murderous dictators , such as the Saudi prince and Putin and falling in love with Kim of North Korea, who murdered his own brother and tortures his own people and who in this love affair with Trump has developed 6 nuclear missiles right under Trump’s nose. Well of course you know best. And of course supporting white supremacists makes American first too and using the office of presidency to enrich himself and family certainly makes America first too and until recently using undocumented immigrants himself at his golf courses to save money helped make America first too. I am so tired of what has come from making America first. And of course the endless lies. Especially the lie that he actually cares one iota about his base and what damage he has wrought upon them and the rest of us.
The Amish community should look up the testing that was done that proved small butchering operations in the open air had far less bacteria and germs on the meat than the large scale factories.
It’s always about money. What’s also funny and proves this. The government in Canada can have casinos and liquor being sold( all government) yet the little grocery stores are getting fines for being open on certain holidays.
The Government should stay out of this Case
Why does everyone have this notion about the Amish, being “all natural”?. Healthy? Better for you? By and large it’s all lies. Amish made furniture? Lol. The guy is on a computer. Using autocad. But the food…that’s really the funny part. How about the feces of other animals mixed in with the lowest grade feed you can find? GMO feed of course. Yes we are talking about the Amish farms. Which also are dirty, nasty places. Most of you really have no clue. I own a restaurant. I see many Amish at Restaurant Depot buying EVERYTHING. Take it to their farmer stands and sell the potatoes for 4 times the cost. It’s all BS.
I have no doubt there are some Amish farms that are as you describe. But there are also others, like Amos Miller’s farm, that are the real deal. You just have to have some of his orange-yolk eggs or deep yellow butter or full-fat milk to know. I inadvertently left a quart of his kefir unopened for a week-and-a-half, and today when I opened it, it nearly exploded with super rich kefir bubbling up, so much fermentation had continued taking place. Not too many places you’re going to find that quality food, unfortunately, aside from a few Amish farms.
Clearly, this is about control and possibly some money going to some entity. This is not about food safety, IMO. I grew up on a farm. We slaughtered hogs and poultry for food. Pork was processed, either smoked or sugar cured with the organ meats being kept in a refrigerator and consumed first. We never ever had a sickness due to this home raised, slaughtered and stored meats! IMO it is very important that this case be resolved so that this farmer and others can continue to process their own animals, from slaughter to refrigeration to sale. This is a form of private enterprise that should not be eliminated just to benefit corporate entities.
It’s about factory farming pressing anyone that doesn’t buy from or threatens the factory farmed pork industry…
I feel that any American citizen has the right to provide however he / she sees fit for their family. The US government can make all the suggestions and guidelines they want to as a guideline for food processing. But under no circumstances should there be a legal precedent that controls the way a person obtains their sustainability. These government agencies were developed to make people aware, not to dictate their lives.. America was founded on the principle that each man governs himself and can prosper anyway he sees fit , as long as it doesn’t hurt another person.
I feel someone didn’t get their cut, their payoff. … Pay to do business, or eat!
I buy my food from the amish be cause i dont wont the posion that is in processed foods..Goverment get out of my food.i make very few comments on anything on facebook but this is important to me
NPR is just into anti-Trump hype. The harassment of organic or natural farming methods or processing methods has been under attack for decades. Joel Salatin has been writing about it for years. It was printed in Mother Earth News in the 70’s. This has nothing to do with tariffs and everything to do with the brainwashing of college educated government paper pushers with messiah syndrome.
The government will just fight until the farm can no longer afford to. Their money pool is infinite where the farmers is not. Personally, if I were the farm..I would utilize religious discrimination in this case as well as coming up with a plan B to move operations to a dif. Farm and just go underground with it. Our usda has no agenda but their own and gives zero shits about no one but themselves. Most of those in their employ have zero farm knowledge and little more than their brainwashed kool aid education. I hope the farm wins..but in seeing how this goes time and time again, that farm needs back up plans asap
Negative publicity can also influence the government to back off. As I said in the blog post, more than 1,000 people have written statements in support of Amos Miller and his farming practices. Since this post went up earlier today, lots more people have contributed to the GoFundMe campaign. Members and other supporters may well need to mobilize themselves in significant numbers, by alerting their representatives about what’s happening.
one of the fables of the Amish, is : that the Bible is their ultimate reference as to faith and morals. Have a look at it, sometime …. The Law which Moses gave to the Israelites could not be any clearer than that we ( white folks, descendants of the man Jacob whose name God His-self changed to Israel ) are expressly pro-hibited from eating the flesh of swine.
any day the vertically-integrated corporate entity doing business as Amish Amos (c) want the hated ‘Englishman’ govt. offa their back, they can start by obeying the food laws which pertain to white folks, to this very day
Seriously? The prohibition against swine is a Judaism thing, not a CHristian thing. The old Testament was BEFORE Christ, remember?
Erin, Leviticus(swine info) was for Israelites, not Jews. Jews(Idumeans/Edomites etc) moved into the land of Judah FROM Judea during the Babylonian Captivity and killed all the original high priests(i.e. John-Baptiste) & assumed the Hebrew name…to this day. Jesus came back specifically for the Israelites, not the Jews(or “everyone”) & had to die to make the old covenant null and void so he could make a NEW covenant with the same people. So Old & New Testament belongs to the Israelites(whites) as ol Gordon was stating.
Erin O’Brien: Yes, in both Judaism and Islam, but only for ecological reasons. The pig, being an omnivore, eats food that might otherwise feed humans; not so herbivores. So in ancient times in the Middle East, it made sense not to raise pigs for food. As far as I know, not even vegans can digest grass. But in modern times it makes no sense not to consume pork. It is wholesome, and it is delicious. If people like Gordon do not wish to consume it, all the better,-more for us. Yum, bacon!
obviously Gary Ogden, you’ve never read the vast literature in medical science, re = what eating swine’s flesh does to a population. Start with the photos of worms in pigmeat at the slaughterhouse.
all your simple-minded dancing-around the issue of worms and trichinosis, doesnt’t add up to a pinch of pig poop.
The reason white people ought not eat swine’sflesh is because our God told us not to. Him being the God who’s major theme, is : breeding a race of people for the trait of obedience
Jews come in all different colors. The original Israeli people were dark skinned. My family are Jewish and my sister has dark olive skin, black hair and dark eyes and I am light skinned. My husband has red hair and black eyes. Don’t conflate religion with race or make gross oversimplifications.
Also, we eat pork and shellfish *gasp*. Some of us are not dogmatic in practice. To say the laws pertain to white folks would be to deny that the origins of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam were founded in a region where dark complexions are are the majority.
what evidence is there that that was the case, 3700 years ago, when the man Jacob was trudging-around ancient Philistia? The provenance of the Bible in to modern times, is one of the proofs of our inheritance .
The House of Saxburg Gotha can show their pedigree right back to King David, who, the Scriptures report, was of a ruddy complexion.
do your own homework, Lauran … the origins of modern Juda-ism – better called “Talmud-ism” are quite provably from ancient Babylon. Point by point, the Talmud rejects the Law which our God gave us, via Moses. Jesus excoriated the Pharisees “full well you cleave to the traditions of men, that you make void the Law of God”
a better use of your time, would be = going through the old Testament and finding all the references to milk, butter, et cetera. which are part of our heritage
GOVERNMENTS SHOULD NOT INTERFERE IN OTHERS PERSONAL AFFAIRS/PRIVATE AFFAIRS, THIS IS THEIR LAND AND THEY SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO DO AS THEY PLEASE, THEY ARE NOT HARMING ANYONE
Erin O’Brean
the politest way I can put it, is : you’ve got a lot to learn, Ma’am = get the facts / then think for thyself. Forget all the dis-info. fobbed off by the pulpit parrots in the state-licenced Baal-barns which advertise demselves as “Christian” these days
Jesus himself said that ‘not one jot nor title of the law would be done away with, till all be fulfilled’. . Has it?
the Word of God Abideth forever : Old Georgie Gordon used to say “I don’t know how long ‘forever’ is but I know it ain’t up yet’
the notion that “America was founded upon Judeo-Christian Principles’ is one of the great Oxymorons of all time. Those religions are 180 degrees anti-thetical.
but let’s not beat around the theoretical bush on this raw milk forum> Suffice to say that the animus of the Campaign for REAL MILK, is : white people remembering our Israelite heritage, ie. The Law of Our God
with one of the 12 Clan names from ancient Hibernia, the place for you to start, would be to visit the tomb of Jeremiah, in Eire. Where he wound up after fleeing Egypt with the 2 Israelite princesses> Open your Bible and find out what the anti-christs don’t want you to know about the history of your race
Erin, if you haven’t figured it out by now, Watson is this blog’s resident white supremacist. His garbage on race is tolerated in the interests of free speech.
Watson, you neglect to consider, in your last sentence “about the history of your race,” to consider the possibility that Erin isn’t white. (Erin, no need to answer or go any further on any of this, since it truly is a rabbit hole when Watson gets going.)
you missed the point, Mister Gumpert, as you so-often – deliberately – do.
O’Brien being one the name of one of the 12 Great Clans of ancient Hibernia. Unless he’s a troll, the chances that someone using the name Erin O’Brien ( the classic spelling ) who’s old enough to contribute to this blog, would be “a Person of Color ” are about a trillion to one
Up ’til just a couple of years ago, the racial stock of Ireland was the most homogenous nation in Europe. Onus is on those who posit that race-mixing is a good thing, to show where the people of that nation of 4 million, were ever consulted on the plan to import a million racial aliens?
And = since you brought it up = how is it a good thing for the people who live in the Israeli nation state to have a constitution predicated in the concept of Jewish supremacy, yet when white folks want a homeland with our own culture … i.e. the Republic of the united States of America, founded in Christianity … all-of–a-sudden that’s wrong?
I advised against going down the rabbit hole with you, Watson, but here goes, one quick trip….
– If Erin O’Brien can only be white, what about Troy O’Leary?* (answer below)
– Israel, like Iran, Saudi Arabia, and a number of other countries, was founded as a theocracy, a country based on a religion. While there are a number of countries based on Islam, there is only one based on Judaism. America’s founders decided that they had come to this land to escape the oppression of state sponsored religion in England, and so very intentionally established the U.S. as a secular country, and wrote into the constitution a number of guarantees that religion wouldn’t intrude on political functions (freedom of religion, prohibition on Congress adopting a religion). The U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed our secular approach repeatedly over the years.
* Answer to the Q above: Troy O’Leary was an African-American outfielder for the Boston Red Sox (and other clubs) during the 1990s.
ya got me there, Mister Gumpert. trumping my statistical argument. But ! since you prefer to belabor the ‘race card’ … it’s worth noting that Troy O’Leary did what so many of them do … discriminated against all the lovely Black bachelorettes and took his-self a white trophy wife. Last heard from, she’d ditched her babydaddy for lack of child support ( after he’d gone through $16 million $$ ! ) and set off on another career path … the “escort business”
human beings think with stereotypes because – more often than not – they’re true
When it comes to debauchery by a white supremacist, no one trumps our prez.
Most people still believe the 12 tribes of Israel make reference to Jews(Khazars/Edomites etc) & since most white folks have never actually read the KJV(1611 ed.), you’ll always be considered a “white supremacist.” Erin is one of the masses who thinks the old and new testament separates Jews from Christians, & thinks that Jesus died for on the cross for “everyone”(not just the Israelites)…when in fact the biggest reason why he had to die, was to make the old covenant null and void so he could make a NEW covenant with the same people(from the “old” testament).
chris kazaam: Jesus of Nazareth suffered the fate of those under Roman occupation who engaged in sedition, crucifixion being their preferred penalty. His mission in life was two-fold: against the corrupt priestly class in Jerusalem, and against the Roman occupation. Most of his followers, including his brother, James, remained in Jerusalem, and perished when the Romans laid siege and burned it to the ground.
Mr Ogden, I sure doubt your assertion. Any evidence thereof? Much more likely, his followers took seriously what Jesus said, then fled when they saw Jerusalem surrounded by Titus’ army. best example being the Apostle Paul, who went and preached in Britain
as for “against the Roman occupation”. Wrong. He advised his followers to pay the tax levied upon them by the Emperor. Contrasted with the remnant of Israelites in Judea defaulting their religious obligation to pay the Temple tax according to the Law of Moses
be assured of one thing, when the times comes, Jesus Christ shall return in power and glory, and make a full end of those who refuse to acknowledge him as King and Messiah of Israel … us, white people
Good for him to fight. Only problem is, the federal government is a vast goliath, shamelessly corrupt, and with no accountability to the public. Congress and the regulatory agencies work for industry, not the public. As for their products, I’ve only had various cheeses, and boy are they good!
I have nothing against on-farm slaughter, but the animal should have a veterinary inspection preferably prior to and definitely after slaughter, to reduce risk of diseases. There are special rules for ’emergency slaughter’, farmed game slaughter and similar, where a veterinarian come out to check the carcass prior to sales. It takes quiet a lot of medical training to detect these small signs that could indicate tuberculosis, brucellosis, trichinosis, or other zoonotic disease. Veterinarians have recieved years of training for this purpose, so it is not just because that someone is a farmer that they have the competence to recognize signs of disease in a slaughtered carcass.
Cat, I think the Amish would say that the Mennonites responsible for butchering also have the expertise and experience to spot possibly diseased animals after slaughter. That’s what I’ve been told by a Mennonite butcher who got in some trouble in the Midwest for not having facilities required by newer regulations. Do they have the skills of a veterinarian? I don’t know. I do know, as someone who has consumed much meat slaughtered on farm, that I have never encountered a problem, and none of the many food club members I know have encountered problems. And based on the 1,000-plus letters written by members around the country in support of Amos Miller, they’re happy with what they’ve been getting.
I do think USDA and its inspection requirements serve an important function for the mass market. But I also think people so inclined should have the right to obtain their food via private contract direct from farmers of their choosing, based on such factors as on-farm slaughtering.
no need for this cat as most of these butchers know when meat is bad.You dont have to be a trained vet to know such things.
most usda .and most animals
Most importiantly in all the years amos has been butchering meat no one has been sick
after a while you know when opening up a carcass if something is not right so i have been told by the butchers.
and by the by cat
freshly slughtered meat from a cow can last in the fridge up to 7 days and still be ok with no putrid smell….try doing this with farms that sell their meat to whole foods….after 3 days its discusting…unless of course you are making highmeat.
THE USDA IS TRYING TO FIX SOMETHING THAT WAS NEVER BROKEN IN THE FIRST PLACE
Why not just structure your contract to comply with 9 CFR 303 and you’d be exempt? We opt to have full usda inspection on our farm.
Appendix: a bacterial ‘safe house’
https://creation.com/appendix-a-bacterial-safe-house?fbclid=IwAR3Xko8ORDZDdV9DhaNxI7UUId8dZQKChKqaLEjVkGGA7NVGlHKHnPKT-Mc
Appendicitis may also be the result of an overly hygienic society causing an overreaction from the immune system, according to the researchers.
N.B.: I’m writing this as a regular comment, rather than a reply, so it won’t be 1/16″ wide and a mile long.
Gordon S. Watson: These are historical facts, as far as can be determined, and they come from a scholar of religions. I won’t name him, as David says you are a white supremacist, and this scholar is non-white. I don’t really know what that term means, as it has been widely used to attack and belittle Trump voters, so I assume, since you are religious, that you hold all people as the product of an omnipotent, omnipresent, loving creator, which would mean you couldn’t possibly be a supremacist of any sort. I find learning about religion and religious history fascinating, but I had a belly-full of religion growing up, and I now regard religious institutions and their ideologies as I do political ideologies, with contempt, though, for many, religion is solace and strength, and most religious people are good people. In my view it was Saul of Tarsus, who neither knew, nor knew of the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth, who invented Christianity. Fake news, the entire edifice?
Mr Ogden
this is not the place to get into all that. Rather = get up to speed about REAL MILK at the Weston A Price website
I pay participate in this forum because it is the foremost website to do with my theme = ie. the engine of the phenomenon in which consumers are demanding whole, fresh milk from healthy, properly-fed cows, uncooked, is : white people remembering our heritage, particularly : the agricultural and food laws which our God gave to the nation of ancient Israel …. of whom we are the direct descendants.
saying “Saul of Tarsus who neither knew, nor knew of the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth …” reveals you know less than zero about the subject of primitive Christianity … most likely trolling for attention? Versus = We’re here to help the Campaign for REAL MILK
You continually keep me chuckling there Watson with your BS!!! LMAO!!
Gordon S. Watson: One more thing I’m curious about: Who exactly are these white people you speak of? What do they look like? I want to be on the lookout in case I see one. Not sure I ever have. As for me, I’m decidedly pinkish, except where the sun has turned the skin a might brownish. Do you mean white like albino? Michael Jacksonish? Government forms have a “white” box to check, but what if you’re wrong if you check it? Are they going to come after you?
Laugh Out Loud!!
John Dutcher: I hope I haven’t offended him. He’s the first white supremacist I’ve ever laid eyes on. Well, I haven’t actually laid eyes on him. I knew they existed. The media seems to harp about them a great deal. Odd, being that light skin is merely an adaptation for sufficient vitamin D production, that anyone would wear it as a badge of honor. Odd, indeed. The roots, methinks, lie in our history, in slavery, in our Constitutional language considering blacks only 2/3 human, and the 20th Century obsession to classify everyone and everything which came out of the Progressive Movement and was given a boost by the New Deal. The eugenics movement played a role, as well. “Racial” classification, in my view, has been a disastrous practice in our nation; all the boxes to tick. In our species race has no biological basis. I must add that much good came out of the Progressive Movement, but today it has become an overbearing, controlling mommy.
the jury in Washington state disagrees with you that “race has no biological basis”. Last week they convicted William Talbot of murder, a third of a century after the crime. They concluded that – without a doubt – based on evidence from biological substances gathered at the time/ at the scene, compared with bodily substances police collected from him prior to his arrest, Talbot certainly was the killer
Police forces around the world are solving crimes based on the scientific method … predicated in the concept that racial characteristics are discernable from a sample of a given phenotype. Meaning : the cops knew they were looking for a white man.
you seem “unclear on the concept” about this forum, Mr Ogden. Our Campaign for REAL MILK deals in the real world, versus your Marxist clap-trap
how many cows do you have on the go, lately, Gary Ogden? What have you done to make REAL MILK available in your neighbourhood?
I very much doubt if I’ve posted anything on this forum to do with the notion that the white race is somehow superior to other races. Nor that the white race is entitled to rule the others.
what I do say, is ; read the Bible for thyself. It informs us that the God of Israel is working his grand design … breeding a consanguine cohort known as Israel-ites which will be the civil servants when He establishes his Kingdom on this planet. Find that plan towards the end of the book of Revelation ; he appoints 144,000 men who qualify as being descendants of the man, Jacob whose name was changed to Israel, as administrators.
on the topic of ‘race’, Gary Ogden, You’re an ignoramus … obviously a troll, here for no good reason but to bother us from our work providing REAL MILK . You / your ilk are fools entrained in the Marxist propaganda uttered by Prof Ignatieve
“the goal of abolishing the white race, is, on its face, so desirable, that some may find it hard to believe that it could incur any opposition other than from committed white supremecists. Make no mistake about it, we intend to keep bashing the dead white males, and the live ones, and the females too, until the social construct known as ‘the white race’ is destroyed.” = Professor Noel Ignatieve ; Harvard Magazine Sept. Oct 2002
Watson,
The way you put it ,sounds more like an alien invasion!!
Gary Ogden,
I have to agree with most of what you stated.
David: You’re a gracious host. Bless you.
Gordon S. Watson: You’re a hoot! Alas, I have no cattle, neither am I all hat. As for Marxism, I know little, except that it has been a failure as an economic system, nor do I read or listen to academic blatherers. Good to know you’re not a white supremacist. Perhaps they don’t exist, and are merely a media straw man? I proselytize nearly everyone I encounter on the benefits of wholesome food and the horrors of mass poisoning of all our children to enhance the revenue stream-it has no other purpose. As for milk, I no longer drink fluid milk, but couldn’t live without raw cream, butter, and cheese. Does this count in making REAL milk available in my neighborhood? Any suggested guerrilla tactics I can use on my neighbors? As for political leanings, I have largely libertarian views and am horrified at the authoritarian state our nation has become.
David: Do we all remember the origin of this persecution of Amos Miller’s farm? With a snitch in Anaheim at the WAPF conference in 2015. The Deep State, which is basically a term for the unelected, unaccountable, permanent bureaucracy, in this case, the USDA, cares not a whit for anyone’s rights, Constitutional or otherwise. They merely come to work each day and more or less earn their paycheck. If Trump actually gave a damn about farmers he would rein them in; he would avoid these costly trade wars. This Trump voter feels betrayed on both this issue and the vaccine issue. But the Democrats have nothing to offer other than Tulsi Gabbard, who will get my vote in the primary, and the Party will do to her what they did to Bernie. I think we’re screwed. Never again will I vote for anyone for president in the General Election. It matters not.
with that post, you gave thyself away as a troll, Gary Ogden … intruding your half-baked malice into this forum for no good reason but to divide very friends
I was not there in Anaheim in 2015. Nevertheless I recall the issue and commented about it at the time … it was a big deal on this forum.
Mark McAffee is anything but a “snitch”. Quite rightly he warned the children
of the Amish who were there offering raw milk products, that they were in breach of the rules of the place. He was simply remonstrating about them not playing fair ; one of the proper purposes of government, is = to enforce contracts to do with property
The vertically-integrated corporation d. b. a. Amish Amos (c) was comfortable-enough with the ways of “the English” / ie. the modern world / that they found a way to ship products to that conference half way ‘cross the continent – by airfreight? – certainly not by Amish horsedrawn cart, as in the cartoons which are a central part of their marketing schtick.
it was old Robert Zimmerman aka Bob Dylan who taught us “the man who lives outside the law, must be honest”
Gordon S. Watson: I was there in Anaheim. I purchased a lovely block of cheese from them before the goons came. In my comment, I did not, as you have, speculate who the snitch, or tattle-teller, if you prefer, was. I have no evidence for making any such speculation. You apparently do. So be it. You have an odd view of the purpose of rules, and who gets to enforce them. You would have been comfortable in the Soviet Union, where neighbor informing upon neighbor was encouraged.
Watson, YOU are the “only” one on this forum that is half-baked,LOL!!
here’s a quick summary of why the Campaign for REAL MILK is so important. URL below
the Soviet monopoly racket ruins this sector of the economy. Meanwhile, bedrock American values continue to be cultivated on the farms of white Christians
Y Gwir Yn Erbyn Y Byd = the Truth against the World
the lie of communism shall come to an end, but the Truth goes on forever
Farmers up against Monopolies
https://www.stwnewspress.com/opinion/jim-hightower-farmers-up-against-monopolies/article_f9b2a4ac-a431-11e9-963b-47c78d4e241f.html
Has anyone died or been sickened from the meats purchased there? Has anyone been wounded or killed in the slaughtering process? Is there a problem? If it’s not broke, don’t bother with it!!
sue whitney: Right. It is none other than Big Brother attempting to control the few aspects of our lives He doesn’t already control. We must fight it, or we cease to be free, autonomous citizens.
no nothing sue!!!!
i speak with them on and off
we exchange “help stuff” to each other
they just want a peice of amos”s profits
shame on them
Gordon S. Watson: It is the man, or woman, for that matter, who lacks the capacity to reason who resorts to ad hominem attacks (i.e., calling another commenter a “troll’, or appearing to claim omniscience in knowing the knowledge base of another commenter: asserting that the other has “zero knowledge of primitive Christianity.” These are more properly called early Christian communities, and I do have some knowledge of them. Some is greater than zero, if you remember your elementary school math. Very interesting communities they were; we could well emulate them, and have a better world than we do. What I find the worst behavior on your part is your vicious hatred of, and attacks directed at the Miller family. I have attended five WAPF conferences. I’ve bought food from them. I’ve eaten lunch with them, and gotten to know them a little bit. They are good people who produce high quality food. My own roots are geographically close to Lancaster County. They do not deserve the venom you direct at them, nor do they deserve the USDuh destroying their way of life. What kind of miserable life do you have that you actively heap vituperation on others who have done you no harm?
Gary Ogden,
One cannot communicate with some one who “knows it all”.
what comes across the internet about the Miller “family” is that Amish Amos (c) is a vertically-integrated corporation handling multiple millions of Federal Reserve Notes denominated in imaginary digits in the global credit scheme, headquartered in the International Bank of Settlements. It suits this corporation to portray itself as some quaint little antique religious community ‘ain’t done no-one no harm’, meanwhile hiding out behind the skirts of its womenvolk, so it doesn’t have to play by the same rules as others in the game. For instance : Organic pastures Dairy in California, which does abide by the letter of the law, only to be insulted by some guys rolling in to town, under the radar with contraband, taking their profits and heading back to the gang’s hideout in Lancaster County. Notice that the Amish Amos (c) group has not been back to a W A Price conference since? How come?
the Amish Schtick wears very thin, playing on the innate sympathy of white Christians against the Big Bad Englishman. Amos & his kinsvolk have had a good run of exploiting that routine. But that stage is over.The corporation is anything BUT a little local cowshare… They’re going to find out that marketing is a 2-way street.
+gordon …..the amish the ones you say are rolling into town farm a different way…have different cattle,etc…different foods so why shouldnt someone in california be able to get something that their own states farmers dont have…in the fashion business when selling in soho new york city (its a small geographical area) i could not sell to another store that was around the block but if i had something differnet i could .GET THE POING …AND ITS AN ETHICAL POINT!!!!! SOMETHING YOU DONT HAVE…..this is a respectful way to do business.so when you say that organic pastures abides by the law ok so what .the real question is does he have the SAME items as amos miller or some other “lancaster” farmer TO KEEP HIS OWN TOWNS ,OWN STATES PEOPLES INTREST AT HEART ??? .NO HE DOES NOT.so by ethical rights these amish farmers should be able to go into another state and bring food.OH MY GOD THERES SO MANY JEALOUS FARMERS OUT THERE AND IM TALKING ABOUT EVEN THE SMALL GRAS FED ORGANIC ONES SOOOO MANY. .SO MANY.seems that there are alot of farmers not liking other farmers taking profits away from their own farm….punks!!!! they probably get on the good side of all the government agencys and try to put pressure on the farm they dont want into their state.shame on theyre asses.they put it undewr the guise of “SAFTEY’
my irritation with the Amish Amos (c) vertically-integrated corporation, doing business over state lines, is : the image used in marketing, of people who use the Bible as their reference for faith and morals, thus = are “holier than thee” when it comes to food.
I mock the double-minded-ness of this corporate entity – which handles multi-million$ of $$s per annum via the world banking system / getting their Shabazz Goy friends in the world of the “English” to do the dirty work of handling filthy lucre. All the while living in some consensual time warp in their own compounds.
don’t you see how silly they look … merchandising the image of the horse-drawn buggy on rural roads, yet flying their produce to California by Fedex?
you seem to have missed the ethical point : about Organic Pastures in California, having to compete against people who don’t play by the same set of rules
what rules name them
be specific gordon.
and if one of them is a permit or a license then tell why someone should have a permit and or license
so gordon…. are the amish double agents then ?
Gordon, judge not lest thy be judged thyself.
The right to choose how and what to feed your pets is at risk
https://freedomtofeed.info/
After 10 Years of Rapid Growth, What Does Organic Mean Today?
https://civileats.com/2019/07/08/after-10-years-of-rapid-growth-what-does-organic-mean-today/
It has been my experience that the FDA is extremely unresponsive and arrogant as an agency.
When the FDA came to OPDC in April to perform a FSMA inspection they spent four days swabbing our plant. They were checking for evidence of any pathogens. After 200 swabs and sampling everywhere they found nothing but good bugs! They went away with nothing.
I sent the FDA 2 emails as a result of that site visit. They have yet to respond. It has been three months. It seems like the FDA can come and try and shut you down, but yet, they don’t respond when it comes to their side of the relationship.
The next time that the FDA arrives at OPDC, I think I will take their business cards and tell them that they have to wait until I get a response to my pending emails. That should make them rethink the one way relationship and accountability. I want to work with them….but where are they working with me??
As far as pet foods are concerned, AAFCO runs that show. The FDA website says….the “FDA has no premarket authority to approve labels or products”. That basically says….follow the AAFCO rules and the FDA will look at everything after the fact.
What a way to run an agency??
I don’t think the FDA knows the first thing about animal gut biomes or the differences in PH or the bacteria that inhabit and colonize animal gut biomes.
Dogs eat road kill and thrive. We eat road kill and become a statistic. Our delicate Human Gut is not the same as our pets.
Or perhaps….that pets gut has changed now that the FDA has suppressed the pet food into a human like dead wimp food.
I just know that the FDA still has not responded to the Raw Butter Interstate Commerce Citizens Petition that I filed with the help of FTCLDF 2 years ago.
They are about to get sued. The citizens of this country have decided that enough is enough and have raised funds and now the FDA will be brought into federal court and be told what to do by a judge.
This is going to get real….finally. If the FDA wants to be respected…they should give just a little respect to those they serve. Yes…they serve us.
Mark
Re: “tell them that they have to wait.” Absolutely Mark!
If there is going to be any properly respectful “relationship” between an American individual and these legal-fictitious entities then the American individual will need to establish/re-establish Lawful and Orderly boundaries in every instance of contact from these agents.
In order to accomplish that in a most genuinely Law-backed forceful way the individual may have to record their proper first-class status as a natural born American and in so doing repudiate any second-class status that originated with Congress namely in the so-called fourteenth Amendment as that was a government-granted privilege created for the ex-slaves. By responding to the agents of these legal fictions as a bonifide first class American State National (rather than as a Federal citizen) the individual has the Lawful backing to completely direct/re-direct these agents – including directing them to back off!
In any case the presumed jurisdiction that these agents might think they are operating under needs to be challenged at the earliest opportunity because there is no Law granting any agent authority over an American National. The American people are the sovereigns! (Acknowledged as such in Supreme Court cases!) The agents are at best the employees in service to all the American people. These facts need to be established asap in all contacts. Then a proper Lawful relationship might be possible.
Meat Alternatives Will Let Kids Ditch Hamburgers For Happier Meals
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/meat-alternatives-let-kids-ditch-114551502.html
http://fsns.com/news/ecolio157h7_soynutbutter
well well well. It appears that ecoli 0157H7 comes from many other places and not just dirty udders. Nuts can have them too! better yet…..lets just all stop eating, that will fix the problem!
The World’s Appetite Is Threatening the Mississippi River
Pollutants from booming farms combined with record wet weather are contaminating the nation’s mightiest waterway.
https://graphics.wsj.com/mississippi/
Here is an account from Food Safety News about the Amos Miller/USDA case. It links to this blog as well.
https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2019/07/amos-miller-gets-his-legal-team-back-together-and-plans-to-fight-fsis-in-federal-court/
an Amishman using a telephone?! I’m shocked!! next thing we know, it’ll be zipper flys on the men’s pants… and on downhill from there …
now 4 years since they showed up at the W A Price convention in Annaheim with products FOR SALE – transacted without membership in any farming club, mind you – and I have yet to get an explanation of how Amish Amos’ got all that stuff across the continent. It sure wasn’t in their trademark horsedrawn buggy. My beef is : the Amish want to have it both ways … hide out in their compounds when it suits dem, which is fine …then partake of the modern world expecting special treatment
apparently the charges against the raw milk purveyors in Alberta, were stayed as of July 10th 2019.
below is what’s posted on a FaceBook page
it would be much appreciated, if someone can get the paperwork for this matter, and send it to me
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Court Update: Thank you to all who have shown love and support to David and I over the past 8 months since Alberta Agriculture and Alberta Health accompanied by the RCMP raided our farm in early November 2018. You may recall that as a result, there were three charges laid under the Dairy Industry Act with fines up to $75,000 if convicted.
Attached is a letter from David giving an update on our latest court appearance on July 10.
—-
Good afternoon!
Well…July 10 came and went. Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement. I have delayed responding to you because I didn't really know how to describe the day to you all. Time really seemed to just stand still amidst the blur of activity that was Court that day.
Although the lawyer I have helping me had offered to accompany me to this conference, I told him that I would be able to handle it myself if he coached me ahead of time as to what to expect and do. Thus, Charmaine (my wife) and I arrived at the scheduled courtroom in Red Deer just after 8:25 for our prearranged one hour meeting with the Crown at 8:30.
Except for the lady preparing the microphone for that day's activities, there was no one else in the courtroom. We waited until just after 8:30 before I decided to go to the Crown's office in the courthouse to determine when the Crown prosecutor (CP) would be arriving. I spoke directly with the Agent of the Attorney General (AAG) who said he would find out for me when the CP might be arriving.
Just before 8:45, Charmaine and I were ushered into the Crown's office…a very small room. There were two gentlemen sitting in the room as we entered – the AAG behind a desk with a computer and the CP sitting in a chair next to the AAG's desk with a backpack by his side. Since there were not chairs for us, Charmaine and I remained standing – paperwork and folders in hand.
The meeting took less than 5 minutes.
We were told that they had decided to "Stay the Proceedings." What that means is that although they technically have one year to reopen the file, they very rarely do so. This means that in effect the file is closed as far as the court is concerned and therefore our fall trial is also cancelled.
Since the lawyer I have helping me was busy with another one of his clients that day, I waited until Thursday to speak with him. We discussed several options going forward and he will get back to me on his recommendation soon. I will share more on that front as I am able.
For now though, I am going to give thanks to my Father in Heaven and savour the moment:)
Talk soon
Dave
PS – The photo with this post is of Charmaine and I on the steps of the courthouse.
good article : mentions Beyond Meat, mocking the Stock market
“A tiny maker of fake-meat hamburgers and hot dogs with just $40 million in sales in the last quarter, its best quarter ever, generating $6.6 million in losses, after 10 years in business, Beyond Meat [BYND] has a stock price that values the company at $12 billion because it will change the way the universe operates, or whatever.
Anything goes: story stocks, momentum stocks, hyperventilation stocks, consensual hallucination stocks, and financial engineering stocks that generate mind-boggling share prices that give these companies incomprehensible market capitalizations, and the mere mention of “fundamentals” gets naysayers ridiculed and thrown out. It’s like the whole market has gone nuts.”
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I Got it, Nothing Matters. Tesla, Boeing, Other Stocks: It’s Like the Whole Market Has Gone Nuts
by Wolf Richter • Jul 24, 2019 •
Story stocks, momentum stocks, hyperventilation stocks, consensual hallucination stocks, financial engineering stocks: anything but reality.
You see, Tesla is different. It just reported another doozie, a loss of $408 million in the second quarter, after its $702 million loss in the first quarter, for a total loss in the first half of $1.1 billion. In its 14-year history, it has never generated an annual profit.
It has real and popular products and surging sales, but it subsidizes each of those sales with investor money. And here’s where it’s different this time: investors don’t care. They dig how the company has been consistently overpromising and underdelivering. They dig the chaos at the top. They dig everything that should scare them off.
Yeah, its shares plunged [TSLA] 11% afterhours today, but that takes those shares only down to where they’d been on May 1. Big deal. Shares are down 32% from the peak. But their peak should have been a small fraction of that. Even today, the company is still valued at over $40 billion.
Tesla lacks a viable business model in the classic sense. Its business model is a new business model of just burning investor cash that it raises via debt and equity offerings on a near-annual basis because investors encourage it to do that, and love it for it, and eagerly hand it more money to burn, and they’re rewarding each other by keeping the share price high. It’s just a game, you see. And nothing else matters.
Then there is Boeing [BA]. It just reported the largest quarterly loss in its history of $2.9 billion due to a nearly $5-billion charge related to its newest bestselling all-important 737 Max, two of which crashed, killing 346 people, due to the way the plane is designed. The flight-control software that is supposed to mitigate this design issue is not working properly. And a software fix that is acceptable to regulators remains elusive.
The plane has been grounded globally since March. No one, especially not the regulators, can afford a third crash. So today, Boeing announced that it may further cut production of the plane or suspend it altogether if the delays continue to drag out. This is big enough to start impacting US GDP.
The entire 737 Max episode has been tragic from the first minute, and the cost in human lives has been huge, and it has cost and continues to cost billions of dollars to deal with, among calls that the plane should never fly again.
And what does Boeing’s share price do? It dipped 3% today and is up 2% from a year ago, before all this happened. In essence, two crashes and the grounding of its bestselling plane, and the potential suspension of production of this plane, and its uncertain future … and the stock has ticked up over a 12-month period.
Instead of spending the resources necessary to design a modern plane from ground up, Boeing kept basing its new models on versions of its many-decades-old 737 airframe that wasn’t designed at all for what it is being used for today. This was a decision Boeing made to save some money and pump up its share price.
But here we go: From 2013 through Q1 2019, Boeing has blown a mind-boggling $43 billion on share buybacks (buyback data via YCharts):
Blowing these $43 billion on share buybacks has caused Boeing to have a “total equity” of a negative $5 billion. In other words, it has $5 billion more in liabilities than in assets. This company is out of wriggle room. If it can’t borrow enough money to make payroll, it’s over.
But nothing matters.
If Boeing had invested some of this money that it blew on share buybacks to design a new modern plane from ground up to replace the ancient 737 airframe, these tragedies could have been prevented, and Boeing wouldn’t have this nightmare on its hands. But the corporate cost-cutters and financial engineers, rather than real engineers, had the final word.
Markets don’t care about any of this. They don’t care about real engineers either. They love corporate cost-cutters and financial engineers. They want share buybacks, and if something bad happens, they’ll overlook the $5 billion to pay for the fallout because it’s just a “one-time item.”
And now Boeing still has this plane, instead of a modern plane, and the history of this plane is now tainted, as is its brand, and by extension, that of Boeing. But markets blow that off too. Nothing matters.
Companies are getting away each with their own thing. There are companies that are losing a ton of money and are burning tons of cash, with no indications that they will ever make money. And market valuations are just ludicrous.
what special treatment.? …. they worked hard to make a product …bring it to you BECAUSE THERE IS A DEMAND FOR THEIR FOOD NOT ANOTHER FARMERS FOOD……you then pay up. When I relate this to the fashion industry people the way other designers would talk.i clearly hear jealousy all the time from your comments.
wait are you a farmer gordon?
Kathy … locate was said on this forum, four years ago after Amish Amos’ peddlers came across the continent ( but not by horse + buggy! ) and crashed the Weston A Price convention. From what I recall, they showed up to peddle their wares, un-invited … selling cheeses and raw milk which had crossed state lines.
Amish Amos’ marketing schtick relies upon the corporate entity presenting itself as a private club. But when the kids from Bird-in-hand rolled in to Anaheim, they sold their products without requiring customers to be members of the Club.
they flew in ‘under the regulatory radar’, sneering at the notion that they had to play by the rules of “the English” *. Yet for 16 years, Mark McAfee and his farm had knocked their brains out, to co-operate with Calif. officials with the noble goal : to make REAL MILK available to those who want it. He / his family/ all the people who work for Organic Pastures have been a major engine of the success of the Campaign for REAL MILK. Amish Amos profits from that work.
It galls me that people cut the Amish so much slack, in the marketing game. Going on about their quaint ‘sincerity”. Amish Amos is no little weekend farmer’s market ; it’s a sophisticated operation doing business a 1000 miles from head office.
For the last couple of centuries the Amish have been treated with kid gloves by the Powers That Be … leaving them alone to run their own little fiefdoms. And that’s fine by me. But when the Amish venture out of their compounds, and start profiting in the commercial systems run by their enemies = “the English” … then they have to abide by the laws laid-on everyone else. The way Amishvolk pick and choose which modern inventions to use, or not, is comical. Use of the Mammon of Unrighteousness, being the crux of their double-minded-ness
having spent 30 years paying attention to Patriot issues ; the pattern is clear to me. Someone who gets entangled in the coils of the Regulators best understand = it’s not about the tiny complaint pretended. It’s about sheer power for its own sake. Guys who try to straddle the fence with one foot standing on their religious convictions and the other foot planted in the commercial rackets of the World* wind up impaled on it.
Sam Giraud sits in prison this very minute because he didn’t grasp that much. Or, you can go to the other extreme = Gordon Kahl murdered in cold blood by govt. agents, then the place burned over him to cover their wickedness. That tragedy started with him declaring he did not have to file a return of income. Which he didn’t. Part of that tragedy, is – his son Yorrie sits in prison 3 decades later. Lessons learned = do NOT underestimate the wickedness of the vipers = do NOT toy with them. Which is the stage Amos Miller is at, now … thinking he’s going to ‘mediate’ with reasonable people. Once the govt. digs in, they are anything but ‘reasonable’. Rest in Peace Levoy Finnicum
At the moment I am not farming. Since 1999, I helped 4 cowshares get going here in BC. When I find some pasture in Metchosin, I’ll be doing that again. dairying day by day, putting together a set of facts with which to bring on a challenge to the constitutionality of the regulation which outlaws raw milk for human consumption in BC.
Like your hero American prez, you have a way of misstating the facts. Here are a few corrections:
-Amos Miller didn’t “crash” the Weston A. Price convention. He has been a fixture at WAPF and other foodie events around the country, for one main reason: conference attendees love his food, and demand his presence. Having him available selling food brings in paying convention/conference attendees, which is no small accomplishment in this day and age.
-Amos Miller doesn’t profit from Organic Pastures’ persistence with the regulators. California is unusually permissive in its raw milk regulations, and Mark McAfee’s efforts have helped McAfee in California. However, in most of the rest of the U.S., raw dairy farmers, and consumers especially, are on their own. They can’t buy raw milk at retail like in California. Most people can’t arrange to leave work to drive 2, 3, or 4 hours each way to a raw dairy farm. Private food clubs are the only semi-efficient means of distributing raw dairy, and even that isn’t super efficient. Still requires ordering way in advance, arranging pickup at a member’s residence, having volunteers who will communicate with the farmer. Amos Miller and other Amish farmers put their safety and livelihoods at stake by serving private food clubs, but they do it, at least in part, because they believe in the healthfulness of their food, and are willing to take risks to deliver it. Indeed, there are also many consumers in California who value the Amish food and have food clubs to deliver it; I don’t know if it’s better or worse than McAfee’s, I just know that people should be able to make their own decisions about food, as Kathy argues quite well.
-I agree about one of your points: Like our prez, you would like to stamp out farmers like Amos Miller; Trump is the first to explicitly target private food clubs, and you justify it by scapegoating the Amish as somehow not pure Christians, or some similar craziness. The fascists may well succeed in eliminating private food clubs, and denying many thousands food that now keeps them and their families healthy, and presumably you will revel in that “victory.”
180 degrees dead wrong, Mr Gumpert. My focus is : expectation of a level playing field in commerce. That being one of the few legitimate functions of government
it is ridiculous for someone advertising himself as Amish, to co-operate with the Federal Reserve currency, which is a counterfeiting racket
comedy is where you find it : I get a chuckle out of the sentimental image used by the Amish = a horse-drawn buggy clip-clopping along a backroad, versus how they operate in today’s commercial system … expediting their product via airfreight. “Do you collect AirMiles?” says the sweet young thing in her Amish bonnet
Effects of Conventional Milk Versus Milk Containing Only A2 β-Casein on Digestion in Chinese Children
A Randomized Study
https://journals.lww.com/jpgn/pages/articleviewer.aspx?year=9000&issue=00000&article=96393&type=Abstract
Milk pasteurized on-the-farm suspected of causing illnesses
https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2019/07/milk-pasteurized-on-the-farm-suspected-of-causing-illnesses/
Quote from article: “Unlike raw milk, Pasteurization involves heating milk to remove harmful bacteria.”
Nice intentions but how is that working out for you?
“produce auctions are gaining strength in Pennsylvania, and are supplied mainly by members of the Plain sect community, and he is observing they are switching out of dairy and adding high tunnels to their operations”
https://vegetablegrowersnews.com/article/high-tunnels-use-grows-in-mid-atlantic-region/
https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2019/07/07/department-of-agriculture-suspends-bee-population-research/amp/
When this administration cancels usda funding for honey bee research, when bees are failing horribly. When this admin says it’s ok to use the most hatch organophosphate pesticides that kill honey bees, when this administration fires hundreds of its top ARS Ag researchers and PhDs. Not to mention that this admin denies that our earth is warming very quickly and there is massive change to our climate!! Which is totally messing up farming on a massive scale.
You know you have a madman at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
We must impeach just to save our food supply.
He does not understand that food comes from bees and dirt and farmers. He thinks food comes from Coca Cola, Kentucky Fried chicken or McDonald’s.
For all of you Trump
Lovers. Wake the hell up!! His policies are screwing farmers, bees and dirt. Not to mention the very existence of life itself.
Earth to McAffee. PRESIDENT Trump is prevailed in the presidential sweepstakes. In which your political opinion was proven to be not worth the power to blow thy nose. Last I heard, you were predicting “Pence by Xmass” … 2 years long gone.
you seem not to have noticed that all that “Russia collusion stuff” was blown out of the water, this week. The video of Rep Turner putting the boots to Robt. Mueller just won the next election for PRESIDENT Trump, if he chooses to run again. I’ll bet you a pre-1965 silver dollar to a donut, that – when it gets down to the wire – he won’t.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VijjacEjSkI
the best your mob could come up with was relentless gossip culminating in tragi-comedy. Poor, poor Mr Mueller’s name will go down in history as the chump who came off as Hillary’s fool.
IM-peach? I think not. Last week’s failed effort is the last you’ll hear of that.
regardless of the way PRESIDENT Trump has let down his supporters, he’s done a few things right. Chiefly = exposed the so-called “man-made global warming thing” as the scam it is. On this topic : your ignorance is showing.
The politest thing to be said about your stunted adolescent politics, is : the peaches are ripe here … perfect this year. So go have one instead of sucking on lemons
David,
I am not making excuses for Trump and the Republican Party’s actions in this regard… that said, unelected bureaucrats have singled out private food clubs and raids have been escalating against such clubs long before Trump came onto the scene. Remember what Obama said about labeling GMOs and what actually transpired! I tend to think that elected politicians have little control over alphabet agencies such as the CDC, FDA and Departments of Agriculture and Food https://grist.org/article/food-five-tips-for-surviving-a-raid-on-your-farm-or-food-club/full/
As far as the Amish/Mennonites are concerned it would be a mistake to assume that the food they produce is natural and free of chemicals. Indeed some of them are producing excellent quality natural food… that said however; I can assure you, my farm being surrounded by Amish and Mennonites, that there are a good many of them that have no qualms, despite there religious beliefs about using chemicals such as glyphosate and toxic drugs such as antibiotics and vaccines on their fields, crops and livestock.
You know, Ken, the business about unelected bureaucrats has been the case for many years. And they have given many farmers a tough time, with little cause. I’ve not hesitated to call them out for their abuses. However, none of these agencies in the U.S. have singled out private food clubs for special prosecution, till now; in fact, they had been tolerating private food clubs for years. Moreover, Trump has shown his personal involvement in a number of agencies and reversed past policy–banned references to “climate change” and reversed environmental and banking protections implemented by Obama; pushed oil drilling in protected areas; separated migrant families at the border, etc., etc. As I pointed out in a previous post, Trump had even committed to cracking down on the FDA’s “food police”…..and then pulled the campaign commitment from his web site. That is why I don’t think what we’re seeing on food is an accident or being done without his approval, or approval of the Republicans.
https://www.davidgumpert.com/trump-admin-touts-first-ever-legal-campaign-against-private-food-clubs
Also agree that not all Amish/Mennonites use best food practices. However, the private food clubs check out carefully the Amish and Mennonite farmers that supply their clubs. Not all such farmers qualify.
“The Case For Trump”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEXL5USuDGI
“Voters in 2016 preferred an authentic bad boy to a disingenuous good girl”
Belgian experts examine Listeria growth in butter made with raw milk
https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2019/08/belgian-experts-examine-listeria-growth-in-butter-made-with-raw-milk/
the article viewed at the URL below, is a perfect primer on the fundamentals of the Campaign for REAL MILK
Edwin Shank explains how the Family Farm prices its butter … as good as it gets, its color, alone, speaks volumes.
he touches on homogenization : in my opinion (just a bebop old hippy and wanna-be cowboy) UN-learned as I am, homogen-ization is as bad as pasteur-ization, for ruining the nutritional value of milk.
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#search/stolen+cream/WhctKJVZjMzFgXqXQhCnGZtkZNGbXlFdvXBSfDgVHrWGMKTbvKXDcLBbkJbBGNGNwCLdTZV
my apologies. The link as posted does not work.
what you’re after is the article “Stolen Cream” by Edwin Shank : Fresh Thoughts on Real Food – 7/29/19
at The Family Cow website
Interesting Belgium piece on raw butter. Those sure are not RAWMI listed raw butter makers.
Listeria is a rare find in raw cream or butter. You notice that the article came from FSN and not a reputable source. There was no mention of illnesses. Just a study on listeria and how raw butter came be made many different ways. Some far safer than others.
I find it interesting that FTCLDF is moving in the coming weeks to compel the FDA to respond to a Citizens Petition regarding interstate commerce of raw butter.
In the CDC data archives, there is no case of illness from professionally made raw butter. None. There was only one case of an illness from some homemade raw butter years ago. No deaths.
Why did Marler bring up raw butter? It is because the FDA reached out to him to start blasting away at raw butter. The timing could not be more connected.
Marler and FSN is the FDA. One in the same.