Lejen Chen with her husband, Shan En, at their Green Cow Organic Farm.Ever since Lejen Chen, a Chinese-American, opened her New-York-style diner, Mrs. Shanen’s, in Beijing seven years ago, the biggest challenge has been ensuring a clean safe supply of food.
By clean and safe, Chen isn’t talking necessarily about pathogen-free. She means free of the chemicals, pesticides, toxic sludge, and GMO products that have contaminated so much of the Chinese food supply, as epitomized by the scandal over melamine-tainted baby formula, along with other dairy products. She also means having access to “clean manure.” Too often, she says, “We’d find needles and asbestos from roofing” in chicken, pig, and cow manure purchased from neighboring livestock farms.
I met Chen recently in the Boston area, on one of her trips back to the U.S. She told me about the journey she and her husband, Shan En, have taken to feel comfortable about the food they serve in their restaurant, where the clientele is about 60% American and 40% Chinese.
She said the spread of dangerous chemicals has led to higher cancer rates in many cities and towns. The widespread use of pesticides means “more people are committing suicide with pesticides.” Increasingly, people are becoming concerned about where their food comes from.
So gradually, she and her husband have taken control of producing ever more of their restaurant’s food. They began by renting a couple of green houses to produce safe lettuce. But they were always concerned their produce might be exposed to chemicals used by a neighboring grower, not to mention trash and smoke from cigarettes–so, the couple searched out land to lease near the restaurant.
They were eventually able to lease 12 acres, and have steadily added to the lettuce and other vegetable production–200 egg-laying hens, 17 pigs, and now, eight cows, of which two are milking. They call the place Green Cow Organic Farm.
Salad being served at Mrs. Shanen’s restaurant in Beijing.They have enough food for the restaurant, along with a 20-member CSA (community-supported agriculture). For $199 a month, members receive a weekly supply of vegetables; most also purchase eggs and milk.
The milk is available pasteurized, or unpasteurized…and not homogenized in either case.
So far, only two regular customers are taking their milk unpasteurized, but that could well increase. Lejen is increasingly consuming her milk unpasteurized, and in a few weeks plans a Harvest Festival, at which she and her husband will conduct a milking demonstration and pass out samples of raw milk.
While most villages in China have at least one milking cow that supplies everyone, people tend to take the milk home and heat it up. But in the cities, raw milk isn’t generally available, since China pretty much copies our U.S. Food and Drug Administration model, and thus discourages raw milk and promotes factory-style milk production. The melamine scare has encouraged the government to regulate dairy more than it once did.
Based on what Chen told me, it seems as if China is mirroring the growing American concern about finding reliable supplies of good clean nutritious food. Except in China, the situation seems as if it could rapidly become even more desperate. ?
***
Sharon Zecchinelli, a Vermont food rights activist, is helping organize a fundraising drive to raise legal funds for Morningland Dairy in Missouri, which is under threat of being shut down in connection with the Rawesome Food Club raid. She is asking people”to make a donation to Morningland Dairy via an Un-Cheese Party. Since the cheese is under embargo, it cannot be sold or moved. But you can sponsor a 5 lb block. The price per pound for the cheese is $5.00. This fund will soon be converted to a full legal defense fund.” She’s set up a special web site for the Un-Cheese Party.
mrs shanens restaurant and farm sound great
In China…if the Sheehans of their FDA embarrasses them as a country…they fire them. I mean really fire them with a firing squad.
Remember the Chinese Melamine problems. They shot some corrupt dude over that. I wonder why we protect the mega dairy protecting drug pushers in DC when they kill a hundred thousand people and profit from the deaths???
"Beijing took extreme steps to solve the problem, such as executing Zheng Xiaoyu, the former head of the State Food and Drug Administration, for accepting $850,000 in bribes from drug companies"
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1856168,00.html#ixzz120h4JdUW
One more reason to buy local from a farmer that you know and can visit. Sounds like the Chinese have figuered this out also…they do better when they grow local and know their food and their farmers. This is becoming a world wide movement!!!
Amanda…I have an idea.
What if we put a "source sticker" on any organic raw butter
( class 4 product ) that we produce if that cream came from an grass fed organic dairy that works with OPDC but is not OPDC. Does that work for you? Any one else have a concern about this. It is up front and 100% legal, safe and honest.
We have people screaming for medical use raw butter and we can not produce enough of it. We will explain this all at our website so people can see and read it for themselves. It takes 100 pounds of raw milk to make just 3.8 pounds of raw butter. We just simply do not have the raw milk available to make raw butter but people need it badly. We can help other organic dairies by partnering with them to make this class 4 product. It helps everyone!!
I am still waiting for your answer, Amanda…are you a friend or foe????
Mark
As you probably remember, that is *exactly* what I told you I would help you with three years ago. You must label your products correctly. I am extremely pleased that you will be doing this.
The devil's in the details on this issue, however. You need to re-think the pasture part of the label or, alternatively, have seasonal pasture labels. I can think of no organic dairy that has 365 days of grass. You can't have the old "100% pasture fed" on labels like that. Another issue is that you buy from a milk broker, so there is no way to guarantee the grass feeding or any other important issues in raw milk production. You need to make sure the farmer knows what's up and that you can satisfy the claims you make on the label.
Perhaps on the label itself include the product's source so that consumers can verify for themselves the claims you are making.
Since you are going all out on the table with this, I can't imagine you would have an issue of us examining your milk pool data, just to put an end to all of the local (and Venice) speculation. You do have an entire colostrum line that is regulated by no one but your conscience. I would like to see you be fully transparent with it as well and we can check this with the milk pool data. (I realize colostrum is not in the milk pool, but your line that is 95% milk with colostrum sprinkled in is relevant here because that fluid milk comes from somewhere.)
So, yeah, friend absolutely. I can examine the milk pool data and report back here fairly. Someone from this blog can meet up with me. This analysis along with a labeling change would absolutely bring light to bear on a very important issue in California raw milk.
From here, it appears that your next move are these:
Post your label mock-ups here for us to give you feedback.
Contact the milk pool to allow us access to your milk pool records.
Amanda
~~~~~~
Dear PASA Members,
Yesterday was one of the most extraordinary days in the history of the Local Food Movement here in Pennsylvania or anywhere. In applying a highly technical legal maneuver they referred to openly as "common sense," the Pennsylvania Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) voted to *reject* the latest "final" draft of Milk Sanitation regulations, sending them back to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) with a request that the regulations be divided between those applied to commercial milk supplies and those governing the production and sale of raw milk for human consumption. Resubmission of at least the first section may occur later this fall, before the current legislature retires. The IRRC also took the bold step of suggesting that PDA "please sit down with these people," who are affected by the raw milk regulations, to see what their concerns happen to be.
Why did this happen? The hundreds of email submissions asking the IRRC to take such action certainly helped to set up this very straightforward conclusion. But I wish you all could have been there to hear farmer after farmer pleading with the commissioners to consider the larger context of the decision they were making. An extraordinary showing of highly intelligent, determined and downright moving presentations, from an extremely diverse series of speakers, was difficult for either the IRRC or PDA to ignore. In brief, the Local Food Community spoke, and government officials listened!
Why does this matter? Anyone thinking the effort of the past two weeks, or the very wise conclusion reached yesterday, was just about raw milk would be missing the main point altogether. As all of us in this movement understand so well, we're talking here more generally about two very different kinds of food out there in the public domain – 1) *commodities* produced for commercial processing and mass distribution, and 2) food produced in a very different way to serve *communities*, to the benefit of farmers, eaters and the natural environment alike. In other words, this decision is not just about milk, but also about all the other foods we hold so dear, and it will serve as a precedent for our continued work to protect farmers producing and selling meat, poultry products, vegetables and many other products that come from the land.
Let's not miss that a big victory like this also comes with significant responsibility. So while some celebration is certainly in order, it must be short-lived, because there is very much work yet to be done. PASA and its many partnering organizations will be there every step of the way, applying our educational, marketing and policy efforts to ensure that the future food system we all dream of will become more and more of a reality as the years roll by. But we will need your help, because in a sense, our whole mission is just to create opportunities for our members to be heard. Your voice *was* heard yesterday, and for that, all of us at PASA are truly grateful.
~~~~~~
Never underestimate the power of the populace!
Amanda…
The Milk Pool has already audited our documents. I will see what docs they will get me so they can be presented to all and you.
I am not going to go out and make four labels for our products. I will however make a sticker that will be placed on the label if that Raw Butter cream came from another organic dairy and not OPDC.
We use a broker only as a business deal maker…he has the "bond" and we do not for purchasing milk as required by law. All tankers of organic raw milk have been purchased "dairy direct" and they are 100% known. We have not purhased unknown sources of organic raw milk for butter in the past. Most of our raw milk that we have purchased in the past for raw butter came from the Steuves ( the old alta dena guys )organic dairy near Turlock. Their dairy has tons of grass but I agree their cows are not always out on the pastures like ours. The sticker label will address this issue so all consumers will understand it.
Amanda….looks like things may be getting friendlier…
Mark
What do you think of this Source Sticker label data….?
"Source of Raw Butter Disclosure
OPDC ran out of milk to make this raw butter.
The cream for this batch of Raw Butter
came from a partnering organic dairy and may
not be 100% grass fed. For more see FAQ at
http://www.organicpastures.com"
Does anyone have a problem with this statement? It would be used very rarely, but if we ever do purchase raw milk to make cream for class 4 raw butter this statement would appear on the product. Our FAQ would go into more detail about the dairies that we partner with ( Steuves….etc ). The FAQ would also go into detail about why OPDC does not have enough raw milk to make raw butter on an ongoing basis. It takes 100 pounds of raw milk to make just 4 pounds of raw butter. The FAQ would explain the new USDA organic standards for pasture feeding and disclaim the 100% grass fed nature of partner organic dairy purchased raw milk for raw butter and also explain the different classes of raw dairy products so people understand that fluid raw milk ( class 1 ) is completely different than class 4a and class 4b manufacturing products that do not get pathogen tested or subject to the 10 coliform rule like class 1 fluid raw milk.
The FAQ would also make crystal clear that all fluid raw milk that goes into our OPDC containers always comes from OPDC. This is not only a legal requirement ( TB testing, coliform and pathogen tests ) but it would be unsafe and unethical to purchase raw milk from an outside source and bottle it under the OPDC label.
What do you think Amanda? Any one else?
Mark
On the new label idea, this does impact butter and not colostrum. Obviously colostrum is an issue too.
The sticker needs to include the exact source, not a laundry list of possible sources. You charge upwards of $20/lb retail. That level of information is expected for the market you are selling in.
The label would need the certifier of the other milk if you don't use the same certifier. Your processor certifier doesn't certify milk. By the way, who does certifier your milk? I noticedthat your processor certifier doesn't do products? You need to get your proper label on there too and that of the sourced product.
You have had four years of butter containers now with no indication of outsourcing. My concern with your past hedging is that you will throw three stickers in the marketplace of evidence of your transparency. I know the quantities you source and basically all of those containers need stickers. If I see a pitiful number of stickers out there, I'm not going to be satisfied. Only a milk pool analysis will confirm the quantity of outsourcing so that we know that the quantities of "stickered label" products on the market fit what you are actually outsourcing. We need to see the milk pool records directly. You have not earned your consumers' trust on this issue and a third party audit seems to be the only acceptable solution. So, no, don't send me pre-screened milk pool data. Meet meat the milk pool office.
You can make a further show of this change by contacting Mark Kastel right now and getting your dairy scorecard changed. The scorecard covers the whole line, not just final packaged fluid milk. You have outsourced since 2006 and have not had a closed herd in at least 08-10. Your cow rescue is public evidence of that. Kastel re-sends the survey every year for updates so you have had every opportunity to be transparent with your customers. Today is a god day to start off on better footing.
Amanda
This is because we have not purchased organic milk for butter in years.
As far as having you involved in an audit….I am not sure that anyone wants you involved in an audit of anything. I will see what data I can get for you. I do not think that the Milk Pool will allow anyone to audit anything unless it is under Court Order.
We are certified by Organic Certifiers. See the certificates at our website.
As far as showing the detail about other farmers organic certificates this is proven up every year. This is thoroughly documented when we are USDA and certifier audited.
Amanda I have an open books policy….for any person that wants to see any particular organic document….I will produce for them. I am not going to dedicate days to have you meet me in Sacramento to do one more audit when this is not an issue for us and I am buried in much more important things. Audits mean huge amounts of time. I am not going to allow you to take boxes of original documents away with you and I am not going to copy thousands of documents for you. You are the one and only self appointed OPDC Watch Witch that I know of in the entire CA customer base. No one else cares when we explain that yes we do on rare occasion purchase raw milk to make raw cream to make raw butter.
I think that the "New FAQ" and the "Sticker" goes far beyond what is needed to make 99.9999% of everyone very happy. You seem to be the .0001%.
Lets see if we can make you "some-what" or mostly happy….with out me going to Sacramento and making ten thousand copies of documents…all for nothing.
Mark
Mary wrote: "Sylvia, let me say this one more time. CHRIS DID NOT EAT DOLE PACKAGED SPINACH OR ANY OTHER TYPE OF PACKAGED SPINACH IN SEPTEMBER OF 2006. I purchased loose spinach from our local health food store."
No offense, Mary… but as a farmer who also grows organic veggies to sell to MY local health food store, I know that when I'm not able to supply them, they buy from a bulk mostly-organic (but sometimes not) supplier, the name of which escapes me at present. I know this is true because I use the supplier's price list (which the HFS gives me) as a basis for setting my own prices.
It's highly likely that your HFS does too…. that spinach could very well have been bulk spinach from the same supplier as they supply very many health food stores and co-ops.
Mark McAfee himself has admitted to outsourcing in March of 2009, so even from his own mouth (or fingers) it has not been "years." Second, when I helped with the AB 1735 campaign and got the issue on the front page of the Chronicle, I saw thousands of gallons of milk brought into OPDC. The outsourcing was on a big scale then and the market has only grown, according to Mark McAfee.
Mark, if you don't want this "OPDC Watch Witch," fly out Bemis. He's got a brain for numbers. Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows the reason this audit is needed.
You can give permission to access the data. It's your data. But you're right, it could be garnered by legal action. I've heard talk of such a strategy. Why you'd let this all linger is beyond me.
On identifying the source of the product on the label: The problem is that when purchased from a broker, the original producer often doesn't know it will be sold raw. Clover was sucker-punched over it in 2007 and Mark himself told me that Stueve's didn't know. How strange is that? There needs to be transparency along the whole chain and affixing a label with the source of the milk is the only reasonable way. If you sell butter for $20/lb and you can't be bothered to tell the consumer where it's from, that's hardly transparency. What if I don't want Stueve's butter? He doesn't have the best reputation for pasturing, for example.
On the organic certification: I see certification for your processing plant and for your pastures and trees. Who is currently certifying Bu the three titter cow? I realize someone *used* to certify her before your rescue. I wonder who certifies her now? I do not see that certifier on your website. Can you hyperlink to the certification for your cows or milk? I don't see it on your homepage.
Amanda
Did you contact Mark Kastel? That will take less than one minute. Let us know when the changes are reflected on the scorecard. It's long overdue
Amanda
"Know your farmer, know his milk broker."
As a consumer, I think the butter label you suggested would be perfectly acceptable to me.
When Amanda wrote, "The sticker needs to include the exact source, not a laundry list of possible sources," she lost a great deal of credibility, IMO.
What next, demand this man handwrite each label and personally deliver each lb of butter?
Track the source of every molecule in the milk?
If you think putting the source on the label is tedious, here's another option: The FAQ should state clearly the exact farms from which the broker is sourcing the milk and the FAQ should include quotes from the actual producer discussing the use of his or her product for the raw market.
I'd be OK with that.
You see, my reason for wanting Mark to include the sources is that, in the past, the sources have not known they were sources. That's just wrong on so many levels.
Did you all realize that the 140 million fecal coliform count colostrum from 2006, now of legend status, was from a producer not knowing he was selling to a raw market? If he had known, perhaps he would have cleaned up the teats a bit more. Do you see what I'm saying here? It's an important point.
Did you know that the 2007 listeria cream was from a source that didn't know its product was being sold raw? Do you know I know someone who was likely sickened from that same cream? What if that producer had taken better care in milking knowing that the product would be sold raw? That's what I'm talking about.
What structure can we put in place here to ensure that producers know where their product is going and to ensure that consumers know what they are buying? Do we have ideas?
Amanda
Goatmaid, it is a stretch to think that the 10 or 15 leaves of baby spinach I purchased from an open bin were contaminated. I was trying to find how many confirmed cases of illness there were from California linked to spinach in 2006. The only data I can find is from October of 2006. At that time there were 2. So I guess you are suggesting there were 2 (who at Dole packaged spinach) and Chris,
Mary
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/jul08/greens0708.htm
http://www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/June07/Features/Spinach.htm
http://www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/June07/Features/Spinach.htm
http://www.foodproductiondaily.com/Quality-Safety/Temperature-abuse-of-packaged-salads-raises-food-safety-fears-study
http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2010/02/study-finds-bacteria-in-packaged-greens/
http://www.foodpoisonjournal.com/tags/bagged-lettuce/
http://www.marlerclark.com/case_news/view/dole-spinach-e-coli-outbreak-nationwide
MW
My comment was limited to the labeling issue.
The label Mark suggested, along with access to additional information about the source would be adequate for me.
I personally would not buy the butter before checking the FAQ and doing my own research about the source farms. If the FAQ was too vague, I'd pass on the butter.
If I'm standing in the store, looking at a list of source farms on a label, I STILL have to go research those farms before I buy, so it does not make sense to expect a producer to create a new label each time a source changes.
In my state, labeling IS tedious. All labels must be approved and cannot be changed without the state's okie dokie.
Maybe CA is different. Maybe I'm nothing like Mark's demographic.
~Smy Opinion
"but the evidence pointing to the raw milk is head over heals stronger and more plausible than spinach (not to mention a completely different DNA fingerprint in the spinach outbreak vs. the 2006 raw milk/colostrum outbreak in CA)…"
This is just your opinion.Why don't you share some of this strong evidence with us? You don't have the credibility to state that without support. Now this "disease outbreak" has become another raw milk outbreak in your eyes ,but let us look at the evidence and decide for ourselves if it is credible. The term" DNA fingerprint" is being used to imply a link that is not supported by true science.
Ken Conrad
The difference here is that Mark is selling "credence goods" and has a history of lack of credence. It is indeed the truth that I don't hold the big boys by the same standard if they are not selling a credence good. In this case a "credence good" is milk that is different than other milk because it came from a specific organic farm. The fact is all milk really looks the same and it could be pulled from any bulk tank at all. Telling us where the tank originated helps us understand why we should pay more for it. As a consumer we can only take the farmer's word for it; certification cuts consumer costs in processing information (if the certification has any merit, but that's a whole other matter). The problem here is that there is no certification process for outsourced raw milk (e.g. certification that would meet the values of the community). In any case Costco's Kirkland milk is not a credence good.
Amanda
I would like more clarification on colostrum outsourcing because there is a history of it, it is abundant in the marketplace, and is not regulated at all so outsourcing would be no issue. The line of "colostrum-lite" products (as I call them) are 95% fluid raw milk and 5% colostrum. These products are bottled in the same line with the fluid milk products.
I just re-read and see that we are missing Bu's certification as well.