American battleships burn during Japanese sneak attack on Pear Harbor Dec. 7, 1941.As HR 2749 moves through Congress, there is a growing sense of unease among raw milk advocates that the new legislation, being driven by growing panic over foodborne illness, could be used to ban raw milk. Once enacted, all the pieces would be in place for what I would term a sneak attack to rid the U.S. of raw milk, once and for all. Consider:
— The authority. HR 2749 provides the FDA with amazing authoritarian powers, which have been well discussed around the Internet. There’s a less well considered section of the legislation entitled “Performance Standards,” under which the Secretary of Health and Human Services is authorized at least every two years “to identify the most significant food-borne contaminants and the most significant resulting hazards. The Secretary shall issue…science-based performance standards (which may include action levels) applicable to foods or food classes, as appropriate to minimize to an acceptable level, prevent, or eliminate the occurrence of such hazards.” Pasteurization would certainly seem to be a candidate for a “science-based performance standard” that would counter the raw milk “hazard.” (Another candidate: irradiation of vegetables and meats, but that’s a story for another time…and don’t want to give them too many ideas.) The fact that data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control shows raw milk causing an average of 50 to 100 illnesses annually will be an easily ignored detail.
— The will. The FDA has shown itself to be rabidly anti-raw-milk. It isn’t a huge stretch to imagine Dairy Czar John Sheehan, head of its Plant and Dairy Division, declaring raw milk as one of “the most significant food-borne contaminants and…resulting harards.”
— The track record. Over the last three years, whenever a major state has cracked down on raw milk producers—New York, Pennsylvania, California, Michigan, Ohio—the FDA has actively involved itself, encouraging the local authorities to be super aggressive. FDA agents have gone along on raids of raw dairy producers in Ohio and Pennsylvania. They helped Michigan authorities investigate Richard Hebron in the state’s sting operation. The FDA inspired two suits against Mark McAfee and Organic Pastures Dairy Co. in California.
— A record of failure. Despite its aggressive tactics, the FDA is losing its battle as ever growing numbers of Americans flock to raw milk, and many dairies can’t keep up with demand. When government enforcers encounter failure, they often become desperate, seeking surprise knockout punch enforcement actions. Required pasteurization of all milk would fill that bill.
The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund is increasingly worried that a ban of intrastate raw milk shipments could soon be in the offing if HR 2749 makes it through Congress and is signed into law, its director, Pete Kennedy, tells me. And given that the FDA doesn’t recognize the legality of herdshares, seeing them as a way to skirt state laws designed to prohibit raw milk, they could be swept up in the pasteurization requirement.
Because of the hysteria over food-borne illness—and there really is hysteria—the legislation appears on a fast track to move through Congress. And mind you, I haven’t even discussed the broad authorization HR 2749 gives the FDA to quarantine entire areas of the country, and to introduce traceability of all food. (implementation of the National Animal Identification System)
The only problem with this scenario, from the FDA’s viewpoint, is that the agency, via required pasteurization, might at long last touch a serious enough nerve as to finally prompt serious outrage from consumers. Then it might have real problems on its hands.
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There’s a seductive video on YouTube of what may be the nation’s largest dairy farm, with 25,000 cows. The video suggests that the friendly factory farm represents the future of agriculture in the U.S.—highly sanitized, humane, and green. Unfortunately, there’s a lot left unsaid (about cow nutrition, hormones, antibiotics, etc.). See what you think.
Related, there is mention in today’s lead New York Times story about antitrust concerns in a number of industries, that the dairy industry is one with problems. Just because prices paid dairy farmers are fixed by a few large processors—that’s an antitrust problem?
I can only assume that the average person has no real clue of what a farm environment is like and that there is a vast difference between 25,000 head of cows and say 200 head, also the amount of land, and as pointed out, the feed of the cattle, etc. It is the "unsaid" that should concern consumers. Ignorance is not bliss.
As said many times, making natural food illegal will only open doors for the unscrupulous and there will be numerous contaminations. So much for working with farmers. Banning booze didn’t work, niether will banning raw dairy.
I became aware of this long after I went into preterm labor during my last pregnancy. The contractions began the very day I got behind an herbicide-spraying road crew, and after several weeks of strong contractions and one injection to stop them, my water broke early. My last child was born at 36 weeks, and spent 12 days in a NICU, several of those days being on an oscillating ventilator. For the record, my previous 3 children were born AFTER their due date. This time was very different.
The "Time Magazine" article doesn’t mention herbicides at all. It just says that the U.S. leads the world in industrialized countries for preterm labor, and "they don’t know why." We have some of the best hospitals in the world. That’s funny. I think I know why.
My experience, of course, is not an herbicide statistic. The connection came to me long afterwards while reading about how herbicides affected pregnancies. That is when I went back to my calander, and figured out the contractions began the day I took my older daughter clothes shopping, which is the late spring day I had the windows rolled down, and kept smelling some strong chemical smell; and didn’t realize until way too late that there was a spray truck 3 vehicles ahead. How well I recall sitting on the floor of the dressing room because I was cramping bad enough I couldn’t bear to stand up any more; timing them, and hoping they’d go away soon because it was way too early. They did, but they kept coming back the next few weeks until my water broke.
You cannot tell me there isn’t residue of herbicides in much of what we eat. Helicopter ride: $13,000. 12 days in the NICU: $120,000. Why don’t they just let the weeds grow along the road, and mechanically cultivate the corn?
Until AB 1735 and our own CA CDFA sneak attack with the secret passage of AB 1735 nearly three three years ago….that our CA raw milk movement was became aligned and organized. Now we have all the email addresses and we have every one ready at moments notice. Now we have 95% support of the both houses of the CA legislature and many senators and their staff drink raw milk. CREMA the voice of the CA Raw Milk Consumer http://www.californiarawmilk.org came out of this fight.
It takes an attack, a threat and a fight to create a true movement of people to action. One thing I know from experience…raw milk drinkers are deeply passionate, some are even fanatical and I know a few that are maniacal !!!!
The FDA would not be free to do as it pleases…it would be accountable to the people. Mandatory pastuerization would bring on forced senate hearings and John Sheehan would either show up or be highly embarrassed by his unexcused absence. If he did show up he would need to asnwer to the failed science of pastuerization. The data would kill the FDA. There are zero pathogen tests required for any pastuerized milk under the PMO standards. There are so many pathogens getting by the heat treatment
( Johnes, Para TB, viruses, spores, heat resistant Salmonella and others )….the FDA would never expose its weakenesses by bringing on passionate pissed off raw milk farmers ( not to mention the scientists from Stanford, Rutgers, Walter Robb COO of Wholefoods…ie…the organic bulldozer and others ) and the consumers that dearly love them and their products.
I asked our CDFA inspector Steve McGinnis about this pending federal law…. and the potental for the FDA to mandate intrastate pastuerization. He said he was no politician and that this subject was above his pay grade…but he could not see that happening. He said that the state of CA is sovereign and that our laws would preempt the Feds. He said that CA state raw milk laws would not be subject to FDA regulation.
So at least one CDFA inspector felt strongly that the FDA would have little to say about CA raw milk. Steve is a very professional guy that does not speak about things he does not know about. He keeps his nose clean and simply does his job….but on this subject, he felt pretty comfortable that the FDA would not try and shake this hornets nest.
I agree with Steve….the FDA would be hugely stupid to strike terror to the heart of free raw milk. If they did that would be the end of the Pastuerization Secrets and Lies
( including dead milk and Lactose Intolerance and Bone density issues ) and that would be the end of stealth FDA anti-rawmilk actions. The media would cover the story and experts, moms, dairymen and even allied organic production people….like pastuerized almond growers would expode from the shadows.
Just like the Japanese at Pearl Harbor…it was a short sighted bad action…look at what it did to America. It brought us fully into a war and it got Japan two nuclear bombs. Ouch!!!
Does the FDA want at least two nuclear bombs….I think not. Raw Milk is the FDA nuclear bomb and they will not touch it. Not when CNN starts showing moms with their ex-Asthma kids dying because the raw milk they relied upon has been banned. Not with thousands of people coming onto OPDC pastures to milk their own cows. Not with passion running as high as it does with raw milk and doctors prescroibing raw milk and this being shown on PBS shows internationally ( coming this fall trust me) . Not with Michele Obama in the White House and her organic garden.
Aint gonna happen. If it does it will accelerate the Raw Milk Revolution to light speed. This would have been a gross misscalculation by the FDA and those that seek control of our food supply. I guess this also means that the FDA would also be banning most of the rest of the food in America. Raw milk is not even close to the middle of the list when it comes to risky foods. Chicken, beef, deli meats and vegetables would be gone or irradiated first. The FDA would need to asnwer for why Three Americans Died ( plus two unborn Americans ) from perfectly pastuerized milk in MA….why why why why !!!!
There would be huge senate hearings and we would all be there. So would Ron Paul and a long list of doctors.
When this happened in CA with SB 201….no one showed up for the other side. This just shows us all….aint gonna happen. All threats, hot air and bluff. Unless we are weak and subject to bluffs and hot air….nothing to worry about.
Out here in CA, raw milk drinkers and producers and retailers are organized and ready for any fight. I suspect this would be the same in other states if the FDA did something nationally. This could spell the end of the FDA as we know it. So far they have just been screwing arround with the edges. This would stir the heart of the mother lion. More people attended the SB201 hearings in CA last year than the attendance at death penalty hearings. Raw Milk matters. The FDA knows damn well not to mess with this sacred food.
My best advice….do not show the FDA any weakness….it just encourages them.
Mark
If they start putting farmers in jail, they would be opening up a hornets nest….
They’d better find some ‘kid gloves’ soon…because the raw milk, local harvest and other alternatives to the conventional sad food distribution channels are starting to gain some real momentum. One just needs to attend their local farmers market to see it….
They will come around sooner or later…but I think that the ‘change’ we were hoping for with the new administration has been co-opted by Monsanto, the grocer PACs, and other status quo food conglomerates. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss….
In a way, it might be good for them to push us around a little…and while it might be ugly in the short term, the good and righteous will strengthen and eventually prevail. Real, lasting change doesn’t come easy.
Ooo…awww….wow….wow!!
Very impressive.
This is the kind of marketing and education that happens everyday at OPDC. Fairoaks must be complimented on the extraordinary disneyland job they have done to market their story to their consumers. Just because I disagree with the kind of fats in their milk and the completely dead nutritional value of their pasterized milk does not lessen the impressive job they have done.
In the future I see farms like this dotting the country ( hopefully one hell of a lot smaller )…..but the forward thinking CEOs will realize that many people can not drink their products unless they drink some raw milk. These smart and effective CEO’s will recommend to the 20% of the population that are Pastuerization Intolerant to drink some raw milk and that way they can also enjoy some Fair Oaks Icecream.
I did see one very big lie….Fair Oaks is not from the "Grass to the Glass".
It was from the CAFO to the Glass.
Lets make that perfectly clear….there were no pastures at Fairoaks and those cows spent every waking hour getting ready to get milked again. Three times a day milking is very stressful and completely interupts a cows life. 40 pounds of grain??? I wonder how much antibiotics get given?
Any way…as far as CAFO are concerned…this is the nicest CAFO I have seen yet and very nice marketing. Even the cow manure gets used to energize the place…..thats the greenest part of Fair Oaks. If people know of nothing else….they will only know of Fair Oaks….looks like we grass pasture raw milik guys need to spend some more time marketing ourselves. Fair Oaks is the Model FDA dream dairy. We need to make sure that our truly green systems are better exposed for our own marketing efforts.
At OPDC we tour every day…..this is essential to public education. Our touring consumers see the cows birthing on green pastures….not in auditoriums. Sorry Fair Oaks….you have done a great job marketing, but what you have created is far from natural and your dead CAFO products cause seriuos gas and digestive issues with 20% of the population and triggers asthma in its asthmatic consumers.
I will stick with living truly grass fed raw milk. Yummy….and all the good fats.
I guess we now have Disney Land dairy tours and vacations for ignorant consumers. What a sick place we have come to.
What ever happened to green pastures and the truth. According to Amanda’s research at least the "smart people consume raw milk" and can see through to back stage at Disneyland and see straight through sharp GOT CAFO DEAD MILK marketing.
Mark
Good point. Unfortunately, you might be right on track. While many in government know that the system works best with a "bottom-up" vs. a "top-down" model, the reality is that everyone is starved for dollars. If the feds have money to pass out, who’s going to pass it up based on ideals or a different philosophy? Besides, in the raw milk (or NAIS) example, it would be much easier for officials at the state or local level to just say, "heck, it ain’t our problem, we’re enforcing federal law…" On that note, Mark is not really correct suggesting that states are sovereign; I’m not a political scientist or expert in governmental law, but as I understand it, the federal rules take precedence : states and local jurisdictions can enact stricter laws or ordinances, but they cannot overturn a federal law and make it more lax, at least not without going to court (high profile examples: medical marijuana, assisted suicide).
(9) The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people; and (10) The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
The huge rub here is the proliferation of laws based on the theory of interstate commerce, so that if something affects or is derived from interstate commerce in almost any way, the feds regulate. Once a federal law is passed following this logic, then what you say is generally true, namely, a state law can be more rigorous, but it cannot be more lax. Then there’s money, as in NAIS – the federal law is "voluntary," but federal funding in related areas is withheld unless the federal standards are met.
Public Citizen vs. Heckler, the case in which FDA was sued 20+ years ago to require pasteurization, is interesting (and frustrating) because there a judge decided there should be a federal rule regulating interstate raw milk sales where the milk was packaged for human consumption, and so ordered FDA to come up with one. FDA thus had to find authority in their statute, presumably based on interstate commerce theories, to make a rule. I doubt very much if such an activist approach would succeed today, either in the law or on the facts (WAPF and the present raw milk movement simply did not exist in 1986, and the only voice in rulemaking was, I believe, Alta Dena from California and there was no "amicus" or any other support for (gulp) FDA in the lawsuit itself).
National security is another big reason for federal laws (think Patriot Act) since the Constitution charges the federal government with protecting the country and the states. IMHO the need for security in the food system is one of the most powerful arguments for having it decentralized, local, and not monocultural, whether the threat is human terrorism or Mother Nature’s impatience with our foolish attempts to organize and control her.
The trend has been for more federal control since the civil war; recently the trend has simply gained momentum. FDA expansionism, we should remember, is ocurring within the context of the biggest federal power grab ever in America, including the nationalization of financial and manufacturing businesses, calls to expand Federal Reserve powers, the NAIS, the new bevy of federal "czars" that Don pointed out, and so on. (Steve, "finding authority" has never been much of a problem for rule-makers, and IMHO such is less likely to be viewed as activism today than at any other time in our history.)
Predictably, money has been and continues to be the wrench used to turn state governments into minions of the feds; threats of violence (or violence itself) the preferred tool against citizens. (See what happens if you refuse to pay for government medical insurance.)
Fewer legislators than ever seem to care a bit about human rights, state soveriegnty, or about limited government in general. Program developer in chief Obama, is, on this issue, completely off the map and setting a new standard for aggressiveness in asserting federal control.
What we are seeing are the seeds of a massive new underground marketplace.
Wilderness Family Naturals website was operational a few minutes ago. Anyone have factual info on this possible distressing event?
The House of Representatives is scheduled for a vote on HR 2749 (The Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009) on Tuesday, July 28 (tomorrow).
HR 2749 will be voted "on suspension", meaning that debate will be limited to 40 minutes and no amendments will be considered. A two-thirds vote will be required for HR 2749 to pass. The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund is asking everyone to contact their U.S. Representatives requesting that they vote against HR 2749.
Industrial food processors and food imports need effective regulation, but this should not be done at the expense of the ‘local food system. HR2749 will impose burdensome regulations on small farmers and local food producers including registration fees and extensive paperwork requirements for which many small food businesses will not have the resources to comply. The ‘local food system’ is not the source of the food safety problems in this country, small farmers and local artisanal producers are part of the solution.
HR 2749 would reduce FDA’s accountability while significantly increasing its power. The bill would empower FDA to conduct warrantless searches of business records without any evidence whatsoever that a violation has occurred, to order a quarantine prohibiting or restricting the movement of food in a geographic area. HR 2749 also creates severe criminal and civil penalties with the potential for substantial fines for even minor violations of the law.
Urge your Representative to vote against HR 2749 and support a food safety bill that will target imports and industrial foods while leaving small farmers and local food producers alone.
Three Ways to Contact your Representative:
1. Sign two petitions: FTCLDF Petition http://bit.ly/Oppose_HR2749 and AAHF Petition http://bit.ly/g6IJT
2. Go to "My Elected Officials" at http://www.congress.org and enter your zip code to find your legislators. Call and/or send a fax.
3. Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 to contact your Representative’s office.
With Regards,
Pete Kennedy, Esq.
Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund President
I was concerned when I saw your post Don. I use them for my coconut products. They are OK.