There’s one sentence in Michael Schmidt’s letter to Ontario’s Premier McGuinty, published as my previous post, that I can’t get out of my head.
“In return, my farm has been raided by armed officers, my family has been terrorized and I been dragged through the courts – first being acquitted and then being found guilty.”
The reason those words stay with me is that they don’t represent the slightest bit of exaggeration. If anything, they are understated. He doesn’t even mention any of the repercussions– that he’s lost large tracts of land, lots of money, and that his first marriage broke up in part because of the government’s assault.
Many of us who support Schmidt have become so accustomed to his calm demeanor and decency in the face of the government outrages that we can easily overlook that he is also a farmer, a businessman, a scientist, a loyal and productive Canadian citizen–a guy trying to live his life. Yet he’s been treated like a lowlife, a terrible criminal, someone not even worthy of a rational conversation with about such supposedly important issues as food safety. And based on the Ontario court’s reversal of his exoneration in 2010, he has many more years of such treatment to look forward to.
What’s even more startling is that he’s not alone. Other farmers in Canada have been treated this way, as have farmers and some of their associates across the United States. Indeed, the treatment has become progressively harsher and more troublesome, what with undercover investigations and felony charges.
The question people always ask me is, Why is this happening? There seems little doubt that major food corporations are pressuring the regulators. Many public health people also have a knee-jerk reaction based on their training that raw milk, in particular, is terribly dangerous.
But I would venture that something else is at work here, and it is something most of us would rather not think about: that the regulators get a certain amount of jollies from being given open season to prey on an unprotected subgroup of citizens. It’s something we’d rather not think about because the regulators are supposed to be like us, middle class and professional.
Among law enforcement and regulator types, we know that some react with distaste to pushing around hard-working farmers, as Wisconsin farmer Vernon Hershberger learned following three incursions at his farm in 2009. He’s been told that some in law enforcement said that raiding his farm represented a low point in their professional careers. But some not only don’t react with distaste, they actually relish the adrenaline rush that comes from lording it over a minority class they have come to despise.
In the case of Michael Schmidt, I make this judgment based on events. When he won his court case in early 2010, the Ontario government could have decided to accept the ruling. There was no public health issue, not even a hint of a public health problem over Schmidt’s raw milk. When a similar decision was issued by an Ohio judge in 2006, the state administration decided to simply accept it, and have allowed herdshares ever since. No big deal.
But in Ontario, the authorities could not abide by the decision. Why? Maybe because they’d lose their plaything, their victim, the guy they’ve grown so fond of pushing around. Can anyone think of another reason?
That’s why Michael Schmidt’s request to meet with Premier Dalton McGuinty is significant. The government executives–governors, premiers, even the President of the U.S.–want to be kept isolated from the dirt of what’s going on. They may nod in approval when the regulators present their “science” to justify some action or another, but in practice, they’d rather assume the air of being above it all, of leaving regulation to the regulators, and all the distasteful stuff that comes with it.
Schmidt is asking to speak with Ontario’s leader man to man. That’s threatening to the regulators, because it means there’s no filter. Man to man, Schmidt’s case is very compelling, and the actions taken against him can easily be seen as shameful. One way or another, he is determined to cross that bridge, break that barrier. (Even Food Safety News, not normally a friend of food rights, gives credence to Schmidt’s views, in this article.)
One key reason these enforcers can get away with their disgusting behavior is that the enforcers have concluded that few care about the underclass they abuse. That needs to change, and change quickly. We know there’s little outrage by the mass of consumers about the supposed dangers of raw dairy and other such foods. As I’ve said before, I have yet to meet an ordinary citizen who has come out to demonstrate against raw dairy. Indeed, most people, when they learn about what’s going on, are baffled that the government is spending huge resources during hard economic times to seriously harass farmers and food clubs.
We do know this: the outrage had to be considerable to get a decent caring giving man like Michael Schmidt to take steps to put his life on the line this way.
Shhhh, baby's sleeping, shhhhhhhhh.
Hello All,
It's been a long time since I've communicated to the group.
The time for action is now.
I've been thinking about it; and what we don't need is any raw milk consumers. At all.
Consumers, as in, I want what I want, and that's it. Given the state of raw milk, we can't afford consumers.
No, we need raw milk activists, food freedom activists, that need their raw milk to operate optimally.
Raw milk will not continue if the people that consume it don't put forth the energy to make it legal.
Staying in hiding, hoping the winds of persecution don't blow, that isn't going to do it anymore.
Consider this a warmup exercise to legalizing raw milk in Wisconsin; that action too is coming very quickly yet this fall.
My friend, my mentor, the best human I know, Michael Schmidt, is in his 3rd week of a hunger strike.
Water only. I don't know about you, but diets, restriction, wow. One day without food, much less 3 weeks.
And the thing is, he's doing it for us.
He's in Canada, sure, where they have the same problems with raw milk as we do here.
Only he's been raided twice 1994, 2006 SWAT team at gunpoint over raw milk. Imagine that. If we don't act, maybe in our future.
Michael is a leader. He's frustrated with us all (my interpretation, maybe not his). We as a group don't do much unless we're kept from our precious raw milk the reality hits then or, I wonder, will his life and death from starvation for this cause be for nothing.
What are we willing to interrupt all the important things in our day for?
A man's life? I know Michael, and he will die for us, this cause, unless we shift out of our complacency and act.
We need to `get in the habit' of activism. An hour a month? A willingness to not go to that football game, or dinner out or extra hour of TV? I know it's easy to believe nothing we do changes anything. Ah, but it does, but only if we do it, no one but us will. And here's the real treasure: How you'll feel knowing you are a part of this, a real part.
Today, what is needed, specifically, by every single person that reads this, is a letter. 15 minutes of your time to save a life.
To show Michael Schmidt, who has given so much of his time and energy to this movement, that we will do something together and together we can make anything happen.
I wish you knew Michael. There is no one like him. His leadership qualities, his many talents, but his beauty as a human I've never met anyone quite like him, and I don't want to lose him. I have too much to learn from him yet. I keep remembering one thing he told me, "Oh Scotty, you've just got to love people" and that is him. It isn't yet me. He's been to our farm twice, and I have yet to get to his farm in Canada, but I don't want that visit to be a funeral, but to learn from the master.
There is no room for consumers only activists here good people willing to sacrifice for what's right let's start practicing that activism TODAY NOW
It's time to get on our knees and ask the Almighty for forgiveness for turning from Him, trust Jesus Christ by faith for salvation and then pray for Michael Schmidt, and our food freedoms!
Jeremiah 33:3 God's phone#
Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know
?2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV)
14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
nancy
Can't spoon feed them! It's easy to find out what is going on, especially if you join
Facebook – which is a great tool for keeping abreast of all that is going on with raw
milk! Consumers have to get off their butts, get on their computers, check the WAPF
and FTCLDF sites which post information often and David's blog and then step away
from the computer and DO something about it!
nancy
nancy
Most people have no clue about the laws regarding our foods. They think pasturized milk goes straight from the cow to the separator to the pasturizer to the bottle without anything else happening to the milk. We know this is not true, yet the general population doesn't. People follow blindly.
http://coconutketones.blogspot.com/2011/10/glioblastoma-and-ketogenic-diet.html
Day 44 Hospital
Chris started off the morning with two more solid bowel movements. One at 4:30 a.m. and another at 7:45 a.m.. (For those who wonder why I share this type of informationit was all about his bowels movements at this stage of his recovery).
I was there for the morning rounds. The resident doctor was a bit nervous. He told me he had some news to share that we would be unhappy about. Our HMO was calling us back to their facility in Fontana. Since Chris had been released from nephrology, our HMO could care for his pancreas issues.
The resident doctor told me they were quite concerned as to how Tony would handle the news.
As you can expect, we both freaked out. We were being sent back to the hospital where they had done the sigmoidoscopy and given him the antibiotic to treat colitis. This is where Chris had been diagnosed with HUS. We were losing our psychological and emotional safety hospital. Trust had been established here. I loved these doctors and nurses. They had saved Chris life.
We were informed that the ambulance would arrive at 4:00 p.m. to pick us up.
The word spread around the hospital that we were leaving. Different doctors and nurses came over to 5200 unit to say good-bye. It was all happening so fast. I had that dead feeling inside again. I still couldnt emotionally digest that we had to leave. The resident nephrologist was very moved. She hugged me telling me what a pleasure it was to know our family and that I in every way had been a part of the medical team. She was in awe that she had witnessed a miracle with Chris recovery.
Despite the bad news, Chris had an emotionally stable day. Homework time went very well. I structured the day better and I think this helped. We also went to the gift shop and bought flowers for the three nurses that spent the most time with us in the 5700 unit. Chris delivered the flowers and thanked them for taking good care of him. All three had not seen him since he left the 5700 unit and were surprised how different he looked not all puffed up. One nurse told me that she had never received flowers before. I was stunned. PICU nurses are amazing angels.
Throughout the day, Chris kept sneezing. I was worried that it might be the first sign of a cold. He also had a change in his bowl movements. He had a few more throughout the day and green looking bile was now coming out of him. His urine was also a dark yellow. My anxiety level began to increase. We were leaving LLUCH and a change for the negative was occurring. They wanted to get a fecal sample before he left. They speculated that the change we were seeing in his bowls was probably caused by all the antibiotics he had been given since our stay in the hospital. After he was past the HUS danger zone, antibiotics were used to prevent infections.
Tony had left to take care of business at the Ronald McDonald House. We wanted to make sure we could still stay there. At about 3:30, our favorite nephrologist and the G.I. doctor had a talk with me. They both were so loving and kind. They gave me their cards and told me to call if I had any questions about any future medical decisions made at our HMO. They both stated several times, Do not hesitate to call! The G.I. doctor also told me that he consulted all the time with the GI doctors at our HMO. He assured me that they were good doctors despite what happened earlier in our care. He also shared that they were informed we are not happy about returning to this facility.
As I think back on this moment, I can still see the look in the nephrologists eyes and the expression on his face. He was very serious when giving me the instructions on Chris post HUS care. He was beside himself with glee that Chris kidneys were working at 100%, but this meant nothing for the long haul of his life. He told me that he needs close monitoring the 1st year post HUS and then after that he needs annual blood work for the rest of his life. Despite the fact that his kidneys were working, there still has been damage done to the filters and later in his life kidney problems could occur. It was so important to catch any problems early so that medicines can be used right away to prolong the use of his kidneys. He was explaining all this information with such urgency. He did not want us at any time in Chris childhood to become complacent with his follow-up kidney care. His words are ingrained in my being.
At exactly 4:00 p.m. the ambulance arrived. We arrived back at Fontana at 5:00 p.m. This was the only time in the hospital I was ashamed of my behavior. When we arrived, they had the list of items that Chris needed: TPN, the saline solution with 10% dextrose, and keppra. The nurse on duty said they didnt have a 10% dextrose solution so she was going to hang 5%. I went ballistic on her. I started screaming that this is what it is like in this HMO. Things arent done right. I told her she better search this hospital for a 10% dextrose bag and if they didnt have it, they were going to have to figure out how to provide some for my child. 5% dextrose was not acceptable!
I went into Chris room and broke down crying. This poor nurse had been the recipient of 44 days of stress. At 8:30, they hung the 10% dextrose and at 10:00 he had his TPN. I slept with Chris that night. I remember feeling scared.
I think its a bit unfair what you said about consumers. Right now there has been a huge amount of articles claiming that vitamins are dangerous. These articles are quoting studies that were specifically done by people who hate vitamins. Most people are unaware of what's going on in the vitamin world, and wouldn't know the difference. Maybe 5 years ago that certainly would have been me. The only reason that i know what i know now is because the "doctors" screwed me over big time. It takes a little courage and open-mindedness to question things like prescription drugs, a doctor's authority, vaccines, fluoridation, and the pasteurization of dairy products. That is especially true for younger people who grew up "knowing" the "benefits" of the things i listed in the sentence above.
You should be happy that people like me and Deborah are now tuned into these problems and the struggles that farmers are facing. I did think you words were a bit arrogant and condescending.
How did YOU find out about the plight of raw milk and raw milk farmers?
–Blue
and FTCLDF sites" was so unreal…most people have no clue what WAPF or FTCLDF are. I know I didn't until very recently. A few weeks ago, I started polling my extended family about what they knew & remembered about consuming raw milk. The majority of us had grown up on dairy farms in Wisc. They were shocked when I told them was is going on. My cousin who still lives in Wisc had no idea that you couldn't buy raw milk, let allow consume it in Wisc anymore. She was so dumb-founded when I told her, checked it out for herself & was floored when she found that that was now the case. She couldn't fathom how that came about & why it was kept quiet!! Yes, I am fortunate that I can still buy raw milk in San Diego, but not as much as I used to be able to buy it. I only have 3 stores that I can go to near me, but all the raw milk & raw milk products sell so quickly that it is getting harder & harder to obtain them. This was not the case 10 yrs ago, these products were pretty much available in all stores, not anymore though. As I watched the availability continue to dwindle, I couldn't get any answers of why from any of the store managers or owners. I even remember one manager who told me that "oh, no one is interested in buying those anymore"! Unbelievable to be told such a ludicrous thing, but that's what they did. Now, Nancy may be one of those lucky people who obtains her raw milk from a herdshare, but those groups are not readily available to everyone nationwide. Of course, she would be much more versed in what has been going on, but that is not the case for the rest of us.
I now take turns driving to a farmer 100 miles away to support them and get raw milk with 3-4 other families even though I am a pick-up hostess for another co-op. No I don't belong to a cowshare or herdshare. I used to have to drive 40 miles to Chicago to get my raw milk fix until I volunteered as a pick-up spot. My motto: REAL FOOD is worth whatever distance you have to go to get it.
Raw milk drinkers these days (ones that drink it now as opposed to "growing up on it – but not drinking it anymore") are educated – how else have they come to drink raw milk?
I don't know anyone who drinks it that did not make an educated choice to start drinking it.
All the people that come pick up at my place are educated about raw milk. Quite a few are from other countries like Romania where they got raw milk easily.
I have educated myself about GMOs, EMFs, Smart Meters. I talk about raw milk and eating real food when someone is interested and wants to hear it. I have a raw milk sticker on my cooler that goes to work with me every day. I have vaccine bumper stickers on my cars to help educate others to the dangers of vaccines. It is their choice to dive into it themselves.
Health Freedom Expo occurs in Long Beach CA each year – use that to educate yourself. Take every opportunity to learn. Facebook is a great vehicle for learning.
The verses I quoted were a direct response to what is going on with the state of our food and Michael Schmidt. They were not directed at you Deborah. This is bigger than us humans and needs God's intervention. I will not apologize for God's Words. You can ignore them if you want. Talk to Him about them if you don't like them. Just as many scroll past other comments they don't care to read, you can scroll past mine.
nancy
I do object, however, to saying vitamins and supplements are all processed. Yes, there are a number or companies who use synthetic crap, but if you EDUCATE yourself, you will find supplement companies using real holistic ingredients. Sometimes the body needs more of a nutrient than what is found in food.
http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/video/1223850022001
He's very good in the interview!
I just had an ACTION ALERT in my email the last 2 days from http://www.westonaprice.org and http://www.ftcldf.org
When raw milk is too easy to acquire (in stores) people get used to it and don't think outside their world.
RAWSOME raid happened last year and this year. I saw several news clips of it on CA news.
Vernon Hershberger (WI), Dan Allgyer (PA), Richard Hebron (MI), Zinnikers in WI are just a few of the good farmers raided in the last few years.
Did you read about Judge Fiedler in WI ruling on the Zinniker case (along with another one) that a farmer has no right to drink the raw milk from their own cow and other such nonsensical statements coming from a judge? Did you know that the FDA concluded that consumers have no right to the foods of their choice?
We consumers must wake up and become activists as Scott said. I do my best to educate others locally in my sphere of influence.
This blog is a great place to hear about the unconstitutional things going on with regards to our choice of raw milk. Glad you found it Deborah and Blue Dog.
nancy
You sounded like a seasoned veteran raw milk drinker. Please accept my sincerest apologies.
nancy
When I worked for the VA, the MDs I worked with encouraged certain vitamins for the patients for various reasons. Some because drugs deplete the nutrient from your system, some because we knew the patient probably wasn't getting a well rounded diet, etc.
"key reason these enforcers can get away with their disgusting behavior is "
Just the other day I read, (I didn't save the link) that between 25% &50% of the US population is or has been on antipsych/antianxiety drugs. They haven't the will to speak up. They also haven't a clue as to what is going on.
… some ( regulators) not only don't react with distaste, they actually relish the adrenaline rush that comes from lording it over a minority class they have come to despise.
I wish I had a photo of the smirk on Inspector Asplin's face as he told me that my property was now 'embargoed' ; a picture illustrating the mentality of the tyrant, is worth 1000 words.
On Dec 15 2009, upon finding out that Fraser Health Authority had slapped an Order on several of our depots, I immediately went to their office in Burnaby, and made a bargain that I'd go to the shop the next day, and retrieve our cowshare property = about 40 gallons of REAL MILK plus butter etc.
The next day on the dot at noon, the back door was opened by Insp Asplin to let us in. The phone rang and he closed the door while he took the call. He came back and GLEEFULLY told me that the deal was off.
Day 45 Hospital
Lipase levels were finally dropping. On the 19th it was 301, the 20th 266 and today it had dropped to 139. The medicine they had tried at LLUCH was working.
The accommodations at this hospital were far superior to the basic unit we had been in. We were placed in our own private room far from any other patients. There were two beds, so the parent on night duty had a bed to sleep in at night. This was a luxury after a month and a half of coping with those hard, bumpy chair beds.
We met with the pediatric doctor in the morning. She was the one who had diagnosed Chris with HUS. She was empathic, but cautious at the same time. I think she was a bit scared to interact with us. Im sure me yelling at the nurse the previous night put everyone on guard. They definitely knew we were not happy to be there. (I did apologize to the nurse).
We discussed Chris new bowel issue. He continued to have bowel movements with bile; actually, probably more bile than BM. The doctor was very reassuring. I remember her enthusiastically saying, Green is good! Red is bad, green is good! It made me laugh 5 years ago and smile while I typed this. She told us how sorry she was for everything we had been through and the green issue right now was treatable and would go away with an antibiotic. He had Clostridium Difficle, or better known as C. Diff. It was caused by taking too many antibiotics and cured by taking an antibioticcrazy. We added Vancomycin to the medicine schedule.
We then discussed who would be our G.I. doctor. Obviously it wasnt going to be the doctor that did the sigmoidoscopy. They had two G.I. pediatric doctors at this hospital. She told us he was reading Chris very large file and would meet with us after he finished.
We met the G.I. doctor later in the day. He was also very empathetic, but once again we received the dont you know youre never supposed to drink raw milk lecture. Practically every doctor in every hospital we had been at had given us the same lecture. The worse thing about the lecture is that it was always done in front of Chris. We endured the lecture (like a spanking) and moved on to the medical issues.
This G.I. doctor was not comfortable using the medicine that Chris was taking for his pancreas, so he stopped giving it to him. He had used it in the past on another little boy and it had fried his pancreas. The practice of medicine really is a crap shoot. It can do wonders for one patient and harm another (similar to raw milk). In a perfect world, doctors would have crystal balls (and raw milk farmers too).
Fortunately, Chris had taken this medicine long enough for it to lower his lipase levels. We were also informed that we would be staying at this hospital until Chris was able to eat. They would not be sending us home on TPNthank goodness!
Chris had a great day. He had lots of energy and was not sleepy at all. This new energy spurt coincided with his lipase levels coming down.
We had a surprise in the evening. The doctor on call stopped by our room. It was the intern doctor who had the sloppy handwriting and the pharmacist couldnt read it to give Chris is blood pressure medicine.
Im not sure who was more surprised, him or us. He was now doing his pediatric rounds at this hospital. After he left, I went and asked the nurse where the real doctor was incase Chris had a bad night. This doctor was not going to make any decisions for him.
I have carefully read everyone of your posts over the last month.
First of all….I am so very glad that Chris is ok now.
But…after reading all those therapies, it is a wonder he survived the doctors. The antibiotics when not indicated, the screwed up treatment of bowel issues…at every therapy decision I cringed.
It is no wonder that modern medicine is the third leading cause of death in America.
rumour has it that Mark McAffee's brother on the board of Apple made available to the Complete Patient the beta version of Steve Jobs' very last project = the smell-aroma app.
Don't know if I can stand any more of "As the Intestine Churns" slop-opera, if she stinks out the joint literally
I find that evil attitude in some regulators, but not most.
Some of them really are mostly science-based in their investigation. (As far as science goes, as Miguel points out…) The problem is raw dairies are so easy to target, unlike factory farms who mass-produce and mass-distribute. Those guys are truly expensive and difficult to track down. But not raw dairies.
Raw dairies usually know their customers, so for a health dept/ag dept regulator, an outbreak that involves raw milk consumption is a piece of cake; especially if you're inculcated to believe that raw milk is inherently dangerous. (Not to mention that their salary depends on it., and the only science they know supports it)
Schmidt presented this case in his book "The Untold Story of Milk" – raw dairies are a regulator's dream. They just can't help it….raw dairies are such an easy target, in their world.
Did consumer drink raw milk from raw dairy X? Case closed. Press release! Warn the public! Job accomplished! Dust off hands and congratulate yourself.
Which is one reason I'm behind regular testing. You don't test because you think Campy is lurking in every glass of milk; you test to prove it isn't, and hasn't been over years of consistent testing.
It would be great if consumers paid for testing, but most farmers are too humble to ask. They already charge more than retail, (and they are barely breaking even), and besides, they like providing this product, and love farming. (Consumers don't have near enough skin in this game!)
Waste of money? Possibly, for each farmer. But collectively, they are building a track record to the public, the scientific community and to the FDA that presents a case for acceptable risk for opening minds and markets.
(You can criticize RAWMI til the cows come home, but unless you infiltrate the system with like power and organized networking, your voice is just one voice. We have to change the system. I agree it's scary because empire building is inherent to man, but we have good leaders, and educated critics to keep us humble and honest. That is, if they sign up and stay involved…. Controversy is good.)
My original hope with RMAC was that we could collect 3-5 years of test data and then move on to soil tests, BRIC tests, biodynamic farming techniques. But there are still farmers that can't give up grains, (such a treat!) can't quit farming paradigms that their parents passed on, and don't want to change,
So we're still chasing pathogens, after 4 years. We're just beginning to get our arms around presenting this data, which is really pretty impresive – altho not as perfect as some would like.
The trouble is, they don't become activists until it's taken away from them.
Or, their farmer sticks their neck out and is willing to die for them.
-Blair
Awesome vision at RMAC. Stick with it. We All need the track record. We need data.
If pathogens do persist, this is part of the raw milk challenge. They are also a result of conditions both internal and external. Unless three things line up….no illnesses.
1. There must be a receptive host ( a human with a weak immunity )
2. There must be a viral pathogen present
3. There must be a pathogen load substantial enough to cause illness
If these three stars do not align…no illness.
The mere presence of a pathogen although it may be alarming….does not automatically mean an illness will occur. It means there is work to do!
So press on. Safety plans, testing and diligence. Teach those farmers.
The biggest fear that I have with RAWMI is what happened with Organic Milk . . . Organic milk was once a great product in the mid 1990's. I remember buying it in beautiful glass bottles with cream on top . . . it was legally pastuerized . . . but it was superior in taste and health to the processed milk that I had been raised on . .I then noticed later that cartons started to show up on store shelves with nice write-ups about local dairies. The Organic milk was ALWAYS sold out while the gallons of processed milk from commercial dairies were still on the shelves.
The big milk producers noticed this and began financing HUGE CAFO organic dairies in Colorado . . . See this link for what became of the organic milk label . .
http://www.organicconsumers.org/Organic/corrupt060323.cfm
Lets visit the Organic Milk a few years later . . . the big guys got really interested in the product and started to consolidate and contract with the Organic producers and processors . . .within a very short time . . . I began seeing a store brand of Organic milk (ultra-pasteurized) along side of the two labels that I had known before . . .the milk was also cheaper in price and lost a great deal of flavor. . . . it was mainstreamed and lost it's uniqueness and quality.
What is stopping any large CAFO dairy from going raw by implementing Mark's RAMI standards . . .absolutely nothing!!
In 10 years or less, I envision Raw Milk to become another commodity and suffer the same fate as Organic Milk . . .it will be raw but not a really great quality product. . . .
Raw milk should only be produced on a local scale . . . big dairies should never be encouraged to produce raw milk . . . and that is what I see RAWMI doing . . . encouraging conventional dairies to go raw , , , I do believe that raw dairies should test . . . but the standards should be implemented locally through the State. Every state has a different climate, feed source, etc., Raw milk is a very local product and cannot be standardized across the board.
This is what RAWMI is trying to do . . .
I have stated before that we must find those states where raw milk is illegal and put forward those in office who are with the small farmer with regards to food rights . . .those idividuals that cannot be bought by Big-Ag. Small scale Ag production is now growing . . . many small farms are cropping up all over the US to satisfy those that are searching for nutrient dense foods. RAWMI never contacted farmers in the states of Maine and Connecticut for the standards that they wish to impose on all raw milk producers in the US . . . the farmers in those states have the safest track records . . . so why this was never done . . . I cannot answer. . . .
Kind regards,
Violet
http://www.kilbyridgefarmmaine.blogspot.com
I would, however, willingly join and work for an LOCAL (that is, a state-wide) organization, like Blair's RAMC, and I believe others in my state would too.
I am sure that many at the various facilities your son was at, were leery that a big law suit was pending, there were so many screw ups on so many levels…… If the MDs orders stated 10% dextrose and the nurse hug 5% or even said she was going to because they "didn't have 10%" should have been fired, That is a serious medicine error. S/he could lose his license for that. California Board of Nursing frowns upon med errors. I would have demanded a different nurse, that is horrid substandard care that could cause more problems or death. Switching any medicine without written MD orders is just not done.
I am amazed they gave him vanco after his bout with HUS, vanco can easily cause nephrotoxicity. Did they even give him probiotics?
"We endured the lecture" How unprofessional of anyone to "lecture" parents in front of a child.
Just reading your story again re-enforces reasons not to go to a doctor or hospital without someone with medical knowledge. What a horrible SNAFU that poor kid endured. They should have been penalized for their substandard care and sued, otherwise they just continue to give substandard care to others. Your words also re-enforce that the medical community was the cause of your son's horrid ordeal.
"The FDA has issued a warning letter ordering the owners of Jensen Farms to correct the problems at the open-air packing facility."
Wow, had this been a raw milk producer…….. Why wasn't he shut down and tossed in jail? He killed people… No guns drawn? Just a slap on the wrist.
A little 007 technology….
http://www.bobtuskin.com/2011/10/20/exposed-illinois-law-financially-penalizes-public-schools-when-vaccination-rates-drop-below-90/
It's all about money.
I have a feeling since the Fukushima nuclear accident in March, cancer research will explode everywhere. Big money maker….. http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/UCBAirSampling