I spent last evening reading through a week’s worth of emails. I had figured late August would be a good time to take a week off, as in completely off everything–not only email, but cell phone, Internet, radio, television, etc., etc. More about what I did on my summer vacation another time, but obviously, the pace of legal developments around raw milk, and food rights, did not abate. Far from it.
The struggle for access to nutritionally-dense food has evolved itn a multi-front war, and the action is becoming hot and heavy, with little respect for vacation timetables…or individual rights. Counteroffenses are being fought, where skilled attorneys are willing to take up the struggle. Here are three key developments over the last week:
— The government opts for a harassment strategy–for now–in the Rawesome Foods case. The Rawesome Foods case in the Venice section of Los Angeles bears very close watching in the food rights war. Remember, the June raid on Rawesome included law enforcement representatives from all government levels–local (Los Angeles District Attorney and Department of Public Health), state (California Deparment of Food and Agriculture), and federal (U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation). It was a totally coordinated surprise assault, with agents’ guns drawn. In other words, the full power of The State apparatus being brought to bear to eliminate one community’s access to raw milk, raw honey, fermented foods, pastured eggs, and so forth. So you have to assume that any follow-on action will continue to be carefully coordinated at all State levels, with approval by all parties.
The big question following the raid was what The State’s follow-on action would be. A California challenge to the food club’s lease arrangements? An FDA challenge to the interstate shipment of raw milk? No, The State has opted for a simple local tactic: harassment, in the form of a building code challenge.
Here is how Aajonus Vonderplanitz, a founder of Rawesome, explains the latest development: “The government is trying every means to close us so that we cannot provide our members with their own healthy food that we have worked so hard to make available. Because they have not been able to close us on health-issues and our Right to Association, they are trying building-safety-violation tactics. The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) has issued a closure notice…Since this is not a residence or public food venture, this entire issue is probably moot and can be dismissed by a judge when applying for an injunction against LA City.
“To buy time, I am reluctant to ask for an appeal because that may give it jurisdiction that they do not have because we are not selling anything (as stated in its notice) and we are not open to public. Right to Choose Healthy Food/Rawesome has a charity-based agreement with the owners of the property to use the lot as a distribution center and our members have agreed that the buildings that exist are adequate for their needs as per membership agreement (see attached).”
Vonderplanitz concludes with an appeal for “all willing attorneys to help us fight this fast.” I know Rawesome has some attorney members who were outspoken in their outrage immediately after the raid. Hopefully one or more of them will take up the appeal. If anyone else is interested, get in touch with me for contact information to reach Vonderplanitz.
2. Massachusetts retracts the Cease-and-Desist order against Brigitte Ruthman’s single-cow herdshare. As Vonderplanitz indicates, the war is at a stage where skilled lawyers are more important than ever in fighting the government assault. Ruthman has engaged a lawyer, and in response to her request for discussions, and threat to file suit, the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources has rescinded the order hand-delivered by an agriculture inspector to the dairy farmer last month.
The letter and MDAR response are worth reading. Essentially, Ruthman threatened to file suit unless MDAR engaged in discussions on the herdshare question, and MDAR quickly responded by withdrawing the cease-and-desist and agreeing to discussions. The MDAR’s letter, however, insists that its position in going after the herdshare is the correct one–even citing the New York case involving Meadowsweet Dairy to back up its claim. Still, should negotiations fail, the suit can be filed.
3. The FTCLDF survives round one in its suit against the FDA, and wins points in the process. At first glance, it appears as if the federal district judge is providing only a slender opening to the FTCLDF by suggesting in his 56-page decision that the legal organization file a citizen petition to the FDA over the interstate ban on raw milk sales. Of course, everyone knows the FDA wants to continue enforcing its ban. But the judge leaves open continuation of the suit should the FDA do the expected.
Moreover, the judge indicates in the decision that he doesn’t approve of key aspects of the FDA’s argument. As one example, he uses the case in which Eric Wagoner and other Georgia consumers were forced to dump raw milk transported from South Carolina last September to take issue with FDA claims it hasn’t enforced the interstate raw milk ban on individual consumers.
He states: “The direct purchaser plaintiffs also contend that the FDA’s direction that plaintiff Wagoner destroy the raw milk that he had purchased for himself, along with all of the other raw milk that he was transporting from South Carolina to Georgia for distribution to members of his virtual farmers’ market, demonstrates that there is not only a credible threat that the FDA will enforce the regulations against a direct purchaser plaintiff, but that the FDA has actually done so. On the present record, the court must take as true the plaintiffs’ allegations that Wagoner was told to destroy the raw milk that he was transporting across state lines for himself, because he had purchased it for himself, as well
as the raw milk that he was transporting across state lines to distribute to others. The FDA has made no attempt to present evidence that it neither ordered Wagoner to destroy the raw milk, state officials did, nor ordered Wagoner to destroy the raw milk because he was attempting to transport some of the raw milk across state lines for his own consumption. Thus, on the present record, the direct purchaser plaintiffs have made sufficient showing that they face a credible threat of injury to have standing.”
In a number of other places, the judge seems similarly skeptical of the FDA’s assertions. Perhaps most important, he seems to take the case seriously. That’s not good news for the FDA.
Although there are some encouraging developments over the last week, it’s important to remember that our government is quite adept at waging war. And key elements of the government establishment are lusting for action–how else do you explain Los Angeles bureaucrats spending time in late August going after a tiny food distributor? Slash-and-burn, shock-and-awe, diversionary tactics–they’re all part of the repertoire. It promises to be a long-term struggle.
***
While I view the struggle as a war, Wisconsin buying club owner Max Kane, who has been the subject of several direct assaults, likes to view the enemy as akin to a mafioso family. He’s assigned mafia roles to key officials of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection in a new video that opens in dramatic fashion. This one is devoted to examining the three raids intended to shut down Wisconsin raw dairy farmer Vernon Hershberger.? (If you have trouble viewing the video here, you can see it here on YouTube.)
***
Thanks again to Steve Bemis for an excellent blog post last week.
You do not work for the people of the state of Wisconsin. You work for a private corporation whose owners are not known to us. Are you aware of this? This information is from manta.com; they get their information from Dunn & Bradstreet. Try entering the name of any governmental agency. They're all private corporations, from the federal government all the way down to your county.
"Wisconsin Department Of Agriculture Trade And Consumer Protection is a private company categorized under Regulation of Agricultural Marketing and located in Madison, WI. Our records show it was established in 1966 and incorporated in Wisconsin."
http://www.manta.com/c/mm0cqc8/wisconsin-department-of-agriculture-trade-and-consumer-protection
The DATCP board is not a citizens panel as they want you to believe; it is the board of directors for a privately-held corporation. If you do not work for the people, who do you work for? You need to answer this question to yourself before you raid another farm who has harmed no one.
A line is being drawn in the sand. Many people can now see that our country has been overrun by fascists (fascist meaning a blending of government and corporate power) and we will not tolerate it any longer. Which side are you on? If S510 passes, are you prepared to come into my home and tell me that I can't grow a garden or can my own food? Is this the legacy you want to leave to your grandchildren? Will you be able to look them in the eye and say, I had a hand in destroying all freedom in America?
Where do you derive your power to rule over the people? Most definitely not from the people, as is stated in the Constitution. Your power is derived in the uniform you wear and the badge you carry. Without these, what power over me do you have? You derive your power from a piece of plastic the size of a credit card. Pathetic.
Wisconsin has a $5.5 billion budget shortfall; we recently borrowed $1.4 billion to make ends meet. How much longer are you expecting to get a paycheck? The economic pundits (the ones who are honest, that is, and not corporate puppets) are predicting that the stock market will crash and we'll be plunged into a depression that makes the 1930s pale in comparison. Do you think your retirement $ is safe? Do you really believe that Social Security will be around when you retire? The dollar is already almost down the drain and hyperinflation is not far behind.
If you chase all of the small farmers out of business, you too will be forced to eat genetically modified, processed phoods grown in China, laced with poisons and with no nutritional value. Perhaps you haven't read the studies that link GMOs to infertility and cancer. Great legacy.
A line has been drawn and you know it. It's time to choose. Which side are you on?
I hope you got some well deserved time off to recharge….
Two things:
I support Max Cane and his expose of the Corrupt Fascist Mafia Cartel in Wisconsin. I must agree that this is a war….for those of you weak at heart and wanting to embrace passivism…I have seen the bodies. When I was a paramedic I placed my hands on their chests and put ET tubes down their trachea's. I pushed epinephrine dextrose into their veins and many died anyway. Tens of thousands of Americans die needlessly every year because of the retched and corrupt corporations that serve their CEO's and NASDAQ stocks and not the moral foundations of consumers health. As Michael Schmidt said it so well…this is a war.
The war is unconventional….but becoming more and more conventional and exposed.
If playing nice and negotiating is a part of the plan….it takes place much later after much pain is inflicted and much carpet bombing is delivered. Then they will beg for a repreave and give us our liberty and our food rights. At this time at this place in Wisconsin however…it is a war.
Second thing:
I am in shock…..A completely unexpected wower….hit me on Thursday afternoon. This is 100% true and is something I never thought would ever or could ever happen.
The arch nemisis of OPDC has been historically the FDA and CDFA. Well maybe not so much any more. Miracles do happen after much "carpet bombing and deep pain has been inflicted ( remember 2008 and Dean Florez and SB 201 and the "FDA and CDFA no show" and all the pissed off Moms etc the Raw Milk hearings until Midnight at the state capitol !!).
I get a call from two FOX 11 news Producers ( Martin and Heidi ) in LA. They said that they were looking for someone to speak on live TV that evening about the massive 500 million egg recall. They said that they had called CDFA and CDFA has sent them to me!!!???!!! That is when my head started to spin???
Why would CDFA send the TV Cameras and Microphone to me?? But they did.
After much though I think I will send them a letter of thanks.
The interview went very well and the guy they had speak for industry was a pro-irradiation guy that rents himself out as a food safety expert bla bla bla.
You see for yourself….the feedback has been great…
http://www.myfoxla.com/dpp/news/consumer/eggs-at-local-organic-farm-are-safe-20100826
Welcome back David…the battle rages. But perhaps less so in parts of CA politics….I am still not sure what to think of this. Umpqua Dairy in Oregon had a massive recall of pasteurized products…..maybe organic biodiverse systems are starting to make sense to someone.
They are not all stupid and bought off. Times are changing painfully.
Mark
I would add my own twist to this: I don't think this patriarchal, enviromentally destructive, imperialist industrial system will ever be successfully overturned by legal, judicial, or political means. Ultimately, the way to overturn the system is to create a social movement which is so democratic and resiliant in the face of adversity, and which is modelled after natural systems, that it can successfully displace western civilization when it fails (because it will fail, as it has many times before)
In a word: Permaculture!
Do not hear much from CP, Lykke or Regulator much these days….I guess nothing to brag about with the huge recalls of CAFO Umpqua pastuerized dairy products and CAFO eggs sickening the masses.
Their glorious perfect solution has become toxic polution.
Mark
-Bill Anderson
(no longer in Wisconsin, now in Ohio!)
Here's another one I saw from your state on the eggs. Seems pretty balanced.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/08/26/jay.russell.payne.eggs/index.html?npt=NP1
MW
Please explain the following statement:
"…but I don't think you are pointing out anything special or unique about the time or place in which we live."
Please explain how a corporate-structured government, which goes against the Constitution and anything we have been taught in schools and by the media, with all of the legal ramifications of such a structure, are not relevant to our fight to regain our food rights.
(And saying that that's just the way it is because corporations have been around for a long time is a non-answer.)
I anxiously await your reply.
Lola
I've been reading here for a long time, but finally had to register to leave a comment. My kids and I just watched Mark on the Fox News clip and we all agreed that he appears far healthier than his pasteurization counterpart. As they say, "The proof is in the pudding!" (Or milk, as the case may be.)
Gail
I wouldn't argue with you about the relevance of the corporate structure. It is certainly relevant.
Where we might disagree is whether this is inherint to our system of government. I would maintain that it is inherint to our system of government.
I would agree that our government goes against the Constitution, which itself was a deeply flawed document, written by wealthy slave holding artistocrats seeking to centralize political power and pay off war debts, legitimized slavery, and ran in direct contradiction to the Articles of Confederation. Further, this government has been going against its own constitution essentially since it was formed. The Alien and Sedition Acts are one of the earliest examples.
IMO, its best not to encourage an unhealthy obsession with the Constitution. There are many more compelling and universal reasons to support food soveriegnty and food rights.
It really did help that he was actually a dunce….
You did not see the rest of his physical self….he was very unhealthy and could not wear regular shoes. He either had serious gout or diabetes. His feet appeared very swollen and he had a large pedulace abdomen. The retired paramedic inside of me wanted to reach out and give him some nutritional advice….but it seemed to be very poor form given we were on FOX TV and live. His advice followed his health….
Better living through chemistry and science….it appears that evidence based science and medicine showed its evidence on FOX TV when the representative of health departments and the FDA….pasteurized egg industry and pasteurized dead everything makes you look like that. His brain did not even function well.
Mark.
Mark
Normally I would say TOO MUCH INFORMATION… But in this circumstance, its perfect.
I wrote the address above to the employees of DATCP who are widely known to read this blog. I'm guessing that they don't understand the true nature of what they work for, or the precarious financial storm we are about to enter. Any government employee who participates in these raids needs to understand the full nature of what they're doing and reconcile it with their conscious. I ask you again, who owns the private government if not you and me? If I tried to tell the DATCP employees that the government is "owned" by a private, offshore banking cartel controlled by the Crown and the Rothschild family, how many would continue reading past that point? Invoking the Constitution is what most people understand.
By what you've said I gather that you think we need to have shift in our wider perceptions of health and nutrition, verses some sort of political revolution. Well, I agree that a shift in perception needs to take place, but there is room in this battle for all of us. Do you think Mark is a 'better' person than I because he's more vocal about food rights (narrow perspective), where I'm more politically motivated (wide perspective)? It sure seems so, with your unnecessary criticism of me and your verbal high-fiving of him. You had your chance to address DATCP, this was mine. Was it really necessary to criticize my methods?
While you are striving to shift the perceptions of the public at large toward better foods, my address was intended to shift the perceptions of the DATCP employees toward questioning their intentions and methodologies. If they laid down their arms, metaphorically speaking, the raids would stop overnight.
We're all supposed to be on the same team, right? Well, it gets hard when all my efforts seem to be in vain. I can't open my mouth on this blog without being criticized. Why should I support you and your efforts, when it's not reciprocated?
CP, Lykke, et. al. ("the foes") are not the only ones who are much quieter on this blog. In the 3 years I've been reading it, many names are no longer here. Perhaps because not only the dissenting voices are not welcome, but the freedom fighters whose ideas are 'different' or 'controversial' aren't, either.
Here's Bill's address to DATCP.
http://hartkeisonline.com/2010/08/19/young-cheesemaker-says-goodbye-to-wisconsin/
Thank you for leading. Thank you for fighting. You are moving us forward in leaps and bounds!
The contrast between Mark and that poor food safety spokesman was quite striking – not just physically, but ideologically. The interviewer asked the perfect questions, and both interviewees did a fabulous job of articulating their positions. I don' t think I've ever seen the issues laid out so succinctly; allowing viewers the opportunity to compare the two and choose what they believe is best. 5 stars!
I'll bet Mark will see more interview requests in the near future….
-Blair
p.s. Listened to the USDA/DoJ "workshop" on the Gipsa rules for the beef industry last Friday. One producer quotable, noting the 'external influences' on the beef market: "We should not be circling the wagons and shooting inward!"
'The general misconception is that any statute passed by legislators bearing the appearance of law constitutes the law of the land. The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the land, and any statue, to be valid, must be in agreement. It is impossible for both the Constitution and a law violating it to be valid; one must prevail. This is succinctly stated as follows:
'The general rule is that an unconstitutional statute, though having the form and name of law, is in reality no law, but is wholly void, and ineffective for any purpose; since unconstitutionality dates from the time of its enactment, and not merely from the date of the decision so branding it.
'An unconstitutional law, in legal contemplation, is as inoperative as if it had never been passed. Such a statute leaves the question that it purports to settle just as it would be had the statute not been enacted.
'Since an unconstitutional law is void, the general principals follow that it imposes no duties, confers no rights, creates no office, bestows no power or authority on anyone, affords no protection, and justifies no acts performed under it..
'A void act cannot be legally consistent with a valid one.
'An unconstitutional law cannot operate to supersede any existing valid law.
'Indeed, insofar as a statute runs counter to the fundamental law of the land, it is superseded thereby.
'No one is bound to obey an unconstitutional law and no courts are bound to enforce it.' Sixteenth American Jurisprudence, Second Edition, Section 177. (late 2nd Ed. Section 256)
http://ppjg.wordpress.com/2010/08/30/unconstitutional-laws-and-the-courts/
If you saw me "shifting my eyes to the right" a couple of times during my interview on FOX it was because I was sitting 24 inches from the interviewer ( sitting to my right ) but yet I was asked to speak towards the camera which was in a completely different direction….I was constantly naturally wanting to respond to her in a face to face manner…. this was my rookie status showing through. This was entirely uncomfortable, weird and very distracting.
Just want you all to know that I am not a…. "shifty eyed kind of guy".
Blair, could not agree with you more. We must not make… "…much better… the enemy of perfect". We also must not fool ourselves as to the severity of this conflict. It is a war….nothing less.
In this war, political enemies will sit down together and make peace only after they know they can now longer suffer the pain and attrition of continued battle. Dirty tricks, lies, corruption…police raids. These are not nice or caring things. These are acts of war and intended to deny good people choices in food and health and force these good people to conform to eating and ingesting toxins. The result of which is early or even acute death.
If you think this is crazy speak….look at the data from the CDC on immune depression related death…MRSA, FDA approved medications, and Cancers, asthma, Crohns… tens of thousands of people per year dying. Thats just a start!!
The problem is that mainstream has not connected the CDC deaths with modern medicine and the lack of prevention through nutrition.
Those of us that "get it" have connected these dots. We have seen the results of improved or excellent health as a result of eating whole foods and raw milk. This War….has casualties but they are laying on the CAFO pasteurized milk, CAFO egg side ( soon to be pasteurized egg ).
The greatest indicator showing the corruption of it all is the hard fact that the FDA and the regulatory establishment refuses to sit down and look at the data or the science….to look at the science and numbers would be to admit the failures of technologies that have destroyed the power of health and real healing through unprocessed foods. We all saw what happened in Michigan…the establishment had to agree with Dr. Beals. But still no raw milk in Michigan. In CA ten years in a row and no pathogens yet found in fluid raw milk that is sold in stores. This is all a very inconvenient truth for the dead food system.
IT IS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY!!
FOOD, INC!!
Mark
I agree with about taking the broad view. I also agree with you that our government and political system are horribly corrupt, and act only in the interests of the rich and powerful.
What I am trying to explain is that this is inherint to modern civilization as we understand it. If we are to really take the broad view, we ought to look beyond our current milieu, and understand the long and sometimes colorful history of class conflict, agrarian destruction, economic and military imperialism, etc…
The root causes of this type of civilization in which we live is a very complex subject, which has been debated by radical philosophers for time immemorial. Much of it, I believe, can be traced to the economics and enviroment. Not all human civilizations have been imperialist and authoritarian like ours, nor does ours need to be. Thus why I advocate for permaculture.
Also, please keep in mind that the Supreme Court sometimes makes very bad decisions which run against the constitution. For example, in 1918, they sent numerous anti-war radicals to jail for calling on Americans to resist the draft, including most famously socialist party presidential candidate Eugene Debs.
The Rockefellers drink raw milk. So does the royal family in the UK, for that matter.
There have been friends of yours on this blog who have invoked their "Constitutional rights" to quality food (I'm pretty sure your buddy McAfee has), and if I remember correctly, did not have to endure a semi-condescending history lesson from you. Why me? Why now? What is it about me that makes you want to continue this topic ad nauseam, when I in essence asked you to back off, that this was my time and venue to address the DATCP employees?
I am not as stupid as you are trying to make me out to be, and you are not as wise, at age 25, as you think you are. I have said that there is room in this fight for both of our methods. Why are you insisting on contradicting or correcting everything I say? Am I so wrong? Am I telling falsehoods? Or is there only room here for your opinion and the opinions of those who agree with you?
Seriously, I'm tired of the nepotism that goes on here.
I think Lola's original comment was a response to Sophie's comment that Cathy Anderson from DATCP may post here. As I see it, Lola was addressing DATCP and other departments of ag. from different states and not you! Lola gives some very helpful, knowledgeable points. What's your point in picking a fight with her?
Unless you're an employee of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture why are you getting so defensive?
I wish you the best with your new job in Ohio. I look forward to seeing what types of cheeses you are able to create:)
I do echo Lola's concerns about your posts regarding the constitution, etc., You are very, very young and from what I have read about your life ~ you have not travelled very far. You should be listening to your elders rather than jumping all over them.
Our constitution is not perfect but it is probably in its original form the most beautiful form of government ever created. We need to take it back from the socialist elements that want to turn out country into another Europe. Corporatism is only another version of Fascism. As a country we need to localize our economy more. We need to create more farms at a local level and bring back most of our industry that has been outsourced to Asia.
Our country was originally founded upon freedom and not "permaculture". I was doing my own version of "permaculture" in my own gardens when you were still in high school. All this peace and justice dogma of "permaculture" is nothing more than Socialist BS. As a farmer, I am a producer and sourcer of nutrient dense food for my "local" marketplace ~ period. There is nothing political about it. BTW I do have a degree in Political Science:) If the government stands in the way of my farm and customers even after paying taxes on my sales/income and being inspected to run my farm store and buying club then that is unconstitutional.
You need to live in a third world country such as Haiti (my husband has lived there), lived in and immersed yourself (learned the language of course) in a European country for many years, lived on the border of the US and Mexico, Visited nearly all 50 states and lived in several of them and for gosh sakes get a law degree with your outspokeness:) before you can then be a critic of our constitution. I was once like you my friend ~ right out of college ~ I thought I knew all the answers and my professors were right ~ Americans are nothing but imperialists, racists, ad nauseum. In my 43rd year I am a firm believer that the Left has it wrong and the Libertarian/Constitutionalists have it right .
Kind regards,
Violet
http://www.kilbyridgefarmmaine.blogspot.com
The safety practices of this particular egg farmer were atrocious. I feel the same way viewing the safety practices of raw milk farmers who have poisoned their customers. For the people who have become ill from an egg, raw milk, lettuce or hamburger outbreak, it is all equally devastating if a severe case of food poisoning occurs.
For a person who becomes ill with E.coli 0157:H7 and develops HUS, do you think it matters if it was raw milk, hamburger, lettuce or spinach? NO! It is the pathogen that is the problem; the food is only what passed it to a human.
Have any cases from the egg outbreak reported serious illnesses like kidney failure, paralysis, or colon removal?
cp
We've seen what happens when raw milk is contaminated and it is sold on small scale…it is shut down immediately…That hasn't happened to the egg contamination, nor the lunch meat contamination.
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/642632.html
"FDA Finds Rodents, Manure Piles at Farms in Egg Recall
Agency official cites 'failure to manage waste' at sources of salmonella outbreak"
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-30/two-iowa-egg-farms-failed-to-fully-implement-prevention-plan-fda-says.html
"Maggots, Manure at Iowa Egg Farms Tied to Salmonella".
http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2010/08/25/wednesdays-new-details-on-the-egg-recall/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_gupta+%28Blog%3A+Paging+Dr.+Gupta%29
And they are still in business…..There have been hospitalizations, didn't read on severity, Some fools want to vaccinate the chickens, guess it didn't occur to look at how these chickens are raised, to include food and environment and not to forget how the eggs are processed and transported.
The more I read, the more I feel the need to raise my own food, and find a small farmer for what I cannot do,my retirement will be filled with hard work.
http://www.telegram.com/article/20100831/NEWS/8310377/1101/NEWSREWIND
11 dairies in Massachusetts to have open house for Raw Milk Dairy Days sounds like a nice activitiy for the folks up there.
But look at the bright side, Sylvia… you'll not only grow better food, but also stay fitter far longer than you would sitting in a chair doing crossword puzzles. Look at the difference in that video between Mark and that "food safety expert"… I'll bet when Mark is even older than that guy is now, he'll be much healthier and far more fit.
The huge problem with our society is that in the last 40-50 years physical labor has turned into dirtied, demeaning words, one major reason why farmers and other people who work with their hands are not respected anymore. Most people these days actually FEAR hard physical work, or even exercise beyond a stroll around the block. I myself have discovered this over the years, trying to find someone, anyone, to help me with some of the more difficult physical work. Even up here where unemployment is some 30%, young strapping men would rather go without extra income than do hard or dirty work for a couple of hours: "What?!? You expect me to clean the barn with a pitchfork…. uhhh, I don't think so!" Doesn't matter to them that I'll work right along with them, and me some 30-40 years older than them. So I do it myself, alone, and I manage anyway.
This fear of physical labor has become so extreme that people of all ages drive around and around in parking lots looking for the closest spot to the door rather than walk an additional 100 yards, or even feet.
Sadly, even you have unconsciously echoed that fear of hard work in your comment above.
What, really, is so terrible about hard or even dirty work?? In just the last 50 years, we have moved from a nation built by hard-working men and women to a nation of vaporous thinkers whose major labor is to sit in a chair all day, trying to create wealth from air with the absolute least physical effort; and in the process we have become not only a physically bankrupt nation, but a morally bankrupt as well. Witness the financial/mortgage meltdown now occurring.
Do not fear a retirement of "hard work," Sylvia… embrace it! You are stronger than you know…. we all are.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129472951
It is the health of the chicken that is important.A chicken that is eating a diet designed to force it to produce lots of eggs is naturally going to produce poorer quality eggs.Monster egg farms are under a lot of pressure to produce the most eggs at the least price.Naturally they will push for production at the expense of quality until they find the breaking point. A chicken that is treated like a production unit will produce something that appears to be an egg,but that "egg" might not contain all of the enzymes and nutrients that a healthy chick embryo needs to survive.
It quotes MA statute clearly stating that a "dairy farm" has more than 2 cows…
Hello, anyone else out there speak English? That means she's not subject to any form of regulation by the state, since she only has one cow. Can you spell e-x-e-m-p-t-i-o-n?
And she required a lawyer… wow.
The single greatest thing the raw milk and food rights movement can do for itself is read and follow the law! Then it might get somewhere.
We can work through the system to try and reform it, and we can try to entirely replace it with a more democratic social system. I don't think the approachs are mutually exclusive by anymeans. But I don't think it is intellectually honest to invoke the US constitution while opposing everything it has led to.
My point being — You can't have your cake and eat it to.
My problem with U.S. libertarianism is that it proposes no constructive, proactive solution to the problems of enviromental destruction, gross class inequalities, and the racism of our society.
I'm not suggesting that solutions to these problem need to be government based, but I believe any kind of wholistic political approach needs to address those issues. I don't claim to have all the answers. I just wouldn't trust the marketplace to magically solve these issues anymore than the government. New types of thinking and activism are needed, which create a more democratic balance of power in our society.
With all due respect, Violet… raw milk is legal in almost all of Europe, and GMO crops are banned.
According to biographer Keith Sward, when Henry Ford introduced the assembly line in 1913, over nine out of ten new employees found the work so unstimulating, so poor in content, that they simply quit and walked out. (Obviously this was an era when the average Joe was used to a far greater level of independence and personal control than the assembly line offered.) Ford was forced to double wages to keep the lines operating (which he did, notably in combination with intensification of the work). It turned out to be a smart move, for Ford created laborers suddenly anxious to keep their menial jobs, dramatically improved production efficiency, and effectively killed off the competition. At the cost of human independence Ford prodded into being the machine age by assuring that all other manufacturing businesses must do the same or die. Americans, and eventually the rest of the developed world, adapted. Or did they?
A hundred years later most everybody is a cog in some version of Ford's big, impersonal machine, apparently desensitized to lost freedoms, our innate need for self-determination seemingly dampened by the machine age fruits of endless cheap stuff. But lo and behold we appear now to be cracking around the edges. Average folks are beginning to peek out of their corporate/government cages, wondering whether they are perhaps not so much the recipients of machine-age (or technological-age, or information-age) benefits, but rather its secret victims. The truth of nature always bubbles up eventually. Nature, as they say, always bats last.
Is this not the same scenario as industrial monoculture?
And Bill, regarding this: "…libertarianism… proposes no constructive, proactive solution to the problems of environmental destruction, gross class inequalities, and the racism of our society… I just wouldn't trust the marketplace to magically solve these issues anymore than the government. New types of thinking and activism are needed, which create a more democratic balance of power in our society."
Freedom never guarantees equality. Only tyrants do. Don't become one.
Environmental destruction occurs only because its costs are separated from its benefits. And that is a direct result of corporatism and the governmentism that cultivates it. The entire point of libertarianism is to offer no solution but Nature.
Morningland Dairy Conducting Nationwide Voluntary Recall of All Cheese Labeled as Morningland Dairy & Ozark Hills Farm Because of Possible Health Risk
Company Contact:
Tel: 417-469-3817, Friday 8 a.m.-4 p.m
Fax: 417-469-5086
morningland@centurytel.net
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – August 30, 2010 – Morningland Dairy of Mountain View, Missouri, is recalling 68,957 pounds of cheese because it may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes and also has the potential to be contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus.
Morningland Dairys raw milk cheese is sold in the lower 48 states via mail order, retail stores, crop sharing associations, and direct delivery. The cheese is packaged in vacuum-sealed plastic packages that are sold as random weight size retail packages. The specific varieties of cheese are sold under the following brand names and flavors:
Morningland Dairy Raw Milk Cheese (from cow milk): Colby, Hot Pepper Colby, Garlic Colby, Italian Colby, Dill Colby, No-Salt Added Mild Cheddar, Mild Cheddar, Medium Sharp Cheddar, Sharp Cheddar.
Ozark Hill Farms Raw Goat Milk Cheese: Colby, Hot Pepper Colby, Italian Colby, Garlic N Chive Colby, Mild Cheddar, Medium Sharp Cheddar, Sharp Cheddar.
The codes affected by the recall are handwritten on the front of the label, and range from A10 (representing January 1, 2010) through F250 (representing June 25, 2010).
NO ILLNESSES HAVE BEEN REPORTED TO DATE.
The recall is a result of regulatory sampling in the State of California. This regulatory sampling of Morningland Dairy cheese, which was taken from the Rawesome store in Venice, California, revealed the Morningland Dairy Hot Pepper Colby and Garlic Colby Cheeses contained the bacteria. Morningland Dairy has suspended the production and distribution of all cheese, as FDA, the Missouri Milk Board, and Morningland Dairy continue their investigation as to the root cause of the problem.
Customers who have purchased the cheese should not eat it, and customers are asked to contact us for instructions, by contacting us at (417) 469-3817 Monday through Friday 8 a.m.-4 p.m., FAX (417) 469-5086, or by e-mailing us at morningland@centurytel.net. Customers can also check our web site for updates over the next several days: http://www.morninglanddairy.com.
I understand you feel very strongly in your convictions, and I applaud you for it. I don't disagree with Permaculture at all; in fact, I strongly advocate a more natural way to approach agriculture and the structure of our society as a whole.
Where I feel you are getting tripped up is in your insistence that it is only through Permaculture that social and political change will happen. Some people will approach it this way, others will seek a more natural way to live once they wake up to the true nature of the political system.
To say otherwise discredits people like me who are trying to wake people up to the true nature of the political system. I hope that once awake to the system, these people will see that a more natural way of life is preferable and will make the societal changes that you advocate.
When the Ohio Dept. of Ag. shuts down one of your farmers for selling raw milk, "legally" or otherwise, Permaculture won't save them. People awake to the true political and legal structure will.
" The three principles necessary for a healthy social organism are:
1. That economic health (the satisfaction of economic needs) is proportional to the degree of fraternity practiced among individuals.
2. That political health (respect for individual rights) is proportional to the degree of equality existing between individuals
3. That cultural/spiritual health (the fruitfulness of individual talents and abilities) is proportional to the degree of liberty (freedom) exercised by individuals.
Within the boundaries of any state, therefore, all three principles must apply only to the realm in which they are relevant. Freedom legitimately applies to the spiritual/cultural realm but not to the economic realm, which means that the so- called free market is an aberration that leads not to the meeting of genuine human needs, but to greed and exploitation, and we have seen plenty of both in recent years. Economic life (the production and circulation of commodities) must be an associative activity in which brother and sisterhood take the place of a selfish emphasis on profit making."
Economic life is healthy when members of the community know each other,deal directly with each other and are concerned with each others' welfare.That way consumers want to pay more than is asked and producers want to ask less for what they produce.A very unusual situation,but one that has become normal in my life.I have seen this type of economy before in small communities in other countries.
Please be clear what I was talking about: U.S. Libertarianism, which really is not libertarianism at all, but an extreme form of neo-liberalism. Traditional libertarianism in Europe was a part of the socialist and labor movements, seeking liberation of the factory working and peasant farming classes from the tyranny of capital and bankers during the industrial revolution.
True *egalitarian* libertarianism was established in Spain in the 1930's, but was crushed by Franco (with Hitler's help). The Spanish civil war was the first front against Fascism in Europe, long before the U.S. or Britain ever became interested in stopping it.
I think miguel has done a good job explaining things. If we surrender our individual and collective common rights on the alter of the global "free market" system, it is no better than surrendering our rights to the state. I do not believe that the free market is a silver bullet which will solve all problems of tyranny. The market can be a form of tyranny in its own respect.
Though I consider myself a libertarian (small "l") this is where I profoundly disagree with most U.S. Libertarians.
Firstly, I was not talking about European Libertarianism – but American Libertarianism/Constututionalism.
Second, as stated in my post "I am practicing 'my own' version of Permaculture without the political BS that is now part of the "definition" of Permaculture." Please either see my blog or come visit my farm to see what I mean. We have never ever used monoculture, gmo, etc., on our farm. I have a holistic vision of what my land can produce using my sheep and poultry. My gardens have never seen a pesticide or hybrid seed. My poor New England soils are producing this year produce that no other local farmer can replicate ~ it is picture perfect. You all are misunderstanding my points – you do not need liberalism/marxism/socialism to further an agrarian way of life – you can do this by producing a better product (taste and aesthetics) than big factory farms can by working with nature period ~ and you can make a living at it too!!!!
This is for the youngster Bill . . . . You know what has corrupted our constitution and the freedoms we used to have (including the right to drink raw milk and other nutrient dense foods) . . . . Democrat and Republican special interests via lobbyists and lawyers. There is alot of money paying these people who walk the halls of the Congress and the Senate. I will leave you with this . . . . I used to work there many years ago for a very Liberal congressman who still holds his seat.
Please read the book "Democracy in America" by Alexis de Tocqeville ~ his visit to America in the early 19th century was visionary. I think you will find that your views towards our founding may change slightly after reading this book.
Kind regards,
Violet
http://www.kilbyridgefarmmaine.blogspot.com
I'll have my garden, along with some chickens. I don't want to milk a cow daily, or butcher larger animals, etc, I have no problem paying someone else to do it. Some things I just prefer not to do. I will if there is no other way, like others, I'll always find what I want, and I believe that natural wholesome, non-GMO, true organic food is a necessity for survival.
I appreciate your willingness to take on a "corrupted" sacred cow and offer new ideas. I am appalled by the goofy parameters suggested for an American to be able to criticize the current system. Nice way to stop any discussion or new ideas. Oh, you haven't traveled all 50 states, lived in Europe several years, learned their language, and lived in a third world country?????? You can have no opinion! Just leave it up to us "elders" ? with political science degrees. Sorry, Violet, I hope you realize how ridicules that all sounds. I also bet we would agree on a lot so I'm not trying to be antagonistic, but it proves my point perfectly.
As an American citizen/subject/serf, I am entitled to criticize and build a better future without some preset parameters. Some of us come from stock that has known the truth for generations, so we are way ahead of the game. In high school I knew most of what we were being "taught" about history and our government was a lie, and that our system was horribly corrupt beyond repair.
It is the younger generations driving much of the positive change we have seen in the past few years, so we must be careful not to be too set in our ways to see new truth. There is much to be said for life experience and age, but it ends abruptly when "respect your elders" is used as a club to force obedience to status quo. If it is corrupted it obviously didn't work. We are in the mess we are in because we didn't follow the true freedom this nation was founded on, WAY before 1776 when a bunch of lawyers met behind closed doors!
Sometimes we need to scrap a broken system and start over. I don't necessarily agree with everything Bill has to say either, but I want to hear his thoughts. He offers many great points to consider.
Cheyenne