I’ve had the privilege over the last few days to meet personally individuals who are working hard to promote positive changes in nutrition and agriculture—members of the Virginia Independent Consumers and Farmers Association (VICFA). One of its most successful “lobbying” techniques has been a food tasting event organized for legislators in Washington and Richmond over the last year to promote issues on behalf of small farmers.

I was part of a different type of event–its third annual Farm Food Voices “Eat Local” food tasting and seminar last evening in Charlottesville.

One highlight of the program was food samples from member farmers and distributors—grass-fed beef, lamb, and chicken in stews and curries, along with frittatas, deviled eggs, raw-milk cheeses, and raw goat’s and cow’s milk. The latter two are illegal in Virginia, with cowshares barely tolerated. All was delicious!

A second highlight was getting to meet and hear from people I’ve known either from their writings or over the phone—farmers Joel Salatin and Greg Niewendorp (pictured above, Joel right). Joel served as emcee for the program, and Greg and I were the speakers.

Joel was both entertaining and provocative, commenting on all the “contraband” being openly served, and bemoaning farmers’ ongoing encounters with regulation. He recounted that earlier yesterday he had a delegation of Egyptian farmers visiting at his family’s farm, Polyface Farm, and had difficulty answering their questions. They wondered why he couldn’t slaughter his own animals, and why he couldn’t sell his own milk. He had to keep telling them such practices are illegal. He added that he has a book due out in about six weeks, recounting his run-ins with regulators, entitled, “Everything I Want to Do Is Illegal”.

Greg discussed his refusal to allow his cattle to be tested for bovine TB in terms I hadn’t heard before. He argued, for example, that “herd reduction” programs by agriculture authorities of the kind made famous in England with Mad Cow Disease in 1997, and which occur sporadically in this country, are largely unnecessary. Bovine TB, he said, can be treated and cured by vets. Moreover, bovine TB is much less rare in people than regular tuberculosis; Michigan has in recent year had five or fewer annual cases.

He also pointed out that the original letter he received from the Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) in early 2006 announcing mandatory compliance with the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) included his premises ID number. The letter explained that three of the numbers signified that his premise is located in the U.S. “This isn’t a national animal identification system, it’s an international animal identification system,” he stated.

I spoke about the challenges of “nutritional freedom” by pointing out the contradiction in fast-growing demand for direct-from-the-farm locally-produced products, and the seemingly intensifying efforts by governmental authorities to harass and hassle farmers. I argued that not only do farmers need to get used to standing up to the authorities and publicizing their run-ins with authorities, but that customers need to join with the farmers to help publicize problems and provide them with support. What should be a nice kind of business problem of how to accomodate growth is instead a political problem of how to win rights.

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How can raw-milk farmers stand up more effectively to the regulators?

One farmer I met in Virginia, Jim Naylor, who’s active in VICFA, says that because of rapidly-growing interest in locally grown foods, it might be possible for such organizations to think bigger in pushing for the right to consume raw milk. A veteran of failed efforts to get legislators’ attention, he says the key to gaining such attention is to demonstrate that large numbers of people want change. “How do we get a million women to say they want raw milk? If we could do that, we’d get the legislators’ attention.”

I find the discussion about a raw milk defense fund intriguing as well, and Steve Bemis’ disclosure following my previous posting that such a fund is taking shape, and due to possibly launch July 4. Having such a fund would likely give farmers fed up with the hassling and harassment of bureaucrats more confidence to stand up for their rights.