By Dr. Mercola
As Americans increasingly seek access to healthful,
fresh-from-the-farm foods like
raw milk, private buying agreements like herdshares are
becoming more popular. A herdshare is a private
agreement between a farmer and an individual in which the farmer
is paid to take care of an animal, a cow for example that
belongs to one or more people.
You essentially pay a onetime purchase fee to “buy a share”
of a farmer’s herd, which entitles you to the benefits of owning
that cow, such as a certain amount of milk each week.
Wisconsin dairy farmer Vernon Hershberger provides food to
members of such a private buying club, supplying them with fresh
raw milk and produce.
If you believe that you have a right to eat what you want,
without having to get the government’s permission first, it’s
hard to imagine what could be wrong with such an agreement, but
Wisconsin is one of a handful of states that is aggressively
targeting raw-milk farmers, seeking to criminalize their
peaceful practice of food production.
Vernon Hershberger’s case is particularly glaring, as even
though a jury nullified the case, the Wisconsin Department of
Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) still tried
to put him in jail.
Wisconsin Seeks to Jail Raw Milk Farmer After Jury Finds Him
Innocent
On May 20, Hershberger’s trial began at the Sauk County
Courthouse. He was charged with four criminal misdemeanors for
supplying a private buying club with raw milk and other fresh
produce.
- Operating a retail food establishment without a license
- Operating a dairy farm as a milk producer without a
license
- Operating a dairy plant without a license
- Violating a holding order by removing the members’ food
from the embargoed refrigerators
However, since Hershberger only supplies food to paid members
in a private buying club, he has long maintained that he is not
subject to state food regulations, and jurors must have agreed.
On May 25, he was acquitted of three charges of producing,
processing and selling milk without state licenses. They did,
however, find him guilty of violating a holding order, which
required that he not sell any food or milk from his store as a
condition of his bail.
Following a Capital Times online article in which
it’s reported that Hershberger stated he had continued to supply
his buying club members with fresh food all along, the Wisconsin
Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a motion to revoke
Hershberger’s bail and instead send him to jail – after
he’d already been acquitted!
Fortunately, Hershberger will not be going to jail for this
“crime,” as on June 13 he was sentenced to pay a $1,000 fine
plus $513 in court costs – avoiding jail time, probation and the
maximum possible fine of $10,000.
Still, the fact that the motion was filed in the first place
is deeply disturbing. The Cornucopia Institute reported:1
“Hershberger’s attorney, Glenn Reynolds, called the
motion very disappointing because the bail terms he’s
accused of violating are the same activities that led to the
charges of which he was acquitted. ‘It seems vindictive in
my view,’ he said. ‘He goes to trial and wins and now they
want to put him in jail? What is the point of this sort of
motion?’”
What’s the point is a very good question, indeed, as it seems
clear the state is trying to take a stand against Hershberger
for example’s sake … but why?
How Can They Continue to Claim This Is About Safety?
One of the most common excuses given for why farmers are
raided, prosecuted, and shut down is that raw foods may be
potentially harmful to human health. But those buying these
products are doing so willingly, in many cases travelling great
distances to access these fresh-from-the-farm foods.
Wisconsin is not doing these food buyers any favors by taking
away their right to fresh food. Instead, they are taking a stand
against Hershberger because his acquittal could have a major
impact on increasing raw milk sales in the state. As noted by
the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF):2
"'There is more at stake here than just a farmer and
his few customers,' says Hershberger, 'this is about the
fundamental right of farmers and consumers to engage in
peaceful, private, mutually consenting agreements for food,
without additional oversight.'"
Back in 2010, after weeks of lobbying by the Wisconsin dairy
industry, former Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle vetoed a bill that
would have made sale of on-the-farm raw milk legal, stating he
"must side with public health and safety of the dairy industry."
But high-quality raw milk is no more a threat to public
health than sunshine or natural supplements (against which
similar “public-safety” wars have been aged). CDC data3
shows there are about 412 confirmed cases of people getting ill
from pasteurized milk each year, while
only about 116 illnesses a year are linked to raw milk. And
research by Dr. Ted Beals, MD, featured in the summer 2011 issue
of Wise Traditions,4
the quarterly journal of the Weston A. Price Foundation, shows
that you are about 35,000 times more likely to get sick from
other foods than you are from raw milk!
So when officials say they are siding with public health and
the safety of the dairy industry, they are really only siding
with the dairy industry, in an attempt to protect them from all
competition. The reason why small-scale organic, raw dairy farms
are so threatening to the dairy industry is because they simply
cannot produce safe raw milk in a confined animal
feeding operation (CAFO). Cows raised under such conditions
produce milk that must be pasteurized in order to be
safe to drink, as the unnatural diet and environment
dramatically alters the nutritional and bacterial composition of
the milk, making it otherwise unfit to drink.
The FDA Is Leading the War Against Raw Milk
State-level efforts against raw milk are only part of a
larger problem, which is the US Food and Drug Administration’s
(FDA) 25-year-old regulation banning raw milk for human
consumption in interstate commerce. But even this is up for
challenge. Pete Kennedy, president of FTCLDF wrote:
“At the federal level, a bill that would repeal the
interstate ban has been introduced the last two sessions of
Congress and will likely be reintroduced this session; the
bill would allow raw milk to be taken across state lines
either by consumers or their agents who obtain it in another
state or by producers or their agents delivering it to
consumers in another state. The bill would not affect the
power of states to determine whether the sale of raw milk
would be illegal within its borders.”
Currently, legislation that would either legalize or expand
the sale of raw milk has been introduced in Arkansas, Hawaii,
Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Montana, Oklahoma, Rhode
Island, Texas, Vermont, and Wyoming. A bill is also expected to
be filed shortly in Wisconsin, according to Kennedy. Many are
simply getting fed up with the FDA and their state governments
trying to dictate what its residents are allowed to eat. This is
not an issue of a few “rogue” farmers trying to sell an illegal
product; it’s an issue of food freedom. Kennedy continued:
“The fight over raw milk stands as a symbol of the
much larger fight for food freedom. Who gets to decide what
you eat? You? Or the FDA? If the FDA and state agencies are
allowed to impose their view of ‘safe food’ on consumers,
raw milk won’t be the only thing lost – all our food will be
pasteurized, irradiated, and genetically engineered. The
effort to reclaim our right to buy and consume raw milk is
leading the way for everyone who wants to be able to obtain
the food of their choice from the source of their choice.”
Right now, your food freedom is on the chopping block. In
North Dakota, a new bill threatens to make herdshare illegal.5
In New Mexico, a bill has been introduced that would ban the
sale of raw milk, while a proposed regulation in Illinois that
is currently in the drafting stage would similarly restrict
access to raw milk. So the time to take action is now…
Stand Up for Your Right to Food Freedom
The effort to reclaim your right to buy and consume raw milk
is leading the way for everyone who wants to be able to obtain
the food of their choice from the source of their choice. So
please, get involved! I urge you to embrace the following action
plan to protect your right to choose your own foods:
- Get informed: Visit
www.farmtoconsumer.org or
click here to sign up for action alerts.
- Join the fight for your rights: The
Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF) is the only
organization of its kind. This 501(c)(4) nonprofit
organization provides a legal defense for farmers who are
being pursued by the government for distributing foods
directly to consumers. Your
donations, although not tax deductible, will be used to
support the litigation, legislative, and lobbying efforts of
the FTCLDF. For a summary of FTCLDF’s activities in 2012,
see
this link.
- Support your local farmers: Buy from
local farmers, not the industry that is working with the
government to take away your freedoms.
© Copyright 1997-2013 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.