By Dr. Mercola
As you're probably aware of by now, there's a war being waged
against raw milk.
While raw milk sales or distribution are legal in many US
states, and progress has been made toward improving access,
there’s strong opposition to this trend. Each victory is
hard-won.
Our federal health agencies claim to be protecting us from this
'dangerous' product. As you walk down the aisles of
junk food at your local grocery store, pass by the liquor
section, and watch individuals buying cartons of cigarettes -
you have to wonder is this really about our personal safety or
the safety of the milk industry.
Criminal trials centering around raw milk are scheduled to
take place in both Minnesota and Wisconsin this year, and a new
bill threatens to make herdshare illegal in North Dakota1.
(A herdshare is a private agreement between a farmer and an
individual in which the farmer is paid to take care of an
animal, 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.)
On May 20, the trial of Wisconsin dairy farmer Vernon
Hershberger began at the Sauk County Courthouse. Hershberger is
charged with four criminal misdemeanors that could result in a
jail sentence of up to 30 months, along with fines totaling more
than $10,000.
As previously reported, Hershberger’s farm was targeted by
the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer
Protection (DATCP) for supplying a private buying club with raw
milk and other fresh produce.
It’s important to realize that there’s much more at stake
than what meets the eye here. As stated in the featured article
by the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund2:
“DATCP has charged Hershberger with, among other
things, operating a retail food establishment without a
license. Hershberger repeatedly rejects this, citing that he
provides foods only to paid members in a private buying club
and is not subject to state food regulations.
“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.
... “Hershberger, and other farmers around the
country, are facing state or federal charges against them
for providing fresh foods to wanting individuals. In recent
months the FDA has conducted several long undercover sting
operations and raids against peaceful farmers and buying
clubs that have resulted in farms shutting down and
consumers without access to the food they depend on.”
Each day, following the day’s hearings, which began on May 20
and is expected to go on for about a month, supporters are
scheduled to gather at the Al Ringling Theater across the street
from the Sauk County Courthouse where leaders in the food rights
movement will hold live presentations and lectures.
Scheduled speakers include Virginia farmer
Joel Salatin, Mountain Man show star Eustace Conway, and
food rights organizer from Maine, Deborah Evans.
Raw Grass-Fed Milk is SAFER than Pasteurized, So Why the
Persecution?
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 to think that
pasteurized milk is safer than raw milk from a healthy,
grass-fed cow is simply not true.
And for those of you who have been lucky enough to try this
illegal product as raw dairy milk, cheese, and yogurt - you know
what an incredible difference there is in taste and texture.
Tests have shown substantial nutritional benefits from raw milk
as well, over the pasteurized and defatted products you
typically find at your grocery store.
While the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns that
raw milk can carry disease-causing bacteria, what they
completely overlook is the fact that these bacteria are the
result of industrial farming practices that lead to
diseased animals, which may then in turn produce contaminated
milk. They make no distinction whatsoever between
disease-riddled factory farmed milk and the milk from clean,
healthy, grass-fed cows.
The former MUST be pasteurized in order to be safe for
consumption. The latter does not. You definitely avoid drinking
any raw milk from a conventionally-raised feed-lot cow! But
drinking raw milk produced by grass-fed cows from clean,
well-run farms, on the other hand, is actually far LESS
dangerous than drinking pasteurized milk. In fact, not only
does raw milk contain good bacteria that are essential for a
healthy digestive system, raw milk also offers protection
against disease-causing bacteria.
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 Beals4,
MD, featured in the summer 2011 issue of Wise Traditions,
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!
The science is equally clear on the above points, but that’s
not why farmers like Hershberger are getting slapped with
criminal charges. The larger issue at stake is the issue of food
freedom—the right to sell, buy, and consume fresh food that
hasn’t been produced by some multinational conglomerate.
Farmers have been getting a raw deal for some time now, as the
dairy industry wants to keep a majority of the profits in their
pockets. The local farmer to consumer model is not very
beneficial to the big corporations, as they have brought the
farmers share of many of these products down to less than 7
cents to the dollar in the retail market. Manufacturers,
distributors and retailers are taking the majority of the
profits from the farmer's labor.
It’s really nothing more than Mafia strong arm tactics aimed
at shutting down the competition. The reason why small-scale
organic 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.
Why are Farmers Being Jailed while Big Business Gets Off Scot
Free?
Meanwhile, real criminal activities that place you
and your family’s health at grave risk are being ignored, if not
outright condoned, by the same agencies that are trying to jail
small-scale farmers like Hershberger. For example, no less than
19 drug companies made AllBusiness.com's
Top 100 Corporate Criminals List for the 1990s. Their crimes
included defrauding Medicare, Medicaid, and even the FDA;
international price-setting; false claims; hiding serious
problems with their drugs and, in one case (Ortho, a subsidiary
of Johnson & Johnson), obstruction of justice and eight counts
of persuading employees to destroy documents in a federal
investigation.
Yet not a single person from any of those companies has seen
the inside of a jail cell. Not even when
Pfizer was ordered to pay $2.3 billion to resolve criminal
and civil charges relating to the painkiller Bextra in 2009, or
when
GlaxoSmithKline was found guilty in the largest health fraud
settlement in US history last year.
Why is it that a company, which is run by individuals, can
harm and kill tens of thousands of people and get off paying
fines that really amount to pocket change, while small farmers
face serious jail time for selling healthful food to willing
buyers? We simply must band together to support our local
farmers against such injustice, and protect your own right to
buy and eat whatever food you see fit for your family.
Join the Fight for Food Freedom
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 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. So please, get involved! I urge you to get
involved with 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.
How to Identify a High-Quality Producer of Raw Milk
If you're still unsure of where to find raw milk, you can
locate a raw milk source near you at the Campaign for Real Milk
Web site5.
The Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund6
(which helps farmers that have been raided and/or charged with a
crime, like Hershberger) also provides a state-by-state review
of raw milk laws7.
Getting your raw milk from a local organic farm is one of the
best ways to ensure you're getting high quality milk. If you're
thinking about purchasing milk from a small farmer, it would be
very wise to visit the farm in person. Look around and ask
questions, such as:
- Does the farmer and his family drink the milk
themselves?
- How long has he been producing raw milk?
- Are the cows clean?
- What conditions are the cows raised in?
- Are there any obvious sanitation questions?
Additionally, look for the following general conditions. If a
cow is covered in filth and manure, stinks, is wet and cold and
doesn't look particularly comfortable, that could be a warning
sign that her milk is less than ideal for raw consumption, even
if it's from a small, local farm.
Low pathogenic bacteria count (ie does the farmer test
his milk regularly for pathogens?) |
The milk comes from cows raised naturally, in accordance
with the seasons |
The cows are not given antibiotics and growth hormones
to increase milk production |
The milk is quickly chilled after milking |
The cows are mainly grass-fed |
Cows are well cared for |
Support Your Local Farmers
Hershberger is just one of many farmers who has been
unreasonably harassed and victimized in the war against raw
food. There are many other examples. And every year there seems
to be one bill or another aimed at taking away your rights to
feed your family with whatever foods you see fit. For example,
right now a new bill threatens to make herdshare illegal in
North Dakota8.
This fight is about much more than just raw milk. It’s a
fight for the most fundamental of rights—the right of farmers
and consumers to engage in private, mutually consenting
agreements for food, without additional oversight. We’re not
dealing with drugs here. We’re dealing with FOOD!
Yet while Big Pharma can sell hazardous goods without major
repercussions, farmers can’t sell healthful food without being
harassed! This must end. One of the best ways you can support
this movement is to support your local farmers by buying their
food. You can also help make inroads by supporting the
Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund with a financial pledge.
© Copyright 1997-2013 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.