More on the Raw Milk Crackdown

This post is a follow up to my earlier post, Government Sneak Attack on CA Raw Milk.

After doing the research, there is one thing I'm certain of -- the new raw milk law is not about applying the precautionary principle as the CDFA (California Department of Food and Agriculture) might have you think. This is an intentional and systematic chipping away at consumers' right to choose what they eat.

You might be asking, what is the impetus for the CDFA, the FDA and the USDA to wage such war against the humble raw milk?  Currently Raw Milk is a fringe movement just as organic was 20 years ago. But, I agree with Sally Fallon that in 5-10 years, raw milk is going to hit the mainstream. This poses a serious threat to the conventional dairy industry. Consumers are finding out quite quickly that raw milk is actually safer than pasteurized milk when produced in the manner of Organic Pastures Dairy and Claravale; raw milk contains coliform and enzymes that kill pathogens, support the immune system and ensure that all nutrients are absorbed. Before I get off on a tangent about the benefits of raw milk and the evils of pasteurized milk, allow me to connect the dots for you -- these government agencies are doing Big Dairy's bidding.

(Regarding the rapidly growing adoption of raw milk, the testimonials are getting around. Some of them are documented on this site. Look at comments in Raw Milk: Tell Us Your Story.)

There's a lot going on behind the scenes, folks. If you want to follow the action, check out:

• Reality Sandwich Radio interview with host Martin Matthews, guests Mark McAfee from Organic Pastures, Sally Fallon of the Weston A. Price Foundation, and Chrys Ostrander, organizer/activist in eastern Washington. Mark describes how he and a team of experts (PhD's, epidemiologists) met with California legislative representatives. The reps had no idea what they signed. Interesting side note: coliform is ubiquitous. It's in mother's milk, it's in beneficial bacteria lactobacillus, it's in plant roots.
• Claravale Dairy, which recently relocated to my birthplace in San Benito County, has weighed in on the new law. They minced no words in describing the conspiracy within the CDFA to eliminate raw milk. They are asking all raw milk consumers to fight this injustice with "everything you have." The Claravale site appears to be down this evening so I can't give you a direct link, but you can find the majority of the letter and some good commentary in this post by David Gumpert at the Complete Patient blog.
• Aajonus Vonderplanitz of The Primal Diet is filing an injunction in Sacramento to stop the bill from the intended enforcement and establish a class action suit against CA Agriculture Committee members, Governor, Surgeon General and "many John Does in the CDHS who were responsible for submitting the discriminatory, unscientifically unwarranted dairy changes to CA law." A copy of the letter that he wants everyone to send to Schwartzenegger is in the comments below this post. If you want to add your name to the class action suit, email tcopley@ziplink.net.

First the almonds, now this. We can't let this happen.

Comments

[Carla]

Letter to Arnie:

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger,
My health and well-being are in jeopardy because on October 8, 2007 you signed AB1735 into law. The law will literally make it impossible for health-giving raw milk to pass inspection government. This new law states that raw milk cannot carry more than 10 coliform bacteria per milliliter. Coliform has never been classified as a pathogen. All accusations that claimed coliform caused incidents of disease were scientifically unfounded. These regulations and all of the others stated in that bill are absurd, discriminatory, prejudicial and deprive me of my Constitutional right to have one of the most health-giving foods on this planet.

You and the legislators accepted prejudicial, discriminatory and unscientific rhetoric from prejudicial health department personnel to justify passing AB1735.

Additionally, the bill raises an infraction to a criminal misdemeanor. That will cost the people of California a lot of money for grossly unnecessary and abusive legal expenses and man hours.

I rely upon you to rescind AB1735 and restore our rights to healthy living and freedom of choice to have raw milk at the same very safe regulations that were previously in effect. Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter and I await your written response. I will call and fax you regularly until this matter is resolved.
Sincerely,

(your name
address and phone #, if in CA; if you do not live in CA, give your
address as RTCHF, P.O. Box 176, Santa Monica, CA 90406-0176)

[GuyInCT]

The war on raw milk is nothing less than a war on small farms, and as an extension, on small business, in general.

Any small business owner should be concerned about the overweening, arbitrary government that this represents, because your industry might be next.