Will you stand up and be an American Patriot for our food?

[Guest guest]

Some of you may be unfamiliar with DAVID GOMPERT'S fabulous blog which is all

about taking back control of our food and of our health. It's called THE

COMPLETE PATIENT. Lately he's been America's #1 Patriot with his scathing attack

of the FDA and other government goons who, we would think, should be helping

Americans be safe and lead a full rich life, but instead have invested MILLLIONS

of taxpayer money putting farmers in jail. Last week we find they have

concentrated their efforts with a SWAT TEAM busting a PA Amishman who has never

made a single person sick, his " crime " , selling raw milk, of course. Read this,

think Alvin, Think Hartmanns, Think Midvalleyvu, Think about ALL the Minnesota

farmers that have been busted, and see if it doesn't make your blood run Red,

White and Blue.....

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It's Time to Give the FDA a Dose of Its Own Medicine: Five Suggestions for How

the land Food Club Can Fight Back (and How the Rest of Us Can Help)

Sunday, May 1, 2011 at 09:03PM

& #65279;Following my previous post, Fish in the Water expresses the emotional

extremes many of us feel about the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's latest

assault on our food freedoms. " As a member of the aforementioned club, I have

just been absolutely devastated this week, and am on pins and needles to see

what happens next. "

Yes, what does happen next? Well, the members of the land food club that was

targeted by the FDA for an undercover operation to apparently make a case for

unlawful interstate sales of raw milk by Pennsylvania farm owner Dan Allgyer,

need to make a decision. They have two basic choices:

Aajonus Vonderplanitz speaking last fall in Los Angeles. (photo by

Sharpe)

1. They can cower in fear, maybe abandon the farmer who is risking his farm and

his freedom to supply them with fresh nutrient-dense food...

2. Or they can stand up, tall and proud, against the crude effort to instill

fear, and fight back.

I very much hope they choose the second option...not only because it's the right

thing to do, but because the FDA needs to be taught that there's a price to be

paid for using police-state enforcement tactics to interfere with private

farmer-consumer food agreements...so it will think twice before embarking on

this kind of adventurism anytime soon. I also think the FDA outrage offers

land food club members a huge opportunity to educate legislators, judges,

and the public at large about the seriousness of the FDA's actions and the

terrible precedent that could be established trashing private contractual food

rights.

In this sense, I diverge from the earlier advice of Mark McAfee of Organic

Pastures Dairy Co., telling Dan Allgyer to settle with the FDA and avoid a

lengthy court battle. McAfee's advice was based on his own experience being

indicted for interstate sales of raw milk, but in his case, he actually was

selling raw milk. The Allgyer case is much different, involving consumers in a

direct contractual relationship with their farmer. Thus, it would be a huge

concession of fundamental rights for Allgyer to capitulate to the FDA.

One reason this situation offers such an opportunity is that there isn't even a

hint of a food safety problem. This food club has been in operation for nearly

five years, without any kind of illness, from raw milk or any of the eggs, beef,

and chicken the members buy. The club's experience gives lie to the FDA's

statement in its court filing seeking a permanent injunction against Allgyer:

" Unpasteurized mik and milk products contain a wide variety of harmful

bacteria...all of which may cause illness and possibly death. "

Aajonus Vonderplanitz, the California nutritionist, whose organization, Right to

Choose Healthy Food, oversees the contractual arrangements of the land food

club targeted by the FDA, seems to be of the same mindset. He tells me the FDA's

move in federal district court in Pennsylvania, is intended " to scare more

farmers and consumers, " and he's not buying in.

" I look forward to court events. I will write the briefs that Dan and I will

file claiming non-jurisdiction, fraud and harassment. "

But public involvement is a critical component for eventual legal success, he

says. " I would love to have more people aware and watching. More people watching

is likely to make the judge more honest and law-abiding. "

In that spirit of creating more public awareness, here are five of my own

unsolicited suggestions for how the land food club can fight back:

* Recruit some serious legal talent. Vonderplanitz will need legal help to joust

with the Harvard-Yale-Princeton Law School types at the U.S. Department of

Justice who will be handling this case. That will cost money. If each of the

hundreds of land food club members puts up just a few hundred dollars, they

can buy some pretty impressive legal help. There have to be experienced lawyers

out there who would love the public exposure that will result from defending an

Amish farmer set upon by obsessive and arrogant government regulators and

prosecutors.

* Let your U.S. House and Senate representatives know about the FDA's outrage,

and urge them to express disapproval. They control the FDA's purse strings, and

can make a difference. They likely don't know what's been going on here. Now is

the time to inform them.

* Let the White House know about your outrage. The FDA and the Department of

Justice are both directed by President Barack Obama. He likely didn't know about

the case specifically, but there are some highly placed administration officials

who must be aware. This kind of intensive year-plus undercover investigative

operation against the reclusive Amish community has to be approved at high

levels before it goes forward. One relatively low-level bureaucrat like

Sheehan, the FDA's dairy director, can't by himself make something like this

happen; many others have to sign off. Obama's handlers need to know that many

people are outraged.

* Improve vetting procedures. Yes, I know the horse is out of the barn at the

land food club, but you never know if the feds will make additional efforts

to plant spies. Plus, they may well have other food clubs under surveillance.

Unfortunately, food clubs need to tighten their processes, which should include

requiring member prospects to show drivers licenses and even credit cards to

confirm their identitities, thus making it it tougher for people with aliases to

get in. Moreover, it's helpful to do Google searches on everyone. One buying

club I know spotted an FDA operative this way, before she could sign her

membership papers.

* Pack the courthouse when Dan Allgyer's case comes up for hearings in

Pennsylvania. As Wayne Craig says in his comment following my previous post, " We

need to shine a very bright light on the resources and time FDA is using against

raw milk vs other priorities. " Lots of people showing up with high-priced legal

representation helps focus the judge's attention.

The FDA was obviously trying to send a strong message of intimidation and fear.

It's time for those of us who value food rights to send an even stronger message

that its strong-arm tactics won't be tolerated. Farmers can't do it alone.