Re: Re: Mark McAfee and OPDC Face Off with FDA on Plea Deal

[Guest guest]

I agree...HOW DO WE FIGHT THIS?!!???!!?!!!?CarolGolden, COThis situation is surreal. The FDA attacks a successful organic dairyfarm yet permits poisons like Splenda and the like on the marketwithout human testing. Who will provide real food when all thefarmers are wiped out? How do we fight this?CTTo Read the full story...go here..http://www.thecompletepatient.com/journal/2009/1/10/mark-mcafee-and-opdc-face-off-with-fda-on-plea-dealyou-wont.htmlTo Do something about it.....go herehttp://www.change.org/ideas/view/legalize_milk Mark McAfee and OPDC Face Off with FDA on Plea Deal-You Won'tBelieve FDA's Terms on Raw Milk for Animals Friday, January 9, 2009 at 09:34PM Mark McAfee of Organic Pastures Dairy Co. has been pretty upfrontabout what he thinks of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.Earlier today, during a 45-minute hearing in front of a federalmagistrate in Fresno, CA, Mark got a sense of what the FDA thinks ofhim. No big surprise, but the agency doesn't seem to care much forhim, either. But in expressing its dislike, the FDA also provided ataste of what a system of federal regulation of interstate shipment ofraw milk distribution could be like. Think Big Brother, big time.The hearing was held to finalize a plea agreement growing out of afederal indictment last year of OPDC and Mark for selling raw milk,labeled as pet food, to out-of-state customers. As part of theagreement, OPDC pleaded guilty to shipping two half gallons of rawmilk to FDA investigators, while Mark pleaded innocent. OPDC agreed todiscontinue selling raw dairy products outside California for the nexttwo years.If OPDC violates the agreement? The FDA requested and the judgeagreed that Mark could be jailed for up to a year and fined up to$250,000.However, the FDA did agree to allow OPDC to continue shipping rawmilk to certain animal facilities, like zoos. But the agency'sproposed terms are so restrictive as to be nearly laughable. OPDC'slawyer, of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, will seekto get them changed. But in the meantime, the FDA's terms, accordingto documents provided by OPDC, allow for the following:--OPDC can "only ship raw milk and raw milk products to end useanimal facilities," including zoos, research labs, and veterinarypractices;--"The veterinary health professional or animal caretaker must havea legitimate provider/client-patient relationship with the animal towhich the product is to be fed."--Prior to shipping any milk, OPDC must provide to the FDA's SanFrancisco office assorted information about the recipient, includingthe "identity of each animal to which the raw milk or milk productswill be fed and a declaration that the consignee has a legitimateprovider/client-patient relationship with the animal to which theproduct is to be fed."--Milk recipients must "keep records of all use and disposition ofraw milk and raw milk products received from OPDC."--Recipients must "destroy or return to OPDC any unusedproduct...(and) provide OPDC with documented accounting of allquantities destroyed within 15 days of destruction..."And penalties for violating any of these rules areattention-grabbing: up to five years imprisonment, or a fine up to$250,000, or both.For now, Mark is halting all sales to out-of-state animalfacilities. "It could take weeks for every order to just be approved,"he says, never mind all the other technicalities. He points out thatsome of the animal facilities are in areas where raw milk is difficultto obtain, and they depend on his shipments to feed to young animals.But it's hard to imagine a zoo manager purchasing milk under suchcircumstances-having to keep records of all milk fed to animals, andrisking a fine or imprisonment for a screwup.Is this a possible taste of what federal regulation of interstateshipments of raw milk could be like in the future? Raw milk would besomething like a controlled drug. From "The Complete Patient" January 9 2009***The Following comment /blog is by Mark McAfee Himself. Go to thesite to read other comments or better yet give Mark Support.Farewell TCP...this will be my last post for the next few months. I have been asked to stay out off the Blogs for a while and letothers do the public fighting. The FDA is very very serious about making me into an example. Isimply will not be used by the FDA for target practice...instead... Iwill be placing 110% of my energy into Californias 37 million peopleand turning up the heat on raw milk right here at home. This blog is afavorite place for the FDA to gather intellengence on raw milk so beconscious of that. After standing in front of the federal magistrate ( she was fair andvery understanding and said repeatedly how "UNIQUE" this case was )today with my hero and being preached and quoted the raw milkriot act by the hired guns from the DOJ and the FDA...I have nointerest in directing OPDC from a federal prison cell and paying a$250 k fine and giving the FDA any satisfaction of finding me inviolation of law or their regs or our agreement to settle the CFR1240.61 matters. I will be cheering-you-on as a reader for now.... as I work frominside CA to change the rules and regs with our "FDA CitizensPetition" and by building the Raw Milk market to the tipping point.For now not one drop of OPDC raw milk gets shipped out of state forany reason ( at least until we can negotiate a deal with the FDA thatis fair and works )....I do not care if Obama orders it for himself.If he wants raw milk he can graze a cow on the White House lawn likethe Queen of England at Buckingham palace, send the Secret Service tosee the Amish, change CFR 1240.61 and or fire Sheehan or betteryet...do all of the above. My wife Blaine has made it perfectly clear that she loves me at homeand not in jail. My greatest hopes for change and health. That is all for now....Mark McAfee January 10, 2009 | Mark McAfee------------------------------------PLEASE BE KIND AND TRIM YOUR POSTS WHEN REPLYING!Visit our Raw Dairy Files for a wealth of information!http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RawDairy/files/Archive search: http://onibasu.com

[Guest guest]

Hi Carol,

What is interesting to me is to read about

what is or has happened in other countries, particularly poor countries like Argentina and India. It goes a long way to

explaining what is happening in the USA. Basically it involves

the corporatization of the food supply, and that necessarily involves the

destruction of small farm agriculture. Small farmers have historically

had a reputation as being rugged individualists that tend to resist government

tyranny and injustice. So, by eliminating them, three goals are

accomplished: removing people who have a reputation for resisting tyranny,

making the national population less self sufficient for the most basic human

need, food; which makes them very compliant and easily manipulated, and

creating sales opportunities for corporate agribusiness so called “food”.

Most of the bureaucrats don’t even have a clue that they are pawns in

this process. They are marching to the “safe food” mantra

being used by the corporations to accomplish this goal.

I think the biggest thing we all can do

right now is to support and/or become small farmers with our food purchases.

We can also read as much as possible about

the new world order to become educated on the threats to liberty.

We can also write, talk, and get active in

political processes to help stop this rampant corporatization of the world.

Sincerely,

From: RawDairy [mailto:RawDairy ] On Behalf Of Carol Oliveira

Sent: Saturday, January 10, 2009

11:51 PM

To: RawDairy

Subject: Re: Re: Mark

McAfee and OPDC Face Off with FDA on Plea Deal

I

agree...HOW DO WE FIGHT THIS?!!???!!?!!!?

Carol

Golden, CO

This situation is surreal. The FDA attacks a successful organic

dairy

farm yet permits poisons like Splenda and the like on the market

without human testing. Who will provide real food when all the

farmers are wiped out? How do we fight this?

CT