Re: State likely to crack down on raw milk sellers

[Guest guest]

This is what they have done in WI and Mi, and yet still the health departments

have found ways to harrass and shut down farms there as well. Just an fyi- herd

shares are going to prevent harrassment.

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> If co-ops lease the herd from the farmer, then the FDA and state have no

jurisdiction because it no longer constitutes

> sale of raw dairy. A lease is universally recognized as ownership and

therefore the private owners and farmer does not

> come under the regulatory bodies(FDA, AG dept.) of commercial sale. This is

how we in Chicago are still standing in

> spite of our recent situation which is much like you just described going on

up there.

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> If you wish to know more so that you can help your farmers let me know

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> God bless you,

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> In ,

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> Sheri

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[Guest guest]

There are some minor differences in the herd share program which make it

ambiguous.

The herd lease program always stands. You may want to get your farmers to

switch to the lease rather than use the

share.

God bless you,

In ,

Sheri

[Guest guest]

This is exactly the reason why the Dept of Ag is after Mike. He does not have a

farming license, he does not have an organic certification. The State has NO

jurisdiction over his actions- except for a " serious " situation of public

health. This will be their excuse to go after ALL raw milk in the state.

This situation is very similar to what homeschoolers faced in the early years,

and even now. The state decided that homeschooling was a threat to their power

and outlawed it. Homeschoolers worked together and got the laws and attitudes

changed. Even now, with decades of data showing that homeschoolers outperform

public schooled kids, the state still does not accept the results. They still

attempt to go after individual families at times, but generally they are not

successful at their intimidation tactics. Not long ago one state, Calif, tried

to make all homeschooling illegal through a court decision. Homeschoolers from

all over the country banded together, put all of their differences aside and

amazingly got the judge to change his own decision (extremely rare).

The powers that be know that they cannot just ban raw milk in MN, afterall, it

would take a change in the state constitution. They will use this to attack all

of us.

Did contamination occur at Mike's? I don't know. Too many of the details sound

awfully fishy. I do know that he is being judged and condemned without a trial

or even proof. Mike is a pioneer. He knows that he has had a target on his

back for years. Fortunately he will be able to deal with this better than

almost any other farm. He is not dependent upon a milk contract with some

corporate entity since all of his products are direct sales. He also has a

legal background and the emotional ability to face this.

Just like homeschoolers put aside their differences and banded together, people

who want real food need to band together. The one thing that the Dept of Ag

would love to see is us bickering and becoming disunified. Divide and conquer.

They hope to see Mike go down because of public opinion, it's a lot easier for

them than to do it legally.

We need to see what we can do to help Mike. Certainly prayers are a start.

Will he need money, let's have a benefit. If he's not allowed to make

deliveries, then let his milk drops make sure that he doesn't lose sales by

taking turns driving directly to his farm for pick ups. We need to find out

from Mike what he needs.

The state needs to see that the will of the people cannot be ignored. We must

act reasonably and in unity or they will be able to pick us off one by one.

Lynn

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http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/95044099.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEy\

qyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUsZ

> The Minnesota Department of Agriculture will likely crack down on

> illegal raw milk sales after four people got sick from unpasteurized

> milk tainted with E. coli, an agency spokesman said Thursday.

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> " With raw milk becoming a higher visibility product, the department is

> looking at taking a more proactive role in the investigation process, "

> Agriculture Department spokesman Schommer told The Associated

> Press.

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