I've moved the blog to a wordpress site. There seems to be a little more ease of using applications there and I can upload documents, so....please go check out my new article, which will be on News With Views and is on Liberty News Radio, at Truth Farmer, the new site! Granted, O have to figure some things out yet, but I think it will be more user friendly to some degree.
Be blessed!
Doreen
Friday, December 17, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
How the Cow Ate the Cabbage
Morningland Dairy Gets Ready to Go to Court—
And the Cow Eats the Cabbage!
December 9th, 2010
©Doreen Hannes
As many have been watching Senate Bill 510 for the past several weeks, going from hither to yon with much angst amongst the various food activist groups regarding the ability of the Tester Amendment to ‘help’ (or NOT) independent agriculture, other things have been going on in the real food arena. Morningland Dairy, for instance, has entered the next phase of their fight to be able to continue to make cheese that the FDA thinks “poses an acute and life threatening danger” because it is made from raw milk, and hasn’t had a single report of illness associated with the dairy in 30 years of production. (You can read more about it here)
Morningland is charged with three violations by the Missouri Attorney General’s office on behalf of the Missouri Milk Board. They are charged with, “Unlawful Sale of Dairy Products”, “Failure to Comply with a Destruction Order”, and “Unlawful Interference with Milk Board Duties”. The Missouri Milk Board claims that there is no procedure in place to appeal the decision of the Milk Board, and that belief is actually responsible for all three charges levied against Morningland Dairy, since they haven’t made or sold any of their cheese since the Milk Board first placed an embargo on their product on August 26th.
Last week the State of Missouri brought in their first expert for a deposition. This was John Frank, who reportedly was to demonstrate that Morningland Dairy’s cheese should all be condemned because it is a single line production facility. It’s my understanding that his deposition didn’t actually prove that to be the conclusion a reasonable person would arrive at when considering the evidence in the case.
Next, the State desires to depose the principals Of Morningland Dairy. Those being Joseph and Denise Dixon, co-owners and General Managers of Morningland Dairy, and Jedadiah York, the Plant Manger. Mr. York and Mrs. Dixon are readily available for deposition, but Morningland’s attorney, Gary Cox, of Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund wants to be present at their depositions to be able to assert proper procedure in defense of his clients. He is only able to be present for a few days in December and early January, and the Missouri Attorney General’s office isn’t pleased with such limited access to the objects of their affection....so they have requested that the counsel sponsoring Cox into Missouri take the position of defending Morningland in their depositions.
The Missouri Attorney General’s office is going to have a bit more difficulty in getting a deposition from Joseph Dixon in this suit. As if having to dump their milk for nearly six weeks wasn’t enough, the Missouri Milk Board has prohibited Morningland from resuming production to keep this family run farmstead cheese plant providing for the families dependent upon it for their livelihood. Mr. Dixon insisted that their counsel inform the Attorney General’s office that he was unavailable for deposition in the following manner:
“Unfortunately, Joe Dixon is not available for deposition. Since the state has put his family’s cheese making business out of business Joe has to work out of state to support his family. This week Joe is working in Maryland, next week he is working in Alabama and the week after that I understand he is working in Florida. To give you an idea of what the state has done to the Dixon family, Joe has to leave his family on the weekend, travel all night to get to his place of work, then work all week before returning home on the weekend. He then leaves home again, let’s say for Maryland, and drives all night to get to his place of work. Thus, Joe is not available for depositions unless you wish to travel to Maryland, Alabama or to Florida after first serving him with a subpoena. Moreover, Joe finds it perverse that he has to work to support his family and then the state collects taxes from him so that those tax dollars can be used by the state to harass he and his family and deprive them of a livelihood. Finally, any information you would need from Joe would be available from Denise.” (emphasis added-otherwise sic)
In the Deep South, there’s a colloquialism that is used to sum this kind of statement up... With the actions of the Congress and the agencies they empower, it sure looks like many more of us will have the opportunity to use this expression...”And that’s how the cow ate the cabbage!”
(The Howell County Circuit Court has set January 11th and 12th as the initial dates for this court case. The outcome of this case is terrifically important for food freedom advocates and anyone who thinks they have the right to decide what they wish to eat. Please support Morningland Dairy as they strive to set precedent that in this country you DO have the right to have redress on an agency decision. Morningland is asking for a jury trial.)
And the Cow Eats the Cabbage!
December 9th, 2010
©Doreen Hannes
As many have been watching Senate Bill 510 for the past several weeks, going from hither to yon with much angst amongst the various food activist groups regarding the ability of the Tester Amendment to ‘help’ (or NOT) independent agriculture, other things have been going on in the real food arena. Morningland Dairy, for instance, has entered the next phase of their fight to be able to continue to make cheese that the FDA thinks “poses an acute and life threatening danger” because it is made from raw milk, and hasn’t had a single report of illness associated with the dairy in 30 years of production. (You can read more about it here)
Morningland is charged with three violations by the Missouri Attorney General’s office on behalf of the Missouri Milk Board. They are charged with, “Unlawful Sale of Dairy Products”, “Failure to Comply with a Destruction Order”, and “Unlawful Interference with Milk Board Duties”. The Missouri Milk Board claims that there is no procedure in place to appeal the decision of the Milk Board, and that belief is actually responsible for all three charges levied against Morningland Dairy, since they haven’t made or sold any of their cheese since the Milk Board first placed an embargo on their product on August 26th.
Last week the State of Missouri brought in their first expert for a deposition. This was John Frank, who reportedly was to demonstrate that Morningland Dairy’s cheese should all be condemned because it is a single line production facility. It’s my understanding that his deposition didn’t actually prove that to be the conclusion a reasonable person would arrive at when considering the evidence in the case.
Next, the State desires to depose the principals Of Morningland Dairy. Those being Joseph and Denise Dixon, co-owners and General Managers of Morningland Dairy, and Jedadiah York, the Plant Manger. Mr. York and Mrs. Dixon are readily available for deposition, but Morningland’s attorney, Gary Cox, of Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund wants to be present at their depositions to be able to assert proper procedure in defense of his clients. He is only able to be present for a few days in December and early January, and the Missouri Attorney General’s office isn’t pleased with such limited access to the objects of their affection....so they have requested that the counsel sponsoring Cox into Missouri take the position of defending Morningland in their depositions.
The Missouri Attorney General’s office is going to have a bit more difficulty in getting a deposition from Joseph Dixon in this suit. As if having to dump their milk for nearly six weeks wasn’t enough, the Missouri Milk Board has prohibited Morningland from resuming production to keep this family run farmstead cheese plant providing for the families dependent upon it for their livelihood. Mr. Dixon insisted that their counsel inform the Attorney General’s office that he was unavailable for deposition in the following manner:
“Unfortunately, Joe Dixon is not available for deposition. Since the state has put his family’s cheese making business out of business Joe has to work out of state to support his family. This week Joe is working in Maryland, next week he is working in Alabama and the week after that I understand he is working in Florida. To give you an idea of what the state has done to the Dixon family, Joe has to leave his family on the weekend, travel all night to get to his place of work, then work all week before returning home on the weekend. He then leaves home again, let’s say for Maryland, and drives all night to get to his place of work. Thus, Joe is not available for depositions unless you wish to travel to Maryland, Alabama or to Florida after first serving him with a subpoena. Moreover, Joe finds it perverse that he has to work to support his family and then the state collects taxes from him so that those tax dollars can be used by the state to harass he and his family and deprive them of a livelihood. Finally, any information you would need from Joe would be available from Denise.” (emphasis added-otherwise sic)
In the Deep South, there’s a colloquialism that is used to sum this kind of statement up... With the actions of the Congress and the agencies they empower, it sure looks like many more of us will have the opportunity to use this expression...”And that’s how the cow ate the cabbage!”
(The Howell County Circuit Court has set January 11th and 12th as the initial dates for this court case. The outcome of this case is terrifically important for food freedom advocates and anyone who thinks they have the right to decide what they wish to eat. Please support Morningland Dairy as they strive to set precedent that in this country you DO have the right to have redress on an agency decision. Morningland is asking for a jury trial.)
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
They've Rolled 510 into the Funding...
Food Safety Bill Shenanigans from Campaign for Liberty.....and confirmed.
Posted by Tim Shoemaker on 12/08/10 12:19 PM
Last updated 12/08/10 12:35 PM
The Bill Number is HR 3082, and it is 423 pages, you can find it here....maybe today only.
Sources on the Hill have informed us the Food Safety Bill was folded into the House Continuing Resolution, which authorizes the funding of government into 2011.
As you may remember, the Food Safety Act was "blue slipped" by the House Democrats, after the Senate passed it, because Harry Reid included a section that raised taxes (which the Constitution requires to begin in the House).
Additionally, the House will consider Rep. Slaughter's "Martial Law / Same Day Authority Rule through Dec. 18" H. Res. 1752, which will allow the Democratic majority to bring bills up with almost no notice through Dec. 18.
This is nothing more than an attempt to keep the American people in the dark and prevent them from mobilizing in opposition to their statist power grabs.
Contact your Congressman today and tell them to take the Food Safety language out of the Continuing Resolution and to oppose H. Res. 1752, which would allow the Democrats to ram through their statist agenda with little transparency.
One method to use....but CALL often!!!
RalphFucetolaJD
Newton, NJ http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/568/t/0/blastContent.jsp?email_blast_KEY=12 00289
S.510: Hidden in House Amendment to Senate Amendment to House Bill! HR 3082 now hides S 510! Well, It's Not Hidden From US! Take These 3 Steps NOW to Protect Food Freedom
1. Take Action NOW for each member of your household to tell your Representatives that you STONGLY OPPOSE adopting the language of S. 510 in this or any other amendment or bill:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/568/p/dia/action/public/?action_KE Y=5303
2. Visit http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt, enter your zip code to find your Representative's name and phone number. CALL IT! Yes, the line may be busy. Keep trying. Give the person who answers this message:
"I am calling to strongly opposed adopting the language of S. 510, the so-called Food Safety Modernization Act. This language is currently attached to 'CR/Food Safety House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 3082 - Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011/FDA Food Safety Modernization Act'. I urge Representative [name] in the strongest possible terms to vote against this amendment and to oppose this language in any bill or amendment."
The phone lines may be busy. Keep trying. This is literally an 11th hour attempt by Big Agribiz to control every bite you eat, and make sure it is to their liking, not yours.
3. Using Social Media like Facebook and Twitter, using your phone lists and your email contacts, get the word out, urging everyone you can contact to do the same:
1. Take the Action Item
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/568/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY =5303
2. Call the House of Representatives to deliver the message above
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt
3. Take the message viral to THEIR contact and so on....post and cross post, please.
Posted by Tim Shoemaker on 12/08/10 12:19 PM
Last updated 12/08/10 12:35 PM
The Bill Number is HR 3082, and it is 423 pages, you can find it here....maybe today only.
Sources on the Hill have informed us the Food Safety Bill was folded into the House Continuing Resolution, which authorizes the funding of government into 2011.
As you may remember, the Food Safety Act was "blue slipped" by the House Democrats, after the Senate passed it, because Harry Reid included a section that raised taxes (which the Constitution requires to begin in the House).
Additionally, the House will consider Rep. Slaughter's "Martial Law / Same Day Authority Rule through Dec. 18" H. Res. 1752, which will allow the Democratic majority to bring bills up with almost no notice through Dec. 18.
This is nothing more than an attempt to keep the American people in the dark and prevent them from mobilizing in opposition to their statist power grabs.
Contact your Congressman today and tell them to take the Food Safety language out of the Continuing Resolution and to oppose H. Res. 1752, which would allow the Democrats to ram through their statist agenda with little transparency.
One method to use....but CALL often!!!
RalphFucetolaJD
Newton, NJ http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/568/t/0/blastContent.jsp?email_blast_KEY=12 00289
S.510: Hidden in House Amendment to Senate Amendment to House Bill! HR 3082 now hides S 510! Well, It's Not Hidden From US! Take These 3 Steps NOW to Protect Food Freedom
1. Take Action NOW for each member of your household to tell your Representatives that you STONGLY OPPOSE adopting the language of S. 510 in this or any other amendment or bill:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/568/p/dia/action/public/?action_KE Y=5303
2. Visit http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt, enter your zip code to find your Representative's name and phone number. CALL IT! Yes, the line may be busy. Keep trying. Give the person who answers this message:
"I am calling to strongly opposed adopting the language of S. 510, the so-called Food Safety Modernization Act. This language is currently attached to 'CR/Food Safety House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 3082 - Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011/FDA Food Safety Modernization Act'. I urge Representative [name] in the strongest possible terms to vote against this amendment and to oppose this language in any bill or amendment."
The phone lines may be busy. Keep trying. This is literally an 11th hour attempt by Big Agribiz to control every bite you eat, and make sure it is to their liking, not yours.
3. Using Social Media like Facebook and Twitter, using your phone lists and your email contacts, get the word out, urging everyone you can contact to do the same:
1. Take the Action Item
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/568/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY =5303
2. Call the House of Representatives to deliver the message above
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt
3. Take the message viral to THEIR contact and so on....post and cross post, please.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
We're from the Government, and We're Here to Help you
America’s Done---Stick a Fork In Her!
S. 510 Hits a Snag, But Be Wary
©Doreen Hannes 2010
Senate Bill S 510, the Food Safety Modernization Act, passed the Senate on November 30th, 74-23. Not a single Democrat crossed party lines. This bill is the coup on food in the US. Even though the Tester Amendment was included to dupe those who think it will stop small farmers and processors from being put right out of business, it will only slow down the demise of some small farms.
Then it came to light that a Constitutional issue that had been staring all of us in the face was present. The Senate did not pick up HR2749, which passed the House in July of 2009; instead they took up their own monster in S 510. They also began revenue generation in the Senate (Section 107 of the bill), which is expressly forbidden by the Constitution.
Faced with a patently un-Constitutional bill, that violates Constitutional process, we have to remain vigilant until BOTH houses have adjourned for the winter recess prior to the next session of Congress. Talk about roller coasters.
If the Constitution means anything at all, the House should “blue slip” S. 510, which would preclude them from taking the bill up and very likely run out the clock for passage in this session.
However, there are four choices available for the legislation to move forward before they adjourn on December 24th. The first is for the Senate to bring it back and get unanimous consent to remove the offending section. Since Senator Coburn of Oklahoma will not consent, that avenue is cut off.
Second is for the Senate to bust S. 510 down to the original “compromise” amendment, remove the funding section and the Tester amendment and try to ram it through the entire senate process again before the 24th. This seems unlikely, but don’t trust them as far as you can throw a semi trailer loaded with lead.
Third, the Senate could take HR2749, which has already passed the House, and rush it through the Senate, and it would go straight to the President’s desk with no process with the House necessary. This also seems rather unlikely. The bills are very similar and would have the same detrimental effects for everyone, but the Senators are not familiar with the bill, so it could be really tough.
Fourth, the House Ways and Means committee could pass the bill through and forgive the Constitutional infraction and refuse to blue slip the bill, then vote on it before the 24th and we’d have the bill albeit there would be legal issues brought forth that could possibly ensnare the regulations they want to write under this bill. This appears to be the most likely potential for S. 510.
Make no mistake about this, SB 510, or HR 2749 are worse than the Patriot Act, the Health Care bill, and the Federal Reserve Act combined. We can all live without little pieces of paper, and many of us can live without doctors, and we have been living with the increasing police state since 911, but none of us can live without food and water. If we lose food and water, we won’t be able to fight anything else.
The Tester-Hagan Amendment—Lipstick on a Pig
The largest deception played on the public in S. 510 is the inclusion of the Tester Amendment. This amendment was sold as the complete exemption for all small farms grossing less than $500,000 per year. But if one reads the actual amendment, it is evident that it will not do what it is purported to do for the vast majority of small producers.
The Tester Amendment has strident restrictions on those who may be “exempted” from HACCP (Hazard and Critical Control Point) implementations. HACCP is 50 pages of instructions that require a certifier to sign off on the plan, and a team to be trained in ensuring the plan is followed on the farm. The requirement of this plan put about 40% of small meat processors out of business several years ago. If you fall under the “protection” of the Tester amendment, you won’t have to do it....but let’s see how protective the Tester Amendment really is.
First, the Tester Amendment purports to exempt farms with less than $500,000 in sales from the requirements of S.510. However, to be “exempt” one must sell more than 50% of their products directly to consumers or restaurants within a 275-mile radius from production, and keep records substantiating those sales. The records are open for inspection and verification of the exemption. In other words, you have to prove you are playing by their rules through record keeping and approval of those records, or meet the more onerous requirements of S.510.
You must “apply” to be included in the “protections” of the Tester amendment. You must substantiate through your records for three years that you fit the category of selling more than “50% of average annual monetary value” within this 275-mile radius. So, if you sell on the roadside or at a farmers market, you must have a map handy and ask for ID from everyone who purchases from you or lose your exemption. Nice, huh?
Proof of Residence for Food? Really?
I can see it now....A lovely early June day, with the birds singing and the smell of freshly mown hay hanging in the air like the best memory from childhood. A young mother pulls into the Farmers Market and readies herself for a wonderful shopping experience.
She approaches the first stand with her mouth nearly watering at the bright display of fresh produce. “I’d like 3 cucumbers, please”, says the lady with her 3 kids and cloth grocery bag.
“Great! Can I see your ID?” replies the guy in bibs.
“Oh, I’m paying with cash” she replies with a smile.
“No matter”, says the farmer, “We have to make sure you’re within a 275 mile radius of our farm in order to sell to you”.
She looks perplexed and says, “Well, we aren’t. We’re on our way to visit my parents and I wanted to make a special dinner for all of us, using their locally produced foods so they could remember how good home grown veggies are....So I can’t buy from you without an ID?”
The farmer scratches his head and says, “Now see, I have to be very careful. I belong to a CSA that sells to a Chipotle that’s 276 miles from us, so all of my sales at market have to be local or I lose my exemption and will have to hire 5 people to take care of the paper work and then I just go out of business. So no, I can’t sell to you. What’s more, all the vendors here are part of the CSA, so no one here can sell to you. You have a nice day now!”
No Surprises-It’s Locally Global
What we have in Tester is local Agenda 21 Sustainable Development. In sum, “control over all human impact on the environment”. Everything will need to be within the ‘food shed’, and if you are outside of the food shed, too bad for you. It’s a great way to surveille and monitor food production and distribution. And you still fall under the broad based “reason to believe” of the Secretary with the Tester amendment. If the “Secretary”, meaning the head of the FDA or HHS thinks you may have a problem, or deems what you produce to be ‘high risk’, you will be shut down until they say you can begin again. All of your product is subject to mandatory recall; that’s why you have to keep records of everyone you sell to. And you will have to register as a facility under the Bioterrorism Act of 2002, referred to as Sec 415 throughout the bill. (Knock knock---this is “premises identification” as in NAIS)
So please, don’t tell me how great the Tester Amendment is, and that the expansive powers being granted to the DoD, DHS, HHS, FDA and USDA in this bill will be helpful to small farmers and local food production and make my food safe. Wake up and smell the coffee!!! Oh, wait. The only state that could produce coffee within 275 miles of itself, is Hawaii. Never mind. Wake up, and smell the tyranny, please.
(The best thing to do right now is to call the members of the House Ways and Means Committee as well as your own Representative and tell them they MUST blue slip S. 510. While I know it gets frustrating to call the Congress critters, the more they know that we know, the better the chance at slowing down the destruction they have planned for us. The switchboard number for Congress is 202-224-3121.)
S. 510 Hits a Snag, But Be Wary
©Doreen Hannes 2010
Senate Bill S 510, the Food Safety Modernization Act, passed the Senate on November 30th, 74-23. Not a single Democrat crossed party lines. This bill is the coup on food in the US. Even though the Tester Amendment was included to dupe those who think it will stop small farmers and processors from being put right out of business, it will only slow down the demise of some small farms.
Then it came to light that a Constitutional issue that had been staring all of us in the face was present. The Senate did not pick up HR2749, which passed the House in July of 2009; instead they took up their own monster in S 510. They also began revenue generation in the Senate (Section 107 of the bill), which is expressly forbidden by the Constitution.
Faced with a patently un-Constitutional bill, that violates Constitutional process, we have to remain vigilant until BOTH houses have adjourned for the winter recess prior to the next session of Congress. Talk about roller coasters.
If the Constitution means anything at all, the House should “blue slip” S. 510, which would preclude them from taking the bill up and very likely run out the clock for passage in this session.
However, there are four choices available for the legislation to move forward before they adjourn on December 24th. The first is for the Senate to bring it back and get unanimous consent to remove the offending section. Since Senator Coburn of Oklahoma will not consent, that avenue is cut off.
Second is for the Senate to bust S. 510 down to the original “compromise” amendment, remove the funding section and the Tester amendment and try to ram it through the entire senate process again before the 24th. This seems unlikely, but don’t trust them as far as you can throw a semi trailer loaded with lead.
Third, the Senate could take HR2749, which has already passed the House, and rush it through the Senate, and it would go straight to the President’s desk with no process with the House necessary. This also seems rather unlikely. The bills are very similar and would have the same detrimental effects for everyone, but the Senators are not familiar with the bill, so it could be really tough.
Fourth, the House Ways and Means committee could pass the bill through and forgive the Constitutional infraction and refuse to blue slip the bill, then vote on it before the 24th and we’d have the bill albeit there would be legal issues brought forth that could possibly ensnare the regulations they want to write under this bill. This appears to be the most likely potential for S. 510.
Make no mistake about this, SB 510, or HR 2749 are worse than the Patriot Act, the Health Care bill, and the Federal Reserve Act combined. We can all live without little pieces of paper, and many of us can live without doctors, and we have been living with the increasing police state since 911, but none of us can live without food and water. If we lose food and water, we won’t be able to fight anything else.
The Tester-Hagan Amendment—Lipstick on a Pig
The largest deception played on the public in S. 510 is the inclusion of the Tester Amendment. This amendment was sold as the complete exemption for all small farms grossing less than $500,000 per year. But if one reads the actual amendment, it is evident that it will not do what it is purported to do for the vast majority of small producers.
The Tester Amendment has strident restrictions on those who may be “exempted” from HACCP (Hazard and Critical Control Point) implementations. HACCP is 50 pages of instructions that require a certifier to sign off on the plan, and a team to be trained in ensuring the plan is followed on the farm. The requirement of this plan put about 40% of small meat processors out of business several years ago. If you fall under the “protection” of the Tester amendment, you won’t have to do it....but let’s see how protective the Tester Amendment really is.
First, the Tester Amendment purports to exempt farms with less than $500,000 in sales from the requirements of S.510. However, to be “exempt” one must sell more than 50% of their products directly to consumers or restaurants within a 275-mile radius from production, and keep records substantiating those sales. The records are open for inspection and verification of the exemption. In other words, you have to prove you are playing by their rules through record keeping and approval of those records, or meet the more onerous requirements of S.510.
You must “apply” to be included in the “protections” of the Tester amendment. You must substantiate through your records for three years that you fit the category of selling more than “50% of average annual monetary value” within this 275-mile radius. So, if you sell on the roadside or at a farmers market, you must have a map handy and ask for ID from everyone who purchases from you or lose your exemption. Nice, huh?
Proof of Residence for Food? Really?
I can see it now....A lovely early June day, with the birds singing and the smell of freshly mown hay hanging in the air like the best memory from childhood. A young mother pulls into the Farmers Market and readies herself for a wonderful shopping experience.
She approaches the first stand with her mouth nearly watering at the bright display of fresh produce. “I’d like 3 cucumbers, please”, says the lady with her 3 kids and cloth grocery bag.
“Great! Can I see your ID?” replies the guy in bibs.
“Oh, I’m paying with cash” she replies with a smile.
“No matter”, says the farmer, “We have to make sure you’re within a 275 mile radius of our farm in order to sell to you”.
She looks perplexed and says, “Well, we aren’t. We’re on our way to visit my parents and I wanted to make a special dinner for all of us, using their locally produced foods so they could remember how good home grown veggies are....So I can’t buy from you without an ID?”
The farmer scratches his head and says, “Now see, I have to be very careful. I belong to a CSA that sells to a Chipotle that’s 276 miles from us, so all of my sales at market have to be local or I lose my exemption and will have to hire 5 people to take care of the paper work and then I just go out of business. So no, I can’t sell to you. What’s more, all the vendors here are part of the CSA, so no one here can sell to you. You have a nice day now!”
No Surprises-It’s Locally Global
What we have in Tester is local Agenda 21 Sustainable Development. In sum, “control over all human impact on the environment”. Everything will need to be within the ‘food shed’, and if you are outside of the food shed, too bad for you. It’s a great way to surveille and monitor food production and distribution. And you still fall under the broad based “reason to believe” of the Secretary with the Tester amendment. If the “Secretary”, meaning the head of the FDA or HHS thinks you may have a problem, or deems what you produce to be ‘high risk’, you will be shut down until they say you can begin again. All of your product is subject to mandatory recall; that’s why you have to keep records of everyone you sell to. And you will have to register as a facility under the Bioterrorism Act of 2002, referred to as Sec 415 throughout the bill. (Knock knock---this is “premises identification” as in NAIS)
So please, don’t tell me how great the Tester Amendment is, and that the expansive powers being granted to the DoD, DHS, HHS, FDA and USDA in this bill will be helpful to small farmers and local food production and make my food safe. Wake up and smell the coffee!!! Oh, wait. The only state that could produce coffee within 275 miles of itself, is Hawaii. Never mind. Wake up, and smell the tyranny, please.
(The best thing to do right now is to call the members of the House Ways and Means Committee as well as your own Representative and tell them they MUST blue slip S. 510. While I know it gets frustrating to call the Congress critters, the more they know that we know, the better the chance at slowing down the destruction they have planned for us. The switchboard number for Congress is 202-224-3121.)
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
What We Have to Look Forward to under S510
The following article illustrates what will be happening at an ever more alarming rate with food as the Food Destruction Agency (FDA) receives more authority under Senate Bill 510 which passed today in a slam dunk fashion......These are real people with real lives, not some Hollywood screenplay. The destruction of livelihood has serious effects. Don't delude yourself. This can happen to you, too. Especially if you have products that actually are healthful. We cannot prosper under this regime.
Daniel Chapter One Bound and Gagged
By: Tricia Feijo
Source: Liberty News Radio
11/29/2010
We cannot believe that the Federal judges who ordered Daniel Chapter One to comply with the FTC Order have read it, let alone studied the case. The FTC Order is an egregious afront to our unalienable rights under God as protected by the U.S. Constitution.
The Order goes way beyond advertising/marketing, and infringes on our right to free speech in any realm. THIS IS HIGHLY UN-NATURAL. Imagine a friend asks a question of you, to which you have the answer, but you must say "I am not allowed to tell you." (What country are we in?!) The Lord gave us a healing ministry which we have devoted ourselves to for 27 years, and the U.S. Federal government has recently ordered us to stop.
Daniel Chapter One has never been charged with or found guilty of lying or harming anyone. We have helped thousands. All our information is true. The FTC does not contest that.
BUT THE FTC LIE, CHEAT, and STEAL! These are the facts:
1. LIES: The FTC made up statements and placed them in quotation marks, for example "7 Herb Formula cXXXX cXXXXX" (we are forbidden to use those last 2 words). Then they charged Daniel Chapter One with making the statements.
When we explained that we never said such a thing, the FTC said we "implied" it. All because of true testimonies, and structure/function information truthfully shared. (Jesus tells an account of a blind man healed after mud was applied to his eyes. The FTC would charge Jesus with implying "mud cures blindness." Come to think of it, they did order Jesus to stop.)
The FTC said in a legal brief to the judges that Daniel Chapter One had "11 witnesses testify" at the hearing. A bold lie. They blocked all but a few of the people who came to Washington DC to testify. After the first day declaring that Daniel Chapter One is indeed a ministry, besides Jim and Tricia, Daniel Chapter One had only 3 witnesses (ARN general manager and 2 experts).
The FTC said "all" Daniel Chapter One had to do was state that we had not done clinical trials on our products and use stronger disclaimers. Judge Ginsburg asked, "Is that all?" FTC lawyer Daly then replied, "it would be a start." Then that is not "all", is it. . .
2. CHEAT: The FTC design things so that they cannot lose, no matter how unjust. First they held a hearing in a mock-court, a Star Chamber, with FTC lawyers, an FTC judge, and FTC Commissioners.
The FTC held Daniel Chapter One dietary supplements to the FDA standard for chemical drugs, demanding double-blind placebo-controlled studies. This is an impossible obstacle, an unfair advantage they are fully aware of. One such study can cost $100 million dollars.
The FTC pretend that "reasonable consumers" think a dietary supplement has been put through such clinical trials. They protest testimonials, although there is NO LAW against true testimonials, nor is there any law saying that an herbal or nutritional supplement or food must go through double-blind placebo-controlled studies.
3. STEAL: Under the false pretense of protecting you, the FTC says that "consumers" cannot know the difference between placebo or a product that "really works". Thus they take it upon themselves to rob you of your right to information, your right to choice, your right to decide for yourself what you take in times of sickness and in health.
And with that the FTC and the Pharmaceutical companies are laughing all the way to the bank.
Daniel Chapter One Bound and Gagged
By: Tricia Feijo
Source: Liberty News Radio
11/29/2010
We cannot believe that the Federal judges who ordered Daniel Chapter One to comply with the FTC Order have read it, let alone studied the case. The FTC Order is an egregious afront to our unalienable rights under God as protected by the U.S. Constitution.
The Order goes way beyond advertising/marketing, and infringes on our right to free speech in any realm. THIS IS HIGHLY UN-NATURAL. Imagine a friend asks a question of you, to which you have the answer, but you must say "I am not allowed to tell you." (What country are we in?!) The Lord gave us a healing ministry which we have devoted ourselves to for 27 years, and the U.S. Federal government has recently ordered us to stop.
Daniel Chapter One has never been charged with or found guilty of lying or harming anyone. We have helped thousands. All our information is true. The FTC does not contest that.
BUT THE FTC LIE, CHEAT, and STEAL! These are the facts:
1. LIES: The FTC made up statements and placed them in quotation marks, for example "7 Herb Formula cXXXX cXXXXX" (we are forbidden to use those last 2 words). Then they charged Daniel Chapter One with making the statements.
When we explained that we never said such a thing, the FTC said we "implied" it. All because of true testimonies, and structure/function information truthfully shared. (Jesus tells an account of a blind man healed after mud was applied to his eyes. The FTC would charge Jesus with implying "mud cures blindness." Come to think of it, they did order Jesus to stop.)
The FTC said in a legal brief to the judges that Daniel Chapter One had "11 witnesses testify" at the hearing. A bold lie. They blocked all but a few of the people who came to Washington DC to testify. After the first day declaring that Daniel Chapter One is indeed a ministry, besides Jim and Tricia, Daniel Chapter One had only 3 witnesses (ARN general manager and 2 experts).
The FTC said "all" Daniel Chapter One had to do was state that we had not done clinical trials on our products and use stronger disclaimers. Judge Ginsburg asked, "Is that all?" FTC lawyer Daly then replied, "it would be a start." Then that is not "all", is it. . .
2. CHEAT: The FTC design things so that they cannot lose, no matter how unjust. First they held a hearing in a mock-court, a Star Chamber, with FTC lawyers, an FTC judge, and FTC Commissioners.
The FTC held Daniel Chapter One dietary supplements to the FDA standard for chemical drugs, demanding double-blind placebo-controlled studies. This is an impossible obstacle, an unfair advantage they are fully aware of. One such study can cost $100 million dollars.
The FTC pretend that "reasonable consumers" think a dietary supplement has been put through such clinical trials. They protest testimonials, although there is NO LAW against true testimonials, nor is there any law saying that an herbal or nutritional supplement or food must go through double-blind placebo-controlled studies.
3. STEAL: Under the false pretense of protecting you, the FTC says that "consumers" cannot know the difference between placebo or a product that "really works". Thus they take it upon themselves to rob you of your right to information, your right to choice, your right to decide for yourself what you take in times of sickness and in health.
And with that the FTC and the Pharmaceutical companies are laughing all the way to the bank.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
S 510 --- Call Senators!!!
I realize everyone is likely sick of calling Congress and being ignored, but if we can move 10 Senators to halt S510, we will have defeated a major issue in establishing statute for international food control. Harry said last week, "We've got everything in place except for the Food Safety Act". Granted, he didn't say what "everything" he was referring to, but it's one of the last areas necessary to get statute for to enforce global standards in this nation....Please act. The economic effects of this bill will seriously harm independent agriculture.
Cloture Vote on S 510 Monday, November 29-
On Monday, November 29, a cloture vote on Senate Bill 510 will determine if the bill then goes immediately to the Senate floor for a final vote. Cloture requires 60 votes. If there are fewer than 60, the bill will not go forward. Let's make sure the cloture vote fails.
PLEASE CALL ALL THE SENATORS IN THE LIST LINKED BELOW AND ASK THEM TO OPPOSE CLOTURE AND OPPOSE S 510.
The votes of these "targeted" Senators could make all the difference. Even if they are not your Senators, please call them at their District Offices and, using the Talking Points below, ask them to oppose cloture and oppose S 510.
Why Senators Should Oppose S 510
S 510 threatens the existence of small, independent farms and will limit the food choices of consumers. As written - even with the proposed amendments - the bill is fundamentally flawed. S 510 will not improve food safety. Instead it will bury farmers in regulations and paperwork and consolidate agricultural production into fewer, larger industrial facilities.
The FDA has authority to inspect processing plants and imports, yet it inspects less than 1% of imports and less than 25% of the processing facilities it is authorized to. FDA claims it does not have the resources to carry out these inspections, yet it has the time and personnel to harass Amish farmers, raid food clubs, and pull over individuals who are transporting privately purchased fresh milk and make them dump it on the roadside.
S 510 would increase the cost of U.S. grown and produced food and extend the authority of international trade agreements onto small farms. Inspections and audits of farming and harvesting processes will cost farmers in upfront expenses just to exist. Even if they are not participating in direct or local sales, they will have to assume the audit and inspection costs as well as develop HACCP type plans. Larger corporations will not need to buy from domestic growers - they can import from countries with lower infrastructure costs to offset the expenses S 510 regulations will force on U.S. producers.
There are many reasons to oppose S510, but the fact that the FDA has stated in court that you have no right to consume any particular food, no right to bodily or physical health, and no right to contract is sufficient reason to not give it any more authority over your food than it already has.
Please call your Senators and the other Senators listed below and tell them you are smart enough to decide what you want to eat:
Talking Points
• S 510 will eliminate the only productive sector of our economy - small farms and local food. The Tester amendment still puts additional paperwork, record keeping and scrutiny onto direct marketers.
• The FDA fails to do the job it is charged with doing. Tell FDA to inspect the imports and the plants it has the authority to inspect and stay out of farming.
• The rules and regulations the FDA will promulgate under S510 will harm our ability to get food that we want to eat. Tell FDA instead to require truthful labeling and disclose genetically modified products on labels. This would create a safer food supply and not harm the small family farmer.
• S 510 will create even larger governmental bureaucracy, and the estimated costs don't include costs to individuals who actually produce food.
• S 510 opens the door to violations of due process including illegal search and seizure and suspension of judicial review.
ACTION:
Please call the Senators in this list - at their District offices - as well as you own two Senators, and tell them to oppose cloture and oppose S 510.
Lamar Alexander - cosponsor R-TN - 202-224-4944 (423) 752-5337 (731) 423-9344 (865) 545-4253 (901) 544-4224
Judd Gregg - co sponsor R-NH- 202-224-3324 (603) 225-7115 (603) 622-7979 (603) 431-2171 (603) 752-2604
Mike Johanns - didn't vote R-NE- 202-224-4224 (308) 236-7602 (402) 476-1400 (308) 632-6032 (402) 758-8981
Lisa Murkowski R-AK - 202-224-6665 907-456-0233 907-271-3735 907-376-7665 907-225-6880
David Vitter -cosponsor R-LA- 202-224-4623 (318) 448-0169 (318) 325-8120 (318) 861-0437 (504) 589-2753
George V. Voinovich R-OH- 202-224-3353 (216) 522-7095 (740) 441-6410 (513) 684-3265 (216) 522-7095
Scott Brown - not reliable R-MA- 202-224-4543 (617) 565-3170
Susan Collins R-ME- 202-224-2523 (207) 622-8414 (207) 945-0417 (207) 283-1101 (207) 493-7873
Olympia J. Snowe - up for reelection in 2012 R-ME- 202-224-5344 (207) 622-8292 (207) 945-0432 (207) 282-4144 (207) 874-0883
Jim Webb - up in 2012 D-VA- 202-224-4024 434-792-0976 757-518-1674 703-573-7090 804-771-2221
Jon Tester - up in 2012 D-MT- 202-224-2644 (406) 252-0550 (406) 586-4450 (406) 452-9585 (406) 723-3277
Ben Nelson D-NE- h202-224-6551 (402) 391-3411 (402) 441-4600 (308) 631-7614 (308) 293-5818
Herb Kohl D-WI- 202-224-5653 (715) 832-8424 (920) 738-1640 (414) 297-4451 (608) 264-5338
Bill Nelson cosponsor, switched from yea to nay, up for reelection 2012 D-FL 202-224-5274 407-872-7161 305-536-5999 813-225-7040 561-514-0189
Kent Conrad D-ND - 202-224-2043 (701) 852-0703 (701) 258-4648 (701) 775-9601 (701) 746-1990
Tom Carper D-DE- 202-224-2441 (302) 573-6291 (302) 674-3308 (302) 856-7690
Claire McCaskill D-MO - 202-224-6154 314-367-1364 816-421-1639 417-868-8745 573-442-7130
Robert P. Casey, Jr. - cosponsor D-PA 202-224-6324 (215) 405-9660 (412) 803-7370 (866) 461-9159 (814) 357-0314
Sherrod Brown D-OH -202-224-2315 (216) 522-7272 (513) 684-1021 (614) 469-2083 (440) 242-4100
Please join: National Independent Consumer and Farmers Association (NICFA), Campaign for Liberty (John Tate – President), Kristin Canty - Director of "Farmegeddon" the movie, and David Gumpert - author of "The Raw Milk Revolution" and www.TheCompletePatient.com, in OPPOSING cloture and OPPOSING S 510.
Cloture Vote on S 510 Monday, November 29-
On Monday, November 29, a cloture vote on Senate Bill 510 will determine if the bill then goes immediately to the Senate floor for a final vote. Cloture requires 60 votes. If there are fewer than 60, the bill will not go forward. Let's make sure the cloture vote fails.
PLEASE CALL ALL THE SENATORS IN THE LIST LINKED BELOW AND ASK THEM TO OPPOSE CLOTURE AND OPPOSE S 510.
The votes of these "targeted" Senators could make all the difference. Even if they are not your Senators, please call them at their District Offices and, using the Talking Points below, ask them to oppose cloture and oppose S 510.
Why Senators Should Oppose S 510
S 510 threatens the existence of small, independent farms and will limit the food choices of consumers. As written - even with the proposed amendments - the bill is fundamentally flawed. S 510 will not improve food safety. Instead it will bury farmers in regulations and paperwork and consolidate agricultural production into fewer, larger industrial facilities.
The FDA has authority to inspect processing plants and imports, yet it inspects less than 1% of imports and less than 25% of the processing facilities it is authorized to. FDA claims it does not have the resources to carry out these inspections, yet it has the time and personnel to harass Amish farmers, raid food clubs, and pull over individuals who are transporting privately purchased fresh milk and make them dump it on the roadside.
S 510 would increase the cost of U.S. grown and produced food and extend the authority of international trade agreements onto small farms. Inspections and audits of farming and harvesting processes will cost farmers in upfront expenses just to exist. Even if they are not participating in direct or local sales, they will have to assume the audit and inspection costs as well as develop HACCP type plans. Larger corporations will not need to buy from domestic growers - they can import from countries with lower infrastructure costs to offset the expenses S 510 regulations will force on U.S. producers.
There are many reasons to oppose S510, but the fact that the FDA has stated in court that you have no right to consume any particular food, no right to bodily or physical health, and no right to contract is sufficient reason to not give it any more authority over your food than it already has.
Please call your Senators and the other Senators listed below and tell them you are smart enough to decide what you want to eat:
Talking Points
• S 510 will eliminate the only productive sector of our economy - small farms and local food. The Tester amendment still puts additional paperwork, record keeping and scrutiny onto direct marketers.
• The FDA fails to do the job it is charged with doing. Tell FDA to inspect the imports and the plants it has the authority to inspect and stay out of farming.
• The rules and regulations the FDA will promulgate under S510 will harm our ability to get food that we want to eat. Tell FDA instead to require truthful labeling and disclose genetically modified products on labels. This would create a safer food supply and not harm the small family farmer.
• S 510 will create even larger governmental bureaucracy, and the estimated costs don't include costs to individuals who actually produce food.
• S 510 opens the door to violations of due process including illegal search and seizure and suspension of judicial review.
ACTION:
Please call the Senators in this list - at their District offices - as well as you own two Senators, and tell them to oppose cloture and oppose S 510.
Lamar Alexander - cosponsor R-TN - 202-224-4944 (423) 752-5337 (731) 423-9344 (865) 545-4253 (901) 544-4224
Judd Gregg - co sponsor R-NH- 202-224-3324 (603) 225-7115 (603) 622-7979 (603) 431-2171 (603) 752-2604
Mike Johanns - didn't vote R-NE- 202-224-4224 (308) 236-7602 (402) 476-1400 (308) 632-6032 (402) 758-8981
Lisa Murkowski R-AK - 202-224-6665 907-456-0233 907-271-3735 907-376-7665 907-225-6880
David Vitter -cosponsor R-LA- 202-224-4623 (318) 448-0169 (318) 325-8120 (318) 861-0437 (504) 589-2753
George V. Voinovich R-OH- 202-224-3353 (216) 522-7095 (740) 441-6410 (513) 684-3265 (216) 522-7095
Scott Brown - not reliable R-MA- 202-224-4543 (617) 565-3170
Susan Collins R-ME- 202-224-2523 (207) 622-8414 (207) 945-0417 (207) 283-1101 (207) 493-7873
Olympia J. Snowe - up for reelection in 2012 R-ME- 202-224-5344 (207) 622-8292 (207) 945-0432 (207) 282-4144 (207) 874-0883
Jim Webb - up in 2012 D-VA- 202-224-4024 434-792-0976 757-518-1674 703-573-7090 804-771-2221
Jon Tester - up in 2012 D-MT- 202-224-2644 (406) 252-0550 (406) 586-4450 (406) 452-9585 (406) 723-3277
Ben Nelson D-NE- h202-224-6551 (402) 391-3411 (402) 441-4600 (308) 631-7614 (308) 293-5818
Herb Kohl D-WI- 202-224-5653 (715) 832-8424 (920) 738-1640 (414) 297-4451 (608) 264-5338
Bill Nelson cosponsor, switched from yea to nay, up for reelection 2012 D-FL 202-224-5274 407-872-7161 305-536-5999 813-225-7040 561-514-0189
Kent Conrad D-ND - 202-224-2043 (701) 852-0703 (701) 258-4648 (701) 775-9601 (701) 746-1990
Tom Carper D-DE- 202-224-2441 (302) 573-6291 (302) 674-3308 (302) 856-7690
Claire McCaskill D-MO - 202-224-6154 314-367-1364 816-421-1639 417-868-8745 573-442-7130
Robert P. Casey, Jr. - cosponsor D-PA 202-224-6324 (215) 405-9660 (412) 803-7370 (866) 461-9159 (814) 357-0314
Sherrod Brown D-OH -202-224-2315 (216) 522-7272 (513) 684-1021 (614) 469-2083 (440) 242-4100
Please join: National Independent Consumer and Farmers Association (NICFA), Campaign for Liberty (John Tate – President), Kristin Canty - Director of "Farmegeddon" the movie, and David Gumpert - author of "The Raw Milk Revolution" and www.TheCompletePatient.com, in OPPOSING cloture and OPPOSING S 510.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
S 510 for Cloture
Today's the Day...
As those who are aware in the food movement know, S 510 is up for a cloture vote today. Senator Coburn of Oklahoma has stated that he would filibuster on the bill. I hope he does, and I hope that other Senators give him support. In the 'politics as usual realm', Senator Coburn has come up with a amendment in the form of a substitute for 510. I read it late last night, and while it is better, it is still not good.
You can read the bill at Coburn's site, although I am uncertain that they will post the entire thing.
Here are the issues as I see them based upon a one time read through of the substitute...First off, he still allows the Secretary to operate off of a "reason to believe" instead of credible evidence. It can't surprise many that a "reason to believe" is not a sound basis to use to recall products or to shut down businesses. The FDA believes all raw dairy is inherently dangerous and may cause death. So will air or water if there is too much or too little of it, so....It's arbitrary, and allows too much room for abuse. You can't rule a nation off of 'feelings'.
Secondly, and this is my most recent pet peeve, this bill allows for "science-based" standards. Well whose science? And what is the basis? If you read studies, they usually come to the desired conclusion of the entity paying for the study, or 'science' in this case. It's completely open ended. If it were scientifically proven, or scientifically accurate, it would be less questionable as a criteria to be applied to food 'science'.
Thirdly, the substitute bill still mentions "good agricultural practices"....Insert a heavy sigh.
And finally, while I understand that the phrase regarding "nothing in this bill is to interfere with trade agreements under the WTO" applies to the scope of the legislation, with the three things I mentioned, 'reason to believe', science based, and 'good' agricultural practices, this is as dangerous as it is in the other versions of 510, 2749, 875, etc. If the three things I mentioned were changed in the substitute bill, it actually wouldn't be something I would work really hard against....but as it stands, I cannot support the substitute.
However, we must realize if ANYTHING passes out of the Senate under the guise of "food safety" it will be thrown into the sausage grinder with HR 2749 which passed the House last July and any gains made on less tyrannical verbiage in the Senate version will likely be entirely lost in Conference with the House version. So....the grinder turns, and those who want to avoid eating whatever Soylent Green pablum the FDA decides fits their 'science based' ideologies for 'food' need to continue to tell their Senators NO on any food safety bill.
This bill is worse than the Health Care Bill and the Financial Stabilization bill and everything else other than the Clean Water Restoration Act. We have to be able to eat and drink water to survive, going to the doctor is largely optional, and fiat scrip is fiat scrip no matter who issues it. Food and water have inherent and intrinsic value. We just can't live without it.
Call the Senate, please....202 224 3121.
Be blessed!
As those who are aware in the food movement know, S 510 is up for a cloture vote today. Senator Coburn of Oklahoma has stated that he would filibuster on the bill. I hope he does, and I hope that other Senators give him support. In the 'politics as usual realm', Senator Coburn has come up with a amendment in the form of a substitute for 510. I read it late last night, and while it is better, it is still not good.
You can read the bill at Coburn's site, although I am uncertain that they will post the entire thing.
Here are the issues as I see them based upon a one time read through of the substitute...First off, he still allows the Secretary to operate off of a "reason to believe" instead of credible evidence. It can't surprise many that a "reason to believe" is not a sound basis to use to recall products or to shut down businesses. The FDA believes all raw dairy is inherently dangerous and may cause death. So will air or water if there is too much or too little of it, so....It's arbitrary, and allows too much room for abuse. You can't rule a nation off of 'feelings'.
Secondly, and this is my most recent pet peeve, this bill allows for "science-based" standards. Well whose science? And what is the basis? If you read studies, they usually come to the desired conclusion of the entity paying for the study, or 'science' in this case. It's completely open ended. If it were scientifically proven, or scientifically accurate, it would be less questionable as a criteria to be applied to food 'science'.
Thirdly, the substitute bill still mentions "good agricultural practices"....Insert a heavy sigh.
And finally, while I understand that the phrase regarding "nothing in this bill is to interfere with trade agreements under the WTO" applies to the scope of the legislation, with the three things I mentioned, 'reason to believe', science based, and 'good' agricultural practices, this is as dangerous as it is in the other versions of 510, 2749, 875, etc. If the three things I mentioned were changed in the substitute bill, it actually wouldn't be something I would work really hard against....but as it stands, I cannot support the substitute.
However, we must realize if ANYTHING passes out of the Senate under the guise of "food safety" it will be thrown into the sausage grinder with HR 2749 which passed the House last July and any gains made on less tyrannical verbiage in the Senate version will likely be entirely lost in Conference with the House version. So....the grinder turns, and those who want to avoid eating whatever Soylent Green pablum the FDA decides fits their 'science based' ideologies for 'food' need to continue to tell their Senators NO on any food safety bill.
This bill is worse than the Health Care Bill and the Financial Stabilization bill and everything else other than the Clean Water Restoration Act. We have to be able to eat and drink water to survive, going to the doctor is largely optional, and fiat scrip is fiat scrip no matter who issues it. Food and water have inherent and intrinsic value. We just can't live without it.
Call the Senate, please....202 224 3121.
Be blessed!
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Can Properly Done Tests Clear Dairy to Sell?
Missouri Milk Board Agrees to Allow Morningland Dairy to Test
11/10/10.... Morningland Dairy of Missouri, the farmstead cheese operation that has been shut down and under investigation by the FDA and Missouri Milk Board since August 26th finally obtained agreement from the Milk Board to properly test their cheese. Morningland, a farmstead raw cheese company, was shut down over concern by the Missouri Milk Board and the FDA that their cheese may harbor harmful bacteria.
On Monday November 8th, Morningland Dairy attorney Gary Cox, of Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund, informed Morningland that an agreement had been reached with the Missouri Attorney General’s office which will allow Morningland to test batches of their cheese that have been under embargo since August by the Missouri Milk Board.
The Missouri Attorney General’s office, representing the Missouri Milk Board in legal action against Morningland Dairy, offered eight stipulations under which they would not object to the dairy testing their cheese. After negotiations, Morningland Dairy and the Missouri Milk Board settled on six requirements to be followed. The stipulations agreed to are that the Milk Board be present, have three representatives observing, receive split samples of the cheese, approve the sampling and analysis process, receive results after testing, and receive production dates of sampled cheese. The two stipulations that were dropped were the advance identification of the lab to do the testing and the identity of the individual who designed the protocol for test sample collection. The removal of these conditions is significant to Morningland because approved laboratories are licensed by the agencies investigating the contamination, and this secures the opportunity for testing through a non-affiliated lab in the nature of a double-blind study.
During the course of the investigation Joseph and Denise Dixon, owners of Morningland Dairy, have maintained that they should be allowed to do properly sampled tests on the alleged contaminants to clear their cheese for sale. Denise Dixon said, “It seems to me that if tests that are done improperly can condemn our cheese, accurately done tests should be able to exonerate the cheese.”
Conversely, Don Falls of the Missouri Milk Board has stated, “If you want to do testing for investigational purposes only, that would be fine.” The Milk Board has held that all Morningland Dairy’s cheese is suspect and must be destroyed. Joe Dixon responds, “We hope that the Milk Board will see reason. If properly collected test results indicate the cheese is clear of contamination, we should be allowed to sell and resume production.”
The agreement does not state that Morningland Dairy may resume normal business operations if tests indicate no pathogenic concerns.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
It's All Suspect...
As many of you know, I have been deeply involved in the Morningland Dairy Debacle. This past week brought several documents to light that shed a very harsh light on the agencies involved in the Rawesome raid that led to the Morningland shut down and recall of all of their production without due process. Read the article and associated documents below and let me know what you think.
This is on David Gumpert's blog, The Complete Patient, and has a pretty good of amount of commentary already. Some of it is like reading code and not getting it, but a lot of it is quite insightful. (The article as it appears on Complete Patient has one or little technical errors in it because of many bouts of editing to clarify the complex issues. The one below is completely accurate and the docs support it....thanks for your humanity!)
Feel free to pass this on. The only oversight for agencies is we the people.
.....Or Is it Just Suspicious?
By Doreen Hannes
The issues that brought a tiny Missouri farmstead cheese plant to the forefront in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s war on raw dairy continue to expand, and trouble. As a wise man once said, “Truth is stranger than fiction.” The intrigue doesn’t dissipate at all with the increase in information regarding Morningland Dairy. The tests, methods and procedures that began this tragedy are very questionable.
Let’s back up a step. On June 30, agents from five or six agencies raided Rawesome Food Club in the Venice section of Los Angeles. They covered the security cameras after about a minute, and proceeded to spend several hours rummaging through the place and confiscating product--about $11,000 worth, according to Rawesome. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration took a bunch of stuff, and the California Department of Food and Agriculture took another bunch of stuff, leaving lists of seized items.
All the seized products appear to have been sent for testing to the CDFA. (I say “appear to” because no one has formally said anything, but the report of contamination of Morningland Dairy cheese came from CDFA.)
The test results given to Morningland by the CDFA show reports for two types of cheese attributed to Morningland Dairy—‘raw milk Colby hot pepper” and “raw milk garlic”. (Remember these, I’m going to test you on them later.) The scientific information on these reports is heavily redacted and lack the detail that would have been required to pass a college course on Biology....at a reputable school, anyway.
The first thing that strikes one as extremely odd about the lab test report is that it fails to cite the name of the company in the product description. Secondly, there are no batch numbers for the cheese. These indicate the production date of food and help isolate potential problem areas. Thirdly, while they cite two types of cheese, there are two photocopies of the same one-pound block of Morningland Dairy Garlic Colby showing its weight as .87 lb. Then there are the key results: “L. monocytogenes detected” and ‘staph aur. detected”. Because of the oddities--the lack of batch numbers, failure to identify the manufacturer and the missing photograph of “Morningland Hot Pepper Colby”, I asked Denise Dixon of Morningland for the invoices of Rawesome’s purchases from Morningland prior to the June raid.
Discrepancies
The invoices indicate that Rawesome (invoiced to James Stewart) purchased cheese in October and November of 2009, and May and June of 2010. The invoices reveal Rawesome purchased Morningland Dairy Hot Pepper Colby in ½ pound blocks, but there was no picture of this cheese with the CDFA lab report. The majority of cheese purchased by Rawesome from Morningland Dairy was goat cheese, which runs under Morningland’s Ozark Hills label. All cheeses invoiced to Rawesome were in ½ pound packages, and Morningland had sold no “Morningland Dairy Garlic Colby” to Rawesome at all. So where did this one-pound block of Garlic Colby in the CDFA picture come from?
After finding these anomalies, Denise Dixon contacted the CDFA for more information on the tests conducted of Morningland Dairy or Ozark Hills products seized from Rawesome. She contacted Dr. Stephen Beam, the head of its dairy division, via email, and was told that only two samples of Morningland products were taken and that no samples of Ozark Hills (Morningland Dairy’s Goat cheese line) were collected. So, they sampled a type of cheese that was never sold to Rawesome (Morningland Dairy Garlic) and had none of the most recent order of Ozark Hills goat cheese in their inventory at all. Hmm, says I. The most recent Morningland invoice to Rawesome was entirely Morningland’s Ozark Hills goat cheese.
Transparency?
Interestingly, when you go through the inventory of seized items written by the CDFA, there are six items (59, 75, 76, 78, 79 and 80) that fit Morningland Dairy’s cheese descriptions (some are identified by brand). The product that was tested by CDFA and never sold to Rawesome is listed twice and numbered as 59 and 80 in the CDFA inventory. It says underneath number 59’s description “gallic colby” and is followed by “5”. We don’t know what “5” actually means, but one would think it would be either a number of packages or a weight. Some of the seized products have a weight associated with their description and some do not. There are two other entries on the inventory by CDFA stating “Morningland Dairy”, but on both of those, “Morningland” is crossed out, and one of them (item 80) is the never-sold-to-Rawesome Garlic Colby. Next to that entry is written “54”. Again, we don’t know what the “54” means. 54 packages? 54 pounds? 54 ounces? 54 grams? Who knows? Those who should know, like Dr. Beam, aren’t telling.
The statement by Dr. Beam that there were no other samples of Morningland or Ozark Hills product collected by CDFA just doesn’t make sense. The FDA also seized product from Rawesome. Its report clearly states that it took “10 subs (16 oz) of Morningland Dairy Raw Milk Cheese-Mild Cheddar from Mountain View, MO.” Despite not knowing what “subs” are (yes, I know, the sandwiches, but this is just cheese!) and the fact that Morningland did not sell 16oz blocks of cheese to Rawesome; we can verify through the invoices that Rawesome purchased Morningland Dairy Mild Cheddar cheese. It could have been taken from Rawesome inventory...just not in 1 pound blocks. Evidently, the FDA’s USPHS (United States Public Health Service) is incriminating CFDA for not following the search warrant and failing to take representative samples of ALL dairy products for laboratory testing. Either that, or Doctor Beam and CDFA don’t know how to read labels.
At best, the documentation here is terribly sloppy, and at worst, seriously inaccurate (perhaps a lawyer can tell if it might even be criminally so). Add to that the fact that all the legal proceedings—the issuance of the search warrant that allowed the seizure of the cheese and the issuance of the Missouri Milk Board’s order to destroy the cheese—have taken place in secret, and the fact that no illnesses have been attributed to Morningland cheese, one must question the motives of these agencies. How can there be any claim of due process when a business has been nearly shuttered and pushed to the brink of insolvency based on sloppy and inaccurate paperwork and entirely secret legal proceedings? Not to mention, the absence of any internal appeals procedure with the Missouri Milk Board.
Businesses should not be defamed and railroaded out of business by such sloppy procedures by government agencies. The results of the CDFA ‘investigation’ are seriously suspect; as such, they should be quarantined and subjected to a destruction order. They are the real threat to public health.
======================
If you wish to help Morningland Dairy fight for their right to exist, please donate to them at the UnCheese Party site.
This is on David Gumpert's blog, The Complete Patient, and has a pretty good of amount of commentary already. Some of it is like reading code and not getting it, but a lot of it is quite insightful. (The article as it appears on Complete Patient has one or little technical errors in it because of many bouts of editing to clarify the complex issues. The one below is completely accurate and the docs support it....thanks for your humanity!)
Feel free to pass this on. The only oversight for agencies is we the people.
.....Or Is it Just Suspicious?
By Doreen Hannes
The issues that brought a tiny Missouri farmstead cheese plant to the forefront in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s war on raw dairy continue to expand, and trouble. As a wise man once said, “Truth is stranger than fiction.” The intrigue doesn’t dissipate at all with the increase in information regarding Morningland Dairy. The tests, methods and procedures that began this tragedy are very questionable.
Let’s back up a step. On June 30, agents from five or six agencies raided Rawesome Food Club in the Venice section of Los Angeles. They covered the security cameras after about a minute, and proceeded to spend several hours rummaging through the place and confiscating product--about $11,000 worth, according to Rawesome. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration took a bunch of stuff, and the California Department of Food and Agriculture took another bunch of stuff, leaving lists of seized items.
All the seized products appear to have been sent for testing to the CDFA. (I say “appear to” because no one has formally said anything, but the report of contamination of Morningland Dairy cheese came from CDFA.)
The test results given to Morningland by the CDFA show reports for two types of cheese attributed to Morningland Dairy—‘raw milk Colby hot pepper” and “raw milk garlic”. (Remember these, I’m going to test you on them later.) The scientific information on these reports is heavily redacted and lack the detail that would have been required to pass a college course on Biology....at a reputable school, anyway.
The first thing that strikes one as extremely odd about the lab test report is that it fails to cite the name of the company in the product description. Secondly, there are no batch numbers for the cheese. These indicate the production date of food and help isolate potential problem areas. Thirdly, while they cite two types of cheese, there are two photocopies of the same one-pound block of Morningland Dairy Garlic Colby showing its weight as .87 lb. Then there are the key results: “L. monocytogenes detected” and ‘staph aur. detected”. Because of the oddities--the lack of batch numbers, failure to identify the manufacturer and the missing photograph of “Morningland Hot Pepper Colby”, I asked Denise Dixon of Morningland for the invoices of Rawesome’s purchases from Morningland prior to the June raid.
Discrepancies
The invoices indicate that Rawesome (invoiced to James Stewart) purchased cheese in October and November of 2009, and May and June of 2010. The invoices reveal Rawesome purchased Morningland Dairy Hot Pepper Colby in ½ pound blocks, but there was no picture of this cheese with the CDFA lab report. The majority of cheese purchased by Rawesome from Morningland Dairy was goat cheese, which runs under Morningland’s Ozark Hills label. All cheeses invoiced to Rawesome were in ½ pound packages, and Morningland had sold no “Morningland Dairy Garlic Colby” to Rawesome at all. So where did this one-pound block of Garlic Colby in the CDFA picture come from?
After finding these anomalies, Denise Dixon contacted the CDFA for more information on the tests conducted of Morningland Dairy or Ozark Hills products seized from Rawesome. She contacted Dr. Stephen Beam, the head of its dairy division, via email, and was told that only two samples of Morningland products were taken and that no samples of Ozark Hills (Morningland Dairy’s Goat cheese line) were collected. So, they sampled a type of cheese that was never sold to Rawesome (Morningland Dairy Garlic) and had none of the most recent order of Ozark Hills goat cheese in their inventory at all. Hmm, says I. The most recent Morningland invoice to Rawesome was entirely Morningland’s Ozark Hills goat cheese.
Transparency?
Interestingly, when you go through the inventory of seized items written by the CDFA, there are six items (59, 75, 76, 78, 79 and 80) that fit Morningland Dairy’s cheese descriptions (some are identified by brand). The product that was tested by CDFA and never sold to Rawesome is listed twice and numbered as 59 and 80 in the CDFA inventory. It says underneath number 59’s description “gallic colby” and is followed by “5”. We don’t know what “5” actually means, but one would think it would be either a number of packages or a weight. Some of the seized products have a weight associated with their description and some do not. There are two other entries on the inventory by CDFA stating “Morningland Dairy”, but on both of those, “Morningland” is crossed out, and one of them (item 80) is the never-sold-to-Rawesome Garlic Colby. Next to that entry is written “54”. Again, we don’t know what the “54” means. 54 packages? 54 pounds? 54 ounces? 54 grams? Who knows? Those who should know, like Dr. Beam, aren’t telling.
The statement by Dr. Beam that there were no other samples of Morningland or Ozark Hills product collected by CDFA just doesn’t make sense. The FDA also seized product from Rawesome. Its report clearly states that it took “10 subs (16 oz) of Morningland Dairy Raw Milk Cheese-Mild Cheddar from Mountain View, MO.” Despite not knowing what “subs” are (yes, I know, the sandwiches, but this is just cheese!) and the fact that Morningland did not sell 16oz blocks of cheese to Rawesome; we can verify through the invoices that Rawesome purchased Morningland Dairy Mild Cheddar cheese. It could have been taken from Rawesome inventory...just not in 1 pound blocks. Evidently, the FDA’s USPHS (United States Public Health Service) is incriminating CFDA for not following the search warrant and failing to take representative samples of ALL dairy products for laboratory testing. Either that, or Doctor Beam and CDFA don’t know how to read labels.
At best, the documentation here is terribly sloppy, and at worst, seriously inaccurate (perhaps a lawyer can tell if it might even be criminally so). Add to that the fact that all the legal proceedings—the issuance of the search warrant that allowed the seizure of the cheese and the issuance of the Missouri Milk Board’s order to destroy the cheese—have taken place in secret, and the fact that no illnesses have been attributed to Morningland cheese, one must question the motives of these agencies. How can there be any claim of due process when a business has been nearly shuttered and pushed to the brink of insolvency based on sloppy and inaccurate paperwork and entirely secret legal proceedings? Not to mention, the absence of any internal appeals procedure with the Missouri Milk Board.
Businesses should not be defamed and railroaded out of business by such sloppy procedures by government agencies. The results of the CDFA ‘investigation’ are seriously suspect; as such, they should be quarantined and subjected to a destruction order. They are the real threat to public health.
======================
If you wish to help Morningland Dairy fight for their right to exist, please donate to them at the UnCheese Party site.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Morningland Dairy on KY3 Springfield Missouri
Yesterday, a reporter and crew from Channel 3 KY3 in Springfield went to Morningland and visited with Denise Dixon about the order to destroy issued by the Missouri Milk Board and the attempt to get a court order to destroy tht is in process by Missouri Atty General Koster.
Here is a link to the video:
KY3 Morningland Dairy 10/29/10
I am hoping that someone will put it up on youtube and get the video out there for all. It was a pretty fair job for sound bite short attention span theater mainstream media.But to be totally fair, it is very difficult to cover the ins and outs of the issue in less than 5 minutes. It's great that they did this piece and that they didn't slam either the State or Morningland in the final piece! Also, they said, "We'll continue to follow this story", so it definitely peaked their interest. Let's keep it in the forefront and thank this television station for covering this tragedy.
Please copy the link and leave comments so they know their coverage of this story is appreciated!
Here is a link to the video:
KY3 Morningland Dairy 10/29/10
I am hoping that someone will put it up on youtube and get the video out there for all. It was a pretty fair job for sound bite short attention span theater mainstream media.But to be totally fair, it is very difficult to cover the ins and outs of the issue in less than 5 minutes. It's great that they did this piece and that they didn't slam either the State or Morningland in the final piece! Also, they said, "We'll continue to follow this story", so it definitely peaked their interest. Let's keep it in the forefront and thank this television station for covering this tragedy.
Please copy the link and leave comments so they know their coverage of this story is appreciated!
Monday, October 25, 2010
Missouri Milk Board Declares They Have No Appeal
Morningland Dairy to go to Court
©Doreen Hannes
Those following the saga of Morningland Dairy should be aware that this past week has been a relentless roller coaster ride. On the upside of the roller coaster, many have donated to the Uncheese Party to help the family farmstead business in this battle, and Joe and Denise Dixon, owners of Morningland Dairy, are humbled and grateful for the generosity and dedication those committed to preserving access to real food have shown.
On the downside, the FDA sent a rather nasty toned letter asserting that they consider Morningland cheese “to pose an acute, life-threatening hazard to health”. While not a single complaint of illness has been reported in the 30 year history of Morningland, the FDA states in their letter that “because of the seriousness of this situation” Morningland “should conduct inspections for 100% effectiveness at their accounts”. You could accurately translate that to “more downtime, more money out of pocket, less likelihood of recovery”, and you’d be right.
Then, on Friday, the 22nd of October, Morningland received a certified letter from the Missouri Milk Board, that flatly negates the “Objection to Destruction and Offer of Remedy” Morningland sent on October 6th by stating that “No administrative regulations allow the appeal of the State Milk Board’s administrative order...”. So the Missouri Milk Board believes it has no reason to follow due process, nor any requirement to be held accountable for their actions if they feel like destroying someone’s lifelong-work and livelihood.
Charges Levied for Questioning Destruction Order
Apparently, the Missouri Attorney General’s office agrees that the Milk Board is above all, as on Friday, after the close of business, they sent notice of service to FTCLDF attorney Gary Cox, notifying him of a Court Ordered Injunction and charging Joseph and Denise Dixon with three counts of violating state law, as set forth by the Missouri Milk Board.
Morningland Dairy, a licensed, inspected facility that has conducted all required tests, is being charged with “Unlawful Sale of Dairy Products”.....rest of article is on Kimberly Hartke's blog
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Holy Cow! It's Viral!!
Last week I did a guest blog on Morningland Dairy for Kimberly Hartke and that went absolutely viral! It has nearly 19,000 Facebook "likes" and 145,000 views. Pretty amazing, and I am so thankful that people are learning about this story. There is a new Uncheese Party site where people can donate to make a stand for freedom of food choice and help keep Morningland in business.
Here is a link to the blog, and there is more to update....I will be doing another post either late tonight or very early in the morning tomorrow about recent developments. In the meantime, here is an excerpt from Kimberly's blog:
Dry Cows Coming In at Morningland Dairy
Reality? Reason?
Nah, We’ve got Regulatory Authority!
by Guest Blogger, ©Doreen Hannes 2010
Morningland Dairy is the latest attempt by the FDA to fulfill the Healthy People 2020 objective to kill raw dairy. Morningland is owned by Joseph and Denise Dixon, who operate the cheese plant and make raw cheese from cows kept right on the property and managed by one of their eldest daughters. They have 12 children, 4 who still live at home, and they have been actively engaged in real food for decades. They were caught up in the Rawesome Raid dragnet and many believe the questionable California Dept of Food and Agriculture tests on their cheese are the legal justification for the multi-agency guns drawn raid at Rawesome.
Here is a link to the blog, and there is more to update....I will be doing another post either late tonight or very early in the morning tomorrow about recent developments. In the meantime, here is an excerpt from Kimberly's blog:
Dry Cows Coming In at Morningland Dairy
Reality? Reason?
Nah, We’ve got Regulatory Authority!
by Guest Blogger, ©Doreen Hannes 2010
Morningland Dairy is the latest attempt by the FDA to fulfill the Healthy People 2020 objective to kill raw dairy. Morningland is owned by Joseph and Denise Dixon, who operate the cheese plant and make raw cheese from cows kept right on the property and managed by one of their eldest daughters. They have 12 children, 4 who still live at home, and they have been actively engaged in real food for decades. They were caught up in the Rawesome Raid dragnet and many believe the questionable California Dept of Food and Agriculture tests on their cheese are the legal justification for the multi-agency guns drawn raid at Rawesome.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Joan Veon Passed Away
I learned this evening that my friend, compatriot, and my sister, Joan Veon, passed away at 4am. Central time this morning...Ocotber 18th, 2010. I am looking forward to seeing her in the Resurrection, and I want to ask that those who feel led pray for comfort for her husband and for her family.
Joan gave much more than we can even appreciate. She attended 109 meeting of the international elites, and I know what a drain those can be. I was blessed to interview her on my show, and you can download that here: Liberty News Radio Joan Veon on Truth Farmer
To be honest, I am stunned. I am sad for all of our loss. She gave it all, and I am glad she won't have to witness the financial devastation that is coming upon us.
May she rest in peace that passes all understanding.
Joan gave much more than we can even appreciate. She attended 109 meeting of the international elites, and I know what a drain those can be. I was blessed to interview her on my show, and you can download that here: Liberty News Radio Joan Veon on Truth Farmer
To be honest, I am stunned. I am sad for all of our loss. She gave it all, and I am glad she won't have to witness the financial devastation that is coming upon us.
May she rest in peace that passes all understanding.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Radio Show Appearances-- 10/16/10 and 10/18/10
Tomorrow morning I will be on Darren Weeks radio show, Govern America, at 8am Central time until 10am, or thereabouts. We'll be talking about Morningland Dairy and the facts in that case, and whatever else comes up!
On Monday, I will also be on the radio with the Intel Hub, discussing Morningland and Rawesome and similar attacks on food freedom and food choice.
In all seriousness, we need to make educated decisions about our food choices. We certainly have the capacity to do that, and we appear to have a duty to do so now with all the actual issues in the consolidated industrial food chain. Raw milk is a very hot button issue for many people, and I am a staunch proponent for raw milk. I do, however, believe that people should make informed decisions about whether or not they want to consume fresh milk. Where you get your fresh milk from does matter, and not all milk is created equal.
Personally, I like our milk the best, but those goats don't give me butter as they produce naturally homogenized milk! I really want a Jersey cow...just for butter! If anyone has a healthy Jersey they don't want, let me know! (lol)
Thanks and I'm hoping we get lots of call ins on these upcoming shows.
On Monday, I will also be on the radio with the Intel Hub, discussing Morningland and Rawesome and similar attacks on food freedom and food choice.
In all seriousness, we need to make educated decisions about our food choices. We certainly have the capacity to do that, and we appear to have a duty to do so now with all the actual issues in the consolidated industrial food chain. Raw milk is a very hot button issue for many people, and I am a staunch proponent for raw milk. I do, however, believe that people should make informed decisions about whether or not they want to consume fresh milk. Where you get your fresh milk from does matter, and not all milk is created equal.
Personally, I like our milk the best, but those goats don't give me butter as they produce naturally homogenized milk! I really want a Jersey cow...just for butter! If anyone has a healthy Jersey they don't want, let me know! (lol)
Thanks and I'm hoping we get lots of call ins on these upcoming shows.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Morningland Dairy Moderate Update
Hello All,
As many of you know, I have been actively helping Morningland Dairy in their problem with the FDA and the Missouri Milk Board. Kimberly Hartke, publicist for Weston A Price Foundation asked me to do an exclusive guest blog for her on the issue. So, of course, I did. You can read it here. She even put some pics from the farm on there!
Some very serious issues need to be addressed here. It isn't even all about our ability to make informed choices about our food. It goes much deeper than that to the very core of our justice system. Where is due process in this issue? When did we give agencies the authority to destroy our property with no indemnity? How is a business that has followed all required testing and never had an illness suddenly shut down and put out of business entirely? Why is there no clear process to be followed by agents that can then be given to businesses so they can have an idea of the processes if there is a problem? Where -in the name of all that is logical- has common sense, common courtesy and decency gone?
Please read the article, and if you have questions, I will be happy to try to answer them.
Be blessed!!!
Doreen
Go to www.newswithviews.com for my articles and many other excellent researchers on topics affecting your freedom...also my blog, www.truth-farmer.blogspot.com
"It's dangerous to be right when your government is wrong"==Voltaire
As many of you know, I have been actively helping Morningland Dairy in their problem with the FDA and the Missouri Milk Board. Kimberly Hartke, publicist for Weston A Price Foundation asked me to do an exclusive guest blog for her on the issue. So, of course, I did. You can read it here. She even put some pics from the farm on there!
Some very serious issues need to be addressed here. It isn't even all about our ability to make informed choices about our food. It goes much deeper than that to the very core of our justice system. Where is due process in this issue? When did we give agencies the authority to destroy our property with no indemnity? How is a business that has followed all required testing and never had an illness suddenly shut down and put out of business entirely? Why is there no clear process to be followed by agents that can then be given to businesses so they can have an idea of the processes if there is a problem? Where -in the name of all that is logical- has common sense, common courtesy and decency gone?
Please read the article, and if you have questions, I will be happy to try to answer them.
Be blessed!!!
Doreen
Go to www.newswithviews.com for my articles and many other excellent researchers on topics affecting your freedom...also my blog, www.truth-farmer.blogspot.com
"It's dangerous to be right when your government is wrong"==Voltaire
As the Worm Turns....100K fine over Worm Castings
Even when you are generally quite informed about things going on in a particular sector, as I often think I am with food and ag, you miss stuff. Sometimes really, really big stuff. Last night, when I was searching for something completely unrelated, I found that I had completely missed yet another insane regulatory action. I came across an article on a blog about a man, George Hahn, in California being fined $100,000 over touting the benefits of his worm castings. After searching the actual case, I found only one other article from a newspaper that had any kind of depth to it.
WORM POOP IS A PESTICIDE, AND THEREFORE MUST BE REGULATED
Here is an excerpt from the first article I found. It's from Pacific Legal Foundation:
“Healthy plants resist pests naturally by producing enzymes that smell bad to bugs,” Sandefur explained. “Fertilizer made from worm castings helps plants to grow strong. It doesn’t do anything to bugs directly, and isn’t poisonous to them.”
“Unfortunately, Worm Gold is so effective that it alarmed state bureaucrats, who simply couldn’t allow a businessman to provide a safe, natural product to help gardeners without the state’s say-so,” said Sandefur.
The DPR determined that, because Hahn’s fertilizer boosts plants’ natural resistance to pests, it qualifies as a “pesticide” and he must obtain DPR registration – involving years of testing and thousands of dollars in fees – before he can sell it to the public. Worm Gold is already licensed as a fertilizer.
“The DPR is twisting the dictionary as it tries to fertilize and expand its bureaucratic empire,” Sandefur said. “These regulators would have us believe that anything that deters pests in any way should be called a ‘pesticide.’ At a hearing last summer, a couple of these bureaucrats were even brazen enough to say that water is a pesticide, when it is used to keep insects off of plant stems.”
Timothy Sandefur---Principal Attorney
YET ANOTHER DIGGING EXPEDITION
As I dug, I found only one article from a Sacremento site that had any depth to it and revealed any particulars on the case. Evidently, there were allegations that Hahn, the owner of the company selling Worm Gold had asserted that worm castings were somehow pesticides. While you certainly can't dump worm castings around a squash bg infested zucchini plant and expect it to kill them, if you have really good soil with proper microorganisms, some of those microorganisms will inhibit pests and make the plants less susceptible to infestation as well as help the plant to generally be more thrifty and fruitful.....But evidently, you can't say that any thing is good for anything any longer without paying boat loads of money to some agency to have them verify that there is some science based fact that they recognize as valid. Kind of like when Diamond Walnuts said that walnuts are good for your health and was fined quite heavily by the FDA.
On August 16th, Hahn was found guilty of not registering worm castings as a pesticide with the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (so he could validate making any claims about it) and fined $100,000 for this violation. Pacific Legal Foundation is appealing and, if there is any reason left in this world (LOL), they will prevail.
THE FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT!
It appears that in the not too distant future mothers across the country may be thrown in jail for telling their children to eat their vegetables because they are "good for them". Apparently the only legitimate way to nutritionally distinguish a twinkie from broccoli may rest on the FDA and their enforcement abilities, and differentiating between milk and oil and worm poop and Sevin Dust is on the EPA. Since the FDA approves GMO's and says nanoparticles haven't yet caused a problem and are therefore acceptable, and took 30 years to finally concede that vitamin C may strengthen the immune system, I'm sure we can all be content with any federal or state agencies thinking on our environment and health.
Every day there appears to another travesty of justice occurring, and I find that the refrain from that old Talking Heads song runs regularly through my mind...."and you may ask yourself, "Self, How did I get here?" I guess the answer is via regulations. Sheesh.
WORM POOP IS A PESTICIDE, AND THEREFORE MUST BE REGULATED
Here is an excerpt from the first article I found. It's from Pacific Legal Foundation:
“Healthy plants resist pests naturally by producing enzymes that smell bad to bugs,” Sandefur explained. “Fertilizer made from worm castings helps plants to grow strong. It doesn’t do anything to bugs directly, and isn’t poisonous to them.”
“Unfortunately, Worm Gold is so effective that it alarmed state bureaucrats, who simply couldn’t allow a businessman to provide a safe, natural product to help gardeners without the state’s say-so,” said Sandefur.
The DPR determined that, because Hahn’s fertilizer boosts plants’ natural resistance to pests, it qualifies as a “pesticide” and he must obtain DPR registration – involving years of testing and thousands of dollars in fees – before he can sell it to the public. Worm Gold is already licensed as a fertilizer.
“The DPR is twisting the dictionary as it tries to fertilize and expand its bureaucratic empire,” Sandefur said. “These regulators would have us believe that anything that deters pests in any way should be called a ‘pesticide.’ At a hearing last summer, a couple of these bureaucrats were even brazen enough to say that water is a pesticide, when it is used to keep insects off of plant stems.”
Timothy Sandefur---Principal Attorney
YET ANOTHER DIGGING EXPEDITION
As I dug, I found only one article from a Sacremento site that had any depth to it and revealed any particulars on the case. Evidently, there were allegations that Hahn, the owner of the company selling Worm Gold had asserted that worm castings were somehow pesticides. While you certainly can't dump worm castings around a squash bg infested zucchini plant and expect it to kill them, if you have really good soil with proper microorganisms, some of those microorganisms will inhibit pests and make the plants less susceptible to infestation as well as help the plant to generally be more thrifty and fruitful.....But evidently, you can't say that any thing is good for anything any longer without paying boat loads of money to some agency to have them verify that there is some science based fact that they recognize as valid. Kind of like when Diamond Walnuts said that walnuts are good for your health and was fined quite heavily by the FDA.
On August 16th, Hahn was found guilty of not registering worm castings as a pesticide with the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (so he could validate making any claims about it) and fined $100,000 for this violation. Pacific Legal Foundation is appealing and, if there is any reason left in this world (LOL), they will prevail.
THE FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT!
It appears that in the not too distant future mothers across the country may be thrown in jail for telling their children to eat their vegetables because they are "good for them". Apparently the only legitimate way to nutritionally distinguish a twinkie from broccoli may rest on the FDA and their enforcement abilities, and differentiating between milk and oil and worm poop and Sevin Dust is on the EPA. Since the FDA approves GMO's and says nanoparticles haven't yet caused a problem and are therefore acceptable, and took 30 years to finally concede that vitamin C may strengthen the immune system, I'm sure we can all be content with any federal or state agencies thinking on our environment and health.
Every day there appears to another travesty of justice occurring, and I find that the refrain from that old Talking Heads song runs regularly through my mind...."and you may ask yourself, "Self, How did I get here?" I guess the answer is via regulations. Sheesh.
Monday, October 11, 2010
WalMart Wants More!
What do you want when you are the new Global Supply Sargent? More purchasing power, of course! WalMart is dominating the American grocery retail sector already and they want the world....I think they may get it, too. I often call them the New World Order Company Store, but, I guess I'm a bit of a cynic.
I wonder what will happen when Walmart, who is too big to fail, founders?
Here's an article about how much they love to keep giving you the lowest price.....
Wal-Mart Wants More Buying Clout
The world's largest retailer is convinced it can cut even better deals by consolidating its purchasing of raw materials with partners
By Matthew Boyle and Carol Wolf
Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) purchasing chief Hernan Muntaner has a dream: teaming the giant retailer with soda and snack maker PepsiCo (PEP) to buy potatoes jointly for a lower price than either company can get on its own. That would allow both to earn more money on the chips and spuds they sell in Wal-Mart's supermarkets. So far, Pepsi isn't playing along. But with sales slowing in the U.S. and the price of sugar, meat, and wheat on the rise, the world's largest retailer is jointly purchasing a growing share of raw ingredients with manufacturers of food and household products sold in its stores. Products already being purchased with suppliers include sugar, which goes into the company's store-brand soda and five-pound bags, and paper, used in Wal-Mart's back-office printers. Muntaner envisions a day when his company will do it with most goods it sells.
"Around the world, we found we were buying the same raw materials" that Wal-Mart suppliers buy, says Muntaner, whose official title is vice-president for international purchase leverage. "When you put the volume together of what we bought and what [suppliers] bought, and buy from just one supplier, you can reduce the cost."
It's all about the retailing giant doing what it's become famous for: squeezing costs out of its supply chain. And although Wal-Mart is already feared by many suppliers for its enormous buying clout, it's convinced it can cut even better deals by consolidating its purchasing with partners. Currently, only makers of private label goods sold under Wal-Mart's house brands have joined in its so-called collaborative sourcing program. Manufacturers of branded products have taken a pass because they're loath to share pricing data and product formulas, say executives at three companies approached by Wal-Mart. Pepsi declined to comment.
Muntaner says that "in most cases" the branded companies "are more sophisticated than we are" in buying raw materials. "But we have found times when that wasn't the case," he adds. He declines to give specifics. "Sometimes it's very hard with a big company to have conversations like this," Muntaner says. "That is the main reason why we don't have Pepsi yet."
Muntaner's primary job is to circle the globe helping Wal-Mart's international divisions, from China to Japan to Brazil, find ways to use the company's massive buying muscle to lower what it spends on everything from copier paper to store-branded bottled water. Increasingly, that means selling the benefits of sourcing collaboratively. Muntaner says a soda maker, which he declines to name, has teamed up with Wal-Mart in Britain to buy sugar. The soda company paid 14 percent less, he says. Wal-Mart's sugar costs also fell, savings it used to lower the price of bags of its own house brand of sugar.
In Chile, where Wal-Mart has 259 locations, the retailer teamed up with a paper supplier and managed to cut Wal-Mart's own paper costs by 2.5 percent because of the greater bargaining clout. Wal-Mart is also jointly purchasing rice and could extend the program to everyday products such as household cleaners, vitamins, and produce. "We can do this with anything that is sold," Muntaner says.
This is just the company's latest attempt at slowing expense growth. Wal-Mart is already consolidating its roster of suppliers, eliminating distribution middlemen in nations such as Japan, and taking over the U.S. trucking operations from some of its suppliers in a bid to haul goods more cheaply. International chief Doug McMillon says the company is saving hundreds of millions of dollars a year from such changes—and wants savings of over a billion dollars eventually.
The bottom line: Wal-Mart is trying to increase its buying clout by teaming with suppliers to jointly purchase raw materials at better prices.
Boyle is deputy Corporations editor for BusinessWeek. Wolf is a reporter for Bloomberg News.
I wonder what will happen when Walmart, who is too big to fail, founders?
Here's an article about how much they love to keep giving you the lowest price.....
Wal-Mart Wants More Buying Clout
The world's largest retailer is convinced it can cut even better deals by consolidating its purchasing of raw materials with partners
By Matthew Boyle and Carol Wolf
Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) purchasing chief Hernan Muntaner has a dream: teaming the giant retailer with soda and snack maker PepsiCo (PEP) to buy potatoes jointly for a lower price than either company can get on its own. That would allow both to earn more money on the chips and spuds they sell in Wal-Mart's supermarkets. So far, Pepsi isn't playing along. But with sales slowing in the U.S. and the price of sugar, meat, and wheat on the rise, the world's largest retailer is jointly purchasing a growing share of raw ingredients with manufacturers of food and household products sold in its stores. Products already being purchased with suppliers include sugar, which goes into the company's store-brand soda and five-pound bags, and paper, used in Wal-Mart's back-office printers. Muntaner envisions a day when his company will do it with most goods it sells.
"Around the world, we found we were buying the same raw materials" that Wal-Mart suppliers buy, says Muntaner, whose official title is vice-president for international purchase leverage. "When you put the volume together of what we bought and what [suppliers] bought, and buy from just one supplier, you can reduce the cost."
It's all about the retailing giant doing what it's become famous for: squeezing costs out of its supply chain. And although Wal-Mart is already feared by many suppliers for its enormous buying clout, it's convinced it can cut even better deals by consolidating its purchasing with partners. Currently, only makers of private label goods sold under Wal-Mart's house brands have joined in its so-called collaborative sourcing program. Manufacturers of branded products have taken a pass because they're loath to share pricing data and product formulas, say executives at three companies approached by Wal-Mart. Pepsi declined to comment.
Muntaner says that "in most cases" the branded companies "are more sophisticated than we are" in buying raw materials. "But we have found times when that wasn't the case," he adds. He declines to give specifics. "Sometimes it's very hard with a big company to have conversations like this," Muntaner says. "That is the main reason why we don't have Pepsi yet."
Muntaner's primary job is to circle the globe helping Wal-Mart's international divisions, from China to Japan to Brazil, find ways to use the company's massive buying muscle to lower what it spends on everything from copier paper to store-branded bottled water. Increasingly, that means selling the benefits of sourcing collaboratively. Muntaner says a soda maker, which he declines to name, has teamed up with Wal-Mart in Britain to buy sugar. The soda company paid 14 percent less, he says. Wal-Mart's sugar costs also fell, savings it used to lower the price of bags of its own house brand of sugar.
In Chile, where Wal-Mart has 259 locations, the retailer teamed up with a paper supplier and managed to cut Wal-Mart's own paper costs by 2.5 percent because of the greater bargaining clout. Wal-Mart is also jointly purchasing rice and could extend the program to everyday products such as household cleaners, vitamins, and produce. "We can do this with anything that is sold," Muntaner says.
This is just the company's latest attempt at slowing expense growth. Wal-Mart is already consolidating its roster of suppliers, eliminating distribution middlemen in nations such as Japan, and taking over the U.S. trucking operations from some of its suppliers in a bid to haul goods more cheaply. International chief Doug McMillon says the company is saving hundreds of millions of dollars a year from such changes—and wants savings of over a billion dollars eventually.
The bottom line: Wal-Mart is trying to increase its buying clout by teaming with suppliers to jointly purchase raw materials at better prices.
Boyle is deputy Corporations editor for BusinessWeek. Wolf is a reporter for Bloomberg News.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Morningland Dairy- Update
If you read my article on News With Views about the FDA and Missouri Milk Board shutting down Morningland Dairy, then you have a good background for a quick update....If not, I suggest you read the article and perhaps visit the Morningland blog to get a good idea of what is happening.
Yesterday, after Morningland published their "Objection to Order to Destroy" and sent out a press release about it, they were contacted by the Attorney General's office and told to be in court TODAY for a hearing in Howell County Circuit Court asking for a restraining order against them to protect the public from the cheese, I guess, and also a preliminary injunction to (among other things) prevent them from "continuing and future violations of Missouri's dairy law."
If their actions alone don't say it, that citation from the notice of service clearly indicates that the Missouri Milk Board is acting as the agent for the FDA and believes that raw dairy is inherently dangerous and -all- adulterated. That's how I see it anyway. If others see it differently, I would like to know how.
Here is the Press Release and Objection to order to destroy copied and pasted below.You can find the documents from the state at NICFA's website, and the court docs will be posted there soon.....BTW, the Attorney General's office called at 4:50pm yesterday to tell them court was canceled because they couldn't get 2 of their witnesses there. I think giving 24 hour notice of a court date over approximately $250,000 worth of product is less than honorable. One assertion in the court docs is that the product is that "immediate and irreparable injury, loss or damage will result if the condemned cheese products are not destroyed". As if cheese sitting in a cooler can climb out and go kill somebody. Hyperbole, anyone?
Here are the Press Release and Objection to Order to Destroy:
=====================FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE===================
Date: October 6th 2010
Subject: Family Run Dairy Ordered to Destroy 50,000 Pounds of Cheese
Subheading: Battle Over Raw Dairy Products Has a New Epicenter
Morningland Dairy has issued an objection to the Missouri Milk Board’s “order to destroy” their inventory of raw aged cheese. The cheese is being held on their property under an embargo issued by the Missouri Milk Board on August 26th, 2010. The embargo on all Morningland’s product was issued in response to tests done by the California Department of Food and Agriculture on cheese seized in a raid on Rawesome Foods in Venice, Ca. on June 30th. The embargo halted all production and sales of Morningland cheese.
Missouri Milk Board gave Morningland a verbal order of destruction on September 24th. Joseph Dixon, owner and General Manager of Morningland, then requested that Gene Wiseman, Executive Secretary of the Missouri Milk Board, provide written notice of the order to destroy and the method of destruction. Wiseman wrote the order to destroy on October 1st and it was hand delivered by Don Falls of the Missouri Milk Board to Morningland Dairy on October 1st, but it did not include the destruction procedures.
Denise Dixon, owner and General Manager of Morningland Dairy says, “Morningland has been producing raw aged cheese for 30 years, and in that time, absolutely no reports of illness have been made by anyone who has consumed our product. We are, and remain, wholly committed to providing good, healthful food to our customers. The order to destroy nearly 50,000 or so pounds of our cheese is not associated with even one complaint of illness, and we believe it’s an over reaction at best.”
In their objection to the destruction order, Morningland offers a remedy based on sound and verifiable scientific testing. Denise Dixon says, “It is our hope that reason and common sense will prevail. Until that happens, it appears that the State of Missouri and the FDA are more interested in putting us out of business than allowing consumers to have a choice in their food.”
At this point there is no written assurance from the Missouri Milk Board indicating that Morningland will be allowed to resume production or distribution of their products.
Objection to Order to Destroy Dairy Product at Morningland Dairy
Morningland of the Ozarks, LLC, dba Morningland Dairy, is in receipt of recommendations by the Missouri Milk Board and representatives of the Missouri Department of Agriculture, ultimately ordering the destruction of ALL cheese produced by Morningland Dairy from January 1st, 2010, through August 26th, 2010. Morningland Dairy LLC hereby gives notice to the Missouri Milk Board and the Missouri Department of Agriculture and their agents, that we object to this order and request due process be followed before any further destruction of our property, wealth, and ability to provide ourselves and our customers, with a desired and healthful product is incurred.
Morningland Dairy is, and has been, committed to providing a growing clientele with raw milk cheeses for more than 30 years. In thirty years, there have been no reports of illness associated with consumption of our cheese.
Because of the untenable nature of the order of destruction, we cannot comply and we formally lodge our objection to this order and request that the order issued by Gene Wiseman, Executive Secretary of the Missouri Milk Board, be immediately rescinded. Instead, Morningland Dairy requests that all parties involved consider the scientifically sound and common sense remedy to the allegations of “contamination” of our product be applied. This remedy can be found at the end of this document.
Many of the “facts” as stated by the Missouri Milk Board et al in the order to destroy and the attachments thereto are both incorrect and unscientific. A brief rebuttal to the major inconsistencies and substantive errors follow:
1) To date, there has been no legitimate test performed on Morningland Dairy cheese, although Morningland Dairy owners have repeatedly requested that proper tests be done. California authorities did not sign the test they allegedly performed until 55 days after product was seized at gunpoint from Rawesome Foods. No sample of said product was shared with Morningland Dairy as is required by California and Missouri statutes; therefore, there is no confirmation of the findings reported by California Food and Department of Agriculture.
2) Morningland Dairy plant manager, Jedadiah York, and Plant Owner/Gen.Manager, Denise Dixon, apprised Don Falls of the Missouri State Milk Board that more than two samples of Morningland Dairy cheese had apparently been tested in California, and that those results should be considered in the situation of alleged contamination of Morningland Dairy cheese. Mr. Falls’ reply was that he was not told about it, and we repeatedly asked him to look into that situation. Mr. Falls later stated he could not get that information from California, and that it was up to Morningland Dairy to request it. Instead of getting the requested information, he repeatedly stated that we just needed to “concentrate on doing the recall”.
3) Despite being aware that several types of Morningland Dairy cheese had been tested and evidently tested clear by the California Department of Food and Agriculture, Mr. Falls insisted that all of our cheese must be recalled, not just the two batches that were identified from the alleged contamination found in the California test.
4) No Missouri State Milk Board representative obtained samples from Morningland Dairy. Instead, at the request of Morningland Dairy owners, samples were taken by a Morningland Dairy employee, and submitted to Microbe Inotech Laboratories, Inc., of St. Louis, MO, (this lab was suggested by Don Falls of the Missouri State Milk Board) on August 27, 2010 for testing.
5) The only witness to the sampling from Morningland Dairy was the employee who did the sampling. When Morningland Dairy owners, Joseph & Denise Dixon, learned how the samples were taken, they knew that the tests would be inaccurate and, consequently, erroneous. Despite repeatedly informing Don Falls and also Audra Ashemore, of the FDA, of the faulty sampling methods, both of these individuals used the results of this inept test in their reports.
6) Mr. Falls failed to see to it that samples bore the signature of the person taking the samples, which is required by section 196.565 of the Revised Missouri Statutes. Although Mr. Falls states that an employee of Morningland Dairy delivered said samples to Microbe Inotech Laboratories, Inc., the samples were in fact given to a family member of Joseph & Denise Dixon. She, in turn, met another family member in Edgar Springs, MO, who then took said samples to said lab. Neither of these family members is an employee of Morningland Dairy. These facts are reported to illustrate the falseness of Mr. Wiseman’s statement that “State Milk Board staff documented chain of custody and maintained the integrity of samples by ensuring the storage containers where the cheese products were kept were properly sealed, labeled and secured.”
7) Three FDA representatives took 100 swab/sponge tests of the cheese plant and the milk barn at Morningland Dairy during the first week of September. The following week, Audra Ashemore of the FDA, called Plant Manager York, to say that the swab test results were in, and that the tests came back clear. When Mrs. Dixon requested a copy of these test results, Ms. Ashemore stated that Morningland Dairy would receive a copy, and that the FDA did not have a copy. To date, Morningland Dairy has not received a copy of said results, and no mention has since been made of the fact that both the cheese plant and the milk barn tested clear.
In conclusion, due to the lack of scientific evidence, lack of transparent protocol and complete lack of any illness associated with our cheese, and the absurdity of the assertion that ALL, nearly all, or even some of Morningland Dairy cheese is actually below standard, we –again- offer to test each batch of cheese in our cooler prior to shipping the product to our customers.
Because of the fact that it is far from a light matter to put families out of work and out of business when no harm has occurred to anyone in a thirty-year history, we are more than reluctant to destroy nearly 50,000 pounds of food based on erroneous tests. We have always appreciated the input and advise of the Missouri Department of Agriculture and Milk Board and have no issues with following logical and scientifically accurate suggestions and recommendations. We do, however, have no desire to harm our customers or ourselves by following unjust, unscientific, faulty processes that destroy the health and livelihoods of those involved with our company.
At this point, October 6th, 2010, we have been required to recall 6 months of work, have been completely shut down and forced to dump milk for nearly 5 weeks, are being told we must destroy at least 8 months of work, and have no assurance that we will be allowed to continue to produce our product without further subjection to overzealous enforcement actions on the part of the FDA or the Missouri Milk Board.
We seek justice, reason, logic and decency, and we desire to live peaceably and to profit from our labor. Due process is inherent in our system, and we request that it be followed.
Proposed Remedy from Morningland of the Ozarks, LLC to the Missouri Milk Board and Representatives of the Missouri Department of Agriculture
1) Morningland Dairy will diligently strive to put into action those reasonable procedural recommendations rendered in the Memorandums from the MO State Milk Board and Dr. Harold Treese, as soon as finances and circumstances allow.
2) Morningland Dairy will diligently perform two microbial tests, using a state approved lab of our choice, on each batch of cheese in order to identify any contamination, and will offer for sale only cheese batches that are found to be free of contamination. Any cheese batch that tests positive for contamination will not be offered for sale.
==================
===end===
Yesterday, after Morningland published their "Objection to Order to Destroy" and sent out a press release about it, they were contacted by the Attorney General's office and told to be in court TODAY for a hearing in Howell County Circuit Court asking for a restraining order against them to protect the public from the cheese, I guess, and also a preliminary injunction to (among other things) prevent them from "continuing and future violations of Missouri's dairy law."
If their actions alone don't say it, that citation from the notice of service clearly indicates that the Missouri Milk Board is acting as the agent for the FDA and believes that raw dairy is inherently dangerous and -all- adulterated. That's how I see it anyway. If others see it differently, I would like to know how.
Here is the Press Release and Objection to order to destroy copied and pasted below.You can find the documents from the state at NICFA's website, and the court docs will be posted there soon.....BTW, the Attorney General's office called at 4:50pm yesterday to tell them court was canceled because they couldn't get 2 of their witnesses there. I think giving 24 hour notice of a court date over approximately $250,000 worth of product is less than honorable. One assertion in the court docs is that the product is that "immediate and irreparable injury, loss or damage will result if the condemned cheese products are not destroyed". As if cheese sitting in a cooler can climb out and go kill somebody. Hyperbole, anyone?
Here are the Press Release and Objection to Order to Destroy:
=====================FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE===================
Date: October 6th 2010
Subject: Family Run Dairy Ordered to Destroy 50,000 Pounds of Cheese
Subheading: Battle Over Raw Dairy Products Has a New Epicenter
Morningland Dairy has issued an objection to the Missouri Milk Board’s “order to destroy” their inventory of raw aged cheese. The cheese is being held on their property under an embargo issued by the Missouri Milk Board on August 26th, 2010. The embargo on all Morningland’s product was issued in response to tests done by the California Department of Food and Agriculture on cheese seized in a raid on Rawesome Foods in Venice, Ca. on June 30th. The embargo halted all production and sales of Morningland cheese.
Missouri Milk Board gave Morningland a verbal order of destruction on September 24th. Joseph Dixon, owner and General Manager of Morningland, then requested that Gene Wiseman, Executive Secretary of the Missouri Milk Board, provide written notice of the order to destroy and the method of destruction. Wiseman wrote the order to destroy on October 1st and it was hand delivered by Don Falls of the Missouri Milk Board to Morningland Dairy on October 1st, but it did not include the destruction procedures.
Denise Dixon, owner and General Manager of Morningland Dairy says, “Morningland has been producing raw aged cheese for 30 years, and in that time, absolutely no reports of illness have been made by anyone who has consumed our product. We are, and remain, wholly committed to providing good, healthful food to our customers. The order to destroy nearly 50,000 or so pounds of our cheese is not associated with even one complaint of illness, and we believe it’s an over reaction at best.”
In their objection to the destruction order, Morningland offers a remedy based on sound and verifiable scientific testing. Denise Dixon says, “It is our hope that reason and common sense will prevail. Until that happens, it appears that the State of Missouri and the FDA are more interested in putting us out of business than allowing consumers to have a choice in their food.”
At this point there is no written assurance from the Missouri Milk Board indicating that Morningland will be allowed to resume production or distribution of their products.
Objection to Order to Destroy Dairy Product at Morningland Dairy
Morningland of the Ozarks, LLC, dba Morningland Dairy, is in receipt of recommendations by the Missouri Milk Board and representatives of the Missouri Department of Agriculture, ultimately ordering the destruction of ALL cheese produced by Morningland Dairy from January 1st, 2010, through August 26th, 2010. Morningland Dairy LLC hereby gives notice to the Missouri Milk Board and the Missouri Department of Agriculture and their agents, that we object to this order and request due process be followed before any further destruction of our property, wealth, and ability to provide ourselves and our customers, with a desired and healthful product is incurred.
Morningland Dairy is, and has been, committed to providing a growing clientele with raw milk cheeses for more than 30 years. In thirty years, there have been no reports of illness associated with consumption of our cheese.
Because of the untenable nature of the order of destruction, we cannot comply and we formally lodge our objection to this order and request that the order issued by Gene Wiseman, Executive Secretary of the Missouri Milk Board, be immediately rescinded. Instead, Morningland Dairy requests that all parties involved consider the scientifically sound and common sense remedy to the allegations of “contamination” of our product be applied. This remedy can be found at the end of this document.
Many of the “facts” as stated by the Missouri Milk Board et al in the order to destroy and the attachments thereto are both incorrect and unscientific. A brief rebuttal to the major inconsistencies and substantive errors follow:
1) To date, there has been no legitimate test performed on Morningland Dairy cheese, although Morningland Dairy owners have repeatedly requested that proper tests be done. California authorities did not sign the test they allegedly performed until 55 days after product was seized at gunpoint from Rawesome Foods. No sample of said product was shared with Morningland Dairy as is required by California and Missouri statutes; therefore, there is no confirmation of the findings reported by California Food and Department of Agriculture.
2) Morningland Dairy plant manager, Jedadiah York, and Plant Owner/Gen.Manager, Denise Dixon, apprised Don Falls of the Missouri State Milk Board that more than two samples of Morningland Dairy cheese had apparently been tested in California, and that those results should be considered in the situation of alleged contamination of Morningland Dairy cheese. Mr. Falls’ reply was that he was not told about it, and we repeatedly asked him to look into that situation. Mr. Falls later stated he could not get that information from California, and that it was up to Morningland Dairy to request it. Instead of getting the requested information, he repeatedly stated that we just needed to “concentrate on doing the recall”.
3) Despite being aware that several types of Morningland Dairy cheese had been tested and evidently tested clear by the California Department of Food and Agriculture, Mr. Falls insisted that all of our cheese must be recalled, not just the two batches that were identified from the alleged contamination found in the California test.
4) No Missouri State Milk Board representative obtained samples from Morningland Dairy. Instead, at the request of Morningland Dairy owners, samples were taken by a Morningland Dairy employee, and submitted to Microbe Inotech Laboratories, Inc., of St. Louis, MO, (this lab was suggested by Don Falls of the Missouri State Milk Board) on August 27, 2010 for testing.
5) The only witness to the sampling from Morningland Dairy was the employee who did the sampling. When Morningland Dairy owners, Joseph & Denise Dixon, learned how the samples were taken, they knew that the tests would be inaccurate and, consequently, erroneous. Despite repeatedly informing Don Falls and also Audra Ashemore, of the FDA, of the faulty sampling methods, both of these individuals used the results of this inept test in their reports.
6) Mr. Falls failed to see to it that samples bore the signature of the person taking the samples, which is required by section 196.565 of the Revised Missouri Statutes. Although Mr. Falls states that an employee of Morningland Dairy delivered said samples to Microbe Inotech Laboratories, Inc., the samples were in fact given to a family member of Joseph & Denise Dixon. She, in turn, met another family member in Edgar Springs, MO, who then took said samples to said lab. Neither of these family members is an employee of Morningland Dairy. These facts are reported to illustrate the falseness of Mr. Wiseman’s statement that “State Milk Board staff documented chain of custody and maintained the integrity of samples by ensuring the storage containers where the cheese products were kept were properly sealed, labeled and secured.”
7) Three FDA representatives took 100 swab/sponge tests of the cheese plant and the milk barn at Morningland Dairy during the first week of September. The following week, Audra Ashemore of the FDA, called Plant Manager York, to say that the swab test results were in, and that the tests came back clear. When Mrs. Dixon requested a copy of these test results, Ms. Ashemore stated that Morningland Dairy would receive a copy, and that the FDA did not have a copy. To date, Morningland Dairy has not received a copy of said results, and no mention has since been made of the fact that both the cheese plant and the milk barn tested clear.
In conclusion, due to the lack of scientific evidence, lack of transparent protocol and complete lack of any illness associated with our cheese, and the absurdity of the assertion that ALL, nearly all, or even some of Morningland Dairy cheese is actually below standard, we –again- offer to test each batch of cheese in our cooler prior to shipping the product to our customers.
Because of the fact that it is far from a light matter to put families out of work and out of business when no harm has occurred to anyone in a thirty-year history, we are more than reluctant to destroy nearly 50,000 pounds of food based on erroneous tests. We have always appreciated the input and advise of the Missouri Department of Agriculture and Milk Board and have no issues with following logical and scientifically accurate suggestions and recommendations. We do, however, have no desire to harm our customers or ourselves by following unjust, unscientific, faulty processes that destroy the health and livelihoods of those involved with our company.
At this point, October 6th, 2010, we have been required to recall 6 months of work, have been completely shut down and forced to dump milk for nearly 5 weeks, are being told we must destroy at least 8 months of work, and have no assurance that we will be allowed to continue to produce our product without further subjection to overzealous enforcement actions on the part of the FDA or the Missouri Milk Board.
We seek justice, reason, logic and decency, and we desire to live peaceably and to profit from our labor. Due process is inherent in our system, and we request that it be followed.
Proposed Remedy from Morningland of the Ozarks, LLC to the Missouri Milk Board and Representatives of the Missouri Department of Agriculture
1) Morningland Dairy will diligently strive to put into action those reasonable procedural recommendations rendered in the Memorandums from the MO State Milk Board and Dr. Harold Treese, as soon as finances and circumstances allow.
2) Morningland Dairy will diligently perform two microbial tests, using a state approved lab of our choice, on each batch of cheese in order to identify any contamination, and will offer for sale only cheese batches that are found to be free of contamination. Any cheese batch that tests positive for contamination will not be offered for sale.
==================
===end===
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Stalled Food Safety??? We shall see........
So I am in throes of dissecting the "bipartisan", same as if not worse than it ever was, Senate Bill 510. There is a lot of hoopla going on about it. The people who actually think it is somehow beneficial to give the FDA USDA, CBP and DHS more power than they already have to do the job that they aren't doing are out in force. Merler is a law firm that sues on food safety issues, and he is the biggest public proponent of this legisation. He has a post on how upsetting it is that there appear to be power structure problems with pushing this bill through, and was actually good enough to post some negative comments about the bill. You can read that on his blog, Marler and weigh in if you feel inclined.
I've been spending an awful lot of time with Morningland Dairy in their effort to try to get common sense in the regulatory approach to their recall situation. At this point, the Missouri Milk Board is "recommending" that they destroy all cheese in their cooler made through June the 25th. This is a little more than a half year of work. Morningland wants to test their uncut blocks of cheese, and the Milk Board is still taking the position that they simply should destroy all of it. Seemingly, Morningland has to get permission from the Milk Board to actually test their cheese. I find this ludicrous and nonsensical. Not a single illness or complaint about their product has been levied. I am more than certain that if Kraft has an issue, they don't close them down for a month and then ask them to destroy half a year's worth of work.
What we have in Morningland is definitely a double standard from large entities to smaller entities. They want to test the actual cheese and implement "recommended" "good manufacturing practices" and wish to test every lot of cheese for several months before they will ship it out. But they are being stopped from testing what they already have. Kooky.....IF common sense is given any thought at all, but if not, then this is all perfectly logical.
I should finish my article on 510 soon. Have a great day!!
I've been spending an awful lot of time with Morningland Dairy in their effort to try to get common sense in the regulatory approach to their recall situation. At this point, the Missouri Milk Board is "recommending" that they destroy all cheese in their cooler made through June the 25th. This is a little more than a half year of work. Morningland wants to test their uncut blocks of cheese, and the Milk Board is still taking the position that they simply should destroy all of it. Seemingly, Morningland has to get permission from the Milk Board to actually test their cheese. I find this ludicrous and nonsensical. Not a single illness or complaint about their product has been levied. I am more than certain that if Kraft has an issue, they don't close them down for a month and then ask them to destroy half a year's worth of work.
What we have in Morningland is definitely a double standard from large entities to smaller entities. They want to test the actual cheese and implement "recommended" "good manufacturing practices" and wish to test every lot of cheese for several months before they will ship it out. But they are being stopped from testing what they already have. Kooky.....IF common sense is given any thought at all, but if not, then this is all perfectly logical.
I should finish my article on 510 soon. Have a great day!!
Friday, September 17, 2010
Last Show on Liberty News Radio-9-18-10
Yes, it is going to be my last show on Liberty News Radio tomorrow morning. I will have a guest on with me who is very studied on the One World One Health Initiative that is already being legitimized in law in the United States, and it will NOT be better for your freedom, your health, your pocketbook or your choices. It's an all around bad deal that you will want to understand the terminology linked to it, as well as the scope and method of implementation.
My guest has put together a wonderful document to help you learn this program and while I cannot post the entire thing here (lack of time and my general ineptitude with -blogger-) I've put a snippet below and you can email me at animalwaitress@yahoo.com with the heading "OWOH Paper" and I will be happy to send it to you. I encourage everyone to download an archive of this program from the show archives section of Liberty News Radio.
As I said in the "Something's Happening Here" post below, I will be doing a lot of radio still, just giving up my own show, so look for me on Derry Brownfield, The Power Hour and the Liberty Roundtable on a regular basis.
Be Blessed, everyone!
Doreen
Here is a taste of the document for tomorrow's show:
Truth Farmer Listeners
The One Health Cash Cow
From a Texas A & M: Mass Animal Carcass Management Powerpoint
The Global Cash Cow is strategically placed in many government and higher education powerpoints
There is a United Nations code that few people are aware of. They are the Terrestrial
Animal Health Code, Terrestrial Manual of Diagnostics & Vaccinations, and Terrestrial Aquatic Code combined are that is the equivalent of 9 reams of copy paper!
➢ This code was established because the US is a UN Member Signatory
➢ This code was not brought to you or you public officials for a vote
➢ This code when fully implemented will regulate every facet of your life
➢ This code defines you as an animal and you will be treated as the global herd
Under the Terrestrial Animal Health Code you are defined as an animal.
An animal means a mammal, bird or bee (1)
Don’t think so?
From the Summer Edition of the One World, One Health Newsletter, Volume 3, Issue 3
Highlights: “My Future Veterinary Career in Human Health.”
===============
My guest has put together a wonderful document to help you learn this program and while I cannot post the entire thing here (lack of time and my general ineptitude with -blogger-) I've put a snippet below and you can email me at animalwaitress@yahoo.com with the heading "OWOH Paper" and I will be happy to send it to you. I encourage everyone to download an archive of this program from the show archives section of Liberty News Radio.
As I said in the "Something's Happening Here" post below, I will be doing a lot of radio still, just giving up my own show, so look for me on Derry Brownfield, The Power Hour and the Liberty Roundtable on a regular basis.
Be Blessed, everyone!
Doreen
Here is a taste of the document for tomorrow's show:
Truth Farmer Listeners
The One Health Cash Cow
From a Texas A & M: Mass Animal Carcass Management Powerpoint
The Global Cash Cow is strategically placed in many government and higher education powerpoints
There is a United Nations code that few people are aware of. They are the Terrestrial
Animal Health Code, Terrestrial Manual of Diagnostics & Vaccinations, and Terrestrial Aquatic Code combined are that is the equivalent of 9 reams of copy paper!
➢ This code was established because the US is a UN Member Signatory
➢ This code was not brought to you or you public officials for a vote
➢ This code when fully implemented will regulate every facet of your life
➢ This code defines you as an animal and you will be treated as the global herd
Under the Terrestrial Animal Health Code you are defined as an animal.
An animal means a mammal, bird or bee (1)
Don’t think so?
From the Summer Edition of the One World, One Health Newsletter, Volume 3, Issue 3
Highlights: “My Future Veterinary Career in Human Health.”
===============
Monday, September 13, 2010
More Insanity!!!
County Sues Farmer, Cites Too Many Crops
WSB-TV
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/24979774/detail.html
Posted: 5:20 pm EDT September 12, 2010Updated: 10:00 am EDT September 13, 2010
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. -- DeKalb County is suing a local farmer for growing too many vegetables, but he said he will fight the charges in the ongoing battle neighbors call “Cabbagegate.”
Fig trees, broccoli and cabbages are among the many greens that line the soil on Steve Miller’s more than two acres in Clarkston, who said he has spent fifteen years growing crops to give away and sell at local farmers markets.
“It's a way of life, like it's something in my blood,” said Miller.
In January, Dekalb County code enforcement officers began ticketing him for growing too many crops for the zoning and having unpermitted employees on site.
Miller stopped growing vegetables this summer and the charges were put on hold as he got the property rezoned.
WATCH: Farmer Sued For Excessive Veggies
Two weeks after approval, however, his attorney said the county began prosecuting the old charges, saying he was technically in violation before the rezoning.
“It should go away. I think it borders on harassment,” said Miller’s attorney Doug Dillard.
Miller faces nearly $5,000 in fines, but he said he plans to fight those citations in recorders court later this month.
A county spokesperson said officials can’t discuss the matter while it is in court, but neighbors were quick to come to his defense.
“When he moved here and I found out what he was doing I said, ‘Steve, you’re the best thing that ever happened to Cimarron Drive. And I still say that,” said neighbor Britt Fayssoux.
WSB-TV
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/24979774/detail.html
Posted: 5:20 pm EDT September 12, 2010Updated: 10:00 am EDT September 13, 2010
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. -- DeKalb County is suing a local farmer for growing too many vegetables, but he said he will fight the charges in the ongoing battle neighbors call “Cabbagegate.”
Fig trees, broccoli and cabbages are among the many greens that line the soil on Steve Miller’s more than two acres in Clarkston, who said he has spent fifteen years growing crops to give away and sell at local farmers markets.
“It's a way of life, like it's something in my blood,” said Miller.
In January, Dekalb County code enforcement officers began ticketing him for growing too many crops for the zoning and having unpermitted employees on site.
Miller stopped growing vegetables this summer and the charges were put on hold as he got the property rezoned.
WATCH: Farmer Sued For Excessive Veggies
Two weeks after approval, however, his attorney said the county began prosecuting the old charges, saying he was technically in violation before the rezoning.
“It should go away. I think it borders on harassment,” said Miller’s attorney Doug Dillard.
Miller faces nearly $5,000 in fines, but he said he plans to fight those citations in recorders court later this month.
A county spokesperson said officials can’t discuss the matter while it is in court, but neighbors were quick to come to his defense.
“When he moved here and I found out what he was doing I said, ‘Steve, you’re the best thing that ever happened to Cimarron Drive. And I still say that,” said neighbor Britt Fayssoux.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Something Happening Here.....
And what it is, is pretty durn clear. If you'll read the posts below, you will see a concerted effort to shut down raw dairy distribution of any variety. And if you'll go to News With Views, and read the articles, you will get all the click through links to the documents substantiating my claim.
The past month has been very, very busy here. Not with things I really -want- to do, but with a lot of fighting for facts and answers from the actions against farmers and food clubs across this country.
As most of you know, I have a radio show on Liberty News Radio every Saturday from 10-11am Central time. September 18th is going to be the last show for Truth Farmer on Liberty News Radio. It's going to be one of the deep educational type shows on One World One Health, which is a trademark of the World Conservation Society, and a full fusion global initiative to form and transform all areas of health. And I mean all. It is the interface for human, animal and environmental health. I will have a guest on who is very adept at finding the 'processes' that governments use to push these global initiatives without any actual legislative authority. It will be a show that you will want to download and listen to more than once or twice so you get the full effect and procedures of this global initiative that will be de facto law in the not too distant future.
The reason(s) I am giving the show up are that I am simply needed more at home, and I usually spend 8-10 hours on prep for the show, so that time will now go to my children and their schooling. I might even try to make cookies for them twice a month! For five years I have been more than a full time unpaid ag-tivist, and I often wonder exactly how that feels for the children. I've spoken with the sixteen year old in depth about it, and she tells me "I know it's necessary, but it is really kinda weird." The 18 year old is more pragmatic, "If you got paid it would make more sense, but I guess someone has to do it, and you seem to be good at it...You know we're proud of you, right?" And the little one just wants cookies and more play time.
So what I am definitely going to do is be a regular guest on at least three radio shows that have much larger audiences than I could ever get doing a one hour a week show on the weekend. This will reach more people with this important information and allow me to use my time more efficiently. For the past three months I have been doing a regular once a month slot on The Power Hour every second Monday at 9am Central time. Beginning next month, I will be on Sam Bushman's Liberty Round Table at 8am Central every first Monday of the month. I am also a regular on the Derry Brownfield Show, and I think we're going to firm up a schedule on that soon, but that show is M-F at 10am Central.
Also, I will (Yah willing and the crick don't rise) be writing more regularly for News With Views and continuing to participate on R-CALF USA's Animal Id Committee, and will work with The Ozarks PRC and continue my work with the National Independent Consumer and Farmers Association as the Director of Research.
So I will still have plenty of volunteer work. If anyone wants to donate to my efforts, please send me an e-mail (animalwaitress@yahoo.com). Every little bit helps, and prayer is greatly appreciated as well!
The past month has been very, very busy here. Not with things I really -want- to do, but with a lot of fighting for facts and answers from the actions against farmers and food clubs across this country.
As most of you know, I have a radio show on Liberty News Radio every Saturday from 10-11am Central time. September 18th is going to be the last show for Truth Farmer on Liberty News Radio. It's going to be one of the deep educational type shows on One World One Health, which is a trademark of the World Conservation Society, and a full fusion global initiative to form and transform all areas of health. And I mean all. It is the interface for human, animal and environmental health. I will have a guest on who is very adept at finding the 'processes' that governments use to push these global initiatives without any actual legislative authority. It will be a show that you will want to download and listen to more than once or twice so you get the full effect and procedures of this global initiative that will be de facto law in the not too distant future.
The reason(s) I am giving the show up are that I am simply needed more at home, and I usually spend 8-10 hours on prep for the show, so that time will now go to my children and their schooling. I might even try to make cookies for them twice a month! For five years I have been more than a full time unpaid ag-tivist, and I often wonder exactly how that feels for the children. I've spoken with the sixteen year old in depth about it, and she tells me "I know it's necessary, but it is really kinda weird." The 18 year old is more pragmatic, "If you got paid it would make more sense, but I guess someone has to do it, and you seem to be good at it...You know we're proud of you, right?" And the little one just wants cookies and more play time.
So what I am definitely going to do is be a regular guest on at least three radio shows that have much larger audiences than I could ever get doing a one hour a week show on the weekend. This will reach more people with this important information and allow me to use my time more efficiently. For the past three months I have been doing a regular once a month slot on The Power Hour every second Monday at 9am Central time. Beginning next month, I will be on Sam Bushman's Liberty Round Table at 8am Central every first Monday of the month. I am also a regular on the Derry Brownfield Show, and I think we're going to firm up a schedule on that soon, but that show is M-F at 10am Central.
Also, I will (Yah willing and the crick don't rise) be writing more regularly for News With Views and continuing to participate on R-CALF USA's Animal Id Committee, and will work with The Ozarks PRC and continue my work with the National Independent Consumer and Farmers Association as the Director of Research.
So I will still have plenty of volunteer work. If anyone wants to donate to my efforts, please send me an e-mail (animalwaitress@yahoo.com). Every little bit helps, and prayer is greatly appreciated as well!
Farming Without a License is a Criminal Enterprise
©Doreen Hannes
Throughout this nation it is becoming commonplace for state and federal governments to raid food buying clubs, private food co-ops, family farms and even micro farms. The reason these raids are taking place is that the FDA has determined that we are not smart enough to decide what we want to eat. They are making sure that we have a hard time getting food that is actually good for us and fulfilling their public health mission. This is the first in a three article series profiling two cases in the state of Missouri to illustrate what will be terrifically commonplace once Senate Bill 510, (The Food Safety Modernization Act-third article) is in place.
In Missouri we have families, and a food freedom movement, that are being persecuted, and I use that term intentionally, with accusation aforethought. The first family I am going to profile is the Bechard’s of Conway, Missouri. They are facing prosecution by Attorney General Koster for violating the following State statute and were also taken to court -and convicted- by Green County Health Department for “operating a food establishment without a permit”. Basically, they are being taken to court for trying to make a living from their lawful product. Their crime? Providing people with fresh milk that tested out to be perfectly fine and had no complaints or reports of illness associated with it at all.
The Bechard’s have a small farm, where they raise sheep, poultry and cattle and sell their products directly to consumers. They milk six cows and are not a “graded” facility. They deliver milk to their customers at a pre-arranged pick up point in the parking lot of Mama Jeans Natural Foods in Springfield, Missouri. In April of 2009, their eldest daughters were delivering the milk and were approached by someone wanting to buy a half-gallon of milk. Since they had it, they sold it to the man. Two weeks later, the same thing occurred. These two on the spot sales were to employees of the Green County Health Department.
The Health Department tested the milk. What they found was that there was no problem with the milk at all. The first half-gallon was kept overnight possibly on a kitchen counter and did have a high somatic cell count. The second batch was taken to the lab within an hour and had a very low somatic cell count attesting to the Bechard’s cleanliness. These two sales landed the Bechard’s in court.
Let’s look at the state charge first. Here is the pertinent Missouri law on milk :
State milk inspection required on all graded fluid milk or milk products--pasteurization required, exception.
196.935. No person shall sell, offer for sale, expose for sale, transport, or deliver any graded fluid milk or graded fluid milk products in this state unless the milk or milk products are graded and produced, transported, processed, manufactured, distributed, labeled and sold under state milk inspection and the same has also been produced or pasteurized as required by a regulation authorized by section 196.939 and under proper permits issued thereunder. Only pasteurized graded fluid milk and fluid milk products as defined in subdivision (3) of section 196.931 shall be sold to the final consumer, or to restaurants, soda fountains, grocery stores, or similar establishments; except an individual may purchase and have delivered to him for his own use raw milk or cream from a farm.
Evidently, Missouri Attorney General Koster doesn’t understand either the term “graded” or the meaning of the word “except”, and is opting for redefining that word by putting a family’s livelihood on the line and moving forward with prosecution of Armand Bechard for selling his milk to individuals who want the product. Koster’s argument for pursuing a case against the Bechard’s is that he has gone back and read through the floor arguments from 1972 when the law was enacted in Missouri and believes that the legislators didn’t mean what they actually wrote into law. Koster has also consulted with the bureaucracy that is “in charge” of milk in Missouri, “The Milk Board”. Incidentally, the new chair of the Milk Board is also on the Green County Health Department and is driving the charges against the Bechard’s.
For years, the Milk Board has periodically threatened providers of fresh milk with fines and penalties if they continue to sell their product. Usually, the threats come after the Milk Board has made telephone calls to providers of milk listed on a Weston A. Price website called Real Milk. We are listed on that site, and from three weeks to two months prior to actions from the Milk Board instructing people to “cease and desist” or be fined for selling milk, we receive calls for milk from several hours away asking if we have milk for sale; and then I know something is about to happen. This is exactly what happened before the “sting” on the Bechard family occurred.
In the two most recent state legislative sessions there has been a bill put forth to clarify that it is lawful for people to sell their milk to individuals for their own use. Both times, the Milk Board maintained that it wasn’t necessary and once they even wrote a letter for dissemination clarifying that it was indeed legal to sell milk from a farm directly to an individual.
Attorney General Koster asked the Bechard’s to sign a consent decree that states they will never deliver milk at a common pick up point again and instead will take all milk directly to the residence of the people wanting the milk. It also stipulates that the Bechard’s are guilty of violating state law and amounts to a confession of guilt.
Not too surprisingly, this wasn’t an appealing way to resolve the issue for the Bechard’s. We are talking about a product that is not stable in all temperatures and that needs to stay cool so it doesn’t go bad and breed bacteria. If they were to drop off product at residences, there is no telling how long the product could be without refrigeration. People do still work, and most families have both the husband and wife working, so the chances of meeting people at their homes when delivery is possible for all parties is small. The Bechard’s, like anyone in business, are interested in keeping their customers happy, so increasing the chances of sour milk on the doorstep isn’t an idea they want to entertain.
This case will begin in earnest this fall, and the availability of fresh milk in Missouri is dependent on the outcome of this State case against the Bechard’s.
Armand Bechard says, “In 2003 we called and asked the Health Department if we needed to do anything special to sell our milk and they told us that in our situation, according to the law, we were a farm and therefore exempt; we needed no permits at all. That’s what the code in Green County actually states, and we have been selling milk since then in this manner.” Asked if there had been any changes to the municipal code and Armand asserts that there are no changes regarding farm products. The only thing offered in explanation of the suit against them was that the Health Department had adopted the 1999 FDA Food Code. So, evidently, if someone from the Health Department says you need a permit, then you need a permit; even if state and county law don’t require it. Never mind what the law actually says, we’re now being run by the whimsy of agents running off initiatives of Federal bureaucracies. It’s not too comforting for those of us who tend to think unregulated thoughts.
Common sense would dictate that the Bechard case should be a non-issue. No reports of illnesses and no complaints whatsoever about the product, no clear violation of the law, should be no problem, right? But we can’t apply logic to the legal system. The judge found Armand Bechard guilty of violating the Green County Health Department’s adoption of the 1999 FDA Food Code by “operating a food establishment without a permit”. The family pick up truck used to deliver milk is the “establishment”. The County was asking for $1,000 fine and 6 months in jail for selling an unregulated product that caused no harm to any one. The sentence rendered was a $250 fine. Bechard is appealing and has been awarded a new trial.
So the question becomes, what is the Food Code? It is currently a nearly 700 page document for cities, counties, states and local governments to write regulations for their citizens. The initiatives in the Food Code are not necessarily Federal law, they are generally desires of the FDA and are more in line with the international Food Code of Codex Alimentarius than actual regulations or statutes from the Federal government. Wholesale adoption of the Food Code is a dangerous thing for freedom, yet nearly all states have adopted some version as part of their Health Department program. Cooperative Agreements between state and local governments to implement the Food Code are usually accompanied by a big sweaty pile of your money. One of these initiatives included in the Food Code is Healthy People 2020. This is a program through HHS that is supposed to make us all quite healthy. One objective of Healthy People 2020 is to increase the number of states that prohibit the sale or distribution of unpasteurized dairy products.
Missouri is a state with a very obstinate strain of people, especially in the Ozarks region of the state where the Bechard’s and Morningland Dairy (the other issue I am profiling for you in this series) are located. The Missouri Mule is famous because it adequately displays the characteristics of the citizens of the state. As a general rule, we won’t be pushed or coerced into doing something we don’t want to do. I personally find it a little more than interesting that the MIAC Report, targeting close to 70% of the citizens of the state and these recent attacks on raw dairy are happening here, where resistance is great.
If Missouri falls to full implementation of the Food Code and Healthy People 2020 the rest of the states will likely be little competition for the overreaching federal government controls brought to full enforcement by the Food Safety Modernization Act (S510). Meanwhile, we continue to fight for the right to eat what we choose, and the Bechard family faces increasing court costs. The bottom line of all of this is that if you are at all interested in agriculture, meaning you have an interest in continuing to eat food, you must become an ‘agtivist’. No Farmers-No Food.
Throughout this nation it is becoming commonplace for state and federal governments to raid food buying clubs, private food co-ops, family farms and even micro farms. The reason these raids are taking place is that the FDA has determined that we are not smart enough to decide what we want to eat. They are making sure that we have a hard time getting food that is actually good for us and fulfilling their public health mission. This is the first in a three article series profiling two cases in the state of Missouri to illustrate what will be terrifically commonplace once Senate Bill 510, (The Food Safety Modernization Act-third article) is in place.
In Missouri we have families, and a food freedom movement, that are being persecuted, and I use that term intentionally, with accusation aforethought. The first family I am going to profile is the Bechard’s of Conway, Missouri. They are facing prosecution by Attorney General Koster for violating the following State statute and were also taken to court -and convicted- by Green County Health Department for “operating a food establishment without a permit”. Basically, they are being taken to court for trying to make a living from their lawful product. Their crime? Providing people with fresh milk that tested out to be perfectly fine and had no complaints or reports of illness associated with it at all.
The Bechard’s have a small farm, where they raise sheep, poultry and cattle and sell their products directly to consumers. They milk six cows and are not a “graded” facility. They deliver milk to their customers at a pre-arranged pick up point in the parking lot of Mama Jeans Natural Foods in Springfield, Missouri. In April of 2009, their eldest daughters were delivering the milk and were approached by someone wanting to buy a half-gallon of milk. Since they had it, they sold it to the man. Two weeks later, the same thing occurred. These two on the spot sales were to employees of the Green County Health Department.
The Health Department tested the milk. What they found was that there was no problem with the milk at all. The first half-gallon was kept overnight possibly on a kitchen counter and did have a high somatic cell count. The second batch was taken to the lab within an hour and had a very low somatic cell count attesting to the Bechard’s cleanliness. These two sales landed the Bechard’s in court.
Let’s look at the state charge first. Here is the pertinent Missouri law on milk :
State milk inspection required on all graded fluid milk or milk products--pasteurization required, exception.
196.935. No person shall sell, offer for sale, expose for sale, transport, or deliver any graded fluid milk or graded fluid milk products in this state unless the milk or milk products are graded and produced, transported, processed, manufactured, distributed, labeled and sold under state milk inspection and the same has also been produced or pasteurized as required by a regulation authorized by section 196.939 and under proper permits issued thereunder. Only pasteurized graded fluid milk and fluid milk products as defined in subdivision (3) of section 196.931 shall be sold to the final consumer, or to restaurants, soda fountains, grocery stores, or similar establishments; except an individual may purchase and have delivered to him for his own use raw milk or cream from a farm.
Evidently, Missouri Attorney General Koster doesn’t understand either the term “graded” or the meaning of the word “except”, and is opting for redefining that word by putting a family’s livelihood on the line and moving forward with prosecution of Armand Bechard for selling his milk to individuals who want the product. Koster’s argument for pursuing a case against the Bechard’s is that he has gone back and read through the floor arguments from 1972 when the law was enacted in Missouri and believes that the legislators didn’t mean what they actually wrote into law. Koster has also consulted with the bureaucracy that is “in charge” of milk in Missouri, “The Milk Board”. Incidentally, the new chair of the Milk Board is also on the Green County Health Department and is driving the charges against the Bechard’s.
For years, the Milk Board has periodically threatened providers of fresh milk with fines and penalties if they continue to sell their product. Usually, the threats come after the Milk Board has made telephone calls to providers of milk listed on a Weston A. Price website called Real Milk. We are listed on that site, and from three weeks to two months prior to actions from the Milk Board instructing people to “cease and desist” or be fined for selling milk, we receive calls for milk from several hours away asking if we have milk for sale; and then I know something is about to happen. This is exactly what happened before the “sting” on the Bechard family occurred.
In the two most recent state legislative sessions there has been a bill put forth to clarify that it is lawful for people to sell their milk to individuals for their own use. Both times, the Milk Board maintained that it wasn’t necessary and once they even wrote a letter for dissemination clarifying that it was indeed legal to sell milk from a farm directly to an individual.
Attorney General Koster asked the Bechard’s to sign a consent decree that states they will never deliver milk at a common pick up point again and instead will take all milk directly to the residence of the people wanting the milk. It also stipulates that the Bechard’s are guilty of violating state law and amounts to a confession of guilt.
Not too surprisingly, this wasn’t an appealing way to resolve the issue for the Bechard’s. We are talking about a product that is not stable in all temperatures and that needs to stay cool so it doesn’t go bad and breed bacteria. If they were to drop off product at residences, there is no telling how long the product could be without refrigeration. People do still work, and most families have both the husband and wife working, so the chances of meeting people at their homes when delivery is possible for all parties is small. The Bechard’s, like anyone in business, are interested in keeping their customers happy, so increasing the chances of sour milk on the doorstep isn’t an idea they want to entertain.
This case will begin in earnest this fall, and the availability of fresh milk in Missouri is dependent on the outcome of this State case against the Bechard’s.
Armand Bechard says, “In 2003 we called and asked the Health Department if we needed to do anything special to sell our milk and they told us that in our situation, according to the law, we were a farm and therefore exempt; we needed no permits at all. That’s what the code in Green County actually states, and we have been selling milk since then in this manner.” Asked if there had been any changes to the municipal code and Armand asserts that there are no changes regarding farm products. The only thing offered in explanation of the suit against them was that the Health Department had adopted the 1999 FDA Food Code. So, evidently, if someone from the Health Department says you need a permit, then you need a permit; even if state and county law don’t require it. Never mind what the law actually says, we’re now being run by the whimsy of agents running off initiatives of Federal bureaucracies. It’s not too comforting for those of us who tend to think unregulated thoughts.
Common sense would dictate that the Bechard case should be a non-issue. No reports of illnesses and no complaints whatsoever about the product, no clear violation of the law, should be no problem, right? But we can’t apply logic to the legal system. The judge found Armand Bechard guilty of violating the Green County Health Department’s adoption of the 1999 FDA Food Code by “operating a food establishment without a permit”. The family pick up truck used to deliver milk is the “establishment”. The County was asking for $1,000 fine and 6 months in jail for selling an unregulated product that caused no harm to any one. The sentence rendered was a $250 fine. Bechard is appealing and has been awarded a new trial.
So the question becomes, what is the Food Code? It is currently a nearly 700 page document for cities, counties, states and local governments to write regulations for their citizens. The initiatives in the Food Code are not necessarily Federal law, they are generally desires of the FDA and are more in line with the international Food Code of Codex Alimentarius than actual regulations or statutes from the Federal government. Wholesale adoption of the Food Code is a dangerous thing for freedom, yet nearly all states have adopted some version as part of their Health Department program. Cooperative Agreements between state and local governments to implement the Food Code are usually accompanied by a big sweaty pile of your money. One of these initiatives included in the Food Code is Healthy People 2020. This is a program through HHS that is supposed to make us all quite healthy. One objective of Healthy People 2020 is to increase the number of states that prohibit the sale or distribution of unpasteurized dairy products.
Missouri is a state with a very obstinate strain of people, especially in the Ozarks region of the state where the Bechard’s and Morningland Dairy (the other issue I am profiling for you in this series) are located. The Missouri Mule is famous because it adequately displays the characteristics of the citizens of the state. As a general rule, we won’t be pushed or coerced into doing something we don’t want to do. I personally find it a little more than interesting that the MIAC Report, targeting close to 70% of the citizens of the state and these recent attacks on raw dairy are happening here, where resistance is great.
If Missouri falls to full implementation of the Food Code and Healthy People 2020 the rest of the states will likely be little competition for the overreaching federal government controls brought to full enforcement by the Food Safety Modernization Act (S510). Meanwhile, we continue to fight for the right to eat what we choose, and the Bechard family faces increasing court costs. The bottom line of all of this is that if you are at all interested in agriculture, meaning you have an interest in continuing to eat food, you must become an ‘agtivist’. No Farmers-No Food.
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