Judge orders Chilliwack farmer to stop distributing raw milk

The B.C. Supreme Court has ordered a Chilliwack, B.C., farmer to stop distributing raw milk – but that hasn’t stanched the flow of the illicit liquid from the Home on the Range farm.

Alice Jongerden had been caring for and milking 20 Jersey cows for 400 cow-share co-op members, but Thursday is to be her last day tending the herd. Facing a possible contempt-of-court charge, she has decided to stop distributing raw milk, after a months-long battle with health authorities.

[ READ MORE (Globe and Mail) ]

Food Safety Legislation Heading for the Senate Floor

The Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510) could reach the Senate floor as early as tomorrow. NSAC has been able to win several improvements to the bill but more changes are needed to avoid serious harm to family farm value-added processing and the emergence of local and regional food systems.

S.510 would considerably ramp up FDA regulation on farms that even minimally process their crops and sell them to restaurants, food coops, groceries, schools and wholesalers. An amendment sponsored by Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) would exempt small farm and small food processing facilities as well as small and mid-sized farmers who primarily direct market their products to consumers, stores or restaurants within their region.

[ READ MORE (National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition) ]

Breaking News: NEW “Food Safety” Threat—Urgent Action Alert!

A brand new bill has just been introduced in the Senate. It’s supposed to hold accountable those who taint our food supply on purpose. But as drafted, it actually gives license to the FDA to target supplement and natural health product companies. Please take action today!

This new bill is on top of the House and Senate Food Safety bills that we have been updating you about for some time. Please keep in mind the truth about all these bills: there are already laws on the books to ensure the safety of our food; all we need is for those laws to be properly enforced. Instead, for the past two years, lawmakers have been trying to “beef up” current rules. The main vehicle for this effort has been something called the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009, or FSEA.

[ READ MORE (Alliance for Natural Health) ]

GOP senator says he will hold up food safety bill

A Republican senator is threatening to hold up food safety legislation that would give the Food and Drug Administration more power to prevent outbreaks, saying Democrats must find a way to pay for it.

Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma says the bill, which has stalled in the Senate for more than a year, adds to the deficit and expands the power of an already troubled agency.

[ READ MORE (AP) ]

Food safety legislation won't mend regulatory divide

As lawmakers prepare for hearings into the largest egg recall in U.S. history, food safety advocates say the congressional probe could give momentum to a long-delayed measure that would enhance the power of the Food and Drug Administration.

If passed, say policymakers, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act could be the first major step toward streamlining the often unwieldy food safety system.

[ READ MORE (LA Times) ]

County Sues Farmer, Cites Too Many Crops

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.

[ READ MORE (WSB) ]

Aurora Organic Dairy, Several National Chains Face Lawsuit For Allegedly Falsely Labeling Milk

Dairy consumers who sued several national chains and the largest U.S. provider of store-brand organic milk claiming they falsely labeled the milk can continue with their lawsuit under a federal appeals court ruling issued Wednesday.

The ruling from the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals means a lower court must hear claims that Aurora Organic Dairy's milk was deceptively marketed as coming from small farms with open pastures.

[ READ MORE (Huffington Post) ]

Farmer challenges students: Quit being victims

A Virginia farmer who is at the forefront of a food revolution spoke with Albion College students Wednesday as part of the college's Year of Sustainability.

The summer before, the school had sent each first-year student a copy of the best-selling book "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan, in which Joel Salatin is featured for his outspoken and inventive methods for sustainable livestock and agriculture.

[ READ MORE (Battle Creek Enquirer) ]