Local families tout benefits of raw milk

In 2004, Larry and Tina Howard's infant son could not keep Tina's breast milk down.

"We heard from a friend about raw milk, so Tina began drinking that," Larry said. "That turned things around for our son immediately."

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Former Canadian dairy farmer reports on the New York state raw milk scene

The second Sunday after we began milking cows in the U.S., a knock came at the door. It was a nearby dairy farming couple and two of their shy, home – schooled children, handing my son and I, a freshly baked cake and welcoming us into the community.

Living just half a mile to the north west, their calving season was beginning that April, with the whole herd to be calved within a month period, ending in May. They made all of their years milk off grass with no extra feed additives, the entire 20 cow Jersey herd is dried up through the winter months. The old fashioned way.

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Thank You, WI DATCP, for Giving Me the Opportunity...

In my ten years starting, running and, in 2004, selling a small Internet service company, I had faith that providing excellent service, and treating others as I wished to be treated, is the best policy, for business, and life. I came to realize that it takes real intelligence, real strength to do your business right and still be successful, far more than it does to cheat, cut corners, leave the world a worse place. I designed checks and balances in my Internet business to ensure good things would happen when I did good, and bad things happen when I did bad. I have tried to recreate those same types of systems now with my dairy business near Madison, and the brand I am pioneering, Wisconsin Fresh Milk.

My intention is to build the finest brand of dairy products anywhere. Not the largest. In fact, the first check and balance is to limit the brand to only true family farms completely capable of having the uniform pride across each member - the ownership interest - the benefit and the potential loss if done incorrectly. Eventually, there will be a collection of family farms, taking advantage of scale and uniform marketing, without giving in to the many negatives of large size.

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S. 510: 12 Reasons Why The Food Safety Bill From Hell Could Be Very Dangerous For The U.S. Economy

As you read this, there is a bill before the U.S. Senate that has the potential to change the U.S. food industry more than any other law ever passed by the U.S. Congress. In the name of "food safety", the U.S. government would be given an iron grip over the production, transportation and sale of all food in the United States. Hordes of small food producers and organic farmers could potentially be put out of business. If this bill becomes law, the freedom to grow what you want, eat what you want and to share food from your gardens with your neighbors could be greatly curtailed. It would give the FDA unprecedented discretion to regulate U.S. food production. A version of this bill was already passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last summer, and now S. 510, also know as the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, is in front of the U.S. Senate and it is expected to pass easily.

Because of how vaguely it is written and because of how much discretion it gives to the FDA, it is potentially a very, very dangerous law.

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A bloody lesson for backyard chicken enthusiasts...

Fluffy, white broiler chickens pecked around the backyard while a group of two dozen people -€” a set of knives laid out before them -€” eyed them warily.

Jordan Dawdy, his arm bearing tattoos of chickens and other farm animals, gave the crowd the run-down: Snap the neck, cut off the head, drain the blood, pluck, gut, done. He has the whole process down to seven minutes.

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An 11-year-old schools us on what’s wrong with the current food system

At a TEDx "Next Generation" event recently, 11-year-old Birke Baehr got up on stage and announced his intention "to talk about what's wrong with our food system." He started off decrying "all the marketing and advertising on TV, at public schools and pretty much everywhere else you look," that attempts "to get parents to buy stuff that isn't good for us or the planet."

In his brief talk, he also admits that, "a while back, I wanted to be an NFL football player. I decided I'd rather be an organic farmer instead. That way I could have a greater impact on the world." Birke also covers the risks of genetically modified foods, CAFOs, synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, and food irradiation. He even addresses concerns over higher prices for organic produce. As he pithily puts it, "It seems to me that we can either pay the farmer or we can pay the hospital."

[ READ MORE (Grist) ]