News for July 28, 2010

The fight over raw milk: a matter of choice

A Canadian farmer was back in court today having to defend himself against charges of having sold raw (unpasteurised) milk in breach of the law.

Michæl Schmidt, who has been dubbed the “raw milk champion”, runs a biodynamic farm in Durham, Ontario, north-west of Toronto on which he has introduced an innovative scheme to allow consumers who wish to drink raw milk to do so without breaking the law.

[ READ MORE (NNA News) ]

Culture meets agriculture: Summer symphonies in farmer’s barn includes cows

Raw milk crusader Michael Schmidt can be forgiven for spending his summer at the podium conducting symphony concerts and operas.

The 56-year-old farmer was found not guilty in January of violating Ontario’s Health Protection Act by providing raw milk from his dairy farm in Durham, Ont.

[ READ MORE (Winnipeg Free Press) ]

Raw Milk Controversy: Raids and Regulations

A small but vocal and growing group of raw milk and raw milk product advocates would like the government to let them make their own informed food choices. Yet that appears to be a real problem for some agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), among others. Officials with these entities would like to see raw milk disappear permanently from the marketplace.

The controversy over whether people have the right to produce, sell, buy, and consume raw milk and raw milk products is a hot one. So hot that it incites raids, such as the ones that occurred recently in California at the end of June. One went down in Venice, California, in a store called Rawesome Foods. Without warning, the organic grocery store was invaded by members of the FDA, USDA, California Department of Food and Agriculture, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, and the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. The goal? Confiscate jugs of raw goat and cow milk, blocks of unpasteurized goat cheese, and yogurt.

[ READ MORE (EMax Health) ]

Raw moo-juice can’t cross over the Tetons

A meeting of the Teton County Board of Health on Tuesday determined that it’s unlikely raw milk will be available on this side of the Tetons any time soon.

Staff at the Whole Grocer market approached the Board of Health with a proposal to import and sell raw milk from Paradise Spring Farms in the Teton Valley. But in light of state and federal regulations of raw milk, the board can do nothing to make raw milk available in the county, said Terri Gregory, the county public health director. The sale of raw milk is prohibited under current state law, and federal law restricts the transportation of unpasteurized moo-juice across state lines.

[ READ MORE (Jackson Hole Weekly) ]

Raw deal good for backyard dairies

Milking cows and goats is still an informal household affair in many parts of the world—milk is taken fresh and consumed nearby without much fuss. But health codes in developed countries restrict the sale of milk that has not been produced and processed according to strict guidelines.

Those guidelines rankle some small-scale dairy producers in Idaho. It takes expensive equipment to meet the "Grade A" requirements of the Idaho Agriculture Department.

[ READ MORE (Idaho Mountain Express) ]

Most Americans Worry About Safety Of Food Supply

Government officials have said for years that the U.S. has the safest food supply in the world. But recent events aren't doing much to inspire confidence in that mantra.

Recalls of tainted lettuce, ground beef laced with dangerous E. coli 0157:H7 strain, and the giant oil spill in the Gulf, have dented the public's perception of food safety.

[ READ MORE (NPR) ]