A huge five-foot-by-ten-foot banner went up last Friday in the Ann Arbor meeting hall where the Family Farms Cooperative (FFC) distributes raw milk and other dairy and meat products to members: “This could be our last delivery. We need your help. Please write letters to the FDA and MDA.”
The sign, apparently posted by a co-op member, was well meaning, but the effect was to create rumors, circulated via listserves and word of mouth, that last Friday’s delivery was the last one. In the emotionally and politically-charged atmosphere that has swirled around FFC since the Michigan government’s sting operation against FFC last October, anything seemed possible. Maybe the government was about to shut down FFC. Maybe the Cass County prosecutor was about to indict the farmers who provide FFC products. Maybe one of the farmers who provides product was about to bow to the government pressure and discontinue supplying product.
In fact, nothing had changed beyond what has already been reported. But for Richard Hebron, a farmer and manager of the co-op, such rumors represent just another victory for the government. The problem is that, for all the bravado exhibited by many FFC members and supporters, a significant number of less vocal members have been intimidated by the Michigan and federal government actions. "People are being scared away," says Hebron.
Hebron reports that after the MDA conducted its raid last October, business declined about 25%. Some of that occurred because retailers representing three distribution points in the Chicago area were scared off by the MDA’s actions. But some occurred because FFC members dropped out or stopped ordering dairy and meat products.
Then, when the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued its warning letter to David Hochstetler, the Indiana farmer, two weeks ago, ordering him to discontinue sending raw milk to co-op members in Michigan and Illinois, there was a further erosion in orders, on the order of five to ten per cent.
“I’ve talked to several people who say, ‘I know (the raw milk) has improved my health, but we don’t want to get in trouble with the government’…They think they’ll be handcuffed and hauled off to jail”
Yes, the publicity around the case has attracted new co-op members, but this hasn’t been enough to make up for the drop-off. “If it wasn’t for the new members, we’d be down even more,” says Hebron.
For all the wonderful letters that have been written to the Cass County prosecutor and other government officials on behalf of FFC, there are still many people who are afraid.
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