The public health community would like us to think that it goes after small dairies and food clubs in the interests of food safety. But in more places, regulatory and enforcement actions are looking like nationally coordinated grudge matches, a settling of old scores.
Certainly the piling on of charges against individuals involved with the Rawesome Food Club has taken on that appearance. Indeed, a prosecutor in Ventura County argued in favor of high bail for James Stewart because he had the audacity to resist previous public health efforts to shut down Rawesome, based on the fact that Rawesome was a private membership-only organization.
Now, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture has re-directed its ongoing rage against raw dairy farmer Michael Hartmann to his wife, Diane Hartmann. The agency earlier this month sent her a “Notice of Administrative Hearing” (HartmannLtr002.pdf), in which it said it was “contemplating legal action against you for selling food without a license and other violations of state statutes including illegal sales of unpasteurized milk and dairy products as well as uninspected meat.” It threatened possible “criminal prosecution…”
Diane Hartmann has submitted a written response. Her husband has been as protective as most of would be, wanting to tell them: come and get me all you want, but leave my wife out of this.
Michael Hartmann has been most famously associated with a dozen or more illnesses back in 2010, allegedly by raw milk from his dairy, tainted with E.coli O157:H7. I was one who suggested Hartmann should acknowledge the convincing evidence that his dairy was at fault, and seek to improve his dairy’s operations; many of his loyal customers didn’t take well to my criticism. Hartmann endured a state-ordered embargo on his farm in 2010, and has moved on.
What’s less well known is that Hartmann has been battling the state for well over a decade. About ten years ago, the MDA took him to court for selling uninspected meat without a license. The case went all the way to the Minnesota Supreme Court, with Hartmann arguing that a clause in the state’s constitution clearly allows farmers to “peddle” their products and products.
A majority of justices on the Minnesota Supreme Court agreed with Hartmann to a significant degree, ruling he didn’t need a license. They said that such products could be subject to regulation, however. The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund has a good analysis of the case, and a link to the court’s opinion.
Given that there haven’t been any illnesses alleged against Hartmann since 2010, it seems pretty obvious that this current investigation has more to do with the 2005 Supreme Court ruling than any illnesses. He is now being harassed apparently because he had the audacity to challenge the MDA in past years, most notably in the 2005 decision.
Interestingly, the recent letter to Mrs. Hartmann was signed by James Roettger, an MDA compliance officer, who achieved notoriety in December 2010 while personally carrying heavy loads of milk from the Hartmann dairy truck, and loading it into his car, which displayed a “Handicapped” placard. I took some heat for criticizing Roettger (nicknamed “Beret Boy” by some here) for misusing a handicapped placard–I was told he was a decorated military veteran who had injured himself jumping out of a plane.
Well, now Roettger, the tough guy soldier, has found a new target to vent his hostility on–the wife of a farmer. In the process, Minnesota retains the distinction of being one of the most aggressively hostile (together with neighbor Wisconsin) against raw dairy and privately available nutrient-dense food . It is putting another farmer, Alvin Schlangen, on trial May 14 for allegedly selling food to members without proper licenses.
One of the notable positives out of all the Minnesota hostilities has been the support provided by hundreds of consumers. Some have organized the Food Freedom Project, as part of the Minnesota Natural Health Legal Reform Project. They feel the latest action against Hartmann “shows a pattern of harassment” says Kathryn Berg of the Minnesota Natural Health Legal Reform Project. “We would like legislators to review the history of state actions against the Hartmann family farm and then ask themselves if this history presents a pattern of harassment. We feel that there is a threat to our food supply, but the threat is the biased, over-zealous state regulators and not the farm that these regulators continue to target.”
The Raw Milk Freedom Riders are planning protest activities in May by organizing a “Rights Workshop” the afternoon of May 13, and then planning to demonstrate in support of Alvin Schlangen beginning on May 14, at his trial in Minneapolis. More info upcoming, but it’s not too early to make your plans to be in Minneapolis.
**
Claravale Farm has been cleared by the California Department of Food and Agriculture to ship raw milk and other products, the Associated Press is reporting.
It had been forced to recall products and shut down because the CDFA found campylobacter in a sample of its cream; its milk had been potentially associated with illnesses from campylobacter.
**
Thanks to Mike Adams of Natural News for the kind words about me, in picking up on the Ventura County “rampage,” as he labeled it. Much appreciated.
Probably because things went sideways for their lawyer, last Tuesday. A preliminary hearing in our court case didn’t happen because no judge was available. The trial co-ordinator said, of BC’s system : “it’s a diaster” While waiting around, I gave Prosecutrix Susan Beach an earfull in the halls of Justice, pointing out she’s got a handfull of nothing for evidence, with 3 weeks to go to trial against Michael Schmidt and I, on the contempt charge, for supposedly continuing to package / distribute raw milk for human consumption. Fraser Health knows that all milk & products the Our Cows herdshare ships, since Sept 14, 2010, have been cosmetics, and labelled as such. The federal agency – Health Canada – put on official stationery its legal opinion that cosmetics produced by a herdshare for the private, exclusive use of its members, are not caught by the Food + Drug Act RSC
July of 2008 was when they first came at us. But we shoved back, and we’ll do it some more … jamming them up within their non-sensical regulatory process …. the REAL MILK is flowing here today, Praise God !
When things seem insumountable, guess who can surmount them. Miracles happen.
“Dr. Elisabeth Hagen, under secretary for food safety at the USDA. Hagen assured the public that the product is safe to eat, but still refused to answer any questions from ABC News after the news conference. ABC News has been asking to speak with Hagen for three weeks, but she has declined to speak, claiming a tight schedule. ”
Seems no one wants to answer questions…and they want to “return pink slime to Americas grocery stores” …surprise surprise.
(Iowa Gov) “Branstad, who received $150,000 in campaign contributions in 2010 from the founders of BPI, organized the governors’ tour and press conference, but told ABC News that the contribution played no role in his decision to hold the event. ”
If you believe this, there is a bridge you can buy….
“Until recently, the lean finely textured beef, known to critics as “pink slime,” was added to America’s fast food, school lunches and 70 percent of all ground beef sold at grocery stores. ”
I bet most was not aware of this. My son thought the ground beef in the store was just plain ground beef and the slime was in the fast food joints.
“Nancy Donley, president of Safe Tables, an organization dedicated to preventing foodborne illness, lost her 6-year-old son in 1993 from E. coli. Donley warned that doing away with lean finely textured beef will make the meat supply more dangerous. ”
As always..follow the money. She lost all credibility supporting pink slime.
“its milk had been potentially associated with illnesses from campylobacter.”
Is that like being ‘sorta pregnant?’
This is a person who experienced a tragedy and I believe has tried to inform others to prevent repetition of the tragedy. Unfortunately she is pushing her own agenda on others and has the potential of causing others to have no say in what they want. Now, there are those who would say, “if you don’t want pink slime, don’t consume it.” The same can be said for those who don’t want raw milk, don’t consume it. So, place the large labels on ALL foods so people can see where they come from,how it’s processed, ALL ingredients, and ALL potential side effects.
“she showed her unwavering support for BPI’s ammonium hydroxide-treated ‘lean, finely textured beef’. ”
When the government says the words “SAFE to EAT”….it does not mean the same thing that all of us think about when we think and say “SAFE to Eat”.
They mean: processed to death, antibiotic filled, hormone injected, CAFO raised, irradiated, grain fed mixed with frozen Ammonia and dead….dead = safe.
We mean organic, natural, living and whole.
We must remember the differences as language gets spun arround and abused to defend the guilty as hell.
“A family farm in rural Michigan may be shut down by a Government Entity who has passed a law stating that the breed of hogs they are raising are a threat to neighboring croplands. In truth, the Big Pork Industry has been planning this campaign to take down all family farms with hopes to eventually siege complete control of the American Food Supply. This short-film was created with hopes to inspire the public to take action.
The Baker Family website is http://www.bakersgreenacres.com and their battle has just begun. Please join in their fight.”
Prove big corps aren’t in change….It isn’t just about raw milk, it is ALL our foods.
Why is it that the Midwest area of the US has the most oppressive food regulations and regulators and the most Monsanto abuse??
Why is it that these conservative Americans gave away their rights so early and so easily???
What is in the midwest water? What caused the conformity and compliance mindset in the midwest. Is it the Bible Belt. If it is the Bible Belt….the Belt came back to beat the believer.
The problem is in the weakness of the American citizen. We allow things to happen to us. We can dollar vote out of anything. We sit on juries….we are the deciders!!
Why are we so darn weak? Look no farther….it is “we the people”. If we “all decided” tommorrow to do something in unison, there is not a thing that government or corporations could do about it.
Sleeping Sheeple. Awaken or get what sleeping sheeple get.
Better Safe Than Sorry: A focus on Food
if you’re really serious about abandoning the sinking ship of the United soviet-ized States of Hammerica : avoid the rush = revoke your Social Security number. Bear in mind, though, self-government is only for those who can govern themselves
Back in the 60s my grandmother lived in Okla across from the state line of north west Arkansas, she worked at one of the chicken processing plants in Arkansas. She said for years that she would never eat any of those chickens. May have been tyson, I’m not sure.
Food Inc revolving doors are very much swinging round and round these days.
As far as STOP is concerned….they are one mixed up group of emotionally upset moms. They think that sterilized food and irradiation is the way forward. They think that the human body is sterile. They think that all bacteria are horrible. How do I know this? I spoke with their Masters degreed science expert and she became irate when I suggested that STOP look into the science of the human immune system and the cold hard fact that bacteria play a huge part in our health. She went nuts and hung up on me. I was being as nice as pie….If I had been sweeter my teeth would have cracked.
STOP is the crazed antichrist of real food and human immunity. It is horrifically sad that these are the moms that have lost children from CAFO induced anti-biotic resistant pathogens that are found in our Standard American Diet. STOP is taking the family down with them as they advocate for life in a “bubble of sterility” and the autism rates skyrocket. More like….”Buddle of Trouble”.
Sick world…..I am saddened that our congress does not hold real hearings to get to the bottom of this. Someday this will happen. The video provided above is a real eye opener. Testing every few feet in an open lettuce field for ecoli is crazy….discarding an entire field when a pathogen is found…sheer madness.
I found what Rob Atwill said to be utterly disingenous. We all know exactly where anti-biotic resistant pathogens come from…they come from where anti-biotics are abused. CAFOS and hospitals.
Oh… I forgot….CAFO’s and GOT MILK? money fund WIFFS at UC Davis. Dead serious.
Food Inc is a truth. Wake Up America. Dollar vote immediately and safe your life.
It’s interesting that both MN and WI–the two most repressive states on raw dairy–both have liberal heritages. MN was the home of Hubert Humphrey, after all (long-time happy liberal senator who lost presidency to Nixon in 1968). WI in the early and mid 1900s was a bastion of progressive politics. But I suspect that these days the FDA plays all the states like a violin. It uses its ample $$$ to leverage existing policy and get enforcers in these places to tighten the screws according to FDA wishes. So in CA that may involve going after herdshares, in MN going after permitted farmers, and in WI in totally eradicating raw milk. This is a national program, so the variations from state to state are only variations on a theme.
David
No problem, Sharon. Walter Jeffries’ project is an excellent reminder of the food rights’ movement’s ace in the hole: economic development. Remember, the FDA and its state lackeys are fighting us at the behest of Big Ag, which fears most the loss of market share to the Walter Jeffries of the world. What’s especially scary to them is that his approach is not only sustainable agriculturally and environmentally, but economically. Each Walter Jeffries serves as an inspiration to other farmers to go private, go direct, and ditch the commodity factory system. Thar’s gold in them thar fields, and the FDA/USDA want to intimidate farmers from seeing the glint. If Jeffries can make Kickstarter work, it could be an excellent model for other like-minded farmers.
David
Joelie, at the bottom of the post, there are options for sharing the post via email, Twitter, and Facebook.
David
I must also say i have had a couple of issues w/the new website, but the webmaster could not have been more helpful. There are some really good features that were missing before.
Of course changing the production model isn’t an option for improving flavour (that wouldn’t make food cheap anymore!)…nooo…we must find the “GENES”!!
The FDA has declared RAW Milk an effective treatment for asthma and has adopted standards used in CA for use nationally for production of raw milk under the PMO.
John Sheehan ( FDA dairy food safety Tsar )resigned….and Bill Marler joined RAWMI after donating $1 million dollars for raw milk medical benefit and food safety research.
Happy April 1st.
I think your cow poop pills are a great idea and aught to be marketed as a premium probiotic. Better that then the current trend towards genetically modified probiotics marketed by the biotech industry.
http://www.horizonpress.com/gateway/probiotics-genetically-modified.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC91691/
Many of the probiotic supplements produced today are as well grown on high fructose corn syrup and soybean-based culture mediums from corn and soybeans that are in all likelihood genetically modified.
Purposefully incorporating genetically altered organisms with the naturally occurring organisms in our gut is unwise. Unfortunately as a result of crony politics, self-serving regulation and a gross disrespect for human and animal rights it is becoming increasingly difficult for us to avoid such insidious substances.
To paraphrase Joan Gussow, “I trust cows and their natural products more then biochemists and their unnatural concoctions”.
Ken Conrad