Max Kane and raw milk in the news

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Here’s more from the La Crosse Tribune on the Max Kane case:

California’s Organic Pasture representative Mark McAfee, left, and dairy farmer Scott Trautman drink raw milk from Trautman’s farm on the steps of the Vernon County Courthouse in Viroqua during a rally for the legalization of the sale of raw milk Monday. Photo from LaCrosse Tribune

“VIROQUA – A toast of unpasteurized milk kicked off a rally Monday to legalize the sale of raw dairy products.

About 100 people gathered outside the Vernon County Courthouse in support of Max Kane Farley, who goes by Max Kane, who was challenging in court the state’s efforts to get information about his distribution or sale of unpasteurized dairy products through a Chicago-based private club.

People held signs and cheered as several speakers defended raw milk.

“It’s about our right to control and choose the food we want,” David Gumpert, Massachusetts author of “The Raw Milk Revolution,” said at the rally, which had the theme of “Real Food for Real People.”

Wisconsin law requires that all milk sold to the public be Class A pasteurized by a state-licensed handler.

A bill to legalize the sale of unpasteurized milk is making its way through the state Legislature.

“We have a broken food chain,” said Mark McAfee of California-based Organic Pastures. “We’ve got consumers starving and malnourished, and we’ve got farmers that are bankrupt and desperate. … The middle of the food chain is taking it all.”

Raw dairy proponents say unpasteurized milk is tastier, healthier and easier to digest. Kane credits it with helping control his chronic Crohn’s disease digestive disorder.

“This is not about profit,” said Scott Trautman, a dairy farmer advocating for the legalization of raw milk. “This is about helping the sick get better.”

Kane’s four brothers – Adam, Daniel, Eric and Julian Farley – applauded their brother’s efforts to legalize raw milk sales.

“I have personal testimony to Max’s growth, his courage, his fortitude to not be held down and to stand up and say, ‘Listen Uncle Sam, this is my right to nourish my body the way I see fit.’ That choice is backed and supported by the Unites States Constitution,” Daniel Farley said.

People from Illinois, Massachusetts, California, Texas and Canada braved 20-degree temperatures to take part in the protest….”

Read the rest of this story on the LaCrosse Tribune site.

And now here’s an excerpt from the LaCross Tribune’s followup story dated December 22, 2009:

VIROQUA – An advocate for unpasteurized milk was ordered Monday to provide a state deposition on his role in distributing raw dairy products.

Vernon County Circuit Court Judge Michael Rosborough ruled that the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection had the right to question Max Kane Farley, who goes by Max Kane, about Belle’s Lunchbox, a Chicago-based private club that offered raw dairy products.

DATCP had subpoenaed Kane to answer questions about the distribution or sale of those products.

With a few exceptions, milk distributed to the public in Wisconsin must be Class A pasteurized by someone licensed to do so.

Kane said Monday that the Web site for Belle’s Lunchbox had been taken down and the member-owned club would disband by the end of the year.

Kane met June 18 with state Assistant Attorney General Phillip Ferris for a deposition, but Ferris said he never put Kane under oath because it was “crystal clear” he wouldn’t answer questions.

Ferris said Kane would be immune from prosecution for anything said in the deposition.

But Kane said the June 18 meeting turned out to be unexpected and intimidating. He had hoped to ask about DATCP’s involvement with a federal Food and Drug Administration investigation, he said, and feared his immunity would not hold up in other states or with federal authorities….”

Read the rest of this story here on the LaCrosse-Tribune site.

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Tags: DATCP, health, legal, Max Kane, raw milk, regulation, rights, U.S., Wisconsin