Raw milk on the radio in Portland

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Click here to go to a page where you can hear the program.

Raw milk blamed for e.coli outbreak

What are they saying about raw milk in the Vancouver Sun?

“A government investigation published this month has tied raw milk consumption to a 2008 outbreak of E. coli in Connecticut, which landed four people in the hospital with life-threatening illnesses.

It also puts a price tag on the outbreak: $413,402. And it hints the infection spread beyond those who drank the allegedly tainted milk.

The report is the latest to warn against raw or unpasteurized milk, which experts say is becoming increasingly popular in the U.S.

4 days to say NO to GMO sugar beets

From an email we received today:

It probably won’t come as a surprise that Monsanto actually feels they have the right to bypass the US Federal Court system.

Just last August, a Federal court ruled that the USDA’s prior approval of Monsanto’s GE “Roundup Ready” sugar beets was unlawful because the USDA had neglected to conduct adequate analysis of the impacts of this crop on farmers and the environment. The ruling made it illegal to plant or sell GE sugar beets until further studies were conducted, which the USDA estimated would be finished in 2012.

Court orders destruction of GMO crop

From the Centre for Food Safety:

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“Today Federal District Judge Jeffrey S. White issued a preliminary injunction ordering the immediate destruction of hundreds of acres of genetically engineered (GE) sugar beet seedlings planted in September after finding the seedlings had been planted in violation of federal law.  The ruling comes in a lawsuit filed by Earthjustice and Center for Food Safety on behalf of a coalition of farmers, consumers, and conservation groups.  The lawsuit was filed on September 9, shortly after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) revealed it had allowed the seedlings to be planted.

House of Representatives may block S-510 over Senate constitutional error

From Roll Call.com:

“A food safety bill that has burned up precious days of the Senate’s lame-duck session appears headed back to the chamber because Democrats violated a constitutional provision requiring that tax provisions originate in the House.

By pre-empting the House’s tax-writing authority, Senate Democrats appear to have touched off a power struggle with members of their own party in the House. The Senate passed the bill Tuesday, sending it to the House, but House Democrats are expected to use a procedure known as “blue slipping” to block the bill, according to House and Senate GOP aides.

Treehugger not so worried about S-510

From a recent story on Treehugger titled “Does Senate Bill 510 Put Raw Milk in Real Danger?”:

‘Today the U.S. Senate passed Senate Bill 510, the Food Safety Modernization Act. After the recent scandal with eggs, and all of the other food safety issues of recent years (meat, peanut butter, spinach), many people believe this is a positive step – and obviously Senate lawmakers, who voted 75 to 23 to pass SB 510, also think the bill is good. A segment of farm advocates have warned that SB 510 is a severe threat to small farms – and by extension, most raw milk producers – because of the sweeping powers it gives to the Federal Drug Administation (FDA) and the possibility for onerous paperwork and other regulations for farmers. But there’s some good news.