Haitians send a GMO message of hope

Ryan Stock, writing on the Truthout blog:

Rural Haitian farmers gathered in Papaye, June 4, 2010. Many wore straw hats reading, "Aba Monsanto - down with Monsanto and Aba Preval - down with Preval." (Photo: mediahacker)

Let It Burn

“A fabulous Easter gift,” commented Monsanto Director of Development Initiatives Elizabeth Vancil. Nearly 60,000 seed sacks of hybrid corn seeds and other vegetable seeds were donated to post-earthquake Haiti by Monsanto. In observance of World Environment Day, June 4, 2010, roughly 10,000 rural Haitian farmers gathered in Papaye to march seven kilometers to Hinche in celebration of this gift.

Upon arrival, these rewarded farmers took their collective Easter baskets of more than 400 tons of vegetable seeds and burned them all.[i] “Long live the native maize seed!” they chanted in unison. “Monsanto’s GMO [genetically modified organism] & hybrid seed violate peasant agriculture!”

“Raw milk not worth the risk”, says U.S. Food Safety Lawyer Fred Pritzker

Fred Pritzker, writing on “The Food Safety Lawyer” blog (yes, apparently there’s more than one):

“I don’t get it.

Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, some people believe that drinking raw milk or eating cheese made from raw milk is healthful and safe. It isn’t. And anyone who believes it is, ignores an unassailable body of scientific knowledge and common sense.

No one in their right mind eats raw hamburger. That’s because it hasn’t been heated to a sufficient temperature to kill off harmful pathogens. The same is true for raw dairy products. If it isn’t pasteurized, the microscopic pieces of cow shit and other unhealthy things residing on, in or around cows aren’t neutralized and will cause illness. That’s exactly why laws requiring pasteurization of milk were enacted in the first place. Without them, raw milk and raw cheese outbreaks of tuberculosis, E. coli O157:H7 poisoning, salmonellosis, Campylobacteriosis and other nasty, dangerous and fatal diseases would be rampant.

Raw milk advocates Michael Schmidt and Scott Trautman shift attention to quality, safety in Wisconsin workshop

Jim Massey, writing, January 26th, 2011,  for “The Country Today”:

STOUGHTON – Scott Trautman said he believes raw milk opponents are waiting for someone to get sick from drinking the milk so they can use the illness to thwart the movement to legalize it.

That’s why he says he’s doing what he can to prevent that from happening. Trautman hosted a “raw milk safety seminar” Jan. 20 at his farm to explain to farmers and some of his farm-store consumers the importance of producing safe, high-quality products.

Pennsylvania raw milk farm voluntarily shuts down because of test results

From David E. Gumpert at the Complete Patient blog:

[from a communique from “The Family Cow” raw milk farm in Pennsylvania, which does regular pathogen testing above and beyond government requirements] — “….”Just a few hrs ago, QC Laboratories, the laboratory we use for our voluntary, beyond-the-state-requirement pathogen testing, has reported the presence of Campylobacter in a sample of milk we sent them almost three weeks ago. I’ve spoken with state officials and they report there are no illnesses, but we still want you to know what we found. The milk in which the campylobacter was found was bottled on 1/10/11 and carries a ‘Best by’ date of 1/25. If you still have milk with this ‘Best by’ date, please discard it. Although, with milk that old, it’s probably long gone.

“There is no reason to believe that more than this date code of milk was effected, yet out of abundance of caution we are, as of today, voluntarily halting sales of raw milk from The Family Cow until we get a clear test. We are running two tests now on milk that was bottled since the positive sample. We will be in communication when we are ready to resume sales. We expect to have the test results back early next week. Sorry for the inconvenience, but we feel it would be remiss and irresponsible to continue to sell even though there have been no illnesses.”

100 Mile House man grew up drinking raw milk, mom sold milk to neighbours

From Don Branch in the Vancouver Sun:

“I grew up on raw milk and so did everyone who lived before pasteurized milk existed. We never became ill because of the milk. As a matter of fact, we made our own butter and fought siblings over the thick cream on top of the milk for our cereal.

We separated the milk from the cream and mom sold the milk to sawmill workers and with milking three cows twice a day she could have sold even more. So what is wrong with people drinking fresh unpasteurized milk? I am with the dairy folks on this one.”

Big organic companies give approval for Monsanto’s GMO alfalfa — WTF?

From Raine Saunders at Agriculture Society:

“I’d say this is the straw that broke the camel’s back…but I dare not, because I know this is only the beginning. Whole Foods, leader of natural grocery stores nationwide, and other industry leaders in “organic” foods Organic Valley and Stonyfield Farm relented under mounting pressure from all angles Thursday, and gave their approval for the USDA to use genetically-modified alfalfa seed in crops – proving once again that in this world, commodity-driven, profits-based monopoly models are what drive all decisions made in political and legal realms.

And sold the future of real organics and sustainability down the river.

Trailer for Raw milk movie “Milk War” — showing in Vancouver Feb. 6th, 3pm

Public raw milk nursing offends store owner and Vancouver Sun journalist

Green Mama Manda Aufochs Gillespie, on the Vancouver Observer:

And from an earlier Vancouver Observer story also by Manda Aufochs Gillespie:

Raw milk “Milk War” movie will be screened in Vancouver Feb. 6, 3pm

Hella D. on the upcoming Milk War movie screening in Vancouver:

From the November 2006 raid at Glencolton Farms -- by Ministry of Natural Resources personnel

“Written and directed by award winning journalist Kevin O’Keefe
Produced by Declan O’Driscoll
Gemini Award-winning actor Colm Feore narrates

Mercola interviews Dr. Wakefield on his MMR vaccine studies and on the recent attempts to discredit his findings