FDA throws a bone to raw milk fans while bashing their favourite food

From Kimberly Hartke at the Weston A. Price Foundation:

Scene from the "Milk and Cookies" rally at FDA a couple weeks ago. Kimberly Hartke photo.

FDA CONCEDES RAW MILK ACROSS STATE LINES OK FOR PERSONAL CONSUMPTION

But continues to broadcast misinformation about unpasteurized dairy

Washington, DC ( November 17, 2011)—In a statement issued on November 1, concurrent with a raw milk freedom rally held outside FDA headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, the agency conceded that it “has never taken, nor does it intend to take, enforcement action against an individual who purchased and transported raw milk across state lines solely for his or her own personal consumption” [www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/Product-SpecificInformation/MilkSafety/ucm277854.htm]. 

The support for Maine towns’ food sovereignty ordinances crosses party lines, as State of Maine backlash tests resolve

From David E. Gumpert on the Complete Patient blog:

Dan Brown, the Blue Hill, Maine, farmer being sued by the state. Complete Patient photo.

“How strongly will the town of Blue Hill, Maine, and food sovereignty supporters,(not necessarily in that order) stand up to the state’s pressure to push the town aside while it prosecutes a local farmer for selling raw milk and other foods directly to town residents?

Raw milk, the Canadian Wheat Board, and dairy supply management

From Jim Algie, in the Owen Sound Sun Times:

“An obvious ideological gap exists between the current federal government’s staunch defence of supply-management, marketing limits for some Canadian farmers while insisting on “marketing freedom” for western wheat and barley growers.

I refer, of course, to the government’s controversial decision to abolish the Canadian Wheat Board’s marketing monopoly. Reporters ask logically, “Can abolition of supply-management for cows’ milk and poultry be far behind?”

Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz has a sensible, political explanation. He can handle criticism for philosophical inconsistency because supply management has flourished.

Raw milk advocates tell government “Mooove away” at Kemptville rally

From Megan Burke, in The Recorder and Times:

Around 50 protesters hold up their glasses of raw milk to join the toast made by local farmer Jacqueline Conklin supporting the Durham-area farmer who faces renewed charges for distributing unpasteurized milk. The protesters voiced their right to buy and consume raw milk. Photo: MEGAN BURKE The Recorder and Times

KEMPTVILLE — Janine Widmer wants to continue legally consuming raw milk because pasteurized milk makes her physically sick.

“I’m originally from Switzerland. Over there you can go and buy your milk directly from the farm,” said Widmer.

“It’s up to the individual to choose. I want to have a choice. Whoever wants to drink pasteurized milk, that’s fine.”

Raw emotion at the raw milk protest yesterday in Kemptville, near Ottawa

From Joseph Morin, in the Advance:

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“Raw milk consumers raised a glass of their milk in protest on Wednesday afternoon in Kemptville.

Campaigning for the right to share their appreciation for raw milk as a healthy source of nutrition. More than 50 people gathered in the parking lot of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) on Wednesday, Nov. 16 at the University of Guelph, Kemptville Campus.