More raw milk farmers being harassed

From Cultured Mama.com:

“Mary and Bart Hill own M & B Fairview Farm in Hamburg, PA.  For the last five years, they have provided delicious, nutritious raw milk from their gentle, friendly Jerseys and  Milking Devons and subsequent crosses, as well as from their herd of a variety of breeds of dairy goats.  I can personally attest to their goat’s milk being the best I have ever tasted; fresh, creamy and sweet without that typical “gamey” flavor commonly associated with goat’s milk.

They also provide grass-fed and pastured meats of beef as well as goat and chicken, along with truly pastured eggs.  In fact, if you wanted to buy a live chicken from them, the website advises that you set an appointment and give plenty of warning so that they have time to go out and catch one of their free-ranging birds.  Local upscale restaurants carry their meats and dairy, and they are a staple at many farm markets around the region.

Toronto Star reports that flour in cookie dough was the source of E.coli infection

From LESLEY CIARULA TAYLOR in today’s Toronto Star:

“The flour, not the raw eggs or chocolate chips, was likely the source of a 2009 outbreak of E. coli infection from Nestlé’s Toll House cookie dough, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports Friday.

Because of that surprise culprit, the CDC is calling for fail-safe formulas for packaged raw cookie dough.

In the meantime, lead investigator Dr. Karen Neil told the Star on Thursday, “Don’t eat raw cookie dough, period.”

Seventy-seven people in 30 states fell ill from exposure to the deadly E. coli bacteria. Thirty-five of them were sent to hospital; 10 suffered serious kidney injury. None died.

Rare sheep are now on death row

From Alyshah Hasham in the Toronto Star.

Photo via the Toronto Star.

“Montana Jones loves her Shropshire sheep.

She raises the rare heritage breed at no profit in a bid to protect the bloodlines tracing back to some of the first sheep on Canadian shores.

But the fluffy romance of 12 years has become a nightmare, with more than half of her flock of 75 slated for the chopping block for no reason, says the farmer.

Her Wholearth Farm in Hastings, near Peterborough, was put under quarantine and listed as a possible source of infection after a ewe she sold to an Alberta farmer five years ago was diagnosed with scrapie.

As Raw Milk Freedom Riders rally in Chicago, government renews its legal prosecution of raw milk farmers

From David E. Gumpert, on The Complete Patient blog:

Michael Schmidt addresses the crowd at yesterday's rally with the Raw Milk Freedom Riders protesting the ban on interstate transport of raw milk in Chicago. Illinois.

“The Raw Milk Freedom Riders were organized to shift the legal heat of the federal and state war against raw milk from farmers to consumers.

Committing a crime? Max Kane, at Chicago rally, pays “agent” Mary Bercke for raw milk she has just brought from Wisconsin.But events Thursday illustrated how difficult that task is going to be. Whereas the U.S. Food and Drug Administration answered a November 1 demonstration outside its headquarters with a pledge not to interfere with consumers bringing raw milk across state lines for their own personal use, the agency chose to send a different message for this demonstration.