Prosecutors and defense girding for the Herschberger trial in Wisconsin Jan. 7

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

“The principle of private food should get a test in front of a jury of ordinary citizens when raw dairy farmer Vernon Hershbeger goes on trial in Wisconsin on  Jan. 7.

I should say the principle should get a test, because initial indications are that the state will work like the dickens to sidestep that issue in favor of a ton of fear mongering designed to scare the jury that raw milk is too dangerous to distribute publicly, privately, or any which way, and thus seek to justify both the state’s ban on raw milk sales and its relentless prosecution of Hershberger, a farmer who provides raw milk and other food to more than 100 members of a private food club around his town of Loganville.  

Montana Jones says CFIA returned to her farm to kill four Shropshire lambs

Link to this video just posted early Thursday morning on Facebook:

Update posted by Montana Jones on FB 12:03 am Thurs. Aug. 30th:

“CFIA ambushed Wholearth Farmstudio again this morning, arriving unannounced at 8:00 am to kill four of my seven lambs.

They are still alive.

CFIA left after unsuccessfully trying to euthanize them—let’s just say they could not get access to the lambs out in the field. They WILL return with force and more manpower to destroy them. They may return in an hour…at midnight…at 5:00am..who knows. They thrive on ambush tactics. We are talking four lambs and a middle-aged woman.

Psy-ops against Montana Jones?

Montana Jones posted Wednesday Aug. 29th on Facebook:

“CFIA AMBUSH ONCE AGAIN! my heart can’t take it…they are trying to kill 4 of my sweet lambs because they are ARQ bloodtype…not because of any disease. No no no no”

Don’t forget the LifeStock event at Montana’s farm Sept 30th.

 

Bechards settle raw milk dispute with Missouri milk board, dating back to ’09

Thanks to Rosanne for first linking to this:

Falls Church, Virginia (August 22, 2012) — Last month Armand and Teddi Bechard entered into a consent agreement with the State of Missouri, ending a case that began in 2009. On two occasions in the spring of 2009, undercover agents from the Springfield-Greene County Health Department allegedly purchased raw milk at the Bechard’s central delivery point, a health food store parking lot in Springfield.

Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund to represent Vernon Herschberger against DATCP in January 2013

Falls Church, VA, Aug. 28, 2012 ( GlobeNewswire ) – Wisconsin dairy farmer, Vernon Hershberger of Loganville, has retained the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF) to represent him in his upcoming criminal trial on four misdemeanor counts for alleged violations of the Wisconsin food and dairy code. The trial was originally supposed to take place on September 25 in Sauk County Circuit Court in Baraboo but Judge Guy Reynolds has postponed the trial until January 7. The judge has set aside five days for the trial.

Hershberger had been representing himself since the criminal complaint was filed against him in January 2012. FTCLDF vice president and Wisconsin attorney, Elizabeth Rich, will be litigating the case. Rich has over twenty years experience in the Wisconsin courts.

Big tobacco shills now trying to stop GMO labeling initiative in California

From Michelle Simon, on Appetite for Profit:

Modified frame grab from Michelle Simon’s Appetite for Profit website.

“The food industry really hates it when you compare them to Big Tobacco. They try to deny the negative association by claiming that food is different than tobacco. Of course that’s true, but why are the same consultants that have worked for the tobacco industry now shilling for Big Food, opposing the ballot initiative that would require labeling of all foods containing GMO ingredients?

GMO labeling fight in California

From the Organic Consumers Association:

“In recent weeks, several public interest groups, including the Organic Consumers Association, Cornucopia Institute, Mercola.com, and Natural News, have pointed out the gross hypocrisy and greed of large food and beverage corporations which profit from the sale of billions of dollars of their proprietary organic and “natural” food brands while at the same time funneling large sums of money to the Monsanto-led campaign to defeat the November 6th GMO labeling ballot initiative (Proposition 37) in California.

These organic and “natural” traitor companies and brands include: Kellogg’s (Kashi, Bear Naked, Morningstar Farms); General Mills (Muir Glen, Cascadian Farm, Larabar); Dean Foods (Horizon, Silk, White Wave); Smucker’s (R.W. Knudsen, Santa Cruz Organic); Coca-Cola (Honest Tea, Odwalla); Safeway (“O” Organics); Kraft (Boca Burgers and Back to Nature); Con-Agra (Orville Redenbacher’s Organic, Hunt’s Organic, Lightlife); and PepsiCo (Naked Juice, Tostito’s Organic, Tropicana Organic).

Humankind facing a vegetarian future?

From John Vidal, in The Guardian, via Cryptogon:

Edited screenshot from Cryptogon. Click to go there.

“Leading water scientists have issued one of the sternest warnings yet about global food supplies, saying that the world’s population may have to switch almost completely to a vegetarian diet over the next 40 years to avoid catastrophic shortages.

Humans derive about 20% of their protein from animal-based products now, but this may need to drop to just 5% to feed the extra 2 billion people expected to be alive by 2050, according to research by some of the world’s leading water scientists.

Karen Selick’s unpublished letter to the editor of the Owen Sound Sun Times, re the Montana Jones Shropshire sheep

From Karen Selick:

This is the letter that I prepared for the Owen Sound Sun Times on July 4, 2012 after discussing with the editor Doug Edgar my concerns about inaccuracies in their reporting on the Montana Jones story.  Mr. Edgar led me to believe in our telephone conversation that he would publish my letter if I took the time to write it; otherwise, I would not have spent the time.  However, 7 weeks have now gone by, and despite several back-and-forth e-mails with Mr. Edgar, he still has not published my letter, nor has he given any commitment that he will do so.  In order to prevent my effort from being a total waste, I am offering this to The Bovine for publication.

Dear Editor of the Sun Times,

LifeStock – a call to farms – Sept 30th

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Join us Sunday September 30th for a day of food, music, words…

Raw milk is illegal, growing food in your urban yard is against the law, and government policy threatens the genetic biodiversity of our produce and livestock.