Hospital backing out in case of 10 yr old Amish girl forced to undergo chemo?

From David Michael on  the Journal of Natural Food and Health:

“Akron Children’s Hospital (ACH) wants to back out of their involvement with the Sarah Hershberger forced-chemo case according to two reports received by the Journal from family friends at the courthouse. This was the result of yesterday’s conference with Maria Schimer and Hershberger’s attorney with the probate judge who was quoted as saying ACH wants to back out. It is not surprising the hospital may be wanting out.

Amish girl forced into chemotherapy?

From David Michael, on the Journal of Natural Food and Health:

“Early in October 2013, the entire nation heard about how Sarah Hershberger, a 10-year old Ohio Amish girl with leukemia (now recovered), is being forced into a two-year unproven experimental chemotherapy study by Akron Children’s Hospital (ACH). It was just learned the parents, Andy and Anna Hershberger, took their significantly recovered daughter out of the United States before the court ruled that a hospital-affiliated, attorney-nurse, Maria Schimer, was made the medical guardian to make sure Sarah will get her treatments.

DATCP vs Herschberger and his faith

You’d think the Vernon Herschberger raw milk case was going to be the trial of the decade the way the prosecutors are pulling out all the stops to stack the deck in their favour with pre-trial maneuverings. But now a new factor, Vernon’s Amish faith and its relation to the legal system, has been brought into play.

David E. Gumpert has the story:

“At today’s (Friday) hearing, the issue was freedom and protection of religion, as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.

That issue came up when Judge Guy Reynolds sided with the state in agreeing, at the prosecution’s request, to block retired pathologist Ted Beals from testifying on behalf of Hershberger.  Prosecutors argued that Beals’ testimony was irrelevant, because the case was about licenses, not health and sanitation issues. 

U.S. Senator Rand Paul seeks a legal amendment to rein in FDA overreach

From Rand Paul’s blog:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today on the U.S. Senate floor, Sen. Rand Paul introduced an amendment to the Food and Drug Administration User Fee Reauthorization bill, which would curb the Food and Drug Associations overreach and abuse of power. Sen. Paul’s amendment, No. 2143, would disarm the FDA, put an end to raids on natural food stores and Amish farmers, and stop FDA censorship of truthful claims of dietary supplements.

Below is the video and transcript of his speech, as well as top-line points and background information regarding Sen. Paul’s amendment.

New study on Amish shows how raw milk promotes health in children

From Rady Ananda, on Food Freedom News

“An international team of researchers recently confirmed that children who drink fresh milk – unprocessed and unpasteurized – have a better immune response to allergens and are far less likely to develop asthma.

Researchers from Indiana, Switzerland, and Germany ran surveys and tests on Swiss and US children aged 6-12 years and submitted their results to the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunologylast month. [1]

Because the Amish emigrated from Switzerland, and are thus genetically similar, the team compared Northern Indiana Amish farm children with today’s Swiss kids. Though rural kids are known to be healthier than city kids, the team found that the Amish have a superior immune response to allergens and asthma than even Swiss farm kids have.

The absurdity of raw milk prohibition

This Carolina Journal Online columnist gives voice to a sentiment that seems to be growing across North America these days in regard to raw milk. Continued prohibition is just not making any sense. Why should governments be cutting back on everything from meat inspectors  to social services, while at the same time pouring what must be vast amounts of public money into prosecuting peaceful farmers who’ve finally figured out how to make a living providing something people want, and model citizens who are just trying to feed their families with what they see as the best and most nourishing foods they can find.

Are we missing something here? Who’s driving the rabid anti-raw milk agenda that we’re seeing from the FDA and other enforcers of the dairy status quo?

From the Carolina Journal Online:

“This week’s “Daily Journal” guest columnist is Fergus Hodgson (@FergHodgson), John Locke Foundation Director of Fiscal Policy Studies.

RALEIGH — Picture a peaceful, Amish farmer, selling one of nature’s super foods — fresh, raw milk. Eager customers came from afar, even across state lines, to savor the taste and access a nutritious product. Who could oppose such harmonious commerce on Rainbow Acres Farm?

OSPCA raiding Amish farms in Ontario

According to Michael Schmidt, 45 inspectors of the OSPCA raided 16 Amish farms in Huron County. No charges were laid. They found one dog with an ear infection, one puppy born the night before laying away from his mother, and tarter plaque on the teeth of a dog. From CTV news:

Click image to go to CTV website to watch video clip.

The Vernon Herschberger story — raw milk farmer is taking a brave stand for private contracts and personal liberty

From Kimberly Hartke, on her Hartke is Online blog:

Moving the cows to fresh pasture on the Vernon Herschberger farm.

U.S. Government is Out to Destroy this Family Farm

Vernon Hershberger is one of 18 children of an organic dairy farmer. His father was organic in the 1970’s, before organic was cool. Vernon’s Dad tended 15-20 dairy cows on his small farm. It was not a profitable venture. Back then, you couldn’t get a fair price for organic milk. There were no certified organics, such as we have today. And, the public didn’t understand the value of organic practices, so were unwilling to pay extra.

Vernon grew up in Holmes County, Ohio, the largest Amish settlement in the world. As of ten years ago, over twelve thousand Amish families resided in Holmes County.

Federal judge prohibits Amish dairy farmer Dan Allgyer from supplying Maryland food club with raw milk

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

“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s two-year undercover investigation of a Maryland food club has led a federal District Court judge to impose a permanent injunction against the Pennsylvania Amish farmer who supplied the club with raw milk.

Federal Judge Lawrence Stengel officially issued a permanent injunction last Friday. It prohibits the farmer, Dan Allgyer, from sending raw milk across state lines to supply the Grassfed on the Hill club. It specifically does not affect him making milk available in Pennsylvania, nor does it prohibit him from supplying other food to the Maryland club. But, of course, the club members most of all want their milk, and they are in Maryland, not Pennsylvania. Raw milk can’t be legally sold, or made available via a cowshare, in Maryland.

Farmer Edwin Shank sets a wonderful example for how to take responsibility

From David E. Gumpert on the Complete Patient blog:

“The last week or so has been a terrible time for Edwin Shank and his family, along with twenty or more of his raw milk customers.

The suspicions that his dairy’s milk was behind an outbreak of campylobacter were confirmed when the Maryland Department of Health reported yesterday that it isolated campylobacter in two unopened jugs of the Pennsylvania dairy’s raw milk retrieved from a customer’s refrigerator.

“So now the wondering, suspense and uncertainty is over for our family and farm crew and is replaced by humiliation and embarrassment,” Shank wrote in a letter to customers and friends of The Family Cow. “Dawn and I have shed a lot of tears over this. Now we know for sure what the growing list of emails and calls from you were pointing to. It was us. We are very sorry.”