Small farmers beware big government

From Richard S. Gubbe in the Rock River Times:

“Small farmers across the country, beware, your local authorities and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are out to put you out of business.

Raids have taken place against small farmers in Maine, Pennsylvania, Nevada, California and Wisconsin against farmers for a variety of reasons, including selling organic and raw foods, as well as the sale and distribution of raw milk.

While it is legal in Illinois to buy raw milk at a farm, protests have sprung up, including the raw milk protest held in Chicago last week without incident. A half-dozen mothers reportedly transported raw milk from Wisconsin to Chicago, where they accepted payment for some of the milk and passed out the rest to demonstrators protesting FDA regulations. A previous rally in Maryland was held without incident last month.

VIDEO: Raw Milk Freedom Riders take Chicago (from the December 8th rally)

Farmageddon screening for Congress

From Kimberly Hartke:

Panel discussion from the New York City screening of Farmageddon: Panel discussion with director Kristin Canty, Angela Davis, Sarma Melngailis, and Max Goldberg. Photo from Laurel on Health. Click to go to the story on her blog that includes this picture and others from that screening.

December 6, 2011–Washington, D.C.– Independent filmmaker Kristin Canty announces today that her film is being screened next week for members of Congress, and the shocking new food documentary was invited back for an encore run at Chicago’s prestigious Gene Siskel Film Center. This summer’s theatrical releases in Washington, DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City, Chicago, and Boston garnered critical acclaim, and grassroots interest spawned 150 community screenings around the country.

Raw Milk Freedom Rider Liz Reitzig on plans to transport raw milk across state lines, distribute it in Chicago Dec. 8th

Many thanks to activist mom Liz Reitzig for taking time on the eve of her departure for Chicago to answer questions from The Bovine.

Liz Reitzig at the Raw Milk Freedom Riders' rally in Maryland last month.

How would you describe your role in the Raw Milk Freedom Riders?

My role in the Raw Milk Freedom Riders is as one of the primary organizers.

How did you and your family get started on raw milk?

Raw milk freedom riders are riding to Chicago to take their challenge to FDA interstate prohibitions to the next level

From the Raw Milk Freedom Riders’ blog:

Raw milk freedom riders are taking it to the next level in Chicago.

You are invited to join the Raw Milk Freedom Riders, Food Freedom Advocates from around the country, local and national press and Maybe the FDA and law enforcement* at our next Freedom Ride coming to Chicago IL.

Who:      Raw Milk Freedom Riders and Speakers from around the U.S.

What:     100 gallons of Raw Milk and Cookies to be distributed in support of Food Freedom

Local Chicago ice cream makers may be shut down by the state for silly reasons

From Monica Eng and Chris Borrelli in the Chicago Tribune:

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“A few years ago, Kris Swanberg, having been laid-off from her job as a Chicago Public School teacher, remembered she received an ice cream maker as a wedding gift. The Chicago mom fished it out of her kitchen cabinet and eventually started a new career.

Today Swanberg’s Nice Cream — on offer at local Whole Foods and farmers markets — is considered a star of Chicago’s rich and beloved artisanal ice cream scene, one that could be shut down entirely by state rules, she recently learned.

Home-lunch ban at Chicago area public schools — What’s more revolting: junk food, the student reaction, or the nanny state precedent this regulation sets?

While one can agree that junk food from home is no good for kids, the nanny-state implications of this are scary indeed. And students don’t like it much either. From Monica Eng and Joel Hood at the Chicago Tribune:

“Fernando Dominguez cut the figure of a young revolutionary leader during a recent lunch period at his elementary school.

“Who thinks the lunch is not good enough?” the seventh-grader shouted to his lunch mates in Spanish and English.

Dozens of hands flew in the air and fellow students shouted along: “We should bring our own lunch! We should bring our own lunch! We should bring our own lunch!”

Obesity and food deserts in America

Via Mercola.com, here are 23 minutes from a program shown on the Qatar-based TV news network Al Jazeera, about obesity, food culture and food business in contemporary America:

“Domino’s Pizza’s domestic sales were falling last year. Then an organization called Dairy Management offered to help. They developed pizzas for Domino’s that contained 40 percent more cheese, and then devised and paid for a $12-million marketing campaign.

Raw milk farmer Michael Schmidt to speak at the WAPF Wise Traditions conference in Chicago this month

Cowshare members at Glencolton Farms. Andrea Lemieux photo

Michael Schmidt will be a featured speaker on Sunday, November 15th, 2009 from 5:30 – 6:30 pm on “The Battle for Our Sacred Food” at Wise Traditions 2009, the 10th Annual Conference of the Weston A. Price Foundation.  The conference will be held at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel and Conference Center, 1551 North Thoreau Drive, Schaumburg, Illinois (just outside Chicago).  For more information, call (304) 724-3004 or visit www.westaprice.org/conferences/2009-conference/

The Battle for our Sacred Food

Mankind has been challenged many times to face the prospect of war, be it physically or spiritually. Today we are at the cross roads fighting for one of the most fundamental rights:

The right for food, which nourishes body, soul and spirit.

Today’s “intentional” destruction of our food turns the once sacred substance into a dangerous weapon, which threatens the future of mankind.

Weston A. Price Found. Wise Traditions conference in Chicago Nov 13-16, 2009

The Weston A. Price Foundation has been THE major advocate for raw milk and other nutrient dense foods since it was founded in the 1999. Based on the work of a pioneering dentist who traveled the world in the 1930s investigating the dental health of indigenous peoples and documenting how they ate, the WAPF’s dietary recommendations run counter to many fads and fashions in contemporary dieting — which makes them all the more valuable a resource for those of us who just want to get to the truth on dietary and nutritional questions. For details on the WAPF Wise Traditions conference click here.

One of the issues the WAPF has addressed has been the overuse of soy products in human diets in recent times. Below are some youtube clips featuring WAPF founder Sally Fallon, talking about the dangers of Soy as a food for people: