Milk ad campaign could include raw

Looking at this new ad campaign from the Dairy Farmers of Canada it’s hard not to imagine that they’re including raw milk as one of the options people might choose. 

From Jordan Twiss, at Strategyonline.ca

A couple of example ads from the new campaign. Click image above to see more at the Ad-ict blog.

“The Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) has rolled out a new campaign that aims to highlight the varieties of milk available to consumers.” 

Marketing mojo rebuilds confidence in Maple Leaf Foods after Listeria deaths

From Kristin Laird at Marketing Mag.ca

"Putting a fork in it" Maple Leaf Foods style. Photo via Marketing Mag.

“Graham, formerly CMO at Rogers Communications, started working with Maple Leaf Foods as a consultant following a listeria outbreak in 2008 that killed 22 people and prompted massive product recalls.

That same year, the company posted a third-quarter loss of $12.9 million. In the fourth quarter, Maple Leaf said the recall cost the company an estimated $59 million to $69 million before taxes and profits were down 40%.

The company also had a dramatic fall in the Marketing/Leger Corporate Reputations ranking—which asks consumers if they have a good or bad opinion of the company—dropping from 21 to 76 in 2009 and a further 10 spots in 2010.

Why McDonalds failed in Bolivia

From Hispanically Speaking News:

“…The failure of McDonald’s in Bolivia had such a deep impact in the company’s Creative and Marketing staff, that they produced a documentary titled “Why did McDonald’s Bolivia go Bankrupt,” trying to explain why did Bolivians never crossed-over from empanadas to Big Macs.

The documentary includes interviews with cooks, sociologists, nutritionists and educators who all seem to agree, Bolivians are not against hamburgers per sé, just against ‘fast food,’ a concept widely unaccepted in the Bolivian community.

Raw milk marketing tool in progress

From Augie’s Journal of Natural Food and Health:

Draft version

Organic Consumer Association political director arrested Tuesday May 17 at Whole Foods in Chicago over protests regarding the sale of unlabeled GMOs

This just in, forwarded by Michael Schmidt and Max Kane:

Alexis Baden-Mayer, political director of the Organic Consumers Association, and other activists were just arrested in Chicago at the Whole Foods Market in Lincoln Park where they were having a Food Dump to protest the sale of unlabeled GMOs.

Can you call the Lincoln Park Whole Foods, request the release of Alexis and her counterparts and ask that the charges be dropped? The number is 312-587-0648. The OCA and these activists would really appreciate your help!

Big pharma salesperson gives her own version of “the real truth” about drugs

Ban on labeling milk as rBGH-free struck down as unconstitutional in recent Ohio appeal court decision

RBGH is a growth hormone designed to increase milk production. And it’s made by Monsanto Eli Lilly. Here’s an excerpt from a report by Helena Bottemiller on Bill Marler’s “Food Safety News”:

"Our Friend the Cow", indeed! No mention of bovine growth hormone use here, but that would certainly fit right in with this model of exploitive dairying. Picture via the Lovenati blog.

“After more than two years of litigation, a federal court last week struck down an Ohio ban on labeling dairy products as “rbGH free,” “rbST free,” or “artificial hormone free” if produced by cows not treated with bovine growth hormone.

If “Raw Milk is not the answer”, then what was the question?

The following is an excerpt from a letter to the editor by Tom Womack, Director of Public Affairs, Tennessee Department of Agriculture, which appears on the “Metro Pulse” website:

Web page header from Metro Pulse

“Raw Milk is Not the Answer”

“…Since 2006, through the Tennessee Agricultural Enhancement Program, the department has invested nearly $6 million in hundreds of projects to help Tennessee farmers diversify to new and emerging farm opportunities, including agri-tourism, grape growing, honey production, organics, and value-added production of dairy and other products. There are numerous examples where Tennessee farmers are finding success through direct-to-consumer sales by producing high quality and safe products. Additional investments have been made in developing farmers markets and other infrastructure, and promotions to support direct-to-consumer sales.

Shareholders demand Kellogg label and remove GMO ingredients from products

Concerned citizens are once again taking matters into their own hands and using direct action to effect corporate change. This story is excerpted from organic consumers.org:

Battle Creek, MI — “Why should Kellogg shareholders take a bullet forMonsanto?” asks Michael Passoff, of the As You Sow Foundation. The foundation is part of a shareholder group that has filed a resolutionchallenging the company over its use of genetically engineered foods.

The resolution, which will be voted on Friday, asks the company to remove genetically engineered ingredients from their products until long term testing has proven them safe. It also proposes an interim step of labeling products that contain these ingredients.

“Voodoo on the Vine” — S.F. Weekly

Images and captions from SF Weekly

Here are some excerpts from a recent story in the San Francisco Weekly Dining section about Biodynamic farming as it applies to grape growing and wine making.

Explaining Biodynamics to journalists is always fraught with the potential for misunderstanding, and it’s no surprise that the writer of this piece, Joe Eskenazi fails to grasp the underlying philosophy, and many of the subtle underlying concepts and hasn’t undertaken the necessary research to be able  to credit biodynamics with much in the way of scientific backing.

Still, what’s interesting here is that biodynamics in grape growing is increasing in popularity, and that this writer is willing to explore biodynamic practices, unusual as they may seem, in considerable detail.