Raw milk farmer Vernon Herschberger passes go, does not go to jail, this time

Tessa Rachel writes about the rally on her Proverbs31wannabe blog:

More than 300 people turned out to rally for food freedom in Wisconsin. Tessa Rachel photo.

“….The rally garnered over 300 supporters (which was a lot for our small town and small courthouse), the holding room in the court was filled to overflowing with rally attendees. 

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.

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?

Moms to transport 100 gallons raw milk across state lines, distribute it Dec. 8th

From Richard S. Gubbe, in the Rock River Times:

Raw milk at FDA Headquarters, the site of the last Raw Milk Freedom Riders event in Maryland. Kimberly Hartke photo

“The Raw Milk Freedom Riders, a group that comprises “Food Freedom Advocates” from across the United States, will be staging a raw milk transport over the Wisconsin border and into Chicago Thursday, Dec. 8, culminating in a rally at Independence Park.

The caravan and “Free Milk and Cookies” rally has been organized to protest the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) policies regarding interstate commerce regulation of the sale and distribution of raw milk. Wisconsin law prohibits such sales by independent farms, while Illinois laws allow the sale of raw milk by farmers to consumers.

Max Kane and Vernon Hershberger join Michael in his raw milk hunger strike

Max Kane and Michael Schmidt following the raw milk acquittal in January of 2010. Inset: Michael Schmidt with farmer Vernon Hershberger at his farm in Wisconsin.

Max Kane and Vernon Hershberger have joined the hunger strike.

What a great tribute to the cause of food rights. Two dear friends south of the border called me to tell me that they have joined the hunger strike for Responsible Food Freedom as it relates to our very personal decision what to put in our body.

State of the food rights movement

David E. Gumpert, on the Complete Patient blog;

Sign from Rawsome Food club in California.

“It sure would be nice if the emerging food rights movement could always pick its spots to protest government brutality and criminality against farmers and food clubs. Note, I am choosing my words carefully here. Yes, when government agents from ten or more agencies steal hundreds of pounds, thousands of dollars, worth of food–not once, but twice in 15 months– that members of a club have contracted for, that is brutality and criminality.

I’m talking about the Rawesome Food Club situation, but it’s not just Rawesome that has been brutalized. It’s Denise and Joseph Dixon (Morningland Dairy), Barb and Steve Smith (Meadowsweet Dairy), Dan Allgyer, Michael Hulme, Wayne Craig, Mark Zinniker, Max Kane, Vernon Hershberger, Grassfed on the Hill food club. And their compatriots in Canada are intent on making an example out of Michael Schmidt. I’m sure I’ve missed some names here, and we don’t even know all those that have been hit hard by the ripple effects of the government clampdown on Rawesome and these other food clubs and farmers. Sharon Palmer was just one of many farmer suppliers to the food club. 

More raw milk farmers and advocates join Michael Schmidt’s hunger strike

From David E. Gumpert on The Complete Patient blog;

Raw milk farmers Michael Schmidt, in happier times, at a news conference the day before the verdict was announced reversing his acquittal on 15 raw milk related charges from November 2006.

“…The worldwide protest movement has already arrived in the U.S., on Wall Street, where hundreds of people from around the country have gathered to protest the power of America’s banks in grabbing resources via bailouts and favorable treatment by the country’s all-powerful Federal Reserve Bank.

How does the Food Rights movement fit into all of this? It’s probably too early to say for sure how it fits in, or even whether it fits in at all.

Raw milk pantheon painting in progress

Front line dispatches from the milk war

Here’s an excerpt from the latest updates from David E. Gumpert’s “The Complete Patient” blog:

“The struggle for access to nutritionally-dense food has evolved into a multi-front war, and the action is becoming hot and heavy, with little respect for vacation timetables…or individual rights. Counteroffenses are being fought, where skilled attorneys are willing to take up the struggle. Here are three key developments over the last week:

“Raw milk crackdown is the new war on drugs” story going viral on the internets

Here’s an overview of the raw milk “war” by someone who sees a broader political agenda behind the seemingly isolated events. The following are excerpts from a much longer post titled “The Regime’s War on Food” on the “Pro Libertate” blog. As evidence for this story “going viral”, check out the growing list of other blogs (mentioned at the bottom) which have reprinted it so far. It’s likely there will be still more to come. Every time someone reprints it we get a “pingback” because it includes links to the Bovine.

This lead picture from the "Pro Libertate" blog post is originally from The Bovine.

“Many thousands of years ago, two men came across a dairy cow, a beast neither had previously beheld.