TV Crew and Mark McAfee Visiting with Glencolton Farmshare Members Jan. 26

TUESDAY JANUARY 26: Today in Thornhill, several Glencolton farmshare member were interviewed by a television crew for an upcoming program on TV Ontario (photo below). TVO will also be sending a camera crew to cover the Raw Milk Symposium in Guelph this Saturday, January 30th.

TVO producer Liane Kotler interviews farmshare members at “The Blue Bus”.

Mark McAfee flew in from California to Canada this week for the Raw Milk Symposium this coming Saturday and stopped by to chat today with the farmshare members as well. That’s Mark, in the photo below, signing the food rights declaration on the side of the Glencolton Farms truck. Mark met with the farmshare members together with his wife Blaine who will also be presenting at this weekend’s Symposium. Thanks to David Pickett for the photo.

Mark runs a large raw milk farm and dairy in California and has been active in helping establish standards for raw milk production in the U.S. through the RAWMI organization.

Why the Raw Milk Institute ignites such controversy within the food movement

From David E. Gumpert on the Complete Patient blog:

“Mark McAfee of Organic Pastures Dairy Co. expresses surprise about the depth of opposition to RAWMI. “I did not know about farmers that absolutely want no help or assistance to develop consumer friendly programs to show the work they do for safety. I did not know that many Cow Share operators reject any kind of exposure and demand absolute secrecy.”

But I wonder, is his surprise that this segment of farmers exists? Is he surprised by the depth of their concerns? Or is he surprised that they “demand absolute secrecy”? Or does he mean “privacy” instead of “secrecy”?

So strong are the feelings, on both sides, that they are difficult to articulate. That leads to frustration. Gayle Loiselle,a plaintiff in the Craig/Zinniker cases in Wisconsin, sums it up when she says, “We need to organize and educate within our communities about the far reaching dangers of highly processed mass produced food and the benefits of sustainably produced nutrient dense food. And not waste our energy arguing over who is more right…that is exactly what the opposition is hoping for.” 

Fledgling Raw Milk Institute challenged

From David E. Gumpert on the Complete Patient blog:

“The fledgling Raw Milk Institute is in trouble.

The grandiose plan for a national organization that will at once establish raw milk production standards, educate farmers on improving their safety protocols, lobby for raw milk legislative expansion, and back research into raw milk’s benefits finds itself hobbled by internal dissension out of the gate.

I don’t think it’s overly dramatic to question whether the group can survive what has turned out to be a huge test of its purpose and objectivity.

Public vs private raw milk markets

From David E. Gumpert on the Complete Patient blog:

“I have to say that I feel funny about buying the supermarket raw milk. I am uncomfortable about the fact that I don’t know the farmer, and thus know almost nothing about the farm where the milk is produced. I can tell that the milk isn’t as high quality as my farmer-supplied milk. It doesn’t taste as good, doesn’t have as much cream, and it begins tasting sour within a week of purchase.

I also feel funny about not being as loyal a private buyer as I would like from the farmer. But I do pay a price–sometimes the farmer has milk for me, and sometimes, when I call in advance, I’m told there won’t be enough, since the regulars have to be served first. What’s fair is fair.