Raw Milk Source Shut Down, But There's Been No Bad Milk (Sadly, It's Not an April Fool's Joke.)

by Heidi Stevenson

1 April 2010

In what looks more and more like a concerted FDA plan to shut off raw milk supplies, a Michigan raw milk dairy is being forced to shut down. Their supplier is based a short distance away, but it's across a state boundary. That state, Indiana, allows the sale of raw milk, but the FDA's pressure has caused it to stop shipping to Michigan.

Yesterday's article, Raw Milk Disease Outbreak In Perspective: Tempest in an FDA Teapot, tells of the accusation against the Michigan dairy, Family Farms Co-operative, for causing a campylobacteria disease outbreak. In two weeks, not one shred of evidence has shown that the dairy caused the outbreak, but public warnings implicating it have been issued.

If the dairy had been responsible, surely all the FDA's might could have documented it by now. That, though, doesn't stop the FDA.

The milk was purchased from the Forest Grove Dairy in Indiana, just a short distance across the border. In 2007, these dairies were harrassed by the FDA for the "crime" of distributing raw milk, but for all the state and FDA efforts, nothing came of it.

Now, though, the FDA is back at it. They've pressured the Indiana dairy so much that they're no longer supplying milk to the Family Farms Co-operative in Michigan. The cooperative has sent an e-mail to their customers saying:

Forest Grove Dairy has experienced increasing pressure from FDA over the past week, and notwithstanding the private nature of our herd lease and share arrangement, these pressures embody serious risks.

So, the 250 raw milk drinkers in Michigan have had their source cut off.

This is happening in spite of the fact that all of the FDA's might has been unable to show that illness was the result of raw milk. Their pressure, though, has been enough to interfere with the legitimate business of two raw milk dairies providing a product that their customers want.

These dairies do not sell directly to the public, because it is, absurdly, illegal. However, people's desire for good wholesome raw milk has resulted in a clever way of getting around the issue of sales. People work with a dairy by purchasing cow shares, which allows them to receive the produce of their cows. It's still not illegal to drink raw milk from a cow you own.

The FDA doesn't like that. So the agency is obviously creating a stir by going after these dairies with whatever force they can muster. They aren't protecting the public's health. If they were really concerned, they'd do something about Agribusiness practices that are destroying our food and causing horrendous disease outbreaks, as delineated in yesterday's article.

The will of the people has no meaning to the FDA, no more than protecting the people's health seems to be their aim.

Along with loss of your access to raw milk goes loss of access to freedom of choice and true health. Is this what you want? If not, then get involved with the raw milk movement by joining the Alliance for Raw Milk Internationale:

If you're a Facebook member, you can join ARMi here. You can find your state or country here.

If you aren't on Facebook, then you can join here.

Do you have an opinion about this? Click here to comment!

References:

• IN-MI Raw Milk Trade May Be Over