In a brazen power grab threatening the livelihood of hundreds of small farmers, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is using the state Invasive Species Act to expand its jurisdiction beyond hunting and fishing to farming operations. On April 1, 2012 an Invasive Species Order (ISO) that DNR issued in December 2010 prohibiting the possession of
Defending Raw Milk Against the CDC
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a study in February that the agency publicized with the headline, “Majority of dairy-related disease outbreaks linked to raw milk.” It’s not surprising, but still disappointing, to see how the agency was willing to ignore the real facts and data in order to try to discourage people from [Read full post…]
Farm Stand Forced to Close
San Juan County in Washington state did the indefensible. They closed a farm stand that had been in operation for more than two and a half years because the county recently decided that since the farm stand was “open to the public,” it had to meet commercial building requirements.
Preparing for a Raid
When an inspector from the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness showed up with a ‘cease and desist’ order and slapped a quarantine order from the Kentucky Department of Health Services on 76 half gallons of raw milk about to be picked up by members of a local buying club, the club members’ defied the orders. John Moody spoke on how to be prepared for a government raid over food.
Straight From the Farmers’ Heart at Quail Hollow
By Monte & Laura Bledsoe | November 18, 2011 On the evening of October 21, 2011 as guests were arriving for the first ever “Farm to Fork Dinner” at Quail Hollow Farm, Southern Nevada Health Inspector Mary Oakes under orders from Supervisor Susan LeBay, formerly a pool inspector in 2005, showed up as well and […]
Farm-to-Fork Farm Dinner Fiasco
When an over-zealous regulator shows up at a farm dinner demanding that food be destroyed as hungry guests await, who do you call? Here’s Laura’s account written as a letter to her guests who had come to Quail Hollow Farm expecting a meal of foods harvested from local small family farms. This incident shows the […]
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Congress Passes FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)
On December 21, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2751, the “FDA Food Safety Modernization Act” (formerly S.510). On Sunday night, December 19, the Senate passed FSMA by unanimous consent without a recorded vote after substituting its language in H.R. 2751 (originally titled, “Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act”–one of the “Cash for […]
Minnesota: MDA Considering Criminal Prosecution of Consumer
On December 10 Rae Lynn Sandvig, a Bloomington raw milk and local food consumer, received a letter from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) informing her that MDA had “scheduled an administrative meeting concerning your sales of food, your actions assisting in the sale of raw milk from your home in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the sale of food from the Traditional Foods Warehouse (TFW)….” TFW is a private buyers club located in Minneapolis.
Driveway Seizure of Raw Milk From Shocked Children and Parents
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuC6nws6Jcg] Minnesota Events January 28, 2011 – Friday Macalester College, Kagin Commons – St. Paul 1-5 p.m. Grassroots Training Session 7-9 p.m. Consumer Free Choice Fundraiser