Podcast with host Kimberly Hartke
Episode 8 of the Food Rights Hour podcast is about the National Farmers Union’s endorsement of raw milk. During this episode, host Kimberly Hartke talks about the National Farmers Union’s (NFU) decision to endorse this nutrient-dense beverage with guests David Gumpert, Mark McAfee, Hannah Smith-Brubaker, Richard R. Oswald, and Danielle Nierenberg.
What does NFU’s decision mean for the future of raw milk? What do two delegates for the NFU, Hannah Smith-Brubaker and Richard R. Oswald, have to say in response to NFU’s recent endorsement? What is the American Farm Bureau’s take on raw milk? How did Mark McAfee help convince the NFU to endorse raw milk? Does the new food think tank, Food Tank, have a stance on raw versus pasteurized milk?
Listen to the podcast to find out!
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speaker(s) and not those of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund.
About Hannah Smith-Brubaker
Hannah currently serves as interim director for the Pennsylvania Farmers Union and is also a delegate of the National Farmers Union. Plain and simple, Hannah is passionate about connecting people to healthy, locally grown food. A fan of Howard Thurman’s “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and then go do that,” Hannah considers her work in Community Outreach with PASA as an important way to fulfill her calling. Born and raised in Pennsylvania’s Northern Tier, Hannah has resided in the Commonwealth’s South Central region for most of the last 20 years. Hannah has had 15 years of nonprofit leadership experience, most recently in soil and water conservation education. In addition to being a “front yard” vegetable grower and a certified Permaculturalist® trainee, Hannah has been involved in raw milk advocacy efforts and spends as much time as she can on her family’s farms in Pennsylvania, Village Acres Farm, and Kentucky.
About Richard R. Oswald
Richard Oswald is a farmer and an advocate for farmer rights. He was born on the family farm near Langdon, MO where he continues to reside to this day. He represents the fifth generation of his family on that land. At various times he has raised or grown hogs, cattle, hay, corn, and soybeans on the family farm. Working through the National Farmers Union, he traveled to Washington, D.C. where, serving as an unpaid lobbyist, he represented family farmers and ranchers to members of Congress. He was a member of the National Farmers Union’s 10-member National Policy Committee. The Committee reviews and updates NFU’s National Farm Policy. Currently, he serves as a Director of Langdon Road District. He is president and a lifetime member of Missouri Farmers Union. He is also a member of the Farm Bureau and of the Missouri NRCS Technical Committee.
About David Gumpert
About Mark McAfee
Mark McAfee is the founder and CEO of Organic Pastures Dairy, which is America’s largest pasture-based raw milk dairy and creamery. Mark is internationally recognized as an expert in raw milk production, and has spoken in over fifteen states and three countries on the subject. He invented the first dietary supplements made from fresh raw colostrum, and secured their certification from the FDA. He is also the president of the Raw Milk Institute. Mark is immersed in the political fight for food freedom in America and has given testimony and/or made presentations at Stanford University medical school, Rutgers, Canada, and Australia. Mark is an author having written on raw milk subjects and has been interviewed on many TV and radio specials on raw milk and is featured in the film Farmageddon.
About Danielle Nierenberg
Danielle Nierenberg is a co-founder of Food Tank, a new food policy think tank, and an expert on sustainable agriculture and food issues. She recently spent two years traveling to more than 35 countries across sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America meeting with farmers and farmers’ groups, scientists and researchers, policymakers and government leaders, students and academics, and journalists collecting their thoughts on what’s working to help alleviate hunger and poverty, while also protecting the environment. She has spoken at major conferences and events all over the world, and her knowledge of global agriculture issues has been cited widely in more than 3,000 major publications including The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the International Herald Tribune, The Washington Post, BBC, the Guardian (UK), and other major publications. Danielle served as the Director of the Food and Agriculture program at the Worldwatch Institute. She also worked for two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic.
Extras
Mark McAfee’s recent short video on youtube, National Farmers Union Update
Read The Washington Times article, “National Farmers Union endorses raw milk” (21 March 2013)
The Weston A. Price Foundation’s press release, “National Farmers Union Endorses Raw Milk: Raw Milk Activists Applaud the Move Toward Greater Access”
David Gumpert’s article, “A Crack in the United Front? Here’s Why National Farmers Union Raw Milk Endorsement Is a Big Deal”
- 24) We support:
- a) The production and sale of raw milk as it provides a viable market niche for dairies. Because of the possible risks of cross contamination, we recommend that raw milk be bottled as the product of a single source and wherever possible at the physical location of that source. Single source bottling will keep intact the chain of responsibility and greatly aid in tracking possible cases of contamination,
- b) Policies, practices and standards for responsible raw milk production for dairy producers that choose to produce raw milk (or raw dairy products) for human consumption, and
- c) Equal access to raw milk (and or raw dairy products) for human consumption for all consumers that choose to consume raw milk.
Questions or comments about this episode of the Food Rights Hour Podcast? Please email [email protected], and we will be glad to respond to you via email or even on a future podcast.
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