U.S. government continues its war on raw milk

Wednesday, April 21, 2010 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: raw milk, government, health news

(NaturalNews) Growing awareness among the American populace about the health benefits of wholesome, raw milk has been steadily increasing over the past decade, putting many state and federal officials into a frenzy. The harsh crackdown tactics used in the past to deter farmers from selling, and consumers from buying, raw milk are giving way to a new approach that anti-raw milk fanatics hope will put an end to the sale of raw milk.

Stopping people from consuming raw milk is a top priority for federal and state officials. While millions of Americans are seriously injured by or die from pharmaceutical drugs every year, U.S. regulatory agencies are busy devising new ways to prevent family farmers from selling a natural, health-promoting food to their fellow citizens.

Despite hordes of evidence to the contrary, officials continue to repeat mindless mantras about the dangers of raw milk in an effort to steer people back to the cooked and crushed milk product sold on store shelves. When that fails, they resort to guerilla-style terrorist tactics instead.

For years, these rogue agencies, which include state Departments of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), have raided raw dairies, assaulted farmers and terrorized families. A few of the many cases include:

-In 2006, Kentucky farmer Gary Oakes was hospitalized three times for symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder after he was interrogated by the Ohio Department of Agriculture and the FDA.
-Also in 2006, officials raided Michigan farmer Richard Hebron's property, confiscating $8,000 worth of dairy products and threatening him with criminal prosecution for selling raw milk in a local cooperative.
-Between 2007 and 2008, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, the FDA, and state police, raided Mennonite farmer Mark Nolt's farm three times, confiscating expensive milk and cheese-making equipment.

Realizing that such atrocious and unlawful behavior was not being received well by the public, the agencies decided to take a different route and target private buying groups instead.

In states where it is illegal to sell raw milk in retail stores, people have formed private buying cooperatives that collectively purchase milk from nearby states where it is legal or buy "cow shares" from local farms and share the milk. As private buying clubs have been gaining popularity, officials have begun targeting them to shut them down.

Several buying clubs have recently been targeted in Georgia, Missouri, Wisconsin, and even Massachusetts where raw milk laws are more lax. Recent emails obtained through freedom-of-information requests revealed that the FDA, the Department of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection, and other public health and agriculture officials have been planning to raid up to 20 different buying groups in Illinois as well.

With as many as ten million Americans – and growing – now drinking raw milk, the survival of the industrial dairy system is at stake. Americans are increasingly choosing to drink grass-fed, farm-fresh, nutritious raw milk rather than the filthy, processed milk substance available at the grocery store.

Raw milk is good for family farmers and consumers, but not for Big Dairy and the bureaucrats they own. Americans must stand up and resist the tyranny or else face the elimination of one of nature's perfect foods.

Sources for this story include:

http://www.grist.org/article/whatever-happen...