Raw Milk Freedom Rally November 1, 2011

The Freedom Rides are organized, in part by the Farm Food Freedom Coalition.

A yearlong sting operation, including aliases, a 5 a.m. surprise inspection and surreptitious purchases from an Amish farm in Pennsylvania, culminated in the federal government announcing this week that it has gone to court to stop Rainbow Acres Farm from selling its contraband to willing customers in the Washington area.

The product in question: unpasteurized milk.

It’s a battle that’s been going on behind the scenes for years, with natural foods advocates arguing that raw milk, as it’s also known, is healthier than the pasteurized product, while the Food and Drug Administration says raw milk can carry harmful bacteria such as salmonella, E. coli and listeria.

“It is the FDA’s position that raw milk should never be consumed,” said Tamara N. Ward, spokeswoman for the FDA, whose investigators have been looking into Rainbow Acres for months, and who finally last week filed a 10-page complaint in federal court in Pennsylvania seeking an order to stop the farm from shipping across state lines any more raw milk or dairy products made from it.

The farm’s owner, Dan Allgyer, didn’t respond to a message seeking comment, but his customers in the District of Columbia and Maryland were furious at what they said was government overreach.

“I look at this as the FDA is in cahoots with the large milk producers,” said Karin Edgett, a D.C. resident who buys directly from Rainbow Acres. “I don’t want the FDA and my tax dollars to go to shut down a farm that hasn’t had any complaints against it. They’re producing good food, and the consumers are extremely happy with it.”

The FDA’s actions stand in contrast to other areas where the Obama administration has said it will take a hands-off approach to violations of the law, including the use of medical marijuana in states that have approved it, and illegal-immigrant students and youths, whom the administration said recently will not be targets of their enforcement efforts.

Raw-milk devotees say pasteurization, the process of heating food to kill harmful organisms, eliminates good bacteria as well, and changes the taste and health benefits of the milk. Many raw-milk drinkers say they feel much healthier after changing over to it, and insist they should have the freedom of choice regarding their food.

One defense group says there are as many as 10 million raw-milk consumers in the country. Sales are perfectly legal in 10 states but illegal in 11 states and the District, with the other states having varying restrictions on purchase or consumption.

Many food safety researchers say pasteurization, which became widespread in the 1920s and 1930s, dramatically reduced instances of milk-transmitted diseases such as typhoid fever and diphtheria. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there is no health benefit from raw milk that cannot be obtained from pasteurized milk.

Read the full article here

About Liz Reitzig
Liz Reitzig is a certified Liberation Wellness Nutritionist and a regular contributor to Liberation Wellness (www.LiberationWellnessBlog.com) She serves as President of the Maryland Independent Consumers and Farmers Association and Secretary of the National Independent Consumers and Farmers Association.  As a champion for real foods and farm freedom, Liz is the co-founder and partner in a farm fresh buying club and raises her own family on real foods from local farms. She is also a Chapter Leader for the Weston A Price Foundation.

And Wednesday the 16th of this month is your chance to once again converge on the Hill and remind your Representatives and Senators that they do indeed work for us.
The Farm Food Voices Feast this year is from 12-2p.
The lobbying aspect of the day takes place before and after the mixer.

This year, the region’s best Chef’s have joined their voices with ours and our local farmers’ to present for Congress and us a catered affair that would make a Kennedy envious.

Poste Brasserie is returning, along with Coppi’s, Restaurant 3, Nora’s, Food Matters, Lavender Moon and Krishon Chocolates.  Making their debuts this year are Level Small Plates Lounge, Equinox, Ivy Inn, Maple Avenue.  Plus two of Top Chef’s finalists will be representing their kitchens—Volt and Alchemy by Carla Hall.  Main Event, just awarded Best Caterer in the Country, has graciously agreed to organize the load in, setup and load out.  Oh yeah, they’ll be roasting a whole pig from a local farm again this year.

We know how difficult it is to make time for these headaches, but most of the work has already been done.  For the rest of the year you can buy from local farms.  This is your opportunity to add your voice to the growing chorus; it is the day that your presence on the Hill and inside your elected representatives’ offices gives form to your statement.

By overcoming our differences and linking up, we become the connected links of a chain: strong, efficacious and flexible.

Please join us and lend you voice on Wednesday, March 16^th

See website for additional details.

Liz Reitzig is a certified Liberation Wellness Nutritionist and a regular contributor to Liberation Wellness (www.LiberationWellnessBlog.com) She serves as President of the Maryland Independent Consumers and Farmers Association and Secretary of the National Independent Consumers and Farmers Association.  As a champion for real foods and farm freedom, Liz is the co-founder and partner in a farm fresh buying club and raises her own family on real foods from local farms. She is also a Chapter Leader for the Weston A Price Foundation.

Kennedy Caucus Room--Site of the Farm Food Voices DC 2011 Legisaltive reception

It’s that time of year again…time to get those political gears working and come to DC for the National Independent Consumers and Farmers Association 5th annual small farm and ranch grassroots Lobby day and Legislative Reception.  Come sharpen your lobbying skills and add your voice to the ever increasing voices speaking out about real foods!

As always, we are planning a very special reception for our legislators where we will show them the beauty andbounty of what America’s farms have to offer with local tops chefs involved in the preparation and serving of these dishes.  It is a fabulous feast of real foods provided by local farms lovingly producing real foods!

Don’t forget to invite your Senators, Representatives and their staffers to the LOCAL FOODS reception!

Farm Food Voices DC 2011

www.NICFA.com

Liz Reitzig is a certified Liberation Wellness Nutritionist and a regular contributor to Liberation Wellness (www.LiberationWellnessBlog.com) She serves as President of the Maryland Independent Consumers and Farmers Association and Secretary of the National Independent Consumers and Farmers Association.  As a champion for real foods and farm freedom, Liz is the co-founder and partner in a farm fresh buying club and raises her own family on real foods from local farms. She is also a Chapter Leader for the Weston A Price Foundation.



The Senate “Food Safety Bill” (also known as the “Farmageddon bill”) is scheduled for a vote this Wednesday.  Please call your Senators and ask them to OPPOSE this bill on all levels.  Senator Coburn from Oklahoma has taken a strong stand against this bill.  With his leadership and the support of your senator, there is a chance we can help defeat this bill.   The National Independent Consumers and Farmers Association has posted an excellent article about S510 and how and why it would be terrible for America’s farmers if this bill were to pass.   Campaign for Liberty does a tremendous job articulating the assault on our freedoms this bill would impose.  They include all the contact info for how to find and reach your senators.  Please act on this immediately.

About Liz Reitzig
Liz Reitzig is a certified Liberation Wellness Nutritionist and a regular contributor to Liberation Wellness (www.LiberationWellnessBlog.com) She serves as President of the Maryland Independent Consumers and Farmers Association and Secretary of the National Independent Consumers and Farmers Association.  As a champion for real foods and farm freedom, Liz is the co-founder and partner in a farm fresh buying club and raises her own family on real foods from local farms. She is also a Chapter Leader for the Weston A Price Foundation.

You can do more than just vote this election cycle

Most politicians are unaware of the importance of real foods both socially and politically. They remain ignorant of the tidal wave of consumer demand that is fast approaching.  It is our job as people interested in real foods, to educate them.  Campaigns are a great place to start.  It is a time when politicians are seeking votes and tune into what their electorate is thinking about.

If you already have a candidate that you support, campaign season is a great way to get them thinking about food related issues.  If you’re not even sure who is running, look them up and start talking to them about real foods. (Google search your state and board of elections)

Some great ways to get politicians engaged are to invite them to a local foods meeting, farm tour, screening of one of the food documentaries, talk or presentation that you are hosting or anything else that you think will help convey the message of real foods.

Make sure to point out to them the connection between supporting local farms and a thriving rural economy. Most politicians have no idea the level of regulation that impedes access to real foods.  (This is in the bureaucrats department usually)  They do not realize that the over-burdensome regulations can keep a farmer from making a living on their farm.  In a depressed economy, tying it all together for them and pointing out the relationship between supporting small farms and boosting rural economies, can sometimes make all the difference.

On the National level, if you do not already know, find out who is running for Congress in your district. Representative are elected every 2 years and some Senators are up for reelection this year.  Call their campaigns and ask where they stand on the food issues that are important to you.  For example, ask them if they would support the bill that lifts the ban on the interstate shipment of fresh milk.  Most of them have no idea what is going on in the “real food world”  It is really up to you to educate them, get a general knowledge of where they stand on food related issues and if they get elected follow-up with them once they are in office.

Check out their voting record! This is important.  Politicians can and will say anything they think you want to hear. Do the digging so you know how they voted on certain key pieces of legislation so that you can be prepared when speaking to them.

On the state level, most of the State Assembly positions across the country are up for reelection this year. We can have tremendous impact on the state level by talking with those who are campaigning and bringing an awareness of food issues to them before they even reach office.  It is not unusual to speak directly with your elected representatives or whoever is running for office in your district.  Everyone has a state Senator and a state Representative (sometimes called Delegates, Assembly persons, etc.)  Now is the time they are campaigning.  You can get active on the campaign of someone you support (you can support and volunteer for those outside your district as well) and you can bring awareness of food issues to candidates you don’t necessarily support but who need to be educated on real foods.

In my years of doing this there are a few golden rules to always keep in mind:

1. It is ALWAYS worth it! Whatever time and energy it takes to speak to someone, it is always worth the time, energy, exhaustion etc.
2. You are making a difference in their lives! When you speak to elected officials, candidates and their staff, you are providing them with information that will change their lives.  My first year working in Annapolis, I gave information about fresh milk to my Delegate’s aide.  She was so intrigued she tried some milk at my encouragement.  She has tackled some serious health issues, buys fresh milk weekly and credits the milk for much of her recovery.
3. Persistence! they are busy and this is not in the front of their minds.  You’ll likely not get a call back but keep calling.  And be nice about it.  They are people too with loved ones who will benefit from the information you have.

I know it can be intimidating to make that first phone call, but it is worth it and you are making a difference in people’s lives.  So go on out there and tell your candidates about real foods!

Please, comment and let us know your experience with this.  It encourages people when they see that others are making the contacts.

About Liz Reitzig
Liz Reitzig is a certified Liberation Wellness Nutritionist and a regular contributor to Liberation Wellness (www.LiberationWellnessBlog.com) She serves as President of the Maryland Independent Consumers and Farmers Association and Secretary of the National Independent Consumers and Farmers Association.  As a champion for real foods and farm freedom, Liz is the co-founder and partner in a farm fresh buying club and raises her own family on real foods from local farms. She is also a Chapter Leader for the Weston A Price Foundation.

This recent article tackles some pretty big issues in the world of small farms and food politics…

The future for your local neighborhood farmer

“Throughout this nation it is becoming commonplace for state and federal governments to raid food buying clubs, private food co-ops, family farms and even micro farms. The reason these raids are taking place is that the FDA has determined that we are not smart enough to decide what we want to eat. They are making sure that we have a hard time getting food that is actually good for us and fulfilling their public health mission. This is the first in a three article series profiling two cases in the state of Missouri to illustrate what will be terrifically commonplace once Senate Bill 510, (The Food Safety Modernization Act-third article) is in place.

In Missouri we have families, and a food freedom movement, that are being persecuted, and I use that term intentionally, with accusation aforethought. The first family I am going to profile is the Bechard’s of Conway, Missouri. They are facing prosecution by Attorney General Koster for violating the following State statute and were also taken to court -and convicted- by Green County Health Department for “operating a food establishment without a permit”. Basically, they are being taken to court for trying to make a living from their lawful product. Their crime? Providing people with fresh milk that tested out to be perfectly fine and had no complaints or reports of illness associated with it at all.”

Check out the entire article here

About Liz Reitzig
Liz Reitzig is a certified Liberation Wellness Nutritionist and a regular contributor to Liberation Wellness (www.LiberationWellnessBlog.com) She serves as President of the Maryland Independent Consumers and Farmers Association and Secretary of the National Independent Consumers and Farmers Association.  As a champion for real foods and farm freedom, Liz is the co-founder and partner in a farm fresh buying club and raises her own family on real foods from local farms. She is also a Chapter Leader for the Weston A Price Foundation.

It won't be long before they come for your apples!

The food ‘safety’ bill or S510 is making its way through the Senate.  If this bill passes, it will dramatically escalate the current war against small, local farms.  The bill gives carte blanche to an FDA already zealously against small farms.  Andrew Ward from Campaign for Liberty reflects on consequences if the bill passes in his recent article.

“The recent outbreak of salmonella in several states around the country, and the resulting recall of nearly 400 billion eggs, has ignited calls by officials in the FDA for more regulatory authority over farms.  The AP reports that FDA chief Margaret Hamburg is calling on Congress to pass the dreaded S.510, the so-called Food Safety and Modernization Act, which would, among other things, place intrusive regulations on small family farms.  The FDA claims that without this new power more outbreaks are more than likely to occur, and that standardized guidelines for safe food need to be implemented immediately.”

Read the full article here.

Please follow this bill (go ahead and read it.  It’s got lots of juicy details) and don’t forget to call your Senators and ask them to oppose this legislation.  Remember: they work for you!  Call every day if you can…they need to hear from us!!!

About Liz Reitzig

Liz Reitzig is a certified Liberation Wellness Nutritionist and a regular contributor to Liberation Wellness (www.LiberationWellnessBlog.com) She serves as President of the Maryland Independent Consumers and Farmers Association and Secretary of the National Independent Consumers and Farmers Association.  As a champion for real foods and farm freedom, Liz is the co-founder and partner in a farm fresh buying club and raises her own family on real foods from local farms. She is also a Chapter Leader for the Weston A Price Foundation.

To schedule an interview with Liz or another representative of Liberation Wellness, call 800-327-9010.

On the Morning Edition July 19, 2010,  NPR covered the increasing popularity of fresh milk.

It was an honor to sit down with April Fulton and discuss with her all my reasons for choosing fresh milk.

I think she did a fantastic job piecing together all the information she collected to give a balanced explanation on why some consumers choose fresh milk.  I was thrilled to hear that a former FDA person actually admitted that pasteurization does destroy some nutrients.  At the end of the program, the narrator says “The food safety expert says not getting sick is what’s important.

He would never drink raw milk. But he thinks banning it only encourages Liz Reitzig and others to skirt the law, and that could put them at greater risk.

If you’re one of the one to 3 percent of the population that drinks raw milk, Acheson says make sure that the cows are clean, your hands are clean, and the bottle are sterilized and stored properly.”

This is the most flexibility I have ever heard from a government person on raw milk.  Kudos to NPR for covering this important topic and doing such a great job on it!

About Liz Reitzig
Liz Reitzig is a certified Liberation Wellness Nutritionist and a regular contributor to Liberation Wellness (www.LiberationWellnessBlog.com) She serves as President of the Maryland Independent Consumers and Farmers Association and Secretary of the National Independent Consumers and Farmers Association.  As a champion for real foods and farm freedom, Liz is the co-founder and partner in a farm fresh buying club and raises her own family on real foods from local farms. She is also a Chapter Leader for the Weston A Price Foundation.