This message was posted on a mailing list I belong to. It's interesting; I think I agree overall that the law discussed is bad legislation and should be overturned, and yet I found myself getting increasingly annoyed with the author. So! Many!! Exclamation!!! Points!!!!
If they're trying to reach people who don't know about raw milk and aren't sure why they should care, I'm not sure they're going to succeed by sounding like they're a wee bit insane. (I resisted making a mad cow disease joke here because it's not funny. But believe me, I was tempted.)
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GOVERNMENT "SNEAK ATTACK"
ON CALIFORNIA RAW MILK
Dear Chapter Leaders and Members,
With raw milk politics facing tough battles and having some wonderful
successes across the United States, raw milk has just been dealt a
serious blow and has been made illegal
in California as of January 1st 2008.
We need you to act today.
I have included a letter from Mark McAfee below. We need you to write to
California legislators, write letters to the editor of your local paper
if you are in California, post about this issue on your blog, and
contact everyone in your chapter and in your friendship network to
mobilize them in this fight.
Read Mark's letter below or visit the Organic Pastures action page
directly:
DEAR RAW MILK FRIENDS,
There comes a time in life when conscious people must fight... ....this
is one of those rare times!!
The Governor of California just signed into law AB1735 which changes raw
milk standards to include "less than 10 coliforms per ml of raw milk".
This will eliminate a consistent supply of raw milk in California,
because high quality raw milk always has some Coliforms. In fact
Coliforms are essential to the safety of raw milk. They are responsible
for making Colicins which protect against and kill off harmful
pathogenic forms of bacteria including Ecoli 0157H7. Never before has
raw milk in California ever been tested for Coliforms, because they are
good bacteria and are not pathogenic.
All raw milk pathogens are tested separately to assure safety.
Sadly, the reality is that the Governor probably did not even know what
he was signing because it was slipped into the regulation without
discussion or debate. When he finds out what he signed he will ask for a
"CDFA head on a silver plate" I am sure. That's right. There were no
open discussion or hearings on this change. No raw milk consumer or raw
milk producer was advised or invited to attend the secreted meetings.
The staff at the State Ag Committee now says that AB1735 was not
supposed to be an area of conflict. It was just law to align California
Raw Milk laws with Federal Raw Milk laws.
To any raw milk producer or consumer this is WAR!!
The CDFA and FDA hate raw milk!!!
Only the government and pasteurized GOT DEAD MILK policy makers were
involved in AB 1735 and of coarse there was no discussion. This was a
"strategic sneak attack"... to get rid of the looming raw milk threat to
the GOT DEAD MILK industry.
We now ask that you all please shower the Governor with emails and
letters. Do not blame him but ask him to correct a horrible mistake
immediately. We ask that you call your state assemblyman. We ask that
you write your local newspaper. We ask that you blog. We ask that super
moms and dads morph into raw milk ninja fighters and protect your
families. The internet and your voices are your greatest tools. But they
must be heard. Tell everyone about how raw milk has changed your life.
Demand that the "eight new words introduced by AB 1735" that effectively
kill California Raw Milk be immediately removed!
There is more to this story, in September of 2006, during the height of
the huge Ecoli 0157H7 spinach outbreak that sickened 197 and killed 3,
CDFA mandated a recall of organic raw milk in California. After seven
days of press drama, raw milk famine, fanfare, thousands of tests
(including fresh manure from all cows and all milk products) and
extensive research, neither the FDA, CDFA or DHS could link any illness
to raw milk. The kids supposedly sickened did not even have matching
pathogen tests linking them as a group! There were only two sick kids
and they did not share the same pathogens. There were never four sick
kids as advertised. Suffice it to say there was great government
embarrassment and liability after the true facts were collected and
exposed.
In the end, the government official statement said that "there was no
connection between raw milk and any illnesses" (Fresno Bee front page
CDFA statement reference).
CDFA then settled with OPDC for a large cash settlement payment and a
mutual release of liability in exchange for not being sued for the
"false recall". OPDC signed this settlement several months ago.
AB1735 is "CDFA Payback" for this settlement embarrassment and the
"false recall". This sneak attack was because CDFA knows full well that
they do not have the political support or the science to address raw
milk consumers or producers to their faces.
We need your help to save raw milk in California. The entire raw milk
movement is being attacked when raw milk is attacked in California or
any place. You the consumer is being attacked and being denied your
right to chose living whole foods.
It is time to fight for your health and your lives, because that is
exactly what is on the line. Sterilized and preserved food brings on
immune depression, allergies and illness. Antibiotics then make it all
that much worse. 80 percent of the human immune system is made up of
bacteria in our gut. When they die we die!! We need good bacteria badly.
The crisis in MRSA and VRE infections are directly associated with weak
immune systems and antibiotic abuse. Most all chronic diseases and
immune depression are healed by whole bio-diverse and enzyme rich
foods....raw milk. Raw milk is at least 800 times more biologically
diverse than even good yogurt.
Please go to www.organicpastures.com for specific directions on what to
do and who to call. Addresses, contact information and legislative
representative names are available here:
http://www.organicpastures.com/ab1735_landing.html
High on our priority is our Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the
Secretary of Agriculture A.G Kawamura, and all the state legislators.
This a raw milk health revolution....do not let it be our generation
that lost this fight. We owe it too ourselves and our children to win
this and place these GOT DEAD MILK protectors on notice that this is a
democracy and due process and representation still matters. Sneak
Attacks will not be tolerated by the raw milk consumers or producers of
California or our nation.
You are requested to attend a rally and press conference at 1130 at the
Fresno Farmers Market at Shaw and Blackstone avenues on Saturday October
27th. I will be speaking to the press and they need to hear your voices
loud and clear. We expect a huge turn out and we need everybody that can
come. Raw milk will be on sale for all that come. Movie stars are
invited...Arnold needs to hear from you.
Try your best to attend the rally wear a shirt that supports raw milk
and your right to eat whole living foods!
Stand now and be counted!!! See you in Fresno at the Farmers Market on
Saturday.
Only living milk brings life!!
Mark McAfee
Founder OPDC
1-877 RAW MILK
http://www.organicpastures.com
"When you are right you can not be too radical, when you are wrong you
can not be too conservative". MLK.
Raw Milk and Living Foods are Right!!
