Josh says that the MDA has threatened several mothers, conducted investigations, sent them warning letters. The MDA alleges these mothers have violated food handling regulations.
This fight is not going away. We have to ramp up the heat against those who want to harm others.
One of those Moms, Melinda, appeared on Josh's radio show.
The climate in MN is oppressive for people who want to produce, provide, and bring wholesome well raised food provided under contract to people in MN.
Farmers are facing charges, but now mothers, Melinda one of ten, have received notice of warning because "we have placed ourselves in the position of helping our friends and neighbors get the food" they want for their families.
The crime Melinda has committed is to provide "a space in my garage and my friends and family can come pick up the products from farmers of their choice."
They have already placed the order and paid for the order to the farmer, he drops food off, people come and pick up the food. Melinda gets no money, no money exchanges hands on her property, she gets no benefits, other than knowing that she is supporting a project she believes in and allowing her friends and family the opportunity to get products they believe are beneficial to their families..
The threatening letters say, "... after reviewing evidence gathered during investigation, MDA has determined issuance of this warning is appropriate. MDA warns if you continue to sell or distribute unpasteurized or other foods in the future you will be subject to ...penalties, criminal prosecution or other enforcement remedies...."
Melinda questions the credentials and performance of this alleged investigation and finds it interesting that there is no mention anywhere that this practice has harmed anybody- she wants to know where is the proof of harm?
The dangerous food includes raw milk, of course, and raw milk yogurt, butter, cheese.Of course, what these moms do is not legally any different from a church food pantry, neighborhood co-ops. Tolley points out that food pantries at churches, somebody who buys food and gives it to a homeless person, people who buy groceries for their neighbors are also guilty of distributing food without a license, and gov't will go after them next.
Melinda says they already have. A church in southern MN was providing free meals to the community and had to shut down because they did not have a 'qualified' kitchen. the price of getting one in that building and area was 180,000.
Tolley says "It's not just the idea of raw milk... it's totalitarian control... if you are doing something outside of the way they want you to then they come after you.'
They do it under the guise of safety and are using regulatory law to trump constitutional law.
Those regulations are not appropriate in a private contractual relationship with the farmer.
Tolley says that "this idea that they are trying to protect you is dog-poop wrapped in bacon."
If safety is the issue, he asks, Why not shut down grocery stores selling GMO food, ammonia washed chicken, carbon monoxide infused beef?
Zoo animals don't get to choose their food, nor do farm animals or pets. And in this regulatory obsessed society with people cowed into compliance by fears about 'safety', we don't either. We are losing freedom through regulation. These regulations endanger us. This is far bigger than the raw milk issue. The people going after Melinda are going after you, too, whether you drink raw milk or not.
"When anybody loses a freedom, everybody loses a freedom."
You are either standing with Melinda, or you are standing with regulatory predators who are going to come after your child.
Freedom is like the Hoover dam and each regulation is chipping away at it. If you don't get out there and help restore what has already been chipped away, we will be overcome by the resulting flood.
These regulations have gov't agencies treating farmers like pimps and drug dealers.
Melinda sayd MN and WIS are test cases, and if the regulatory obsessed gov't doesn't stop harassing farmers, jailing them, and putting them out of business, we will lose them. It's only the beginning. Consumers need to stand up with and for the farmers making the food they want, need to stand up for freedom of choice in the foods we eat.
People need three things to survive- food, water, and shelter. And the gov't is over-regulating in each of these areas.
In AZ it is illegal to provide food for a homeless person without a government permit (which costs money).
If this doesn't stop, we are done as a country. It doesn't matter if you have the tax rate you like or the political party you like is in charge- those things are meaningless if we are dependent on government.
Melinda also brings up this comparison of a calf raised on raw milk and one raised on pasteurized milk made by Michael Schmidt:
There is a long segment I am not transcribing about the health of raw milk. I agree with it, I just don't have time to transcribe or paraphrase it.
This is only a rough paraphrase of the points up to the 18 minute mark.
the original program recording is here for those who can listen to it:
For our part, we have our own comparison. For the first two years of his life, the DPG struggled to gain weight. He was a long, stringy, skinny kid. Then his parents switched to raw milk.
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| The DPG on the right, on pasteurized milk |
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| The DPG (above) on raw milk |
The regulatory climate is hostile to human life, to families, to cottage industries, micro-businesses, to private life, to freedom, to everybody, really, except corporations and politicians. There will be a time when you are fined for feeding your own children in your own home at your own table unless you spend a few thousand dollars to have your kitchen licensed and your cooking approved by government permit.
These families have got to be granted the right to secede. They should not be held hostage by control freaks. Government is supposed to secure rights, not solve all the world's ills, or force personal opinions on others. When government is destroying rights instead of securing them, surely the victims have the right to alter or abolish their government. And if this right were more widely acknowledged and more freely exercised, governments would think more carefully about entering into such tyranny.
ReplyDeleteAnybody who does not want to consume such food certain has the right to not buy it.
I live in MN and this makes me so angry! The government wants to control every aspect of every part of our lives, stripping us of the freedoms this country was built upon. Our country is really becoming a scary place for anyone who won't be bullied into doing and thinking whatever we are told.
ReplyDeleteI keep hearing about these things happening but would like to know what individuals can do to stop this. I do not like having my individual rights taken away.
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