WI Dairy Owners Get an Insurer's Raw Milk Rejection Notice; Ventura County Food Police on the Prowl
Wisconsin raw milk producers, who have long faced opposition from regulators, judges, and the factory milk establishment, now have another opponent: Rural Mutual Insurance Co., which is owned by Farm Bureau.
The insurer recently sent out a letter to its Wisconsin farm policy holders "to clarify that your farm policy does not provide coverage for the sale and/or distribution for offsite consumption of unpasteurized (commonly called raw) milk from cows, sheep and goats for human consumption. The Liability and Medical Expense Coverage...is amended to clarify this exclusion.
"Also, if you have Farm Umbrella Liability coverage on your policy a new endorsement...Raw Milk Exclusion - is attached. The Farm Umbrella Liability endorsement does not apply to personal injury resulting from the sale, or distribution for off-site consumption of unpasteurized (commonly called raw) milk from cows, sheep and goats for human consumption."
Off-site consumption isn't prohibited in Wisconsin, but Rural Mutual Insurance Co. isn't leaving room for even a sip of raw milk. The elimination of raw milk from policies crops up from time to time in various states. For the most part, dairies have been able to replace one company's ban with a policy from another company. The best tactic by unaffected farmers: If you're doing business with Rural Mutual, send the company a message, and switch your providers.
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The food police are after another food club. Mark McAfee reports that the Ventura County Health Department has threatened to interfere with a private food club in that area just north of Los Angeles that distributes Organic Pastures milk. The health department officials first said to a food club volunteer manager that there was concern about whether the milk was going to be stored. When that turned out to be a non-issue, since the milk is nearly immediately distributed to members, the "concern" suddenly shifted to whether the club needs to be registered as a retailer.
In an email to officials of both the Ventura County Health Department and the California Department of Public Health, McAfee stated: "According to the Ventura County Health Department, OPDC cannot drop off products (legal retail approved products) to a private buyers’ club for further distribution to its members. The club we are speaking of is a group of moms that want raw milk dropped, by the OPDC farm delivery truck, to a location near their homes at a discounted price. According to the Ventura Health officials, the buyers club is a store and must be regulated as a store. In our opinion, the buyers club is not a store at all and is not open to the public and furthermore all orders are made direct to the dairy and the location is a pick up point and not a resale point."
Maybe the Ventura County public health officials are emboldened by their pursuit of three Rawesome Food Club individuals in the last few months. Or maybe Wisconsin legal thinking on food clubs is making its way to California, as in, let's figure out new ways to harass these families.
This site's mission is to provide news and analysis about food rights and raw milk. Increasingly, our access to privately available food is under attack by government and industry forces that seek to impose their choices on us. The Complete Patient seeks to provide up-to-date information and encourage the development of community to maintain traditional food acquisition options.
I swear to God I'm just two shakes away from buying my own damn cow.
I'm with you, too, TheGirlsGoneRaw, I only wish that I could legally have one in my back yard!! By the way, I love your website! Just discovered it last week, lots of great info on it.
Thanks so much, Deborah! I really appreciate that... With any luck, there's more fun stuff still to add. Of course, it's easier to focus on health and wellness when we're not continually distracted by government conspiracies, community in-fighting and/or other various assaults on our rights to access foods that truly nourish us. Alas... but cheers to you! :o)
Quatloos is the accumulation of items about tax protest scammers ... Pay-triots for Profit, etc. right back to the Montana Freemen
plow through as much of it as you can stand, and you'll appreciate why the FBI and the other alphabet-soup Acronym agencies get all sweaty when they hear the word "sovereign".... comic relief for those of us who saw a lot of this Alice-in-Blunderland stuff go by
http://www.quatloos.com/Q-Forum/viewforum.php?f=37
James Stewart is not in the same ballpark as these guys
David:
The insurance requirement is not new, though the specificity of the notice maybe. We have investigated various farm insurance carriers since 2006 and all have raised concerns regarding whether we would be permitting access of others (Note—not access specifically to consumers) to unpasteurized dairy. Because of insurance considerations alone I would never judge any dairy farmer for deciding to not provide unpasteurized dairy. The risk and potential liability exposure for the entire farm operation cannot be underestimated-especially is a farmer cannot find cost effective and adequate farm coverage.
In addition, consideration needs to be given to the “what if….” raw dairy is indeed legalized-how do farmers deal with insurance coverage for potential liability exposure? And can insurance companies be compelled to provide such coverage—cost effective coverage that is?
Despite the broad range of discussions here-I do not recall anyone drilling down to look at this specific issue. This is a practical -nontheoretical-operational-in your face issue; where again the farmer and family stand alone and exposed-there is no risk to anyone else.
If I had Rural Mutual, I would definitely switch to another.
"According to the Ventura Health officials, the buyers club is a store and must be regulated as a store. "
What is the "legal" definition of a store?
" In our opinion, the buyers club is not a store at all and is not open to the public and furthermore all orders are made direct to the dairy and the location is a pick up point and not a resale point."
If they (tptb) are saying this is a store, then picking up anything for anyone else makes you a store. How dumb can they get?
I think tptb are getting really nervous, more and more people are waking up to the toxins in our food and environment and demanding changes (this is a slow process, yet a growing one).
Teaching people about grocery store/processed foods and the alternatives for them, has increased farmers markets, etc. I think many people don't know how to cook from scratch, because they grew up on processed microwave foods. I think a lot of people don't know how to prepare the various produce at the farmers markets, do they even know what a lot of it is? Many don't know how to correctly store produce, raw milk, butter, cheeses,eggs, etc. When I was younger, I tossed (wasted) a lot of cheeses as they had mold on them, I did not know that I could scrape it off and they'd be fine. In most families, both parents work and time is in short supply. No one feels like standing over a stove after work, that is the picture many have about 'cooking like grandma'. People are so distant from their foods in so many ways.
I'd get a cow too, if I could.
"If they (tptb) are saying this is a store, then picking up anything for anyone else makes you a store."
Not if it's pre-paid, Sylvia, and not if only members can purchase. If you have a store front and anyone can walk through that door at any time, then you are retail. That's not true for buying clubs.
You may only have ever shopped at retail stores, but buying clubs are as American as apple pie. I worked for seven years for a natural foods distributor when I lived back east. My company had $130+ million in annual sales of which about half, $65 million, were just from buying clubs. Our territory covered 22 states and we serviced buying clubs in every one of them. They were the backbone of our business and so important to us that we provided trainings on how to start one.
We didn't sell raw milk, but we did sell a full range of refrigerated and frozen product. I don't once ever recall hearing about any of our clubs ever being hassled by their local health department.
This country has a long history of families coming together to make joint purchases help cut the cost of food by going direct to either the farmer or the distributor. To this day, United Naturals, the largest natural foods distributor in the US, services buying clubs all over the country, including CA, where I live now.
My concern is, if the government can succeed in demonizing raw milk and/or buying clubs, then I suspect next on the agenda will be CSA's and farmers' markets - anything to insert a food regulatory agent in between the farmer and his/her customer.
There is a big picture here. One in which ALL FOOD CHOICE is being eroded. In 2010 the FDA stated in a legal brief they contend we "have no right to bodily or physical health" and we "have no right to consume or feed children any specific food". We see how people take these concepts and run, like the food-Nazis in Nevada declaring the Utah certified dinner to be a biohazard and having it destroyed. What is the charge? Eating in the first degree? Dinner wasn't even touched AND they didn't have a warrant. How do they know the food is unsafe? Have they tested it? Is it radioactive? How do they claim to know it is dangerous? Cherry picked CDC data? Interesting the CDC stops counting at 2006 because pasteurized milk killed 3 people and got over 100 sick that year. For the years in question something like 82 people died from drinking pasteurized milk and not one from raw milk, but the raw milk is dangerous?
Why don't they get on the drug companies, like that pharmaceutical plant in Nebraska that had to shut down to comply w/manufacturing process improvement after TWO YEARS if getting notices. Seems to be an uneven playing field here, when contaminated drugs are allowed to slide for two years and raw milk gets sensational negative press coverage and SWAT raids. Let something REALLY kill people, like the hundreds of thousands of prescription drug deaths every year and it's just accepted.
It all depends on who gets the profits, and by the way Sig Heil, Monsanto! You dictate our foods without our consent so Monsanto (etc) are the head Food-Nazis, and the alleged health depts and bureaucracies are their Gestapo, their little corporate whores. Just being honest.
http://news.yahoo.com/cargill-cuts-pink-slime-output-sees-hamburger-pric...
"Supporters of the meat industry on Wednesday fought back, calling the product safe to eat. Iowa Governor Terry Branstad appeared with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in Des Moines, Iowa and said consumer activists were conducting a "smear campaign" against meat producers."
Smear campaign"? LMAO The facts sunk into the consumers and they didn't like what they saw.
"Let me reiterate without any equivocation something that we have said hundreds of times ... this product is safe," Vilsack said. "There's no question about it."
Safe for who or what?
The nation's top three supermarket chains -- Kroger Co, Safeway Inc and Supervalu Inc -- all said they would no longer sell hamburger containing the product. Walmart, the nation's largest food seller, said it would no longer use the product in its trays of hamburger.
Proof that educating the masses does make changes.
they want the small farms run out.
look at the bills and laws the pres has passed.
The National Defense Authorization Act ( NDAA) that makes protesting illegal,
and on midlight in march 16 he pushed threw the
Executive Order -- National Defense Resources Preparedness
that allows the gov to take over every part of america from food,water to manufacturing and labor.
just like hitler did.
and people are surprised about this story.
incredable.
Ron Klein brings up a legitimate complaint - that farmers are exposed and consumers bear little risk. Maybe we could start putting our money where our mouths are, by pooling together funds a farmer could use to self-insure. Then the farmers could bypass the insurance industry altogether.
The crackdowns on private groups are scary. We've got to keep pushing back.
James Stewart of Rawesome live on the Alex Jones show today:
http://www.infowars.com/
It is my bet that the Ventura County Health Department will stay far away from this issue. It treads very close to CSA's, Girl Scout Cookies and AMWAY.
At any possible opportunity, I will completely take advantage of this incident to hold a press conference and give away free raw milk to all members of the buyers club in a very public and educational way...I will even invite James Stewart to say a few words.
Do not mess with OPDC buyers clubs moms and their legal, state inspected, over-regulated retail approved organic raw milk!!
The government does not seem to have learned this yet...there is an inverse relationship between harrassment of raw milk and increased sales and popularity.
Mark
Oddly enough, this is more the provence of Wall street in the background. Commodity Farming is profitable ONLY when the Commodity Markets are, and that IS controlled by Wall street. It's more important than ever that the currently prospering Agriculture Sector have the most options to continue that success, even when the Commodity Markets stroll into the land of the Bears. Alternative, Local-To-Market, and things like USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack's "Know Your Food-Know Your Farmer" Program-currently under fire by Republican Senators, be strengthened and expanded. Raw Milk is a Consumer driven Market. Leave it alone. Either it will prosper or it won't, but WE the Consumer, otherwise known as "We The People" have that choice and are competent to make it, as the Farmer should have the choice to offer Products to that Market. If Washington wants Tax Revenues, ham-stringing successful Consumer driven business isn't the logical way to accomplish it.
You can bet this little bit of irony was thought out long ago. This isn't a "new" step, even though it's just now making its appearance. And it's also not the last step. Those guberment doods have a whole bunch more stuff up their sleeves, bet on it. If failure is what they want to have happen, failure is what will happen - any way they can manage to make it happen.
What the heck is this stuff, and why isn't the FDA etc. busting their ballz? Sounds like it's milk without the milk, but they don't give much info on their website. "Made from milk," lactose free - yum.
Supplements, too: "Just take one with your first bite or sip of dairy and enjoy any dairy food, anytime, anywhere."
I guess in the minds, or pockets, of our governing agencies any factory food that has lobbying money behind it is ok, anything fresh and unprocessed is bad. Sigh...
http://www.lactaid.com/products-home#Whole_Milk
In order to fully comprehend what is happening here, please read the following:
"The Rise of the Fourth Reich" by Jim Marrs; "Trading With the Enemy" by Edward Black; "The Crime and Punsihment of IG Farben" by Joseph Borkin; "World Without Cancer" and "The Creature from Jekyl Island" oth by G. Edward Griffin; anything by Zachariah Stitchin
There is a battle going on world wide for this planet; its land and resources. It's as old as humankind. It began thousands of years ago and continues through the families who decided centuries ago they were better than the rest of us. The 1%? They are the families who have continued their plans down through the centuries. Religion has been used to hide this....like a magic trick....watch ths hand...the hand of a savior coming to "save" you if you believe....while the other hand usurps mankind; the resources of the planet and gains global control through lies, cowardice and fear. Don't belive me? You'd best read the books and then decide. Oh and for those who have some guts...read some David Icke. We have been duped for thousands of years by religion, politics and those in power.
We who have Farm Bureau insurance should at least consider a boycott of Farm Bureau. I am calling my Farm Bureau auto insurance dealer to protest
My word...what is going on here, it just seems to get more & more disheartening day after day!! The state of Michigan has a new law that states pastured pigs of other breeds are now considered to be feral pigs & must all be destroyed!! This will affect a number of pig farmers who raise pastured, healthy, pigs of breeds that provide a more desirable pig product to consumers (word going around is the CAFO pig outfits are behind this). In Canada, the Canadian government wants to destroy a herd of rare Stropshire sheep because they MIGHT have a disease (which doesn't affect humans) yet the herd has tested negative for it. This herd's genetics date back to the early 1800's. This is supposed to happen on April 2nd!! Then the *&%$ hits the fan about the truth of ground beef in the conventional stores containing a disgusting ingredient now known as "pink slime" & which has been in the conventional ground beef for at least 10 yrs unbeknownst to the public. Another sad thing, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution TV program got cancelled because people didn't want to be told and/or shown how unhealthy their food has been & what they need to do to change it. It appears that many people just don't care about their health, their freedoms, their rights, access to real foods, etc. We really need to ramp up on educating everyone we come into contact with...be it friends, family, new acquaintances, work mates, general public, local media, etc. Nothing is going to change and/or be halted until people commit themselves to bring about these changes. There needs to be an increase in letter campaigns, correspondence with local, state & federal representatives, public meetings/presentations, teaching others to spread the info, etc. In my travels, I am appalled by the lack of knowledge that many people have about all of this, not to mention the false idea of "nothing's wrong" & even the attitude of "oh, I don't care & I don't want to be bothered" (this last one frustrates me to no end by hearing that).
I get calls several times per month from farmers that have had their raw milk insurance cancelled. Our insurance carrier has offered to cover raw milk ( in certain areas of the country ) if the producers are a part of RAWMI.
Last fall, RAWMI was hit with a round of serious malcontent from all sectors. As a direct result, the Directors have considered the commentary and made some adjustments to the Mission.
RAWMI has sent out an electronic survey to the Executive Advisory Council which responded and submitted comments on the proposed Common Standards. After the first round of comments are considered and intregrated the modified Common Standards will be sent electronically in the form of an Online Survey to all farmers that have voiced interest in participation in the LISTING program.
It appears that across America, farmers do not seem to see what we see. They do not seem to appreciate the big ass train coming and what we need to avoid being hit by it. Not havig safety standards and denial of insurance will be a KEY way that the FDA will rid America of Raw Milk.
Insurance is a critical component and if we can not get insurance, access to raw milk is slammed shut for most people.
Insurance is critical. An organization that protects the farmer with a workable and effective food safety plan is critical.
BIG ASS TRAIN GUYS....get on board RAWMI. This is not a fear based comment. It is real. Your fear will come when your insurance company pulls your plug....then what??? At OPDC, our insurance company loves our food safety plan and risk management program.
We will be making our Common Standards survey available to all that are interested in commenting after the farmers have had a chance to look it over. This is a plan for "we the people" and is not top down. It is a plan to protect yourself and your consumer and it is 100% YOUR plan. The RAWMI mission has been modified slightly. RAWMI is your resource. Change is upon us. Evolve or be eaten.
Mark, I agree that RAWMI can be an important force for ensuring access to liability insurance for farmers. And I'm glad to it's made some adjustments to its mission. Dairies involved in raw milk need all the help they can get--RAWMI is one of several emerging resources deserving of support.
David
@ Ora Moose: I found this info on their web site, under the FAQ's section.
"What makes LACTAID® Milk drinkable for those suffering from lactose intolerance?LACTAID® Milk is 100% real milk, just like any other milk brand. The only difference is, LACTAID® Milk has an added lactase enzyme that has already broken down the difficult-to-digest lactose (complex milk sugar) into easily digested simple sugars (galactose and glucose), so those suffering from lactose intolerance can still enjoy milk. LACTAID® Milk contains all the nutrients found in regular milk – such as calcium, Vitamins A, D and B12, potassium, riboflavin and protein."
Evidently they are NOT telling you that some of the other vitamins and minerals may also be "added" rather than natural (as they claim 100% milk). I'm sure it's pasteurized and probably homogenized. What they SHOULD be saying on their web site is that if people just drank raw milk they wouldn't have to worry about this at all, and would be drinking a real product, not something messed with by man until it's unrecognizable, yet still touted as "100% something". Geezalou. It makes about as much sense as the Smart Balance products. The industry (mostly the phood industry) is never going to outgrow the fun of scaring the pants off people about what goes into their mouths. You know the old saying what goes around comes around? Not always.
http://www.hungryforchange.tv/ If you scroll down on this link, you can watch part 1.
If we ever doubted that the food sovereignty of local communities is under threat in the USA, this latest development is yet another unfortunate piece of evidence that rests the case. Sign this petition to demand that the Federal government commits to protect the freedom of local communities to produce, process, distribute and consume the food of their choosing: www.nourish9billion.org
Laetitia - thanks for sharing this information...great website & yes, I have signed up for everything. I have also passed this info on to my Twitter & Facebook pages.