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Ohio Raw Milk Action Alert
Note to our Members: This Action Alert from Joan and Jim Roberts, chapter
leaders in Dayton, Ohio, provides a good opportunity for WAPF members
everywhere to participate in raw milk activism during the last week
of the year. What happens in Ohio could have a profound effect for raw
milk in the rest of the country, so we are asking all members to participate.
Thank you! Sally Fallon
Opportunity
Raw milk consumers have an opportunity to improve the environment
for organic raw milk in Ohio by passing house bill HB534, which would
allow direct sales of raw milk from the farm. Earlier this year, Ohio
House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee Chairman, Jim Aslanides,
decided to hold HB 534 in committee. He believes the legislative session
under the jurisdiction of the new governor Strickland might be more
supportive and a Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) leadership change
could be less oppressive to raw dairy farmers.
Governor-elect Strickland campaigned for "A New Direction for
Ohio." We would like to suggest a new direction: Replace the current
leaders of the ODA with administrators who respect the boundaries of
their jurisdiction--private boarding contracts are outside ODA's control.
Let's tell Strickland's team how we feel. We have a brief window of
opportunity to express our views, so a major urgent outpouring from
passionate consumers would be significant. Two sample letters are attached
to help you begin.
It would be most effective if you change the sample to INCLUDE SOME
OF YOUR OWN COMMENTS, OR DELETE SOME OF OURS. Make it YOUR letter. You
could add an extra paragraph expressing why you consume raw milk and
providing a testimonial
Each letter includes a recommendation to consider Joe Logan as the
new ODA director or head of the Dairy Division. Currently, Logan is
the President of the Ohio Farmers Union, which has been supportive of
raw milk efforts. Each letter also states that Ohio is an example for
other states and opens the door for non-Ohioans to participate as well.
A letter addressed to Dr. Bobby Moser would have the most impact. Strickland
has appointed him to be the ODA transition coordinator. Please send
copies of your letter to Governor-Elect Strickland and his transition
director, Michael Coleman, as well (see "cc" for addresses).
On behalf of the Ohio raw dairy farmers, herdshare owners, and other
raw milk consumers, thank you SO MUCH for your energetic support for
raw milk during the past year. Your efforts are making a difference.
There are three steps to fully adopting a new belief - ridicule, resistance,
and acceptance. We are definitely in the resistance stage and with your
efforts acceptance isn't too far behind.
Jim & Joan Roberts
WAPF Dayton Leaders
Phone: 1-866-218-8240
SAMPLE LETTER 1:
Dr. Bobby Moser
Vice President and Dean for Agricultural Administration
Ohio State University
100 N AGR ADM
2120 Fyffe Road Columbus, OH 43210
Dear Dr. Moser,
Governor-Elect Strickland has expressed his desire to change Ohio.
We
are depending on you to provide Ohio with a new direction for the Ohio
Department of Agriculture. First of all, the ODA needs to stop
harassing Ohio raw milk dairy farmers and their herdshare owners.
The new Ohio administration must:
a) Direct the ODA to cease and desist their intrusion into legal
matters outside their jurisdiction. Boarding contracts are private and
are
fully lawful under the Ohio boarding laws and OUTSIDE the control of
the
ODA.
b) Replace the ODA leadership who has been condoning tyrannical efforts
against all the raw milk farmers across the state: Fred Dailey, ODA
Director; and Louis Jones, Dairy Director.
The VISION of raw milk consumers agrees with the following new
direction points posted on the Strickland web site:
4. FOCUS ON OHIO'S STRENGTHS by building on Ohio's regional economies
and globally competitive industries, spurring small and mid-size
business growth, supporting emerging entrepreneurs in our cities, fostering
innovation and unleashing the potential of Ohio's great universities
and
investing in next generation energy as a job source as well as a
resource.
6. STABILIZE HEALTH COSTS for government and businesses alike and
advance the health of our citizens by increasing the number of Ohioans
who
have access to affordable, high-quality healthcare, preventing illnesses
and injury and focusing on community-based services for children,
families, older adults and persons with disabilities.
7. RETAIN, CREATE AND ATTRACT worthy of Ohio workers by focusing on
industry sectors in which Ohio companies are growing, and which will
spur
our economy to generate wealth and prosperity for the future.
Support for Ohio Raw Milk farmers will help Strickland reach his goals
for Ohio:
Emerging local farm entrepreneurs who produce raw milk will spur
regional economies. Health conscious Ohioans are willing to pay a premium
for high quality milk. Consumers of this high quality milk report
improved health and reduced medical costs. Without the Ohio local raw
milk
farmers, families have to make more expensive arrangements to purchase
raw milk in neighboring states. As a result, more Ohio farms are
shuttered. Ohio sales and jobs are lost.
Let's review the benefits of supporting Ohio raw milk farmers:
- Growing Ohio family farms to build regional economies
- Preservation of Ohioans' liberty to choose the food they want for
their families
- Reduction of health care costs by building robust health in children
and adults with "real" milk. This avoids many medical problems
without
treatments and office visits.
- Generating prosperity in Ohio by using rich the state's rich
agricultural resources.
- Free ODA to focus on more dangerous health issues - milk is ten times
safer than salads in causing food borne illnesses - (MMWR reference
below)
The demand for quality raw milk is growing across the country.
Hundreds of Ohio consumers can testify to improved health as a result
of
drinking raw milk. The first Raw Milk Hearing (May 10, 2006) overflowed
the
largest hearing room in the State Capitol. Ohio consumers invest extra
research efforts to insure the source of their raw milk is worth a
premium over the retail store's product. Organic raw milk often has
fewer
pathogens than the standard established for milk AFTER it has been
pasteurized. The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report stated there
is ten
times more food borne illness from salads than milk.
Our farmers are being attacked without conclusive evidence and denied
public hearings. The ODA has utilized sting techniques to revoke dairy
licenses when farmers have accepted donations for raw milk. The ODA
ignores the fact that the boarding laws are outside their jurisdiction.
The unjust actions of the ODA are receiving national press. Many times
Ohio sets a precedent as in politics. Because of that, citizens of
other states are concerned about ODA's tyrannical disposition toward
raw
milk farmers, Ohio's own citizens. The ODA is interfering with the
consumers' rights to obtain a food they believe is essential to their
health.
In the May 2006, House Hearings on Raw Milk, one farmer testified to
an
interaction he had with the ODA. The farmer stated, "In America
we can
choose to consume alcohol beverages and tobacco products and we have
absolute proof of their health hazards." That comment brought a
response
from one of the ODA officials that proved to the farmer that the raw
milk issue is not a health issue, but one of control and money. The
ODA
agent responded, "When we can get a nice kickback from every gallon
of
milk you sell, I'm sure we can make it legal, too." It is time
for new
leadership and direction in the ODA.
Even the industry retail giant, McDonald's, admitted in a recent court
document: "It is a matter of common knowledge that any processing
its
foods undergo serve to make them more harmful than unprocessed foods."
Raw milk consumers want to avoid processed commercial milk. Instead,
they want free access to a wholesome raw milk product that has not been
damaged by industrial processing. It is time for a new direction.
One honorable candidate for the ODA leadership is Joe Logan, president
of the Ohio Farm Union. The OFU has supported the raw milk farm
industry and views ODA's actions as a "raw deal" for Ohio's
economy and
health. Please consider Joe for either ODA director or the Dairy Division
leadership.
Please support the Ohio raw milk farmers, the rights of Ohioans to
enter into private boarding contracts, and communicate raw milk consumers'
desire for a new direction in the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
Sincerely,
Jim & Joan Roberts, herdshare contract owners
3999 Honeybrook Ave Dayton, OH
937-898-5063
JimTRoberts@USA.COM
Resources:
http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/nov2006/sb20061109_348085.htm
- Business Week article
Why Raw Milk Consumption is Growing?
Washington Post - The Raw Deal
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Review, Vol. 45, No SS-5 - Salads caused
10 times more food borne outbreaks than milk
WWW.WANTMILK.ORG - Ohio Raw Milk
efforts
WWW.TheOtherRawMilk.COM - the
difference between the raw milks
DVD of Ohio Raw Milk Consumer Testimonies available - e-mail
JTRoberts@USA.COM
CC: Governor-Elect Ted Strickland
Riffe Center - Suite 1948
77 South High Street Columbus, OH 43215
Michael B. Coleman, Transition Team Director
mac@columbus.gov
Mayor Coleman's Action Center
50 West Gay Street Columbus, OH 43215
SAMPLE LETTER 2:
Dr. Bobby Moser
Vice President and Dean for Agricultural Administration
OSU - 100 N AGR ADM
2120 Fyffe Road Columbus, OH 43210
Dear Dr. Moser,
We eagerly anticipate your leadership as a fresh start for the Ohio
Department of Agriculture and a welcome opportunity to resolve the
festering issue of access to raw milk from local farmers.
My wife and I, along with many other people across the state, have
a
private boarding contract with a local farmer that provides us access
to
a share of the milk available from the herd. To our dismay, the Ohio
Department of Agriculture under current director Fred Dailey has
stepped far beyond its jurisdiction by attempting to interfere with
our
private contract. Ohio citizens such as myself who have studied the
health
issues of raw milk, reviewed a broad range of peer-reviewed milk
studies, and who have carefully monitored and observed positive results
from
raw milk consumption should have the right to obtain this time-honored
nutrient dense food if we so choose.
Thousands of Ohio citizens who are equally well informed are currently
going to great lengths to secure access to local sources of raw milk
because they want the best for themselves and their families.
Unfortunately, they and the farmers are contending with legal harassment
and
outright intimidation from the ODA.
While the ODA spends untold tax dollars on investigations and court
proceedings directed at shutting down farmers who conduct herdshare
operations, one might well inquire: Where is the public health crisis
regarding raw milk? If raw milk is so dangerous, then Holmes County
should
see outbreaks on a regular basis from consumption by Amish families.
The
ODA's actions are clearly unjustified, irresponsible and representative
of an agency with priorities that do not serve small family farms or
the health and best interests of Ohio families. As one who studies
agriculture trends and issues, we see nothing in the ODA's current approach
to help stem the current loss of on average one dairy farm per day from
the state.
We believe a housecleaning (or barn-cleaning) is in order at the ODA.
Please consider putting Fred Dailey and dairy chief Lewis Jones out
to
pasture. We ask that you consider Joe Logan, President of the Ohio
Farm Union as a worthy candidate for the director position who would
ably
represent the needs and concerns of all farmers in Ohio and help to
revitalize local farms. We also ask that you support HB 534 (on farm
sales of raw milk direct to consumers) and HB 650 (shields raw milk
farmers
from ODA action while HB 534 is being considered).
The unjust actions of the ODA are receiving national press. Many times
Ohio sets a precedent as in politics. Because of that, citizens of
other states are concerned about ODA's tyrannical disposition toward
raw
milk farmers, Ohio's own citizens. The ODA is interfering with the
consumers' rights to obtain a food they believe is essential to their
health.
Thank you and Governor-Elect Strickland, for your consideration of
these concerns. We wish you the best in your service to the citizens
of
Ohio.
Sincerely,
Jim & Joan Roberts, herdshare contract owners
3999 Honeybrook Ave Dayton, OH
937-898-5063
JimTRoberts@USA.COM
CC: Governor-Elect Ted Strickland
Riffe Center - Suite 1948
77 South High Street Columbus, OH 43215
Michael B. Coleman, Transition Team Director
mac@columbus.gov
Mayor Coleman's Action Center
50 West Gay Street Columbus, OH 43215
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