Got Milk? Nope...
Ok, time for another installment of Pat’s “I’m So Mad.” This time it has to do with my local goat farmers – the last farm in San Jose. A husband and wife that breed goats and hold herdshare agreements with individuals like me. (Picture is of my sad, empty milk jugs.)
I am so disappointed in the DA’s office and the CDFA and what they are doing to our small and family farmers. Really, my tax dollars are being spent for this ridiculous action? I can think of so many other things…
I can talk about all the health benefits of consuming raw dairy products, but that is not the point here. I can talk about my right as a consumer to have the ability to choose the foods that benefit my health, but that is beside the point. I can point to the “legal” pasteurized dairies and how filthy their operations are and how deplorably they treat their animals – have you visited any? That is also not the point. I could also mention the hypocrisy of a nation that states that small businesses and entrepreneurs are the heart of our country but then thwarts them at every turn, but again, that is not the point.
Mike and Jane Hulme of Evergreen Acres have operated within the law. I signed a goat share agreement with them. I receive milk in return. If I choose to make soap out of it, bathe in it or consume it, then that is my personal choice.
This is just bullying in the name of the law.
If you’d like to show your support, sign the petition and/or visit the Evergreen Acres facebook page. Tweet about this with #herdshare and/or #rawmilk. In the meantime, have a look and fall in love with the goats, other animals and this lovely couple:
I agree…this is a ridiculous way to spend our tax payer’s money, especially haulting an operation that is helping the goat share owners with numerous health benefits. It is happening all over and I believe there is something bigger going on to drive this shutdown of small raw dairy farms everywhere.
You are so right! Before you know it, the government will also outlaw fresh fruits & veggies, citing bacterial outbreaks that have made the news in the last couple of years, like spinach & tomatoes. Oh yeah, and peanut butter, too! I can hardly imaging it…underground crop shares persecuted by the government for growing and eating fresh salad! Seriously!?!
I know, not happy that raw almonds are no longer raw in CA.
Pat, I so understand this. We have a family farm run by a single mom and her 3 kids who get help from neighbors and friends to continue running her operation. She had to sell all her goats and stop producing milk she made into goat yogurt and goat cheese because she was helping another farmer sell their raw milk products. Computers with names of those who purchased the milk products were confiscated by the government. The big dairy guys do not like even small operations to be out there. The first time she got in trouble she should up in court every day for 3 months but the plaintiff never showed. Harassment it is. My belief is that the government is controlled by big business, they pull the strings and our government does the bidding. It’s sad. Our farm is now providing us with free range chickens, eggs, beef, pork , ducks and is now growing fruit trees too. What she has done is amazing. I’ll sign the petition.
Thanks Julieanne – they have already collected over 500 signatures in a few days. CA doesn’t outlaw raw milk, but if the farm operates as a dairy, i.e., sells the raw dairy products, it must be licensed. It is not all that easy to gain access to the raw milk, especially goat milk. In this case, this farm is set up as a herd share operation. We all own shares of the farm and the milk is an output. Herd shares are not illegal in CA, so there is no reason they should have been forced to shut down. If anything, they could leave them operational while they investigate. Legal action usually takes place when there has been injury or complaint of illness – there has been none.
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