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Over the weekend, a second farm was searched by Minnesota state officials in its raw milk investigations. Reporter Mark Stiel has been all over this for Minnesota Public Radio:
The Minnesota Agriculture Department has searched a second farm that has allegedly sold raw milk. The investigations began after E. coli traced to unpasteurized products sickened eight people. The southern Minnesota farm blamed for the E. coli outbreak has been searched twice. Read more...
Legal sparring has begun between raw milk farmer Michael Hartmann and the state of Minnesota's Department of Agriculture over E. coli linked to his milk products. Via MPR News:
Southern Minnesota dairy farmer Michael Hartmann has asked a district court judge to remove a state embargo on the sale of raw milk food products from his farm. Read more...
it is produced in sanitary conditions. That includes raw milk, raw veggies, raw fruit, etc.
I think some critical thinking skills should be employed here...When the tomatoes/peppers outbreak occured last year, did we pass a law banning raw veggies? When summer rolls along with its annual e coli outbreak in beef, do we pass a law banning raw beef? So why do we have a law banning raw milk? With all these other raw foods, including eggs, we are required by law to have a sticker on every container stating the risks of raw food / how to handle them / how to cook them / to prevent illness. So why is raw milk handled differently? Correct -- the law has nothing to do with science -- it is 100% political. Read more...
The Traditional Foods Warehouse in Minneapolis is a warehouse and buying club here in Minneapolis where members and customers can purchase hard-to-get and off-the-grid foods.
Around here, the TFW is known as a place where one might be able to purchase raw milk, assuming you are a member and know the right farmers. Well, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture may be putting an end to that.
From an email sent to members of the Traditional Foods Warehouse in Minneapolis: Read more...
Three more cases of infection linked to raw milk here in Minnesota. From the Star-Tribune:
The illnesses have occurred in seven homes since May 26, the state Health Department said. This strain of E. coli has not previously been found in Minnesota.
There's an intresting discussion about raw milk and modern dairying going on here, if you'd like to join the fray.
Have you noticed that when people write about the raw milk issue, pro or con, the caveats fly? Raw milk advocates say, "We don't want to minimize the food safety issues, but..." while opponents go, "Of course, people have the right to choose what foods they want to eat, but..."
The raw milk issue is fascinating to me because it yanks Americans' politics and sympathies in opposing directions, mine included. Which only fascinates me all the more.
For me, I believe farmers and consumers should be able to trade goods, citizen to citizen, whether it's raw milk, moonshine, or marijuana. That's the libertarian in me. Read more...
The number of people sickened by an E. coli outbreak in Minnesota has increased from four to five today. Raw milk is believed to be the source of the outbreak.
Over at Simple Good & Tasty, you can read a statement written on behalf of Michael Hartman and family whose Gibbon, Minnesota dairy was identified as the likely source of the tainted raw milk last week (Fair Food Fight coverage of the outbreak here). From the May 29 Hartmann statement: Read more...
Are you a farmer selling raw milk in Minnesota? In the wake of four people getting sick from allegedly drinking raw milk, a crack down on selling raw milk is underway by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. If you sell raw milk in Minnesota, and you've been meaning to cover your bases legally, ASAP would be a very good time to do so.
A Star-Tribune article this morning indulges in a little muckraking about Hartmann Dairy, the milk operation that Minnesota Health Department Officials suspect of selling tainted raw milk. Read more...
Regarding the E. coli infections traced to raw milk from a Minnesota dairy, it's important to note that the operation in question, Hartmann Dairy, previously had its Grade A license revoked by the state for "general unsanitary conditions," according the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Read more...
