Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Gwen Giffen" <ggiffen@1st.net>]

> Saw something on another list, a foolproof way to get around the legal 
> problem with selling raw milk. Sell the whole cow (or goat) to your 
> customer. They pay you to keep it and milk it for them.

In Ohio, people have already been prosecuted for doing just this. There have 
been articles in "Farm and Dairy," out of Salem, Ohio about it.

> You don't sell raw milk for human consumption do you??????????? Don't you
> know that's illegal :-)? The only thing that raw milk is useful for is
> bathing in. It is a beauty product. Not for human consumption, and all 
> that.
> Pasterised milk just doesn't have the same beauty results.
>
> What do you mean someone is drinking our bathing product? There is no way 
> I
> am responsible for that!! I'll make sure I remind them next time they 
> visit.
>
> Mike

This is the BEST laugh I've had for a long time!!! I know people who come up 
with other uses for milk so they can buy it. This is PERFECT.

The Ohio Department of Agriculture is currently embroiled in a lawsuit 
against an established dairy - Grade A or B - in an "entrapment" case. 
Someone stopped by his farm asking to buy some raw milk, and he said "No." 
They guy didn't take "No," for an answer, and got him a jar. They dairyman 
told him it might be legal to give it to him for free, but the guy wouldn't 
leave without paying something like $2 for a quart of raw milk. The guy who 
showed up at the farm turned out to be an agent, and this was the basis of 
prosecuting the farmer and putting him out of business. This is really 
happening in our state.

I've recently been asked for goat milk by people whom I am pretty sure 
really just want goat milk, but I refuse to give it to them or sell it to 
them - either one. I don't even have a dairy.

The regulating agency that makes laws about selling raw milk in Ohio are all 
appointed offices. I've made a suggestion to Farm Bureau that these 
regulating agencies be rearranged to have publicly elected positions. Last 
month's discussion in our Farm Bureau meeting was wether or not we thought 
some issues ought to be taken to the public vote. Farm Bureau may come out 
that they oppose public votes on some issues, but our council was in favor 
of it, after a lengthy and interesting discussion about how "intelligent" 
and easily swayed the general public is (or isn't). I've done some research, 
and I think a lot more of our health issues ought to be decided by elected 
officials too - such as the raw milk one.

What do you think?

Gwen