How can any farm in CA call their food “organic” seeing as there is smog all over the place?

Question by Amy: How can any farm in CA call their food “organic” seeing as there is smog all over the place? Zelda: yes, good point. I don’t mean everywhere, obviously, just the farms by large cities. Best answer: Answer by larylzcalifornians lie I guess Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

California regulators frame Organic Pastures and force raw milk shut down over fabricated E. Coli scare

It has been nearly a month since the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) swooped in like vultures on Organic Pastures Dairy in Fresno, Calif., and demanded that the farm recall and stop selling all of its raw milk products immediately and indefinitely…

Raw Milk Freedom Riders ride again! Join them at Chicago’s Independence Park on December 8, 2011

(NaturalNews) After successfully rallying hundreds of parents and food freedom advocates for its inaugural raw milk rally at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, just a few weeks ago, the Raw Milk Freedom Riders (RMFR) are riding once again! On December 8, 2011, a caravan of food freedom patriots will make the trek from Wisconsin to Chicago’s Independence Park to distribute raw milk and cookies, and collectively take a stand for food freedom. Birthed by the Farm Food Freedom Coalition (FFFC), the RMFR movement on November 1, 2011, successfully hauled a load of raw milk from Pennsylvania, where it can be legally sold, to Maryland, where it cannot be legally sold. Now the group plans to do the same thing from Wisconsin, where raw milk sales are illegal, to nearby Illinois, where it can only be sold to consumers directly from the farm. The caravan will meet at US-14 E and 6 Corners Road at the border of Illinois and Wisconsin just south of Walworth, Wisc., at 10:00 am on Dec. 8. From there, the riders will travel south and east into Chicago via I-90, and commence at Independence Park for the official rally at 11:30 pm. Independence Park is located at 3850 West Irving Park Road. Liz Reitzig, co-founder of FFFC, will be joined by heath freedom heroes Max Kane, Michael Schmidt, David Gumpert, Kathy Pirtle, John Moody, Jim Marlowe, and others in distributing 100 gallons of raw milk and cookies to event attendees as a statement of solidarity in support of freedom of food choice and dietary privacy. Anyone interested in joining the caravan or attending the rally at Independence Park is encouraged to show up and express his or her support. Like he did for the first RMFR event in Maryland, health freedom advocate Max Kane has once again challenged the FDA to see if the agency will show up to the Chicago event and try to take enforcement action against the riders, which it did not do in Maryland. You can view his video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK1VpnkANRY RMFR Chicago has also created a Facebook event page by which you can learn more about the event, and confirm your attendance if you plan to attend: https://www.facebook.com/events/290165197690562/ To learn more about the RMFR movement and to stay abreast of all future rides, visit: http://www.rawmilkfreedomriders.com

Portland, Me., officials consider allowing raw milk sales at farmers markets – as long vendors include official CDC propaganda

(NaturalNews) Maine is one of ten US states that currently recognizes the freedom of individuals to buy and sell raw milk at the farm and retail level (http://www.farmtoconsumer.org/raw_milk_map.htm). But raw milk sold at farmers markets technically does not fall under the banner of either “farm” or “retail” sales, which prompted a recent crackdown by (nit-picky) Portland, Me., health officials against its sale at such events. In response to this needless crackdown, farmers, vendors, and patrons who support the sale of raw milk at farmers markets showed up at a recent city council meeting to push for an amendment to lift the ban. And The Portland Press Herald (PPH) reports that members of the Portland City Council’s Health and Recreation Commission have actually recommended approval of an ordinance that will allow raw milk sales at city farmers markets. But this recommendation is reportedly contingent upon the inclusion of a ridiculous warning pamphlet developed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that is filled with the agency’s unfounded biases and superstitions about raw milk’s alleged risks, none of which are definitively backed by sound science. The CDC still claims, for instance, that raw milk is inherently dangerous, no matter how it is produced, and that pasteurization is a form of “minimal processing” that magically makes milk safe for human consumption. In reality, raw milk produced on clean, small-scale farms is far healthier than the pasteurized milk product sold in stores across North America, which has caused more illness outbreaks and deaths than raw milk (http://www.realmilk.com/rawmilkoverview.html). Nevertheless, raw milk sales are legal both on the farm and in retail stores in Maine, and the only labeling requirement for raw milk products sold in this manner is that the containers be clearly labeled “not pasteurized.” So what the Portland City Council is suggesting for raw milk sold at farmers market sales is nothing short of a subtle assault on food freedom. “I just find it cumbersome,” said Larry Bruns, manager of one of the farmers markets in Portland, to PPH concerning the proposal. “Pretty soon you’ll need one of these (consumer fact sheets) for everything we sell at the farmers market including spinach, lettuce and raw greens. It’s a slippery slope you are heading down.” Sources for this article include: http://www.pressherald.com/news/farmers-market-sales-of-raw-milk-endorsed_2011-11-16.html

Raw milk farmer wins victory against county over ‘illegal’ sales

(NaturalNews) A small victory has been won on the raw milk battle front. Greene County, Mo., Circuit Judge Daniel Imhoff recently threw out a lawsuit against Armand Bechard, a farmer who sells raw milk to customers in the Springfield area. According to the judge, Bechard was not the proper subject of the lawsuit, and the statute of limitations prevents any further action in the case, so Bechard is free to resume business as usual. It all started back in April 2009 when undercover agents tricked Bechard’s daughters into selling them raw milk. Farmers can legally sell raw milk in the state of Missouri as long as they do so directly from the farm, but they cannot sell it from anywhere else. Cusomters can also legally pick up milk from “drop points”, which Bechard had set up to deliver farm-purchased milk to customers. But agents pretending to be new customers were able to persuade Bechard’s daughters to sell them extra milk right from the drop point, which landed the family in legal trouble. In the summer of 2010, Bechard lost a municipal court case concerning the incident. At the time, he was represented by a public defender, but in the recent victory he represented himself. Judge Imhoff determined that since Bechard’s daughters had sold agents the milk instead of Bechard, they would have to have been the subject of the case. So he flat out dismissed it. But the ordeal is far from over. Despite having already lost thousands of dollars in lost business throughout the past year-and-a-half, Bechard must now face a lawsuit filed by Missouri Attorney General Christ Koster over the same incident. This time, Bechard will be represented by a lawyer from the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF), a group launched in 2007 to assist small farmers in protecting themselves while they conduct honest business. To learn more about the FTCLDF and to support its endeavors, visit: http://www.farmtoconsumer.org/ Sources for this story include: http://www.news-leader.com/article/20110107/NEWS01/101070352/Judge-dismisses-charges-against-Laclede-County-farmer-in-raw-milk-case

A Roadside Harvest

Freshly picked produce from the Farm can be found at a stand in front of the five-acre farm, as well as at a handful of local restaurants.