Free Republic

Congressman Joe Walsh (IL-8) recently introduced the ‘Dairy Deregulation Act’ to phase out the government's milk price setting regime, called the "Federal Milk Marketing Orders (FMMO)". This program was established in pre-refrigeration 1937 to guarantee that there were no shortages of milk across the country. Today 74 years later, milk is the only major agricultural product with government-mandated prices that differ according to product use. Walsh stated: “Most taxpayers are unaware that they are paying for their milk twice. Currently American families are taxed to pay for a federal program that directly increases the cost of their milk. This is...

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Sept. 7, 2011: Not all trans fats are created equal and it's time for a change in nutrition labels in North America to reflect this, particularly when it comes to dairy and beef products. According to a scientific review published in the latest edition of Advances in Nutrition, natural trans fats produced by ruminant animals such as dairy and beef cattle are not detrimental to health and in fact show significant positive health effects. Some evidence even links these natural trans fats to reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. "The body of evidence clearly points to...

Raw food enthusiasts fit right in here, in the earthy, health-conscious beach communities of Venice and Santa Monica, along with the farmers’ markets, health food stores and vegan restaurants. But this week, the police cleared the shelves of Rawesome, an establishment in Venice Beach, loading $70,000 of raw, organic produce and dairy products on the back of a flatbed truck. And then, on Thursday, James Stewart, the proprietor, was arraigned on charges of illegally making, improperly labeling and illegally selling raw milk products, as well as other charges related to Rawesome’s operations. Two farmers who work with Rawesome were also...

The owner of a Venice health food market and two other people were arrested on charges related to the allegedly unlawful production and sale of unpasteurized dairy products, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said. The arrests of James Cecil Stewart, Sharon Ann Palmer and Eugenie Bloch on Wednesday marked the latest effort in a government crackdown on the sale of so-called raw dairy products.

As of this coming Thursday, the food pyramid -- that symbol of healthy eating -- is going to go the way of the real pyramids and becoming a thing of the past. This week, the Obama administration will be unveiling a new graphic to tell American consumers what quantities of grains, fruits and vegetables, protein and dairy they should eat to maintain a healthy diet. The pyramid is to be replace by a plate, with four different-colored sections indicating how much of each food group the United States Department of Agriculture recommends and is a "crucial element of the administration's...

It's great news for cheese and butter fans - scientists have found that eating dairy food doesn't increase your risk of a heart attack. Nutritionists surveyed thousands of middle-aged people and found that even those who ate more than half a kilo of cheese did not seem to suffer from increased risk. Contrary to earlier beliefs that saturated fat might lead to a heart attack, researchers found that nutrients in dairy products actually counteract the harmful effects.

Chocolate milk might be the most popular choice for school lunch -- not to mention milk bubbles and milk mustaches. But soon it will be no choice at all in Minneapolis public schools. [Snip] "Consuming chocolate milk every day can train a child's palate toward sweetened foods," said Rosemary Dederichs, the district's director of nutrition services. The decision is opposed by the Midwest Dairy Association, a trade group of 11,000 dairy farms. While applauding the focus on health, the association noted that chocolate milk sold in Minneapolis schools has less sugar than other versions and only 20 calories more than...

Analysis of dairy intake and heart attack risk found no statistically significant relation in thousands of Costa Rican adults. Dairy foods might not harm heart health, despite saturated fat content, because they contain other possibly protective nutrients, researchers say. PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] —Dairy products can be high in harmful saturated fat but not necessarily in risk to the heart. A newly published analysis of thousands of adults in Costa Rica found that their levels of dairy consumption had nothing to do statistically with their risk of a heart attack. “Things like milk and cheese are very complex substances,” said...

Paul Hooper of Framingham found a good job at the Breyers factory on Old Connecticut Path 10 years ago, where he kept the ice cream production line supplied with fruit and nuts. Norfolk resident Tom Abdou brought his electrician skills to the plant, while Franklin's Marie Ouellette enjoyed her spot on the production line. All three became part of a large team of close-knit employees who churned out as many as 1 million gallons of ice cream a day. But workers had to say their goodbyes this week when the production plant, which opened as a Sealtest factory in 1964,...

At the same time the US EPA is causing food prices around the globe to skyrocket as a result of policies to use corn as a fuel additive instead of an international food staple, one of the victims of the federal agency is in the cross hairs because of — what else — the food they create! US dairy farmers are now being tasked to construct hazardous materials containment facilities and create disaster preparedness plans equivalent to those required by refineries and companies that store bulk hazardous materials.

Still wobbly from nearly a two-year price skid, California's struggling dairy industry is suffering another blow: rising feed costs. Feed prices have spiked in the last several weeks, jumping nearly 30%. A smaller-than-expected Midwestern corn crop, competition among ethanol producers and fewer alfalfa acres have all contributed to higher feed costs. And analysts expect feed costs -- a major expense for dairies -- to remain strong through at least the beginning of 2011. That comes as bitter news to dairy operators who lately had been benefiting from higher milk prices Read more: http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/10/29/2137871/valley-dairies-struggle-with-high.html#ixzz13snR6BYz

The United Arab Emirates has been pushing hard for the European Union to accept imports from its camel dairy farms. Until now the EU has not considered the camel to be a dairy animal, but in the last few weeks the legal process has moved along. Could camel milk soon arrive on a supermarket shelf near you?

One of the hardest parts of Jim Pastor's job is convincing people that he exists: He's a milkman. "The reaction is always the same," Pastor said. "People say, 'Really? A milkman? Like in the old days?' They always have a hard time believing it." Pastor owns a Santa Ana-based delivery service that contracts with Rockview Farms, one of the largest family-owned dairies in Southern California. Each week, Pastor and his team of 14 milkmen drive their refrigerated trucks to more than 4,800 homes along routes in Los Angeles and Orange counties. They arrive in the wee morning hours and dash...

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/February/10-at-182.html NOTE: The following text SNIPPET is a quote: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, February 23, 2010 Department of Justice and USDA Workshops to Explore Competition and Regulatory Issues in the Agriculture Industry to Begin March 12 in Iowa Initial Workshop to Be Held in Ankeny, Iowa, at Des Moines Area Community College, FFA Enrichment Center WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today the agenda and panelists for the first joint public workshop, which will be held on March 12, 2010, in Ankeny, Iowa, to explore competition and regulatory issues in the agriculture...

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Eating dairy foods could help protect your heart, new research from Sweden suggests. Dairy foods are a major source of saturated fat in the diet, which has been associated with heart disease. However, there's some evidence that dairy foods could actually benefit heart health, for example by lowering blood pressure or reducing cholesterol levels, Dr. Eva Warensjo of Uppsala University and her colleagues note in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. To get a clearer sense of people's intake of fat from dairy and heart disease risk, Warensjo and her team measured blood levels of...

MARYSVILLE, Ohio -- A man accused of abusing cows at a local dairy farm said in court Thursday that he is studying to become a police officer in Ohio. Billy Joe Gregg, 25, appeared in court, charged with 12 counts of cruelty to animals. The charges against Gregg were filed after an animal welfare group released graphic video Tuesday that was secretly recorded and shows workers at Conklin Dairy Farms in Plain City beating cows with crowbars, stabbing them with pitchforks and punching them in their heads. The video shows workers holding down newborn calves and stomping on their heads....

Up in northern Vermont, Franklin, Vermont, there is a red brick house which is located in a rural back road area, in which, heavy traffic would be considered having three cars an hour passing on by. That rural bucolic setting of farm houses, silos, and sugar maples has become the focus of a very bitter dispute between Homeland Security who do believe that it needs to secure that border to protect the nation against terrorists who could bring in lethal weapons and an American farm family that need the land to feed their dairy cows hay.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese dairy products maker Taizinai, which counts Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley among its investors and Citi group among its lenders, has collapsed, leaving 3 billion yuan ($440 million) in debt, the South China Morning Post reported on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley, Goldman and private equity firm Actis Capital had paid $73 million for a 31 percent stake in the company in 2007, with Morgan Stanley providing $18 million, Goldman $15 million and Actis Capital$40 million. The Grand Court of the Cayman Islands on Monday appointed Hong Kong accountant Borrelli Walsh as provisional liquidators of the former...

The number of California dairies has plummeted by more than 500 in the past decade as farmers move to states promising lower costs and simpler regulations. Some are willing to leave California because high land costs often mean they can't grow their own grain. Others complain California has more agricultural regulations than many states. States courting California dairies include Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, Texas and Wyoming. Mike Meissen recruits businesses to Iowa. He says each dairy cow he lures brings about $15,000 per year to the local economy. Jay Van Rein of the California Department of Food and...

LOGAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Jan. 26, 2010 – The Czech Republic-led provincial reconstruction team here and the provincial agriculture department completed two dairy centers in the Malak Abdullah Jan and Shikak villages in Pol-e Alam city today. Members of the Czech Republic-led provincial reconstruction team and villagers check out a newly built dairy center in Afghanistan’s Logar province, Jan. 26, 2010. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Since milk is a source of income for many in these villages, the completion of these dairy centers will benefit about 7,000 people in the area, according to a provincial reconstruction team...

COPAKE, N.Y. (Jan. 22) -- State police in New York say an upstate dairy farmer shot and killed 51 of his milk cows in his barn before turning the rifle on himself. .....

<p>COPAKE, N.Y. — State police in New York say an upstate dairy farmer shot and killed 51 of his milk cows in his barn before turning the rifle on himself.</p> <p>State police found the body of 59-year-old Dean Pierson in his Copake barn on Thursday. A visitor found a note Pierson had left on the barn door that said not to come in and to call police.</p>

Lactose-intolerant Policy Is Sour On Milk, Cheese, Yogurt Washington, D.C.— The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) expressed puzzlement and disbelief today after learning that the popular website Facebook has banned the promotion of dairy products. Facebook’s guidelines state that no promotions are permitted if the “objective is to promote any of the following product categories: gambling, tobacco, dairy, firearms, prescription drugs, or gasoline.” An additional policy also prohibits awarding promotional prizes that include dairy products. “It’s dumbfounding, and just plain dumb,” said CCF Research Director David Martosko. “Why would anyone lump milk with cigarettes and prescription painkillers? Does Facebook believe...

...Milk dumped on roads and farmland to protest drastically lower prices... European milk farmers have dumped three million litres of fresh milk onto pastures and roads in a massive, organized protest against lowered dairy prices. In Belgium, farmers spread milk across roads near the southern town of Ciney. Elsewhere, about 300 tractors dragged milk containers through plowed fields in southern Belgium, dumping a day's worth of milk production in that region. "It is a scandal to dump this, but we have to realize what the situation is," said Belgian farm leader Erwin Schoepges. "We need a farm revolt." Milk farmers...

ELKHART COUNTY — Dairy farmers across the country are being milked dry by rising production costs and falling prices. On Friday, the federal government unveiled a new plan aimed at providing "immediate relief." But, will it work? And, what will it mean for you at the grocery store? The U.S. Department of Agriculture plan will raise the price paid at commodity markets for milk and cheddar cheese. Administrators call it a "dairy price support program." Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack says it will help the dairy industry weather "one of it's worst crises in decades." The price paid by dairy...

Dairy farmers in Northeast Wisconsin are feeling the pain at the pump...the milk pump that is. Mark Petersen, a third generation farmer ... tells that prices for his milk have plummeted on the market, and he's really feeling the pinch. Petersen says he's only getting around ten dollars per hundred pounds of milk produced right now. He was getting 20 dollars per hundred pounds not too long ago. And his operational costs exceed his revenue. Not good, of course. consumers have seen milk prices at the store come down, but it's not proportionate to what farmers are losing.

An Iraqi woman shows off the butter that was made on her family's farm near Mahmudiyah, June 23. Photo by Sgt. Mary Phillips, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team. MAHMUDIYAH — Soldiers with the 120th Combined Arms Battalion, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, and a family of Iraqi dairy farmers are spearheading a program to increase milk and cheese production in this community, the first dairy initiative the North Carolina Army National Guard Soldiers have started with the Iraqis. Capt. Sara Woods, Civil Affairs Team 31, said the intent is to revitalize the area's dairy industry.Using microgrants, the pilot farm will...

Canadian scientists are breeding a special type of cow designed to burp less, a breakthrough that could reduce a big source of greenhouse gases responsible for global warming. Cows are responsible for nearly three-quarters of total methane emissions, according to Environment Canada. Most of the gas comes from bovine burps, which are 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas. Stephen Moore, a professor at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, is examining the genes responsible for methane produced from a cow's four stomachs in order to breed more efficient, environmentally friendly cows. The professor of agricultural,...

Greener diet reduces dairy cows' methane burpsBy LISA RATHKE Associated Press Writer Tuesday, June 23, 2009 COVENTRY, Vt. (AP) — Vermont dairy farmers Tim Maikshilo and Kristen Dellert, mindful of shrinking their carbon footprint, have changed their cows’ diet to reduce the amount of gas the animals burp — dairy cows’ contribution to global warming. Coventry Valley Farm is one of 15 Vermont farms working with Stonyfield Farm Inc., whose yogurt is made with their organic milk, to reduce the cows’ intestinal methane by feeding them flaxseed, alfalfa, and grasses high in Omega 3 fatty acids. The gas cows belch...

Losing immigrant workers would mean losing farms, cows and milk, according to a survey on the effects of foreign-born labor on dairy farms that was released June 4 by the National Milk Producers Federation. The estimated effect of a 50 percent loss of the immigrant workforce on America's dairy farms would mean about 2,266 farms would go out of business, cow numbers would drop by more than 670,000 nationwide and milk production would drop by 14.7 billion pounds, the survey said. "We estimated that with a 50 percent loss in immigrant labor, we would expect to see an increase in...

WAYMART - Joe Davitt's tone curdled as he discussed the trough in milk prices. "We're the only self-employed business that has no say in what we get paid," Mr. Davitt, 39, said Wednesday as he gazed at a cluster of Holstein cows feeding in the barn at his 145-acre farm. "I can't afford to quit because what the cows would bring wouldn't be enough to cover my debt." A slump in milk prices is taking dairy farmers to the woodshed. Expenses exceed milk payments at many dairy operations. "There were times before when the prices were low, but the costs...

We all know the story of the shepherd boy who found entertainment in telling villagers his flock of sheep was being attacked by a wolf. The first time the boy sought help, the villagers came running, only to find the boy was joking. The same thing happened a second time. Then, when a wolf finally did attack, the villagers ignored the shepherd, and he lost his entire flock to the wolf. Is a modern-day version of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” unfolding in New York? You decide.

For many, the mere mention of milk will be enough to invoke memories of nausea, bloating, cramps, diarrhea, and perhaps in some cases, jibes and taunts about “wind” and bad breath. Some will have undergone medical tests that diagnosed the cause as “ Lactose intolerance ”. Lacking the enzyme lactase, which breaks down the milk sugar lactose (see box), they are unable to digest milk, whereas lactose-tolerant people can. Others, though, might still be unaware that they are “deficient” in lactase, not realizing that drinking milk causes their feelings of nausea, etc.[1] For many years, lactose intolerance was regarded as...

A renegade dairy farmer played the role of a lawyer Monday at the start of his trial for selling raw, unpasteurized milk and suggested his rights have been violated. Spectators crowded into a small courtroom to hear details of an orchestrated,armed raid by about two dozen officers and government officials on a Durham,Ont., farm in 2006. The Crown said it will disclose evidence of a clandestine, undercover investigation into the illegal sale of dangerous substances stored on the farm, sometimes on clear display in open sight. The illicit products, which spawned 20 charges against farm owner Michael Schmidt, were raw...

The butter mountains and milk lakes that made Brussels a byword for waste and inefficiency are to make a return in response to plummeting world dairy prices. EU officials are to buy up and store 30,000 tonnes of butter and 109,000 tonnes of skimmed milk powder in the next few months as part of a series of moves agreed yesterday to use the EU budget to prop up European farmers. The U-turn, after several years of liberalising free trade policies, was criticised by producers around the world as a step back into the protectionism that led to the Great Depression...

The price farmers get for their milk is plummeting – and some of the difference may show up in your pocketbook soon. The global dairy market has crashed so quickly, however, that it's backing up the industry's supply chain – all the way to Galt, where farmer Bill Van Egmond had to pour a day's worth of milk – 2,000 gallons – down the drain last weekend. "No creamery would take it," he said Friday. The base price that dairy farmers get for their cows' milk is set to tumble ...

A stimulus package may be a lifeline for the nation's economy, but it could be a death sentence for a lot of cows. Lawmakers are looking for ways to use the forthcoming stimulus bill to help dairy farmers, and the number one priority is to dampen milk supplies and prop up prices. Translation: reduce the nation's dairy herd. Exactly how Congress will accomplish that remains uncertain. An initial effort to use stimulus money to pay farmers to retire cows failed when House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rep. David R. Obey, D-Wis., objected on the grounds that it violated a promise not...

Farmers Panic About a ‘Cow Tax’ By Kate Galbraith Should their greenhouse gases be taxed? (Photo: Steve Ruark for The New York Times) The comment period for the Environmental Protection Agency’s exploration of greenhouse gas regulation ended last Friday, with farmers lobbying furiously against the notion of a “cow tax” on methane, a potent greenhouse gas emitted by livestock. The New York Farm Bureau issued a statement last week (PDF) saying it feared that a tax could reach $175 per cow, $87.50 per head of beef cattle and upward of $20 for each hog. Such a tax would represent a...

VP candidate Palin introduces 'Ed the Dairyman' ROSWELL, N.M.—Joe the Plumber, meet Ed the Dairyman. Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin spoke to a crowd of about 10,000 supporters Sunday in a Roswell airplane hangar, not only making a reference to Joe the Plumber, but alluding several times to "Ed the Dairyman" after seeing someone in the crowd holding a sign identifying himself that way. She warned voters about Democratic plans to raise taxes "on America's hard-working families and our small businesses and a lot of folks just like Joe the Plumber and Ed the Dairyman out there." Joe Wurzelbacher,...

In these times of trouble and turmoil, financial crisis and contentious presidential campaigns, it’s nice to know we can always find some humor among the news stories. In this case, we turn once again to PETA, which provides us with some unintended comic relief. PETA's bold suggestion leaves them once again looking like boobs....

<p>VERMONT -- People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent a letter to Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, cofounders of Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc., urging them to replace cow's milk they use in their ice cream products with human breast milk, according to a statement recently released by a PETA spokeswoman.</p>

Government outlet provides safe, special food for the nation’s leaders BEIJING - While China grapples with its latest tainted food crisis, the political elite are served the choicest, safest delicacies. They get hormone-free beef from the grasslands of Inner Mongolia, organic tea from the foothills of Tibet and rice watered by melted mountain snow. And it’s all supplied by a special government outfit that provides all-organic goods from farms working under the strictest guidelines.

(LEAD) S. Korea finds harmful chemical in Chinese creamer product SEOUL, Sept. 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's health authorities said Friday they have found traces of a harmful chemical in a Chinese creamer product used in instant coffee mixes. The discovery of melamine, which can cause kidney problems and even death in severe cases, follows a confirmation by the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) on Thursday that two types of snacks sold domestically contained traces of the industrial chemical. Both products were imported from China. Seoul started scrutinizing imported dairy products after several Chinese manufacturers were found to have...

CHINA'S toxic milk scandal escalated today as one of the nation's famous candy brands was pulled off shelves and four more people outside the mainland were thought to have fallen ill. The industrial chemical melamine has also been found in Heinz baby cereal and in potato crackers in the southern Chinese territory of Hong Kong and officials ordered a recall of the products. In China, the maker of White Rabbit candy, given to US president Richard Nixon on a landmark 1972 trip, said it was halting domestic sales after its products were found to contain melamine, normally used to make...

List of Nations Banning Chinese Milk Products Grows By VOA News 25 September 2008 South Korea is the latest nation to ban imports of Chinese dairy products after discovering Chinese-made snacks contained a chemical that has sickened thousands of children who consumed contaminated milk. The Korean Food and Drug Administration, KFDA, says tests on more than 100 products found the chemical melamine in two biscuit-type snacks. Officials ordered the products to be removed from store shelves and destroyed. More than a dozen governments in Asia, Africa and Europe have either banned or recalled Chinese dairy products since the scandal broke...

WATERBURY, Vt. -- People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent a letter to Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, cofounders of Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc., urging them to replace cow's milk they use in their ice cream products with human breast milk, according to a statement recently released by a PETA spokeswoman. "PETA's request comes in the wake of news reports that a Swiss restaurant owner will begin purchasing breast milk from nursing mothers and substituting breast milk for 75 percent of the cow's milk in the food he serves," the statement says. PETA officials say a move to...

Mood moosic to get cows going   Calm ... Graham VallisSOUTH WEST NEWS SERVICE   By JOHN COLES Published: 20 Sep 2008     FARMERS are being encouraged to MOO at their cows — to boost milk production. It came after a dairy farmer reported getting six times more milk by mimicking his herd’s sound. Graham Vallis, 48, does meditation-style mooing for five minutes before milking — and said his cows fall into a relaxed state. Now the Federation of Organic Milk Groups is urging its 450 members to do the same. Graham, of Bradninch, Devon, said: “I often...

Ahmed Adnan Hashim proudly shows off a container of Nu-Nu brand yogurt, produced at the factory he manages with his brother, Qahetan, in Bada, a small town south of Baghdad. Soldiers recently delivered two industrial generators donated by a factory in Iskandariyah to help the dairy plant stay on its feet. Photo by Sgt. David Turner. FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU — Ahmed Adnan Hashim is passionate about yogurt. He’s passionate about cheese and cream and the other products produced at the Nu-Nu factory in Bada, a small town in northern Babil province. With his brother, Qahetan, managing the factory, Nu-Nu...

This is a total personal (vanity?) thread, but I have searched Google, and can't find the exact answer I'm looking for. For many years I have learned to never eat dairy and shellfish within a certain timeframe, because it will make me very sick (nausea and all the other unpleasant things that go with it). I ate shrimp for lunch yesterday, and after many hours (4-5 is my usual minimum) I ate ice cream. I still got ill, although not as severely as I would have, had I not heeded my usual rule. I now know I will have to...

Agents from the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency have been stepping up the number of arrests of undocumented immigrants in Wisconsin recently. It’s a trend that’s beginning to worry some Wisconsin dairy farmers who employ immigrant milkers from Mexico. A new study of employment patterns on 600 farms in four Wisconsin counties found that 90 percent of the milkers on those farms were Mexican immigrants. It’s a trend that ballooned between 1998 and 2000, soon after the North American Free Trade Act went into affect. Study author Brent Valentine of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Rural Sociology says...