Organic Pastures Recall October 2015

Photo from here. This article says the recall has been lifted but apparently not according to the latest from OPDC themselves.

I've been trying to live my life away from the real food community that looks from the outside to be imploding in it's own drama.

The Fermented Cod Liver Oil gate has made a lot of folks turn on Sally Fallon and the Weston A Price foundation and now a new foundation is forming, basically WAPF 2.0. Apparently my old nemesis Anne Marie Michaels of Cheeseslave is back and saying she made a million dollar company and is now broke, but never filed for bankruptcy nor paid anyone the $$$ she owed. This is all hearsay. I cannot even be bothered, honestly. It all sounds like business as usual.

Because this is happening and no one in that community really cares. So here you all go:

http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-organic-pastures-raw-milk-recall-20151019-story.html

Mark McAfee is facing another recall...

http://abc30.com/food/organic-pastures-dairy-recalls-raw-whole-milk/1038683/

One article says the recall has been lifted, but apparently not today, according to OPDC themselves.

Basically, business as usual, not much has changed.

Have a great day folks!

E.coli 0157:H7 Survives in Raw Milk! No Way!

Sally Fallon-Morell of the Weston A. Price Foundation would have you believe that raw milk kills pathogens...to the point that it renders raw milk completely safe to drink? I don't know. She doesn't clarify that last part, but she certainly has said it kills pathogens a lot. In my last post I showed how she still claims this as of 2011 and exposed the network she has created to carry this message.

This subject was covered extensively almost 3 years ago on the Ethicurean blog

Click the link here and download the latest raw milk e.coli news coming out of Oregon, and tell me you want to feed your young child raw milk again. I certainly don't. When that mother's voice describes her daughters hospital trials, and breaks up and trails off at the end...you know she has shed many tears for her daughter. I cannot even fathom the agony and the heartache. It probably will not end when her daughter eventually leaves the hospital, however. HUS, unfortunately, can cause a lifetime of health problems:

"Among survivors, at least five percent will suffer end stage renal disease (“ESRD”) with the resultant need for dialysis or transplantation. But, “[b] ecause renal failure can progress slowly over decades, the eventual incidence of ESRD cannot yet be determined.” Other long-term problems include the risk for hypertension, proteinuria (abnormal amounts of protein in the urine that can portend a decline in renal function), and reduced kidney filtration rate. Since the longest available follow-up studies of HUS victims are 25 years, an accurate lifetime prognosis is not really available and remains controversial. All that can be said for certain is that HUS causes permanent injury, and it requires a lifetime of close medical monitoring." http://www.marlerblog.com/legal-cases/the-e-coli-o157h7-bacteria-and-hemolytic-uremic-syndrome-hus/

Then flip to the uninformed statement that many raw milk supporters keep saying and keep believing, despite lack of peer-reviewed scientific evidence to support their claims.

On The Bovine blog today they posted a video:


39 seconds in, a woman says, "E.coli can't even SURVIVE in, uh, raw milk. It can't."

If you think raw milk can kill pathogens, and that e.coli can't survive in raw milk so that raw milk is completely without risk to drink, then please read this excellent paper by Dr. Amanda Rose: www.rawmilkwhitepapers.com

From the Amanda Rose:
"Like a whole lot of other foods, raw milk can be contaminated. The temperature of the milk and the type of pathogen both matter to the discussion. The research is really not as simple as advocacy groups would suggest.
And then there is the FDA. The had a FAQ with the question “Does raw milk kill pathogens?” Their answer: “No.”

Life and research should be as simple as these two sides suggest.

I got heckled by one side at a symposium. Then my little white paper was just weeks old when a surprising review of it appeared in the journal of the Weston A. Price Foundation written by Ted Beals, M.D. [PDF]. I actually had a lot of respect for Beals’ testimony here in California a couple of years ago and recommended him as a speaker for the aforementioned symposium, so I was surprised first to read his review. I wrote a detailed response to his review at the Rebuild blog.

I have continued to be surprised that he has not backed up his review with citations from the scientific literature. I write this update about one year since I first asked for citations. In the concluding paragraph of his review of my white paper, he essentially accuses me of cherry picking and argues that “raw milk does kill off pathogens in realistic real-life situations. That fresh raw milk has the properties to kill off pathogens is no urban legend, it is proven science.”

If you see Ted Beals at a raw milk conference, you might ask him for the citations that support his conclusion because I have had no luck. The “proven science” remains locked in the WAPF chambers in Virginia."

Before you go on to send Dr. Rose hatemail, read what she says here. She staunchly defends a consumers right to purchase and consume the food of their choice. She firmly believes, however, as do I, that the consumers need to have information that is correct when making the decision to buy and consume said food.

Sally Fallon-Morell, The Weston A. Price Foundation, and Raw Milk

Sally Fallon-Morell, above: "The funny thing is we now know a lot about raw milk and raw milk will actually get rid of bad bacteria by itself. There are a lot of components in raw milk that kill pathogens."

This is an attempt to tell my friends on Facebook why I post so much about Raw Milk. It is also an attempt to not make myself go insane with rage when raw milk supporters and leaders of the movement make themselves look foolish when they callously disregard the illness of a two year old who drank raw milk (more on that later) like they do here in the comments section.

Here is my response to a raw milk supporter who says there are no real raw milk leaders in the raw milk movement.

First of all, let's state the obvious: is it possible to have a movement without leadership?

chirp... chirp...

Second, and watch out: Here comes my Sally Fallon-Morell (from here on out Sally Fallon) rant about raw milk. Which will one day be followed by how Sally Fallon Makes Her Money (still gathering the evidence, not yet angry enough to post said evidence, but man do we have one good heck of a page turner on that one)

Sally Fallon-Morell says "Cheese!" at her state of the art cheese making facility that she makes from the raw milk from her state of the art milking facility that comes from the cows on her newly renovated farm. Whew! Read all about it here. By Jill Nienhiser for Farm Food Blog

The Weston A. Price Foundation, with it's leader Sally Fallon, advocates raw milk formula for babies. Her baby, WAPF, grew out of her desire to evangelize the nutrition info disseminated in "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration" by Dr. Weston A. Price. Nowhere in that book does Price mention feeding raw milk to babies. She was a board member of PPNF, The Price Pottenger Nutrition Foundation, for twenty years before she left that organization to pursue a more politically active role in the food/nutrition arena. I'm not making this up.

Since its inception in 1999, WAPF has been espousing the health benefits of raw milk for mothers and babies. It runs a chapter based organization. How do you think a majority of people find their raw milk herd shares??? These chapters help connect raw milk seekers with raw milk producers.

David Gumpert's blog, The Complete Patient, is quoted in Wise Traditions, WAPFs pseudo scientific quarterly journal, as a source for raw milk news. He writes the occasional article for them in their raw milk update section. He also wrote, Raw Milk Revolution, the top selling raw milk book according to Amazon.com

Mark McAfee, "owner of the largest raw milk dairy in the world" has a symbiotic relationship with WAPF. He boosts raw milk and so do they. A friend from my past involvement in WAPF-LA recently titled he and his wife: "Mr. and Mrs. Raw Milk" and I think that's an apt description of how WAPF members view him.

Joel Salatin, owner of Polyface Farm: Would you deny that he's not a leader in the "Real Food Movement"? Star of such tomes as Pollan's The Omnivores Dilemma and the movies Food Inc. and Fresh. He calls Mark McAfee his raw milk hero in his most recent book, Folks, This Ain't Normal". Joel is a card carrying WAPFer and I doubt the two would have connected without WAPF. Salatin also wrote the forward for Gumpert's Raw Milk Revolution.

Search "raw milk" at Amazon.com and see what comes up. First, as mentioned above, is Gumpert's venerable Raw Milk Revolution. Second, a little book called The Untold Story of Raw Milk by Ron Schmidt. Who is the publisher of that book? Sally Fallon's Newtrends Publishing, Inc.

Lest we not forget the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund, WAPF's legal arm. They've got their knees deep in raw milk litigation, no?

A lot of arrows in the Raw Milk activism world point to Sally Fallon's WAPF that she created to promote her political agendas, and the ones that deviate most from Weston A. Price's teachings and writings are raw milk and anti-soy.

If you would like to take a peek at what she advocates:
http://pediatricalternatives.com/sally-fallon-morell.html

I was at this talk and had my Nourishing Traditions book signed by Sally Fallon-Morell herself.

She devotes more than enough time to raw milk, but here is why I do not think she should be a leader of any movement, no less one that advocates feeding raw milk to babies:

FIVEFOLD PROTECTIVE SYSTEM IN RAW MILK
1. Destroys pathogens in the milk.
2. Stimulates the Immune system.
3. Builds healthy gut wall.
4. Prevents absorption of pathogens and toxins in the gut.
5. Ensures assimilation of all the nutrients.

PROBLEMS BREASTFEEDING?
Use our homemade formula based on raw milk
Added lactose and whey to approximate human milk
Added cod liver oil to ensure adequate A and D
More Info: www.westonaprice.org/faq/320-faq-homemade-baby-formula.html

In the video above she spins her tale: "Raw Milk will actually get rid of pathogens itself

The End.

E.coli 0157:H7 in your Raw Milk

This week has reinvigorated my interest in Raw Milk Politics, especially surrounding E.coli 0157:H7.

Why? It seems an unlikely topic of obsession for me since we have removed dairy from our family diet temporarily for health and dietary reasons. However, I wrestle with raw milk because, like a lot of raw milkies, I frankly prefer the flavor of raw milk over pasteurized. I often wonder if I will ever drink it again?

I also read "Poisoned" this week and learned quite a bit about e.coli 0157:H7, and it answered many of my lingering questions about the subject.

Bill Marler is that ambulance chasing personal injury lawyer according to some in the Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF) crowd. I've also seen this reference many a time in the comments section on The Complete Patient blog. What doesn't hold water for me is their total disdain for him. This is the guy who gets financial compensation for those who have gotten seriously sick from tainted food, whether it be Cargill, Odwalla, Jack in the Box, or your mom and pop raw milk farmer. He has done his fair share to try to clean up the system. Far from being an ambulance chaser, he is internet and marketing savvy and knows how to put his agenda out there. "Poisoned" shows his personal and family life, political savvy and work ethic, and ultimately, his humanity. I hope you will consider reading it. It is well written and I could hardly put it down!

After reading it I learned that the author, Jeff Benedict, lives the life I dream of! His homesteading wife, Lydia, convinced him to write a book about food politics and food borne illness. That this author comes to admire and befriend Bill Marler and chooses to make him the central character in his compelling true life story is telling of Mr. Marler's character:



Yesterday, and probably not-by-coincidence on her birthday, Mr. Marler's Food Safety News published the story of Mary McGonigle-Martin. One of Marler's more famous (infamous?) raw milk cases involves Chris and Mary Martin vs. McAfee of Organic Pastures Dairy Company. I've extolled Mary's virtues on this blog before here and here, but now she really has gone and done it with this article. The reason there is so much mis-information regarding her son's illness are the blatant lies told and spun by the likes of Mark McAfee and Sally Fallon. They've been told, warned, and asked to stop repeating these lies.  Once and for all Mary called them out this week publicly on Food Safety News.

Seriously, Sally Fallon and WAPFers, it's time to put the lies about the Martin case behind you and move on. One lie, specifically, is that Chris Martin ate spinach and that is how he contracted e.coli 0157:H7, because his case happened to occur at the same time as the Dole Spinach outbreak. Marler also handled most of the e.coli 0157:H7 cases against Dole for that spinach outbreak, and has said numerous times that if the evidence showed that Chris was part of the spinach outbreak, he would have been included in Dole spinach litigation and not raw milk litigation. However, the Chris's case centered on the fact that Chris consumed OPDC raw milk. The second red herring promulgated by Fallon, which can be found here, is that Chris was given anti-biotics which is given as the explanation as to why he developed HUS from the e.coli infection. Yes, antibiotics, especially certain types, are contraindicated in suspected e.coli cases. But the fact remains that about 10% of e.coli 0157:H7 cases go on to contract HUS. Chris Martin contracted a severe e.coli 0157:H7 infection from drinking raw milk and developed HUS, whether antibiotics were at play or not is a side argument and distracts from the original vector: raw milk. The third red herring is that this case was settled out of court, and McAfee and the raw milkers, including Fallon, have insinuated that this is because there was not enough evidence to bring it to trial or some other such rot. What if the opposite is true? Could it possibly be that it was settled out of court on a sum that cannot be disclosed, because like most personal injury cases settled out of court it are financially favorable for the injured client? Hmmmmm...

Chris Martin in the hospital. fighting for his young life.

I think this passage is worth a reprint here:
"Victimized again by falsehoods

My experience with these characters has been appalling. My son's near-death experience was hell to pay for my mistake, but I was not prepared for the second victimization. Rather than acknowledge the tremendous harm done in the first Organic Pastures outbreak, and then  search for the reasons this happened to avoid future problems, they chose a different, rather slimy path to muddy the truth and deflect any culpability.

Their reaction was morbid. The lies began immediately about our son's case and some of these falsehoods could be found on the Weston A. Price Foundation website. I wrote to Sally Fallon requesting that she remove the distortions. Instead of honoring my appeal, she injected these pathetic fabrications into Ron Schmidt's updated version of his book. This whole matter was very twisted and patently shows how they would hawk their souls to convince their followers that raw milk is always safe to drink.        

People who choose raw milk for themselves or their families believe they are making an informed decision. They believe the benefits outweigh the risks. They have read the Schmidt's book or literature endorsed by WAPF. However, a truly informed decision should also address the potential health consequences. Until both sides are presented and considered, any decision to consume raw milk is based on propaganda and ignorance.

I was ignorant and I have spoken to many others who have become ill or who have had children that became ill after consuming contaminated raw milk. Sadly, they all believed the risks were minimal, which brings me to bottom line: would any mother's choose raw milk for their children if they knew that it could seriously harm or even kill them? Never!"

Mary was gracious enough to recommend Nourishing Traditions, despite the history of lies told by the likes of Fallon and the WAPF crowd.

"One final thought about Sally Fallon: despite my believing she is completely irresponsible promoting the consumption of raw milk to infants and children, her cookbook "Nourishing Traditions" does have excellent information.  This book is like having your grandmother in the kitchen passing down generations of food preparation wisdom. Food fermentation, both dairy and vegetable, is a focus for obtaining beneficial bacteria. Sally Fallon writes that people can obtain beneficial bacteria from kefir and yogurt made with pasteurized milk, so I'm not sure how or why the hyper-focus on raw milk emerged. So, if you are looking for a healthier way to eat, follow the suggestions in her book and just disregard everything you read about raw milk."

Mary and Chris, in more recent and happier times.

 Over and over again Mary has shown the courage of a mama lion. I've got your back, Mother Mary. Call me anytime.

Do you know the names of the pathogens that end up in raw milk products?

"Raw milk does have a checkered history of safety issues," acknowledged McAfee, alluding to the high incidence of milk-borne illnesses before the 1900s. But with modern sanitation, he believes "we know now how to produce very safe, very clean raw milk."
"We just don't know how it happened," said McAfee, who has since added new cleaning protocols.

Mary McGonigle-Martin, 52, of Murrieta, says she didn't fully grasp the health risks when her 7-year-old son Chris was sickened in the 2006 outbreak. Pro-raw-milk websites and conspicuous advertisements at her local health foods store convinced her that raw milk could be a safe, natural remedy for her son's chronic sinus congestion. She bought Organic Pastures milk after reading about the farm online. "That they tested the milk and they'd never found a pathogen -- the testing was what sold me," said McGonigle-Martin, a school counselor.

Even with sophisticated lab tests, E. coli can be much harder to detect in milk than in, say, ground beef, said Michael Payne, a UC Davis food safety expert. "I have zero faith that there exists technologies that currently allow for the adequate on-farm testing of raw milk for pathogens," he said.

Chris Martin developed HUS, experienced kidney failure, and at one point required a ventilator. "My choice almost killed my child," said McGonigle-Martin. For other parents, she stresses that drinking and serving raw milk is a personal choice that should be made knowing all the risks.

 "You better know what pathogens could be in the milk and what could result," said McGonigle-Martin. "If you can't name those diseases and illnesses, then you shouldn't be making the choice."

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_20183193/recent-cdc-study-reveals-dangers-raw-milk-but

calf manure.........yeah..............

My resonse to the last two blog posts at the Complete Patient Blog:
1.  http://www.thecompletepatient.com/journal/2011/12/18/raw-dairies-everywhere-can-learn-an-important-lesson-from-op.html
2.  http://www.thecompletepatient.com/journal/2011/12/16/deja-vu-all-over-again-mix-opdc-cdfa-raw-milk-and-you-get-po.html

Mark is focusing on the 0157:H7 coming from the calves manure and somehow getting to the kids...is he saying the 5 kids from 4 different counties possibly got sick from some exposure to OPDC calf manure (touring the farm...licking the bottle!?!), but not from the actual OP raw milk or raw milk products? Is he even conceding that the kids got sick from OPDC milk? so confused...I hate being manipulated with brilliantly hazy rhetoric.

When do we get to see the state report?

I am happy that OPDC customers have their raw milk back. I am just concerned that there are still false assumptions floating around this same customer base. You know, the one where raw milk kills e.coli 0157:H7 so that raw milk is not inherently dangerous. Or that raw milk cures asthma or GERD.

I don't like sounding so cynical but the optimism and idealism in the CA raw milk crowd is a tad overboard. Yes, there is strength in happily engaged and vocal consumer base. Yes, OPDC does an amazing job at promoting raw milk and keeping up a positive relationship with their customers. Social media/networking and loyalty is powerful.

Where the RAW MILK MOVEMENT (i.e. realmilk.com) OPDC, and the OPDC/raw milk consumer base gets in a bit of trouble is when political speech making and charming rhetoric is gobbled up and the truth gets dirtied in the calf manure.

Californians: What's in your Raw Milk?

The information contained in the videos posted below, is powerful.

Organic Pastures is the largest legal raw milk dairy in CA, and perhaps the world. Mark McAfee, owner of Organic Pastures, is an outspoken proponent of raw milk and was one of the key note speakers at this years Weston A. Price Foundation Conference. When I met him at the raw milk rally to support the "Rawesome Three" this August, I was struck by his charm and ability to emotionally move and motivate people with his charisma. It was infectious.

The problem is, there are serious discrepancies between Organic Pastures marketing claims and what actually is occurring on their farm. I've been reading up and following The Complete Patient blog for awhile now. If you care about raw milk, this blog keeps it's pulse on North America's raw milk movement.

Mark McAfee posts there often and I was really very surprised with some of the things he would say and the tone of his posts. I was also concerned that some raw milk producers, especially the smaller ones, were highly suspicious of him and his dairy. They mainly objected to his RAWMI program.

I started getting more curious about the Organic Pastures dairy operation. I had literally bought into claims that raw milk is inherently safe and no harmful bacteria has ever been found in Organic Pastures milk. You can read more about their raw milk practices and safety here.

Organic Pastures is going through a tough time right now as the state of California has shut down production and sales of their raw milk the second time in 5 years due to 5 cases of ecoli 0157:H7 being linked to this diary through epidemiological data. Raw milk supporters and McAfee's customer base are outraged. They cannot believe that the state would shut down the dairy. They feel a recall would have been more than sufficient. They point to other "Big Ag" food born illness recalls as of late including eggs, spinach, and cantaloupe as being more of a menace to society than raw milk. Why shut down the dairy?

No one knows when the dairy will re-open but according to Organic Pastures they are hopeful distribution can begin as soon as next week. According to their press release this morning, e coli has been found in the manure of their calves. They are certain that the state will find the same in their testing.

I am certainly not trying to kick a man while he is down. Serious questions about the operations at Organic Pastures have been floating around for several years now. It just happens that these videos came out at the same time that Organic Pastures was ordered to shut down it's operations. I am pretty hopeful that it wasn't intentional or maligned. To be certain, this little article will not bring down Organic Pastures. Their fan/customer base is strong, and when they are up and running again I am sure they will be as financially successful as they have been in recent years. Some estimates in the comments section of The Complete Patient blog put the Organic Pastures Dairy's gross earnings at around $6 million per year. 

I am not arguing that raw milk is bad for you or even deadly. I am not saying we should not have the right to consume it. I regularly buy and drink raw milk! I am arguing that if producers are going to provide raw milk, at least give us the straight facts of how you 'grow' your raw milk.  We demand answers to tough questions from Big Ag and even our local food producers. Why not raw milk producers?


For Raw Milk Consumers:
While customers wait for Organic Pastures to reopen, I encourage OPDC customers to watch these videos and ask themselves a few questions:

1. Why does Organic Pastures state on their bottle that their milk comes from 100% grass fed cows. Clearly this is not the case.

2. Why does Organic Pastures have an open herd? What's the harm in having an open herd, you ask? I had those same questions. Fortunately for you and me, there are folks who have a passion for raw milk but also want to know if it is being produced in a responsible manner. Dr. Amanda Rose's history with Organic Pastures caught my eye, as well as her consumer guide for raw milk drinkers. She covers the open/closed herd question.


For Raw Milk advocates:
1) If OPDC is not forthright in their marketing, does it matter? Yes, because we, the raw milk consumers, are mislead.
2) 100% Grass-Fed is not a term to mess around with or dilute. It is highly irritating that farmers who are primarily grass farmers first and ranchers or dairymen second have to compete with producers who are not using the term appropriately.
3) I am fully aware that there is a higher demand for raw milk currently in CA then there is supply. I am fully aware that OPDC has helped to create this awareness of raw milk and demand for raw milk precisely because of McAfee's enthusiasm and marketing know how. To this I say, well, then market it like you do it, Organic Pastures. Otherwise, let a competitor or a few come in and above all, do it better.


What's my beef with Organic Pastures Beef?
Here is another example of misleading advertising. Organic Pastures began to sell ground beef from their spent dairy cows at farmer's markets and in stores this past October. I was alerted to their suspicious marketing because they sell their ground beef at the same price point as the grass-fed beef rancher that I buy from.

From their USDA Organic Ground Beef email launch:

Pasture-Fed

Our cows graze on organic green pastures, all year long. Warm California sun + a lot of green pastures make for the best tasting beef with all the right nutritious, good healthy fats our bodies need and deserve. Our pasture fed animals are raised outdoors on pasture and treated humanily with organic practices. This combination makes the best meat around! We call it "back to basics". Our cows call it "AMAZING"!  We believe you will call it "the best beef you have ever had!" 

The problem I have with this is now they are directly competeing with an honest to goodness grassfed cattleman who prides himself in the taste of his beef and even borrows this rancher's marketing tagline with a slight twist: "The best beef you have ever had!" I beg to differ. Cattle that are raised for meat consumption on an 100% grass-fed cattle operation graze on irrigated pasture their whole lives (usually around 2-3 years old). The rancher I buy my meat from chose a specific breed, Lowline Cattle, specifically for the taste and quality of the meat. He grows 5 kinds of grass to produce the best tasting beef a la the Joel Salatin method which can be read up on in his book "Salad Bar Beef". He makes sure his beef is full of healthy fats, 15% fat to be sure. Organic Pastures USDA Organic Ground beef is less than 15% fat from dairy cows that stop producing (how old are the cows, when/why do they stop producing?) These are important questions to ask yourself. Why would you pay the same price per pound for different quality beef?

Not Grain-Finished

There are many different types of beef varieties available to purchase at the store. Grain adds weight, mostly in the form of fat, faster than grass. Weight equals money for the rancher. Americans are also used to more fat in their beef than most other people. Some find grass-fed beef too lean, but it is healthier and more flavorful. Corn is also the cheapest form of animal food, which is why most beef is grain fed or finished. We believe in quality NOT quantity. You will taste our quality in our healthy meat. 

This is highly misleading. According to the videos below, as well as from statements by their telephone representative, Organic Pastures dairy cows are given up to 4 lbs. of corn daily their whole milk producing lives, the same grain they say is the cheapest form of animal food! They also buy adult cows from other organic ranches, and who knows what they've been fed? I wonder what "not grain finished" really means? Does it mean that after the dairy cows are spent, they are stopped their grain rations and put out to pasture? How long are they off their grains? These questions matter.

Another point raised by a source who is in the know about small scale food distribution:

"distribution is always the key for any new venture, and Mark McAfee has worked hard over the years to develop his own distribution network in California. Most food producers don’t develop their own distribution, but wholesale out to distributors. So that gives McAfee a huge advantage over the smaller producers of beef because McAfee has his raw milk dairy network. Consumers beware!!"

And now, the videos:

This is from a blog for a new buyers club being set up in CA by the owners of Tropical Traditions. In an effort to track down a source legal raw milk in CA, for their buying club, they visited the two CA regulated dairies, Claravale and Organic Pastures. Having a background in researching and working with truly grassfed beef, chicken and egg ranches in Wisconsin's Amish country, the Shilhavy's know what to look for and what to ask when finding food resources for their own family and others.

http://healthytraditions.com/blog/post.cfm/certified-raw-milk-in-california-visits-to-the-two-raw-milk-dairies. 

I recommend that you read the full article, but here are the videos:

Claravale


Organic Pastures

The Complete Patient Blog...

...wants you to rally around imperfect martyrs.
You can read my response in the comments section above. It is not my intent to bash any farm or farmer.