Dear Readers,
This is a follow-up to Action Alert: Urge PA Representative Joseph Pitts (PA-16th District) to Protect Raw Milk & Local Foods .
Last week, 8/8/11, Lisa Armellino (C4L 16th. District) Brenda Cramer, my daughter and granddaughter--Adonica and Isabella) met in the Lancaster office of Rep. Joe Pitts. We discussed raw milk, the totalitarian practices of the FDA & USDA both locally and country wide (exp. Morningland Dairy, Daniel Allgyer of Rainbow Acres Farm in Lancaster County--16th. District, & Rawsome Foods), the extremes some states are taking to protect citizens rights to consume food of their choice, his vote on the debt ceiling (another topic not discussed here), factory farms vs. organic farms, GMO, control of people's food choices at work and at school, The Food Safety Modernization Act signed by Obama this past January and urged Rep. Pitts to support Ron Paul's Raw Milk bill House Bill HR 1830 - http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h112-1830 and also Ron Paul's Industrial Hemp Bill H.R. 1831 -http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h112-1831.
We found Rep. Pitts open to our raw milk presentation, and I left him many of my posts on this topic. He said he supports H.R. 1830 and will be recommending that it be supported by the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman, Fred Upton (R-MI).
Rep. Pitts was unaware of the particulars about the industrial hemp issue but was interested in Lisa Armellino's presentation and the information we had. It would be a boon to our local farming community if farmers could grow industrial hemp as our forefathers did. Lancaster county is steeped in insdustrial hemp heritage as evidenced by the name Hempfield Township. A friend of ours in Lancaster County, Shawn House, produces snack products made with hemp flour. He would love to buy locally produced hemp but has to import the product, mostly from Canada. http://www.hempzels.com/ We are hopeful for a follow-up meeting to address industrial hemp. I will keep you posted.
I am enclosing my personal pre-meeting notes used to center my presentation and sprinkled this with many of my C4L postings (hard copies were left with Rep. Pitts).
We took my 17 month old granddaughter along as exhibit A--she went from breast milk to raw milk and is immunization free. Forced immunizations was another issue we obliquely addressed.
Please contact these congressmen, especially if you are from their districts. Lancaster County/16th. PA District -- Health Subcommittee Chairman Joe Pitts (R-PA-16th. District http://www.house.gov/pitts/ ) or U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI-6th. District https://upton.house.gov/Contact/default.aspx )
We are grateful for this meeting and wish to thank his local staff for their kind hospitality.
Blessings,
Dona Witmer
My notes: Thank you for your military service to our county (Air Force), and your support for unborn babies & your Protect Life Act, 2ndAmendment, repeal of the death tax, support of our troops, the Sunset All Czars Act, the Internet Freedom Act, your support to repeal Obama care and support of health care choices & patient's freedom to choose, Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit Repeal Act, marriages, opposition to illegal alien amnesty and the Parental Right's Amendment.
I have here exhibit A-my granddaughter, Isabella Lancaster. We are concerned for her and all our children and grandchildren. As I grew up on raw milk, organic eggs, garden vegetables both grown and from local farmers, and also ate my share of wild game, so too I want this for this little one here. Do we as consumers have a Constitutional right to choose what we ingest? I say we do, this may not be Constitutionally explicit, like we can eat or drink what we want to, but is implied in the 4th and 10th Amendments. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. AND The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
I am very concerned about our Food Freedom in America and see Raw Milk as one part of our freedom to choose our own food safe from chemicals and genetic alterations as shown in these articles, to name a few, about Swine Flu vaccine in our corn and corn flakes and GMO altered alfalfa-fed to animals that we may eventually eat. We would like GMO altered food to at least carry a label we tax payers can make informed choices on our foods.
Brenda and I attended the IRRC meeting in Harrisburg last October and were appalled at the allegations coming from the PDA. The PDA officials were adamant that the more draconian changes HAD to be implemented as outlined by the FDA. I believe the reason the changes to raw milk handling was turned down by the IRRC was because of all the letters and people who attended that meeting. Not ONE person testified in favor of the PDA's more stringent raw milk regulations.
We are very concerned about recent changes to FDA rules that went into effect 7/3/11. The FDA ignores our 4thAmendment rights by saying "claims that are based on suspicion that a food product has been contaminated or mislabeled" are sufficient for them to hold the food for 30 days while it looks for evidence. This is a change from "credible evidence". It claims this power under the Food Safety Modernization Act signed by Obama this past January. What we have seen is the selective enforcement of this against natural food facilities, not at large factory farms. The net effect is the destruction of small organic farms who generally don't have the resources to fight back. What gets us the most is that we taxpayers are paying these people to spy and treat us worse than drugs and arms dealers!
Since this is happening in our backyard as is the case with Dan Allgyer, Morningland Cheese, Estrella Family Creamery, and most recently Rawesome Foods in CA last week. I have been following the work of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (http://www.ftcldf.org/) and that is what prompted me to make this meeting with you as you chair the Health Subcommittee, of the House Energy & Commerce committee.
In this 2010 article, The FDA's response to the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund in 21 CFR 1240.61 makes plain the FDA's position on our freedom to choose food. (I read this to Rep. Pitts)
- "There is no absolute right to consume or feed children any particular food." P. 25
- "There is no deeply rooted historical tradition of unfettered access to food of all kinds." P.26
- "Plaintiff's assertion of a 'fundamental right to their own bodily and physical health, which includes what foods they do and do not choose to consume for themselves and their families' is similarly unavailing because plaintiffs do not have a fundamental right to obtain any food they wish. "P.26
Also included in Food Freedom is the growing of industrial hemp (a cash boon to Lancaster farmers!), backyard gardens including the keeping of chickens & bunnies, etc., vitamins, ability to refuse vaccinations (especially for our Military) & organic local foods to name a few.
It is refreshing to see new Raw Milk legislation in 9 states that could deter the FDA's scrutiny. Vermont adopted a resolution as a direct result of the before mentioned food safety bill signed by Obama. Succintly, the resolution says that: (I read this to Rep. Pitts)
Vermont citizens have made a declaration that the FDA and government have no right to determine or restrict the food choices of the People of Vermont and is based on inalienable rights-life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Food is human sustenance and is the fundamental prerequisite to life.
This fits nicely into your sanctity of human life views. This article, TX area dairymen who sell raw-unpasteurized milk can't meet the growing demand! We believe that this issue comes down to money and who has the most to lose but the factory farms.
As an aside, here are some articles about a family raising bunnies to teach their children about honest values and business. This family was threatened with a $4 Million dollar fine by the USDA for regulations that can't be confirmed.
In particular is House Bill HR 1830 introduced by Rep. Ron Paul and is very needed legislation to protect our Lancaster County farmers from draconian Gestapo tactics as used against an Amish Kinzer's farmer, Daniel Allgyer.
I don't see you as a co-sponsor of HR 1830 Raw Milk or 1831 Growing of Industrial Hemp? Rep. Pitts explained to us that he doesn't co-sponsor legislation that comes before him as chairman.
Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) reintroduced this bill that would allow for the distribution of unpasteurized milk across state lines, an act that is now illegal under Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules.
"Hard as it is to believe, the federal government is actually spending time and money prosecuting small businesses for the 'crime' of meeting their customers' demand for unpasteurized milk!" Paul said.
"Recently the Food and Drug Administration conducted a yearlong sting operation targeting Rainbow Acres Farms in Pennsylvania," he added. "As a result of this action, Rainbow Acres' customers will no longer be able to purchase unpasteurized milk from this small Amish farm."
Dr. Paul argued that many believe unpasteurized milk is healthier for them, and said they should have a right to consume it "without having the federal government second-guess their judgment about what products best promote health." Health and safety issues such as these should be handled at the state and local level, he said. Paul's milk bill is House Bill HR 1830, and is similar to bills he has introduced in past years.
Paul also introduced a bill allowing states to grow industrial hemp. This is of particular interest to us as our friend Shawn House sells pretzels and other snacks made from hemp flour. His business is called Hempzels in Columbia. Shawn has to import his hemp because American farmers are prohibited from growing hemp as was done in our founding Father's days. The Constitution is written on hemp paper and Hempfield has an obvious name!
Paul's hemp bill, H.R. 1831 (http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h112-1831) , would require the federal government to respect state laws that allow industrial hemp to be cultivated. Current federal law requires hemp sold in the U.S. to be imported, not grown in America, and Paul said this prevents U.S. farmers from participating in this market.
Paul said industrial hemp is included in the technical definition of marijuana, but he said hemp has a very low concentration of the psychoactive chemical found in marijuana. (This was read to Rep. Pitts.)
"It is unfortunate that the federal government has stood in the way of American farmers competing in the global industrial hemp market. Indeed, the founders of our nation, some of whom grew hemp, would surely find that federal restrictions on farmers growing a safe and profitable crop on their own land are inconsistent with the constitutional guarantee of a limited, restrained federal government."
We ask that you protect your constituents and fellow taxpayers from the over reach of Federal Bureaucracies gone mad. Please introduce a food freedom bill and a freedom from forced vaccines and vaccinations. At the very least proper labeling of non-organic foods would allow us to choose for our children, like Isabella, the best foods to help her grow into the woman God intended her to become.
Other Posts: FDA claims power to seize food without evidence of contamination & The Milk of Tyranny: Lancaster County, PA Amish are the Terrorists! , New Raw Milk Legislation in 9 States Could Deter FDA Scrutiny , USDA fines family four million dollars for selling bunny rabbits in MO! ,Pepsi Ignores Criticism on Use of Aborted Cells in Research , FDA Blasted for Sting Operation Against Pennsylvania Amish Farmer , Activists milk a cow in front of U.S. Capitol--is the cow a terrorist by transporting raw milk across state lines? , Ron Paul introduces bill to legalize interstate sales of raw milk--mentions PA Amish Farm Sting , No Fry Zone: NYC Health Dept. Bans Fried Food at Work Meals. What's next? TSA screening of lunch boxes? , The Rice With Human Genes , New Raw Milk Legislation in 9 States Could Deter FDA Scrutiny , Morningland Dairy Trial Update: Stay of Execution on 50,000 Pounds of Cheese is Granted! , Terrorist Watch List May Exceed US Population by 2019, World Population by 2023 , Grocery prices skyrocket faster than official inflation , USDA deregulates GE alfalfa and why this affects YOU! GE alfalfa is a grand genetic experiment with an unknown outcome. , Raw milk farmer wins victory against MO county over 'illegal' sales , Swine Flu Vaccine in Your GMO Foods , Vermont Takes Action to Resist FDA Take Over With a Resolution All Should Adopt , PA Raw Milk Update -- Final Regulations -- RAW AND HAZARDOUS? , FDA released its first-ever report on volume of antibiotics the livestock industry uses! MRSA link. , Obama's new tax on...Rainwater!? , From CFR Website: Wheat Supplies and Food Fears , Pennsylvania Homeland Security office engaged in domestic surveillance, compared political groups to Al Qaeda , First they came for the milk. Then they came for the Brie. Who took your cheese? Could be the FDA , The City that Ended Hunger: A city in Brazil recruited local farmers to help do something U.S. cities have yet to do: end hunger. , Will US Patent Office end gene patent enslavement of the human race? , DNA barcoding aims to protect species, food -- Call it a DNA digital Dewey Decimal System for all life on Earth.
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