UPDATE ON CALIFORNIA RAW MILK SITUATION

There has been a lot of confusion about the situation in California and
several members emailed us after contacting the California Assembly
Appropriations Committee, in response to our last update, to tell us that
the favorable raw milk bill AB 1604 was not on the docket as we had
reported.

Unbeknownst to us, Assemblywoman Parra, the sponsor of AB 1604, pulled the
bill before it went to the Appropriations Committee. Nicole got the message
that the bill would be defeated because of the concerted backdoor effort by
Big Dairy and the medical society lobby interests.

AB 1604 is now dead and AB 1735, which stipulates a virtually un-achievable
coliform level, remains in full force and effect. However, Nicole Parra has
formed a "blue ribbon" panel to research the issue of raw milk coliforms and
pathogens and it sounds like it will be stacked with pro-raw milk advocates
and scientists. The blue ribbon committee will then make a recommendation
to the Assembly Agriculture Committee about standards for a new raw milk
bill that will protect California raw milk producers and consumers.

After 600 passionate raw milk consumers filled the assembly Ag Committee
chambers, AB 1604 standards became a political "hot button." In order to
pass the Assembly and the Senate, more research needed to be done. Nicole
Parra has promised to introduce a raw milk bill that incorporates the
recommendations of the blue ribbon committee.

Meanwhile, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CFDA) came out
to Organic Pastures last week on January 24th and pulled a sample from the
bulk tank and from a bottle. The dairy met the bacteria limit in the bulk
tank with an SPC of 2000 and coliforms of 8 but failed the test at the
bottle. However, some of the samples they took from creamery inventory were
from older "returned" product that was intended to be fed to their calves.
Even though the calf milk area is labeled as such, the creamery is now
locking that product behind a chain link cage to prohibit this from
happening again.

The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund is preparing legal action in the
light of these developments. We will keep you posted as events unfold.

Raw milk continues to be sold from both Claravale and Organic Pastures
Dairy. The next possible CDFA test will occur in late February. The
important thing to understand is that a producer must fail three out of five
tests. And then...a degrade just stops production for less than two days.
During that period, test samples can then clear the milk for continued sales
and then the producer is back to the clean plate of zero out of five and can
fail another three times and that takes another three months. What is
happening is a game of bacterial cat and mouse with your food. It is
harassment of your California raw milk producers. Coliforms are beneficial
bacteria and the tests mean literally nothing except to confirm that we are
being harassed.

This is a fight that will take time to win right. More to come very soon.