From the Courier: Raw milk rules easier to swallow SHAUN HALL/Daily Courier By Shaun Hall of the Daily Courier ROGUE RIVER — Teri Whites goats and cows probably dont care much for politics. They produce milk, and she sells it. Untreated. Unpasteurized. Raw. White and her husband, Art, operate Runnymede Farm, 1831 West Evans Creek Road, near Rogue River. She milks the goats, he milks the cows. Then, they bottle it and put it out for pickup by customers. Thats all we do is filter it and jar it up, White explained, after milking two of her Saanen mix goats, Alice and Claire. Todays customers will get todays milk. Now she can advertise her product, thanks to a free-speech lawsuit filed by a McMinnville-area farmer that forced the Oregon Department of Agriculture to stop enforcing a ban on advertising raw milk. Raw milk, the sale of which is banned in nine states, is allowed to be sold from small farms in Oregon. For the record, her customers pay $6 per half gallon and $11 per gallon for goat milk, and $4.50 per half gallon and $8 per gallon of cows milk. Until recently, the Whites could have gotten in trouble with the state if they had advertised those prices. Last month, however, the state relented, promising to stop going after raw milk producers in order to settle a federal lawsuit brought against the department by Christine Anderson of Cast Iron Farm of McMinnville. In exchange, Anderson agreed to drop the lawsuit. Staff shall not enforce (the statute) that prohibits a person from advertising raw milk for sale, said Katy Coba, department director, in a memo issued Feb. 12. The exercise of ODAs enforcement discretion is made in consultation with the Oregon Department of Justice. Asked to explain the departments problem with raw milk, Food Safety Program Manager Frank Barcellos instead pointed to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which champions pasteurization, a process of heating food to kill bacteria. The CDC states that the process does not significantly change the nutritional value of milk. But White believes raw milk is better than pasteurized milk. For one thing, it tastes better, she said. A lot of people who are lactose intolerant can drink it. Those with milk allergies can drink it. And, theres a lot of good bacteria in raw milk. Of course, it comes with risks, but if youre clean and safe, youre OK. Runnymede Farm is part of the growing local food movement in the Rogue Valley characterized by small, family farms that embrace organic methods and are concerned about contamination from genetically engineered crops and other products. In May, voters in both Josephine and Jackson counties are being asked to ban GMOs, short for genetically modified organisms. On her way out to the shed to milk her goats last week, White carried a bucket of sudsy water containing a bit of bleach. She cleaned the goats udders, to make sure all the crummies are off. The goats readily stepped up on a platform and stuck their faces into a bucket of grain while White milked them, aiming for a bucket. She then took the milk inside her kitchen and poured it through a filter and into another bucket. Its like a giant coffee filter, she said. The milk then went into marked jars and was put in a cooler in a shed out front, ready for customers to pick it up. They drop payment off and leave empty jars for the next round. She sells about 60 gallons a week. White is not the only farmer who sells raw milk in the Rogue Valley. However, owing to years and continuing fears of regulatory persecution, it is difficult to say how many others there are. Several producers and family farms that were contacted for this report politely but firmly declined to be interviewed. The preferred method of advertising remains word of mouth. One producer who did speak, Yvonne Roberts of RR Resources in Merlin, pointed out that while the state was no longer enforcing its ban on advertising, state statutes still call for a ban. I just like to stay legal, Roberts said. The laws still there. Theres still a law that says its illegal. Theres so many worries about the USDA (the U.S. Department of Agriculture). We dont want the USDA going, Your operation is breaking the law. Barcellos, of the state agriculture department, said the Oregon Legislature will be asked next year to formally lift the advertising ban. In the meantime, he added, ODA will not enforce the raw milk advertising ban. Producers continue to fly under the radar, however. Roberts said people have told her its hard to find places to buy raw milk. Were frustrated, she said. They would like to buy it, but they cant find it. Theres headway being made. ——— Reach reporter Shaun Hall at 541-474-3813 or shall@thedailycourier For more Teri and Art White can be contacted at 541-582-6193 at Runnymede Farm. The website for raw milk advocate Weston A. Price Foundation is westonaprice.org. A local chapter of that organization has set a meeting to discuss the importance of cleanliness in the milk-handling process: The meeting is on April 12 from 2 to 4 p.m. at Wise Women Care Associates, 400 Crater Lake Ave., in Medford. For information, call Summer Waters at 541-772-2291.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 22:01:42 +0000
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