Testimonials

The following testimonials, down to the point indicated below in red, were collected in support of Family Farms' Coopertive (FFC) in Michigan, which was targeted by the Michigan Department of Agriculture. You can read more about that situation at http://www.familyfarmscoop.com/index.html, where these testimonials also appear. Here, they have had obvious typos corrected for readability but are otherwise unaltered. Some people gave only the screen name they had chosen to use when posting their testimonial to the FFC site.

Thank You for Helping to Keep Real Food Available

September 2007—My name is Alyssa Pellicano. I am a 28 year old spastic quadriplegic affected by CP (cerebral palsy) from birth. I use an electric wheelchair for mobility, but I do not have a
speech impediment. I have been following the WAPF (Weston A. Price Foundation) recommendations for the use of grassfed meat, raw dairy products and fats exclusively for two (2)+ years.

I was familiar with grassfed products. My mother provided pastured eggs, milk, raw dairy, and bone broths during my childhood years which, even back then, weren't easy to find here in California. When the dairy my mother bought from was closed down (Alta Dena) we were not as viligent about
obtaining those products, but then Sally Fallon's book (Nourishing Traditions) reintroduced those principles and I have found that my spasticity is much reduced when consuming raw dairy products. I only hope and pray that Organic Pastures, here in California, is able to operate for a long time to come. I also have access now to raw goat milk. We must travel about 5 hours by car to get it, but it is worth it since we buy 4-6 gal. and make kefir, vili, and just enjoy drinking it!

My mother and I each earned a Nutritional Consulting Certificate here in California but we weren't as impressed with their more general curriculum as we are with the books we have read that the Weston Price Foundation has recommended along with some books on biodynamic, and organic farming methods from Acres USA. From the principles of Rudolf Steiner we have become convinced that our health is directly related to the food we eat and that food is only as good as the soil
in which it was grown.

I believe some of the principles in Nourishing Traditions are, indeed, life saving. We have been maintaining good health on the Nourishing Traditions way of eating. Neither I nor my mother are on any conventional drug therapy of any kind! I say that especially, because my spastic quadriplegic peers, who also depend on wheelchairs for mobility, are on an average of 18 different medications! Some necessary, yes, but many could be eliminated if their diets were of better quality.

Thank You, everyone, who work diligently at keeping real food available and obtainable.

Health from Raw Milk
Nov 4, 2006—Our family has been part of a Cow Share program for ONE year. My husband is the only one who isn't drinking raw milk. He is also the only one in our family that gets every cold and flu that comes around. My daughters and I never get whatever bug he has. I attribute this to the raw milk that we are drinking. –Shawn Felicijan

Raw milk and kefir restored my health
Nov 4, 2006—I had diarrhea for two years and had upper and lower GI's and 3 doctors who tried different various remedies which I followed carefully. I lost 36# and still no relief. I was told about raw milk and kefir which is sort of like yogurt but better. Within three weeks of drinking raw milk and making it into kefir, I stopped having diarrhea. That was better than 2 years ago and I have regained my weight and my health and am doing better than I have in some time. I try to find a source of raw milk wherever I go on vacation as well as drinking it daily. —Dr. Bill

Raw milk helped our family
Nov 4, 2006—We began drinking raw milk in 1984, we had "adopted" our 10-year-old nephew and he had health, dental, and learning problems. We gave him all the raw milk he wanted to drink, and fresh food from the farm (grass-fed beef, lamb, poultry, and eggs) he was failing at school when we changed his diet, and he went on to graduate on the honor roll. Not bad for a child that had a third grade reading level in 5th grade! My husband used to suffer terrible bouts of IBS and indigestion. These have disappeared with his consumption of at least a quart of raw Jersey cow milk daily, plus raw milk butter. I have had an uneventful menopause, and we enjoy good health, good bones, and vitality. I believe we owe much of that health to raw dairy products. —Sincerely, Cindy Dutcher

A REAL difference!
Nov 4, 2006—A few years ago my 2nd oldest child, Olivia, was struggling with illness after illness. She had strep nearly a dozen times in one year. She was pale, weak and the lymph nodes in her neck were up to 2 inches in diameter. We met with numerous Dr.s and even a surgeon. They were going to remove my 6 year old's nodes and biopsy them. We were terrified! When medicine didn't seem to supply answers we sought out natural alternatives. That is what started our quest for REAL milk (and food). Olivia is turning 8 next month. No strep, no flu, no Dr. visits. In fact my Pediatrician has called several times to make sure we haven’t left his practice!!

I have 4 children and am thrilled to report that they are all thriving and healthy. My 2 year old has never known commercial milk. She hasn’t had the ear infections, RSV, flu, intestinal distress, etc that plagued her older siblings. My 6-year-old son, who was labeled "failure to thrive”, is GROWING by leaps and bounds. The Dr had him on pediasure shakes for years and conducted swallow studies and therapy sessions to understand his insufficient growth. We stopped the chemical filled shakes and started REAL milk and he has grown 6 inches and put on 8 pounds. I credit raw dairy for the health of my children. Milk, butter, kefir...ALL instrumental in their welfare. The evidence of success is not only in their change of health but crystal clear when viewing our insurances flexible spending allowance. Our 1600.00 balance for 2006— - still there. —-Momsomnia

Sleeping Through the Night on Raw
Nov 5, 2006—Although we are not members of the Family Farms' Coop, we have been drinking our milk from our cow for over 3 years now. Our two boys were diagnosed by their pediatricians (Beaumont doctors) with dairy intolerance. Our 5-year-old never slept one night through his first year, until we took him off the milk-based formula. The first night, he slept all night. Pasteurized dairy products give both boys gastrointestinal problems and loose stool (sometimes diarrhea). However, we have been making cultures from raw milk (kefir, yogurt, fil mjolk, crème fraiche), which they not only tolerate very well, but without them, they have digestive problems. Without such products, they would not get both the Calcium they need, and the vitamins and enzymes necessary to absorb the Calcium.

Myself personally, I have had a "low-grade" acid reflux symptoms for years. I used to pop chewable Tums daily - and if I didn't, my throat would be burning. In cleaning out our pantry last year, I found the untouched large bottle of Tums - and had forgotten I hadn't even had one in years.

Overall, since we switched to Raw Milk and almost completely organic diet, our overall health has been tremendous. When other kids get sick for a week, our kids get sick for a day, or don't get sick at all. We hardly ever get sick now. This used to be a 2-3 times per month sick visit to the Pediatricians' office - it is now 2-3 times per year - ** even though we now have 2 kids in school in stead of only 1 **.

We have now included a lot of lacto-fermented foods we make at home (pickles, sauerkraut, and such) to aid in the body's digestion. The scientific studies we have read on the subject point to a boost in the immune system as well from such foods. — Jay Imerman, Waterford, MI

No need for the doctor
Nov 7, 2006—Hi All, We are not part of the family farm Co-op but HIGHLY recommend the use of raw milk and other products. We milk our 5 goats and love the health benefits we get from using the raw milk. It is the best form of calcium you can put in your body. This was one of the best choices we could of made I suffered all my life with allergies and asthma. Not any more and my children are extremely healthy we have no need to go to the doctor. Our diet is as close to nature as possible, we eat almost all organic and it is so worth it.... My Passion is to help others have the same health benefits we have been able to have. —God Bless, Kelly

Raw milk was my answer
Nov 11, 2006—I've had gastrointestinal difficulties ever since I was a child, and as I got older, added allergies to these troubles. As an adult, I finally noticed that my symptoms increased dramatically after consuming any pasteurized milk product. I decided to switch to soy, and my health started to improve.

I met and married my husband and fairly quickly got pregnant. I stayed on the soy products, ate raw, organic foods whenever possible, and I gave birth to a healthy boy. Much to my husband's and my surprise, at the time our son turned 9 months old, I became pregnant again. This time, I started craving milk products, so badly that I'd cheat and suffer the consequences just to have the milk or cheese or yogurt I was craving so badly. The soy products that contented me during my first pregnancy aren't satisfying me at all during this one. I'm guessing the reason is because my body didn't have a chance to replenish its nutritional stores before I became pregnant again, and on top of that, I'm still breastfeeding our now 15-month-old son. My need for calcium is huge.

The solution to my problems came when I tried raw milk at a friend's house one day and discovered, to my surprise, that I had no reaction at all to it. I set out to find a source of raw milk, bought into the coop I'm now a member of, and have been enjoying the health benefits, not to mention the fabulous taste, of milk straight from the cow, for going on three months now.

I also started my then 12-month-old son on the milk. He was at that time somewhere between the 5th and 10th percentile for weight and length, even though I'd breastfed him. Apparently, I wasn't healthy enough myself for my breast milk to have all the nutrition he required. As a result of putting him on raw milk, he's gained several pounds and several more inches in length, as well as a rosy glow of health that's a joy to behold.

Oh yes, my husband loves the milk too. He's one of those weird people who doesn't seem to have any trouble with pasteurized milk, though, so we don't see any difference in his health. He's not about to go back to that thin, tasteless junk they sell at the stores, though. I could wish raw milk weren't so expensive and hard to find, but I'm grateful for the source we have. —Bethany

Raw Milk has improved my health
Nov 4, 2006—Since my late teenage years I have suffered from bouts of irritable bowel. I visited doctors and no one could help me. They said to take drugs for the rest of my life. I started drinking raw milk 2 years ago once I read Dr. Mercola's email recommending raw milk. It has helped me tremendously. I wish I would have known years ago. The health of my kids has improved tremendously also. They suffered from frequent ear infections and Eustachian tube blockage resulting in repeated inserting of ear tubes. Their teeth were so decayed, they had many teeth pulled. Since drinking raw milk, the ear infections don't occur anymore and the only problems with their teeth are the ones that were worked on previously. No new problems! I've spent years trying to figure out how to help them and finally found it - raw milk!!!! —KCaurdy

Son loves raw milk
Nov 4, 2006—My son, Joshua, has been sensitive to dairy products since birth. He was unable to take any commercial formulas without severe GI upset. Consequently, he went from breast milk to fruit juice at 12 months. He is now 12 years old and started on raw milk 1 year ago. He has had no problems whatsoever. In fact, he loves the taste. Previously, he hated the taste of store bought milk and would not drink it, but he will happily drink 2-3 glasses of the raw milk daily. It is the first time he has ever been able to enjoy milk. —Linda56

No more lethargy
Nov 12, 2006—I have found replacing my morning routine of coffee and a healthy whole wheat homemade muffin with a smoothie made of raw milk, raw cream, 2 raw eggs, and some raw fruit has alleviated my lethargy and gives me ample energy until lunch. My family has been drinking raw milk for over a year now and it is definitely worth the 40-mile round-trip for me to be able to provide this wholesome food to my family. —jroy

Raw milk is solution to allergy
Nov 13, 2006—My daughter has anaphylactic reactions to any cow dairy products, but can have all raw goat dairy products. This has been a huge step in improving her overall health. She is now off allergy shots! Without raw dairy, she would lose an important protein and vitamin source in her already restricted diet. —doughgirl

I CHOOSE raw milk
Nov 13, 2006—As an adult, I can make an informed decision about whether or not to purchase (and consume) raw milk -- that is my choice. I certainly don't need any government agency, State or Federal, telling me otherwise. Call/fax your State senators & representatives today and tell them how you feel! —jillybean

Raw milk and raw food
Nov 16, 2006—last year I was diagnosed with severe hypothyroidism, after going to a traditional allopathic doctor for last 8 years as my thyroid continued to shut down he totally missed my declining thyroid levels. I saved my blood tests for last 5 years and looked at them after the diagnosis, he totally missed it; after I confronted him about he said your only alternative is replacement thyroid hormone. I fired him on the spot, then I went to endocrinologist she said the same thing .I fired her also and the I went on Mary Shomon’s website for people with thyroid issues and found a doctor thru her website. The optimal wellness center is were I landed, they believe in healing you nutritionally, not just treating your symptoms with health damaging FDA approved drugs, my nutritionist led me to several raw milk sources, with a diet of raw organic milk and raw organic food, I am almost off of all my medication and haven’t felt this good in years. In conclusion I would say raw dairy has helped me greatly in my recovery and never take your health for granted especially with allopathic doctors. The government is looking out for their pockets not your health. —louisj

Access to Real Milk
Dec 29, 2006—For many years, I did not drink milk at all. I had grown up drinking it, but it seemed to agree with me less and less as I got older, so I just stopped.

When Linda (my wife) started getting raw milk for our family, I was pretty skeptical. It sure tasted better than anything I ever had from a store, but what about the microbes? I truly believed that raw milk was dangerous!

After looking into it and coming to understand more about the processes involved, it became more and more obvious that the opposite is true: milk that has been degraded with extremes of heat and stored for weeks is much more likely to be dangerous than fresh, whole milk that has a balance of organisms in it.

Now that we have this source of high-quality nutrition in our lives, I don't want to give it up. It seems unbelievable to me that anyone, an individual, a government agency or an industry lobby, would have the right to prohibit something that is so good for people. It seems like something that could only happen in a fascist or communist dictatorship, where the completely ridiculous and nonsensical can be passed off as good public policy. —tvoiles

I choose raw milk!!!
Dec 30, 2006—After many years of research I decided raw milk was the best decision for my family and feel it is far superior to the commercial milk sold in stores. I strongly feel this should be a decision made by each individual and is not the place of the government to interfere with this personal choice. I know it is in my family’s best interest to give them high quality grass fed meats and raw dairy products. I don't know what we would do without this source. For a period of time we were denied our share of food, when the government got involved, a place I feel they had no business being. My family became ill, something that rarely happens. I strongly believe this had to do with being forced to purchase inferior foods from the grocery store. There are so many others more important things government officials could be doing with their time and our money. If dairy and meat is the area they want to focus on, fine, look closer at the feedlots, or would this be cutting too deep into their own pockets. —Cathie

Allergic to pasteurized milk, but not raw
January 2, 2007—My daughter, Julia, was born on 2/22/02, and the only milk she received during her first year came from me. She was healthy, calm, and obviously intelligent. She picked up a pencil at age six months, and by one year, she was drawing figures like a much older child.

When Julia was a year old, I added store-bought cow's milk to her diet. Immediately she had a personality change. She was impulsive, obstinate, angry, and unsettled. I suspected the milk, but she needed the calories, since she has her father's rapid metabolism. And maybe she was just entering the terrible twos.

However, she also became constipated--severely. I won't go into the details, but several weeks would go by, and when her body finally worked, the process was painful and terrifying for her. Finally, I went to a specialist, who told me it was probably the milk she was drinking. "We see this all the time in kids. It's a common milk allergy. Limit her intake to three cups of milk a day."

However, any amount of pasteurized milk stopped her up. When I took her to have a colonic irrigation, the technician needed a full 15 gallons of water (an adult amount) to cleanse her little 28-pound body. That was the worst half-hour of her young life (as well as mine).

Then I read on Dr. Mercola's website that it wasn't the milk that was culprit in childhood allergies but pasteurized milk. All the enzymes and fragile proteins have been cooked and destroyed by heating. I saw this myself when my son did a science project in which he made plastic simply by boiling milk. The milk hardened into a rubbery substance that never broke down.

I found out that Richard Hebron delivered raw milk and other wholesome food to my area, and I placed an order. Well, Julia loves the raw milk. She'll drink the cream right off the top. And it does not constipate her--quite the opposite. Since starting on the raw milk, she has gained eight pounds, going from the 5th percentile in weight to the 50th!! And her sweet, patient artistic personality has returned. Even though she is only four, she is teaching herself to read, and now she draws like an average eight-year-old.

When I told this story at church one Sunday, an elderly woman told me about her sickly brother and how his life was saved in the 1920s by raw milk. It was illegal even back then, but a local farmer sold the milk by taking payment at his house, then leaving the milk by the side of a deserted road, from which the boy's parents would pick it up in the middle of the night. The boy went from chronic illness to health, and the woman said it was because of the raw milk. Cooked milk never helped him.

We are also fans of Richard's beef and pork. The first time I ate his chuck roast; my mind was suddenly transported back to the 1960s, to the taste of the roasts my mother made. What a difference! My son says that all cattle were grass-fed during my childhood, that there was no such thing as inhumane feedlots, where cows were fed garbage, fecal matter, and diseased flesh from other animals. The beef in today's stores has only a fraction of the flavor of Richard's beef. And the fat doesn't congeal the same way as the fat of unhealthy grain-fed meat. Apparently, the fat composition of grass-fed beef is different and healthier than the hardened white stuff that we see in stores.

So you can imagine that I was aghast to learn that the Michigan agriculture people have been harassing the Family Farms Coop members. Do they expect us to go back to the toxic stuff that they endorse, to drink milk from sick and overmilked, hormone-stuffed cows? There's no way I will put Julia back on that stuff.

As any parent knows, when one's child's welfare is at stake, laws are secondary. I consider myself a law-abiding citizen, and I am a dues-paying member of the cow-sharing program. But I would beg, borrow, or steal raw milk for Julia if I had to. I would drive to the side of a country road at midnight to obtain the milk she needs--if I had to.

Thank goodness there are honest and caring farmers like that one who saved a little boy's life in the 1920s, and like Richard Hebron and his colleagues today. —Juliasmom

Raw Milk and Pastured Meats, Dairy and Eggs
January 3, 2007—I have been drinking raw milk and consuming pastured meat, eggs and dairy products from Richard Hebron's coop for four years. These foods have literally saved my life. I am a professional clarinetist with a national career--4 years ago I was deathly ill with a chronic digestive disorder that threatened to end my career and my life. I had chronic pain for 25 years. I was able to rebuild my health to a vibrant state through the traditional foods from Family Farms Coop and have been pain-free for 3 and-a-half years.

As a US citizen, I have the right to choose the foods that support my health from whom I feel can provide them. I choose to purchase my food from small family farms dedicated to producing the highest quality foods. With these foods--I am choosing "LIFE"--because I am eating foods that are necessary to supporting my health---the most important asset that I have. Without health, a person cannot fulfill their highest purpose.

The future of our country depends on the health of our planet and its people. We must make correct choices of the foods which we choose so that our future is bright. Small family farms such as Family Farms Co-op provide people with assurance of this bright future. —Sincerely, Kathryne Pirtle

Has anyone actually been harmed by raw milk?
January 3, 2007—Has anyone been harmed by raw milk and organic meat?

I'm wondering if the Michigan agriculture people can produce even one person who has been harmed by raw milk or the organic products offered by the Family Farms Cooperative. I challenge them to find someone.

I used to work in a supermarket, and I was surprised by the unhealthy choices most people made. The most frequently bought items in my store were Coca-Cola, white bread, and chips of all sorts. Whenever an order consisting mostly of fresh fruits and vegetables came down the conveyor belt, I would glance up and see who was buying them. More often than not, the people were speaking a foreign language or were clearly from another country.

But in this country, we have the right to purchase cancer-causing, heart-attack-causing, diabetes-causing, obesity-causing foods, because we enjoy freedom of choice. There are vending machines laden with these unhealthy products in most American schools, and kids' lunch boxes are full of them.

Governmental officials protect our rights to choose unhealthy foods because we are a free nation. Why won't they allow us to choose healthy, life-giving foods for ourselves and our families? I would ask them why they are harassing the farmers who provide these foods. Where is their evidence of harm? I doubt they could even one person who has been hurt by eating Richard's products, but many of us can come forward, and bring our children, with evidence that we were harmed by the products that the government gives us the right to consume. —Juliasmom

Memories
January 3, 2007—My neighbor first re-introduced me to raw milk, cheese and butter. When I first tasted it, I revisited my childhood vacations in MN in my mind. The fresh, clean taste "made sense" to my body and I didn't have any of the digestion problems I usually have from using store bought dairy products. I was amazed. So was my digestion! Did the cow do something different or did man? I want to continue using these products and try others. I feel they are a vital part of my attempt to ward off disease and maintain a healthy body. —Mary Anne

How Raw Milk Has Helped Me
January 3, 2007—In early 2003 I began to have problems after every meal in the form of heart palpitations - butterflies in the stomach, or skipped beats (not racing). I finally tracked this down to gluten allergy which had been sub-clinical for my whole life, but which blossomed in middle age with progressive and accumulating intestinal damage (nutritionist diagnosed this as leaky gut syndrome). The palpitations went away when I identified and then eliminated gluten/wheat, but a big hunk of nutrition was also removed from my diet. So I tried raw milk and have never looked back. Real milk's highly digestible enzymes will actually settle down an episode of palpitations if I make a mistake and get some wheat (or too much sugar, another poison). Furthermore, in the first year drinking raw milk my good cholesterol HDL went up from the low 40's to the mid-50's with no other change in diet (I had been off gluten for over a year before starting raw milk) and no added exercise, and total cholesterol did not change. I'm also healthier (knock on wood) with very few colds, and when I get one it's gone in a day, and no flu even though I don't take the flu shots. Finally, I've found that my gluten allergy is marginal - I can eat spelt (which has gluten) and Ezekiel bread and cereal (which has wheat but it's sprouted). My conclusion is that sure, I've gotten older, and my digestion less robust with age, but probably the wheat itself has changed even more with the highly processed, hard-shelled variety so prevalent in the US becoming less and less digestible for more and more people, which is why we're seeing a growing gluten allergy epidemic. —Steve Bemis

Support for Family Farms
January 4, 2007—It is very important to my family's health that we continue to be able to consume healthy raw dairy products as provided by our farmer, Richard Hebron. There is no danger or harm coming from these products, just healthy life-giving nutritious food, unprocessed, helping to save the earth from unnecessary chemicals. The pastured cows who provide our milk and cheese are humanely treated and as a result we are treated daily to their wonderful milk.

This local small farm set-up is exactly what provides the vitamin and mineral rich food source to us city folks. Any action taken against Richard Hebron's small family farm is taking away our freedom to choose what is best for our family's health. —M. Teresa Griffin, Chicago, IL

Allow free choice to raw foods - including milk
January 3, 2007—My family drinks raw milk for over 3 years now. We started to drink raw milk to maintain and improve our good health. It is important for my family and I to have the choice to drink raw milk. We prefer to eat foods in its raw state since this is the most beneficial for us. From all the health studies I have read, when foods are processed such as heating, pasteurizing and homogenization it leads to disease. We can purchase and eat other foods in its raw state such as eggs and meat. It should be a free choice to purchase raw milk as well. Raw milk has improved our health tremendously. My 2 kids have not missed one day of school this year and they missed a lot of school before drinking raw milk with a multitude of ear infections. I am a college educated individual with a strong background in health. I thoroughly studied the information on raw milk and concluded it is very beneficial to drink. At one time doctors used raw milk to treat illness. There is so much misleading information with bacteria contamination of milk and the need to pasteurize. This just allowed farmers to be sloppy and have pus-filled milk in cows and cows allowed to remain in unhealthy conditions. There is more bacteria contamination occurring in pasteurized milk than in raw milk. I get my raw milk from a farm where cows are allowed to graze green pasture and eat what they were intended to eat. When cows are giving the right food and the healthy living conditions, bacteria contamination doesn’t occur. Stopping consumers from consuming raw milk is not a solution to anything.
—KCaurdy

Freedom to Choose
January 4, 2007—Having largely been failed by the American Medial Establishment, it is the prerogative of every conscientious citizen to educate themselves and take responsibility for their health and the health of their family. If the current Institutions designated for the safeguarding and promotion of our health and well being are fulfilling their purpose, why does incidence of diet related disease continue to skyrocket in our nation? 1. Most people are either too lazy to think and act on their own behalf, or they are too trusting of self-proclaimed Government or Medical "Authorities." 2. Processed Food, Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals are big business in the Western World. The Bible says that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, and this is true not only on the individual level, but on the corporate level as well. Those who take responsibility for their own health are not the demographic targeted by these Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Corporations. Neither can natural, raw, and unadulterated foods be mass-produced and sold on the grand scale necessary to satisfy the greed of the Corporate Food Giants. Very simply, healthy people do not support the Processed Food Industry, Healthcare, or Pharmaceutical Industries in the way that someone does who consumes a steady diet of McDonald’s, Twinkies, Doritos, and Coca-Cola, and then needs to visit the doctor every three months for prescriptions to treat his Diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol etc.

The American government has taken upon itself the duty of apprising its citizens of the various risks they may encounter - however, the Government and its Agencies are often guilty of discharging this duty with an extreme bias - presenting the possible dangers of consuming raw food and dairy as very grave, while downplaying the very real dangers of the myriad of Chemical Food Additives, processed foods and Pharmaceuticals it sanctions with its FDA stamp of approval. Hence, most Americans are unnecessarily fearful of the very things that have the most potential to bring them health, while at the same time; they trustingly embrace the very things that are keeping them in ill health.

There are no guarantees in this life and there is nothing absent of all possible risk. But a public, well informed and honestly appraised of the real facts concerning the proven negative health consequences of the Standard American Diet vs. the proven, life-giving and health-restoring benefits of raw dairy will undoubtedly choose the latter. In the end, we must entrust ourselves to God’s keeping, and diligently use the wisdom and means He has provided for sustaining good health - pure, unadulterated food, including raw dairy, if we are to achieve and maintain good health for life. There are no shortcuts to good health; it does not come out of a pill bottle - it is a lifestyle. For those who are dedicated to the pursuit of this lifestyle, we ask that the Government and its innumerable Agencies grant us the freedom to choose life for ourselves, and not interfere with or hinder our access to these health-giving foods. —Jason42

I can digest this!
Nov 4, 2006—I was raised on pasteurized milk and I have to say that I was not a healthy child. I suffered from every illness that came through town as well as severe stomachaches that came weekly and lasted 2-3 days and kept me from attending school. I also suffered chronic sinus infections, allergies and bronchitis that persisted into my 20’s until someone suggested that I stop consuming dairy products. It took me an entire year to detoxify my body from the dairy and it was not pretty. My skin was gray and peaked and I had large red welts that looked like acne on my face and neck as my body worked to cleanse itself. I discharged mucous nonstop for a whole year. I went for 10 years after that without consuming any dairy products. Three years ago, I gave birth to my only daughter. When she was 2, I noticed that her teeth were showing decay and I began to research possible causes, that is when I found the Westin Price Foundation and I learned about the benefits of raw milk. I wondered if this was something that I would be able to drink. I found a local farm and gave it a try. We have been drinking this real milk for 6 months and not only did we not get sick but my body had absolutely no troubles digesting or processing this milk. No stomachaches, no sinus infections, no allergies, no bronchitis, no mucous. I realized then that my body didn’t have a problem with cow’s milk; it had a problem with pasteurized cow’s milk—lotusmama1

No Bloating with Raw Dairy
Nov 12, 2006—I have known for years that I have been lactose intolerant with conventional dairy products. This was not severe but when I would use a conventional dairy product I would bloat and have an overall uncomfortable feeling. I have been blessed to be able to utilize the raw dairy for over three years now and am happy to say that I go through at least one gallon of milk, one quart of cream and one brick of cheese per week with no unpleasant reactions to the raw dairy. There is nothing better than using high quality dairy with the full compliment of the seven enzymes naturally occurring within the product to help with the digestion and absorption of the vitamins and minerals. This does not happen with conventional dairy! —glend

Digestibility of Raw Milk
January 4, 2007—Most of my family is unable to digest pasteurized dairy products. Over the last three years, I and three of my children can now enjoy the health benefits and taste of fresh farm milk with no side effects. I want to be able to serve my family quality food products and nothing feels better than to serve them fresh milk, cream, and delicious eggs straight from the farm. I have begun to have dental problems due to my lack of dairy since having children; I now can replenish my bones and body with the calcium and rich milk it needs. We are very grateful for this farm and can't imagine not having it available to us. —Mrs. Kim Peterson, Des Plaines IL

A mother's plea for raw milk
January 6, 2007—My oldest daughter was the only one of my four daughters who could actually handle store bought milk, although she had repeated ear infections as a baby. The other three always vomited store bought milk since infancy, yogurt was no exception. I was constantly worried that they were not getting enough calcium, and I was eventually told to give them raw milk. I was very skeptical, how could this be, milk is milk, right? However, my second oldest daughter milked a cow on a field trip, drank it and LOVED it. Not only did she NOT get sick, she raved and raved over how delicious it was! She was 7 years old at the time and it has taken me 5 years to find Family Farms Coop! From the first time I brought raw milk home, in the spring/summer of 2006—, my family drank it up. Our monthly 6-gallon purchase is usually gone in 8 days! This past fall no one in our family got a cold, pneumonia, or flu which has been an annual event in our house. My allergies, and that of my second daughter, were also lessoned this past fall. We are all healthier, happier, stronger individuals. Even my husband, who has not tolerated milk his whole life loves this milk and can easily digest it. My only disappointment is that I can no longer get fresh raw milk every two weeks because of this "situation". We look forward to our monthly delivery with great anticipation. I urge government officials to not take our right to choose away. We have freedoms in this country, and the right to choose wholesome foods for personal consumption is one of the many things that make our country great. Please don't let the dairy lobby destroy this wonderful option—Karen

Safety, Rights, Knowledge
January 6, 2007—My name is Denise Stettner and I am from Hampshire, Illinois. I am a stay at home mom raising two children, and trying to give my family the best care possible and teach them about their place in this world. I have been a member of Family Farms Coop for close to four years and always have received the highest quality foods. I know my family has benefited greatly from them. Prior to finding a source of raw milk, my children had no dairy in their diet for 2 years. Not only could their bodies not tolerate store bought dairy products, after my own extensive research of nutrition, I no longer wanted any member of my family to consume store bought dairy products. Naturally, I was very happy to find Family Farms Coop and be able to give my family the high quality milk I had been searching for.

However the subject of my children’s health is not even the main issue here. The real issue is my right to purchase and handle food the way I see fit. The issue cannot be one of lost profit for the conventional milk industry, because the people who believe in the consumption of raw milk are not potential consumers of conventional milk anyway.

So, if the concern is for safety of consumers, we are the ones who have to be trusted to handle all of our raw foods safely. Just as when we purchase raw meat or vegetables. No one is going to come in my home and regulate what temperature I cook my meat to, or how I scrub my vegetables, or see what temperature I keep my refrigerator set at, or how old my leftovers are. It is up to me how I handle my food whether it is raw or cooked. Now, I understand that there has to be some rules with the distribution of foods, and that’s fine. I will follow any rules I have to, or sign any form I have to, but do not take away my rights acquire food from farmers I respect and trust. If the issue is concern for my safety, don’t worry; I’ve got it covered.

If the issue is my rights, please do not take this communistic approach and try to control my purchase of food. This issue will never go away because people will continue to seek out raw milk. This issue will eventually get the attention it deserves and the people who don’t even drink raw milk will see this issue as an absurd infringement on basic rights. If the reasons for these investigations are purely profit driven, the state and federal agriculture departments true motives will be easily exposed. Let me once again express that if I lose my source of raw milk, I will not purchase store bought milk. I lived without it before and I would live without it again. Please do not take away my family’s rights to acquire foods from the sources we believe in. We believe in knowing the people we get our food from. That alone means the world to us. —Sincerely, Denise Stettner

Most Important Nutritional Product Available Anywhere
January 6, 2007— My family has participated in the Family Farms Coop Cow-Share Program for the last year and a half. I sincerely believe that the milk I purchase through Richard Hebron provides my family, particularly my two-year-old son, the single most important nutritional product available anywhere. From the beginning it has been my hope to continue to provide this milk to my family for as long as possible. My son loves it and he is a strong and healthy boy.

Living in a big city, it is almost impossible to conveniently obtain the milk that Richard delivers. Even with Richard’s deliveries it is not convenient. Every week I am either ordering or picking up milk. Milk pick up is every other Monday between 4 and 6 p.m. at one location several miles from my home. If I don’t make it, I don’t get milk for the next two weeks. I rarely miss a pick up because it is high priority for me and I am committed to providing my family with the best milk in the world.

I strongly support Richard Hebron and everyone involved in the Family Farms Cooperative. I believe it is my right and it is imperative that I continue to provide my family with real, nutritional, unprocessed, natural food. —Sincerely, Paul Nikopoulos, Chicago, Illinois

I choose great health!
January 7, 2007—I have been a member of Family Farms Cooperative for about four years. My daughter and I have been enjoying fresh raw milk, along with grass-fed meats, and fresh eggs during this time. Previously, I had experienced digestive discomfort after drinking milk. I have been able to drink the raw milk without any problem. This milk is as nature intended, containing enzymes for proper digestion. I truly believe that much of the rise of dairy intolerance is due to the overprocessed incomplete state of commercial dairy products. I have worked in the natural foods retail industry for about thirty years and have witnessed this increase of problems in many people.

While my daughter and I have always enjoyed good health, I have seen further improvement in both of us since our switch to these fresh whole foods and raw dairy products. We rarely even get colds, and when we do they are quite mild. Neither of us has had a flu in the past three years. (Before, we usually came down with some variety of flu each winter.)

I am also dedicated to the support of small local family farms and food producers. The use of less fossil fuels in the shipping of our food is obviously of great environmental value and good for local economies. And equally as obvious, the consumption of fresh high-quality foods is a health benefit, as opposed to those which have been devalued through over-processing and lengthy storage.

I believe strongly in the humane treatment of farm animals found in these family farms, and am horrified by some of the conditions these living creatures must endure on many factory farms.

I am outraged by what I consider to be an attack on my right to choose the healthiest foods for myself and my loved ones in a free democratic society. —Patricia McMillan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

From my mother and father
January 7, 2007—My mother and father have been purchasing raw milk products and grass fed meats, poultry and eggs from Family Farms for the last 4 years. They state, "We choose to buy raw milk products because they are exceptionally pure and rich in nutrients, which positively contributes to the health of its consumers. In contrast, we have found that milk produced in "milk factories" unacceptable to supporting excellent health. As American citizens, we demand the right to choose the foods we desire to uphold our health and the right to purchase those foods from whom we feel best provides them." —Lenore and Clarence DuPree

Our family can drink Milk again
January 7, 2007—Our family is happily consuming Natural Milk (Raw Milk), Grass-Fed Meat and Eggs for more than seven years. We are pleased to state that beside the fantastic taste, we are also enjoying the health benefits of these nutritional and natural products.

We grew up not far away from a very large farming community. From our very childhood we were used to consuming plenty of fresh milk delivered to our homes by a neighboring farmer. That milk was paradise. The smell and the taste of that milk used to make us drool. Same farmer was our source for eggs and meat. From the very young to very old, everyone was consuming fresh raw milk. We never had any allergies or milk intolerance problems. No one ever heard of osteoporosis.

When we moved to metropolitan areas over thirty years ago, we lost our access to fresh and raw milk. As we were accustomed to drinking milk, we started consuming store sold milk. Somehow, that milk refused to cooperate with our digestive system. We had bloating, gas and a feeling of unease after drinking that milk. As time passed, even the taste and smell of the store bought milk became unacceptable to us. After a short time we gave up on milk.

We had our son in 1991. We wanted him to grow on natural milk, eggs and meat. Luckily, organic food stores were springing up in our Chicago area. We started purchasing Organic (pasteurized and homogenized) Milk and all of our food supply from these stores. Organic milk did taste better than regular store sold non-organic milk. Still, our son had digestion problems with that milk. We had to limit organic milk consumption. We came to realize that there was something wrong with the store sold milk. It was not the milk that we were accustomed to as growing youngsters. Further, whenever we got a chance to have access to our old source of fresh raw milk, we were able to again enjoy the milk without any problem.

After a lot of research and experiments we came to realize that core of the problem was the pasteurization and homogenization process that makes milk indigestible by our system. We decided to get access to Raw Milk again.

Many years ago we purchased shares in Family Farms Coop that allowed us to have shared-ownership to cows. Richard Hebron of Vandalia, Michigan is assigned to manage the coop and deliver us our share of Raw Milk and other related products. Our son and we are enjoying milk again. We have no milk related allergic or digestive problems any more. This milk, coming from healthy cows in its natural state, is just wonderful. Our growing son and we need this Raw Milk.

We believe it is our legal right to drink raw milk and related products produced by the cows we own shares in. We strongly urge the MDA, IDA and FDA not to interfere in our right to consume raw milk produced by our own coop. —Sincerely, Parvez Khan and family, Park Ridge, Illinois

Right to choose raw dairy
January 7, 2007—Our family has been blessed by the LORD to have access to raw dairy for the last three years; only our ignorance has kept us from enjoying it sooner. Many "experts" on both sides of the raw dairy debate have produced studies "proving" their side of the argument. All of this is just distracting from the real crux of the issue. The main point is whether the government has any business telling anyone what they can or cannot consume. Are we really free if we can't even eat or drink what we wish? Whether one thinks it is safe or unsafe, that decision rests solely in the hands of the individual or their parents. Raw dairy has been enjoyed by countless numbers of people for thousands of years to the benefit of their health. Pasteurization is a rather recently utilized process. Let us all stand up for the basic human right of being able to choose what we consume before another of our God given rights are sacrificed on the altar of the FDA. —Bill N.

Autism Disappeared with Raw Cream
January 7, 2007—To the Cass County prosecutor and other government officials: Please take a minute to hear my plea and read the brief story of how raw dairy has been saving my life and my son’s.

A year and a half ago I was truly on the brink of disaster with Crohn’s disease causing rapid, undesired weight loss. There were fewer and fewer foods that I could tolerate without having terrible negative reactions. I hardly knew what to eat anymore. Through Dr. Mercola and his website (Mercola.com) I learned about raw dairy and grass fed beef. I was terrified to try either one as I was so allergic to both in their usual form (pasteurized dairy and grain fed beef). Miraculously, it was not only OK, but I began to regain desperately needed energy and weight. I am now so totally reliant upon Family Farms Co-op’s nearly magical dairy that it scares me to think it may be in jeopardy.

Also, my son was on the Autistic Spectrum, and within the 1st week of taking in large quantities of raw cream, his brain processing speeded up and sensory disturbances disappeared. He was allergic to pasteurized dairy and relied on rice and soymilk (which either have too much sugar or have negative effects on estrogen levels). He is now considered to be off the Autistic Spectrum. There are many others whose Autistic children have experienced dramatic speech improvements by introducing raw dairy to their diets.

I am eternally grateful that there is a caring man like Richard Hebron who will bring this life giving food to my area. It seems so crazy to me that the government of this so called free country, of which I’ve always loved and been so proud, is cracking down on the distribution of the most obviously natural product on the earth.

You must truly not know the facts about raw dairy and raw fats. It’s no surprise since so few of us do. It would benefit you and your families to look into it. See http://www.rawmilk.org/ or Mercola.com to learn more.

I hope you hear our many voices and our desperate plea to not remove our ability to access raw dairy (our medicine). Why else would we go out of our way and spend more money? My family has been 100x healthier since we’ve been drinking it. No more colds and flus in a year and a half! Truly!! Amazing!! Please listen to our voices and realize that if you remove this food from our lives, you will be doing such trauma to people’s health, the extent to which you have little idea. Uphold American’s rights to pure God given, unaltered whole food and become a HERO!! This is your chance to change our country for the better. We would all be healthier and more productive if we all switched to raw dairy. Learn about the true history about how pasteurization came about, and you’ll understand that it isn’t necessary when it comes from a clean small farm where cows are pasture raised. Please let us make our own decisions about what foods we want to eat. The proof of raw dairy’s benefits can be seen in all the people who seek it out.
Thank you so much for your time. —Sincerely, Stephanie Fargo

I love raw milk!
January 7, 2007—I love raw milk, I love free-range chemical free meat, and I love organic local produce. I was so very happy to find farmers that care about the same things that I care about and are willing to put their hard work and their passion into helping people get high quality health healthy foods. It was very disturbing to me to hear of the seizure by the FDA. I have been drinking this raw milk for a while now and have not suffered any harmful effects whatsoever. In fact, I have noticed a marked improvement in my digestion after I switched to raw dairy. If the FDA wants to shut down this operation, they should actually take a look at all the people who benefit from it, see what they have to say, see if their health has been affected negatively or positively, and then make a decision. I think what they would find is a group of educated consumers who have searched for healthy options and found it. Please consider our voices in your decision. Thank you—Vlaiko Manojlovski

Health Benefits
January 7, 2007—I have a son who at three was diagnosed with "cold induced asthma". Every few weeks he would get a cold and congestion with heavy mucus. We were told by our doctor (a D.O.) to take him off regular store bought milk (which he loved). Within two days he started sleeping through the night (finally) and the coughing was gone. Several years later when he was about seven we were still dealing with occasional asthma attacks and some allergies. He had taken swimming lessons and a month and a half later he still had a cough (allergy to chlorine). We were going on vacation (a Canadian fly-in trip) staying in a cabin with no electricity, so we couldn't use his nebulizer. We were concerned that if an allergy or cold set in (and he already was coughing every night) that we could be in trouble. While we were picking up our yearly supply of organic meat from a farmer in MN we were offered "raw milk" from their home supply. We loved the taste and the idea that it was "alive". They gave us a gallon to take home. Within two days my son's cough was gone and never returned. Within a short time we located Family Farms Coop as a source of raw milk. We have been purchasing from them for several years. We have seen less colds and my son is now able to drink all the milk he wants with much less colds or asthma attacks than before. In fact most of time his asthma medicine expires rather than gets used. Without this choice of being able to purchase what we believe to be a healthy alternative (with no additives or hormones) we would be at a loss. —Michelle & John Baumgartner, Palatine, IL

Freedom
January 7, 2007—We want freedom to choose healthy food! —AgnesG

Got Our Health Back
January 4, 2007—Raw milk and other raw dairy products have tremendously helped my family to get our health back. My kids used to get sick frequently with ear and throat infections, coughs and colds. I had serious sinus infections and asthma for the past 13 years. Now, thanks to God and to the raw diet He directed me to, my sinus problems lessened, I don't need to use my asthma inhaler anymore and I feel so much better overall! Since we have started consuming only raw milk and it's products over two years ago, we have no more need to go to doctors, because we never get sick as we used to and if we ever do, the sickness and it's symptoms are so mild that with the right nutrition that we are now aware of, it goes away by itself within a day or two. We don't need unnecessary drugs or antibiotics anymore, that are addicting to our bodies and damage our immune systems.

Raw milk is the best source of natural, preventive medicine that is created by God and given to us to enjoy our and our families' good health and we will NOT allow anybody to take it away from us and our children!

We stand strong to the raw truth that brings us health and well being. We are a continuously growing population of people who believe that all farms that provide us with wonderful, health giving raw milk and it's products, just like "Family Farms", should be and will always be supported. —Sincerely, Agnes G.

Life Giving Food
January 7, 2007—It is our right as Americans to have access to healthy, life giving foods such as raw dairy, fruits and vegetables. It has been proven that foods eaten in the form that God created them originally, without cooking, microwaving or altering the food with chemicals or additives, contribute to the strengthening of our immune systems.

Our health system is full of patients with food related diseases such as cancer, cardiac and autoimmune diseases caused by the alteration of the foods we ingest.

Richard Hebron, and Family Farms Coop gives us the opportunity to have access to these safe, healthy, life giving foods in order to keep our families free from disease.
Our family has never been harmed in any way with the raw milk we have enjoyed, so we wish the privilege to continue to have this access. This will in turn relieve the healthcare systems of the burden of caring for those with unnecessary and unavoidable illnesses. —VickiD

Raw milk helping me to regain my health
January 7, 2007—I am tremendously grateful to Richard and Annette Hebron, and Family Farms Coop, which enables me to receive nourishing milk and other health-promoting, nutrient-dense foods. My health is such that I have to be super careful about what I eat (due to a digestive disorder) and can only tolerate a limited number of foods. One vital food I can tolerate is raw milk which I have been drinking for almost 2 years. I am enjoying a level of health that is greater than ever due to this precious food. When I was deprived of the milk for a few weeks, I definitely went downhill in my health. I know that raw milk is helping me to regain my health. I can't imagine what would happen to me if I no longer could consume raw milk and hope that day never arrives! —Jean L., Southfield, MI

Mom who wants the right to choose!
January 7, 2007—Before my family started drinking fresh unprocessed milk four years ago, I read everything I could get my hands on regarding the safety of milk. I went to the farm, examined the cleanliness of the milking stations and inquired as to what testing was done on the milk. I drank it cautiously at first wondering if all the scary things that were predicted might happen to me (salmonella poisoning, etc.). How surprised I was that this milk tasted incredible and that I was able to drink as much of it as I wanted without the usual stomach pains and bloating I get when I drink pasteurized milk.

I have long since gotten over any fears I had regarding the potential safety of fresh milk. However, I do not take the health of myself and my family lightly at all. I carefully questioned Richard Hebron as to the milk safety practices of his farm including what the cows ate and how they were handled. I asked him how often his milk was tested for various bacteria.

You see, I view these health matters as my responsibility to educate myself on. I view it as a fundamental right to be able to choose what I eat and how I take care of my body and of my family. I ask that the government not take it upon itself to step in between the relationship I have with Richard Hebron or any other farmer. I am aware of the potential risks of drinking unpasteurized milk and wholeheartedly except those risks. I view the benefits of this extremely rich, nutrient dense food as far outweighing the potential risks of exposure to a particular bacteria.

Please leave Richard Hebron and other farmers at peace and allow them to do what they do best - taking care of animals in a way that makes them some of the happiest animals on the planet. Those happy animals are providing me with the healthiest freshest products I could possibly want. —Sincerely, Sherri Borer, DC

Looking for healthy food
January 7, 2007—We have enjoyed the dairy and meat products from Family Farms Cooperative for several years. Several members of my family are having increased sensitivities to many chemicals in our "normal" American environment, and we have appreciated being able to purchase food without all of the chemistry, hormones and meds in them. The food we have purchased from Family Farms Cooperative has always been of the highest quality, and we have never had any problems with any of the food, nor have we had any health problems with any of the food.

I fear that the MDA action is, or borders on unconstitutional, but as there is little accountability to the voters, it will probably not be stopped that way. As all good politicians, the only thing the MDA will fear is looking bad. Bad publicity on the MDA's actions, and information gained from FOI requests will probably be the most effective measures at stopping this. Follow the paper/email trail of the decision to attack the Hebrons, and publish that information to the appropriate Michigan legislators. Who gathered the information, what was their evidence, who made the decision to pursue it, and what was the evidence presented for the search warrants? Follow hard after any evidence that there is any communication with the commercial dairies. What proven harm have the Hebron's products done to any consumers?

The evidence is that the raw milk is safe when produced in a healthy environment. The only ones that benefit from factory milk are the factories - not the consumers or farmers. —Joel Eland

Raw dairy Fresh foods
Nov 18, 2006—As a youngster I drank raw milk, then my husband and children. it contributed greatly to their having strong immune systems even into adulthood. For a long time we could not find raw dairy and I began drinking Soymilk, and other substitutes and my health declined, I didn't look healthy nor feel well including no energy. finally I found raw dairy again and I'm happy to say now as senior citizens we have enzyme rich healthy foods to help keep us healthy and active. Thanks to all at Family Farm Cooperative for your integrity and hard work to provide us quality fresh foods. —Arlene, Chicago, Illinois

Milk Is a Living Substance
January 2, 2007—My husband, who is disabled, and I have been Family Farms customers for some years now. We have always been impressed with the high quality of the products. My husband, who has many food intolerances, needs high quality organic food - especially raw dairy. He cannot tolerate any other kind.

Milk is a living substance. Pasteurization denatures the protein and destroys the helpful enzymes that make milk such a superior form of nutrition.

Ungulates and fowl are not meant to live in crowded enclosures where diseases spread rapidly, nor should they be eating an unnatural diet of grains laced with antibiotics as well as growth hormones. While strict regulation is necessary for such factory farms, the farms themselves do not produce food which enhances health. Smaller farms run on organic principles produce safe food of superior quality. Common sense dictates that factory farm regulations should not apply to this type of operation.

As educated consumers, we sought out Family Farms; they did not solicit our business. It angers us that state regulatory agencies, under the guise of "protecting" us, are reducing our choices as well as undermining market diversity, which is a hallmark of true laissez-faire capitalism.

We, as consumers, do not want to settle for second best. We want the best and we have found it in Family Farms. And we want to keep it! —Mary Golden-Rogan, David Rogan

No Comparison
January 7, 2007—The fresh, raw dairy products available to us through Family Farms' Cooperative are so far superior to any processed, pasteurized store-bought ones, there is simply no comparison- either in nutritional value or taste. As a 21st century city dweller, I also greatly appreciate knowing where my food comes from, having a connection to the farm, to the land and animals which produce our food. Thank You to Family Farms Cooperative and all the small farms who serve local markets for making this possible! —NanN

Raw Milk
January 8, 2007—I am very allergic to homogenized/pasteurized milk, which has caused digestive problems. Raw milk has improved my health and cleared up a bad finger that had been bad for 3 1/2 years. I've had no problems with raw milk. —John456

Healthy Food
January 8, 2007—I am very grateful to Richard and Annette Hebron and everyone that helps make healthy and fresh food products available to me in the city. We live in interesting times where it can require great effort to find and enjoy food in its fresh, natural and healthy state. These efforts need to be supported and respected. Unfortunately, the wisdom that once was common seems at times to almost be lost. Protecting the farmer trying to maintain the integrity of the land, their way of life and the wholesome quality of the products they produce is critical to the well-being of so many. It is my wish that this way of life and the gifts it produces be respected and allowed to flourish. —Betsy74

Raw milk promotes bone formation!
January 8, 2007—My body has not been laying down new bone for the past nine years. I have tried everything the traditional medical community has to offer, including rodding the long bones in my legs. I am now working with a well-known nutritionist who has directed me to take multiple supplements and drink raw milk. He feels the raw milk may be even more important than all of the supplements combined. People should be able to buy the food products they choose. Milk is a natural product and should not be illegal in any form. —Debbie Swierczek, Palatine, IL 60067

Raw Milk, Health and Politics
January 8, 2007—As long as no one is harmed, I should have the right to drink my milk raw. I joined Family Farms Coop in October of 2002, and signed up for a cow share as soon as I could. My wife and I have been drinking this milk for four years. Not only does it taste better than store bought, but it keeps longer in the refrigerator.

My hobby is extreme health. I am convinced that freed Xanthine Oxidase of homogenized milk is a major cause of arteriosclerosis and high blood pressure. I am 55 years old, have not been medically treated since 1995, and my blood pressure is 120/60. My doctor and I are good friends, though all she does is check-ups these days. I could say a lot more, but do I need to?

I've read up about the Grass Farming movement, and the political, ecological and economic aspects of big business food processing. I am convinced that small-scale organic farming is the right path to health for Michigan and the planet. I am deeply concerned about any effort to remove our God given right to healthy food from properly cared for animals.

Good health takes work these days. I worked, and I found raw milk. Please uphold my right to it. —Steven H. Veeneman, Genoa, Illinois

Raw Milk= Health for my family
January 8, 2007—As a person with a Master's in Molecular Biology, and having completed all the coursework for a PhD in the same, I have always been skeptical about the safety and efficacy of raw milk products. For a long time, I was unwilling to see them as a viable option for my family, despite a long history of gastrointestinal illness in my husband and children.

However, that changed when I learned about the Family Farms Coop. I did extensive research in their methods of animal husbandry and am satisfied that the methods they use are a sufficient safeguard against illness caused by pathogenic organisms.

In addition, after drinking raw milk products and eating them in our home, we are very happy with the health effects produced by the same. My husband can drink milk for the first time in many years, and is free of the crippling pain from food sensitivities that he has experienced consistently for the last year. My children, who are lactose intolerant, are able to digest kefir and yogurt made from the raw milk and I am very happy that they are able to get the nutrients they need from such a wholesome and nutritious product, rather from supplementation.

We are also very impressed by the quality of meat offered by the family farms co-op and Mr. Hebron. It is very nutritious and reasonably priced. In fact, we bought a quarter cow, and are enjoying it very much!

I am very sad to learn that the Family Farms involved in the co-op are being persecuted unnecessarily, and unreasonably, by the governments of their respective states. I am very concerned, also, that my right to feed my family high quality food is being interfered with. I implore the agencies involved to look again, and to respect the rights of my family to utilize the products of the cow which we partly own and care for. This is a very high quality organization, and is not a health risk for myself or for any consumer of their products.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. —Tricia Elbl, MS, Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Pennsylvania

Physician recommended raw dairy ! ! !
January 5, 2007—My physician recommended raw milk to me that’s how I found out about Family Farms. After much research I quickly started ordering milk from Family Farms. My health has improved and I was able to get off medication as a result of the outstanding work Family Farms does and I thank them from the bottom on my heart everyday.

What is happening to this world when a farmer tries to do the ethical thing and gets condemned by the government? A government that will only allow us to only drink pasteurized milk from cow who has never been on a pasture being tortured in filthy stall for a short life without sunshine, feeding them grain which they would not chose to eat but grass while loading them up with antibiotics and hormones which are passed down to the consumer. Does the, FDA thinks that the good microorganisms, lactic acid and enzymes that pasteurizing and homogenizing kills is going to kill the American people.

This is America and I am outraged and sickened by the behavior of the MDA, FDA but not shocked. An FDA that approves Splenda a complete poison that was created as a pesticide now is in soda for children to consume. —Sharon Rose, Chicago, Illinois. P.S. I'd also like to add that my cat who is 13 years old, has never had interest in milk, wants raw milk.

God bless Family Farms' Coop
January 9, 2007—I have been diagnosed with multiple autoimmune problems for 13 years and have tried, without success, a variety of AMA-approved solutions, which have failed. I am now receiving alternative treatments and was thrilled to find, via Dr. Mercola's website, Family Farms Coop. All the research I have been doing related to my health issues have culminated in finding healthy food sources, most notably dairy and meat. (I currently buy organic produce locally.) Having had a severe milk allergy these past years, I can now confidently partake of the raw milk that the farmers provide, and my health is improving every day. They are doing a wonderful service to us who are seeking healthy alternatives to "Big Agriculture." I want to know that the animals are properly cared for under humane and healthy conditions and the resulting products are good for me.

We owe so much to these people. The least the MDA can do is let them continue to provide a service that is so greatly needed by those of us who have health issues. With all the serious health problems plaguing our country today (such as obesity and diabetes), the last thing we need is "dairy police" who interfere with our right to choose what we desire to keep and maintain a healthy lifestyle. If anything, the MDA should take note on how a proper dairy should be run by these wonderful people who are farming the way it was intended. —Kristi Hanna, Naperville, IL

I wouldn't drink anything other than RAW MILK!
January 10, 2007—There is nothing more important to me, as a mother of two beautiful children, than to be able to provide my family with the healthiest food possible. I consider raw milk to be the most important food they consume.

Since we started drinking raw milk (almost 2 years), my health has greatly improved. We are rarely sick. I used to have every cold that went around - not anymore. Not only is it so much healthier than the milk you buy in the store, but it tastes SO much better! I would not drink milk if raw milk were not available. It is our right to buy raw milk. Consider trying raw milk, I would bet you will never go back to the "other" stuff again! Thank you Richard, and to all those who are involved with Family Farms Co-op. —Jennifer Allen, Farmington Hills, Michigan

Health Giving Raw Dairy
January 9, 2007—My youngest has battled GERD along with recurrent ear infections & urinary tract infections since she was 2 months old. She had started drastically regressing from about 10 months on. She was scheduled for a CAT scan because of a suspicion of a brain tumor. She had low-grade fevers for months that would sometimes spike inexplicably.

We started raw dairy at about 12 months of age. Her recovery has been miraculous. She is a bright, healthy, happy 4 year old who doesn't even get a cold. Raw dairy has also cured me of my recurrent sinus infections.

God Bless all the wonderful people that put so much of themselves into providing others with health giving food and the amazing selfless animals that provide our nourishment. God has given us the power of choice and we wish to be able to choose what is healthy and good for us on our own. — sneza

Statement Of Support
January 10, 2007—My name is Kim Patel and I am VERY upset and voicing my concern about the possibility of loosing our raw milk products! With being lactose intolerant, this is the only milk product that I can consume. Even pasteurized, lactose-free milk is ineffective. The reason this raw milk does not cause a problem for my body is due to the fact this milk is NOT pasteurized. Pasteurization kills all the digestive enzymes needed, especially for some individuals, to properly digest milk.

Pasteurization does not prevent problems from occurring in milk. Unfortunately my family suffered greatly from the Salmonella Outbreak that occurred in milk sold at Jewel Stores in the early 1980’s. The irony of this outbreak…it was from pasteurized milk! So do not get a false sense of security that this milk is ‘safer’ and ‘risk free’. In all truth, our raw, un-pasteurized milk is safer, since there is such a quick turn-around time from milking, to local delivery. As soon as mass production of milk is involved, the amount of time for the milk to reach consumers is drastically increased due to pasteurization, packaging and shipment, etc.

It should be my right to purchase the kind of milk I wish to consume; that is most beneficial for my health. Hopefully Richard Hebron and his family will be allowed to continue selling such high quality raw milk products! —Sincerely, Kim Patel , Palatine, IL 60074

Raw Milk is great!
January 10, 2007—I have been a member of the Family Farms cooperative for about 6 months now, and I count on the raw milk I receive from my cows each week.

I heard about the coop from a friend who also (unknowingly) sent me on a journey to learn more about farming practices in America and about the food I was consuming prior to now. I have read a number of books and countless articles. After reading The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan (especially the section on Polyface farm) I felt so grateful to have found a source for food from humanely treated, pastured animals; and am especially delighted to receive my milk raw.

I love the taste of the milk (actually everybody I know who has tried it says it tastes better than the milk they were used to.) I am also convinced that I feel better drinking it. I have not gotten the flu this year which is a first, and after changing my eating habits I find I have little interest in junk food anymore!

If our source for raw milk and pastured meat and eggs were taken from us I would feel the loss keenly. I look forward to picking up my order every week and believe everybody in America should have the right to obtain similar products. —Elizabeth Cousino, Ann Arbor, MI

Sincere Thanks
January 14, 2007—My wife and I began a journey to start improving our health about 1 year ago. We have done a lot of research on what we should be eating and how food is the best medicine. It amazed us how the difficult it is to obtain natural, organic food. The less we process and manipulate our food, the better our body is able to absorb its intended nutrients. And raw milk has been one of the most difficult items for us to find. We were so excited when we found the food items offered by the Family Farms Cooperative, including raw milk. So we signed up and have been delighted ever since. We have found Family Farms Cooperative to offer quality, healthy food items and we believe it is our right to share in the raw milk program. Our hope and prayer is that Family Farms Cooperative is able to continue providing a valuable service for its members for the sake of everyone's health. —Keith Kiser, Terri Lampman

I will only choose raw milk
January 17, 2007—Since the birth of my daughter I have realized the importance of eating and living healthy. I our society it is easy to make a habit of buying what's cheapest and most convenient. I have come to understand that these products are the worst you can use and can cause disease and suffering. I have decided that food least touched or manipulated by human hands is the best for my family. This is why I choose fresh, raw far milk for my daughter. Pasteurization kills the living enzymes that allow us to digest milk properly, which in turn causes an allergic reaction, bloating, gas and other illnesses. I have the right to consume pure, untainted food and farmers have the right to produce and distribute these foods! I am absolutely REPULSED that the MDA, IDA and FDA have the audacity to treat honest, good-willed farmers like criminals!!! I support these noble farmers and raw milk 100%. I pray for these farmers' freedom and also that corruption stops within the food industry. — laurutyte

Fear Raw Milk? Fear Government!!
January 12, 2007—For the first 28 years of my life, I ate what the government and food companies told me was a "healthy" well balanced diet. As a child I suffered indigestion, lethargy, irritability, mood swings and learning difficulties. After having my first three children, I observed similar symptoms in them along with behavioral problems.

So I began a quest to find answers to my problems, and this quest led me down the path of studying nutrition. I learned through reading and experimentation that foods have a major impact on our physical, mental and emotional health. I found information about eating food in its natural, unprocessed raw state and learned that many people were able to recover from diseases of all sorts just by changing their diets to include raw food.

The information was compelling and made simple and logical sense to me. So I set out to change the diet of our family to a raw food diet which included raw milk. By changing our diet, we began to experience the benefits immediately. I could face life's problems and stresses with more focus and less emotionality. My children were calmer and could get along with each other much better. They could focus and learn. However, whenever they cheat by sneaking food off of the diet, it is very noticeable and their behavior becomes uncontrollable. No discipline or other modern Psychobabble parenting technique can change it. We simply have to wait until the drunk wears off and the hangover passes.

For the last 5 1/2 years of consuming this raw food diet including raw milk, I have been able to observe a gradual but continuous miracle of healing in myself and in my children. I feel better today at 43 years old than I have ever felt my whole life. I can stay up till 3:00 a.m. and get up at 7:30 and go all day with my busy family of seven, and then do it all over again. I have been blessed to have 2 more children(we have 5 total) who were conceived and raised on the raw food diet only. What a difference I see in them raised only on raw foods, compared with my first 3 children born and raised on the standard American diet.

I now realize that we have been sold a lie by the government and the food manufacturers for the sole purpose of their financial greed and political lust for power and control over us.

Thanks to the food and medical establishments, mankind is suffering untold harm and death.

It is time for the truth to be told. And that is that the ONLY things which cause disease are toxicity and malnutrition. And these facts are well known by the conspirators who have force-fed us their lies and propaganda. It is NOT and NEVER WILL BE microbes, bacteria or parasites that harm us. It is not raw milk we should fear, but our own government who sleeps with the corporate giants spreading their germs of deception. That is who we should fear.

As a child of God and a sovereign citizen of the United States of America, I have the right to feed myself and my family according to the truth. Raw milk is the most life giving, disease reversing food that the Creator has given to us. No man, institution or government has the right to deny or prohibit us from obtaining and consuming raw milk or any other raw food.

Those responsible for this grave scandal and assault against mankind will have much to be accountable for on the day of judgment before THE ALMIGHTY GOD, Whom these same people reject and deny. —Sheri Giachetto, Fresh From The Farm Co-op, Lemont, IL

Thanks to local farmers
January 15, 2007—Two and a half years ago, after doing a lot of research, I had the privilege of contacting Annette Hebron of Family Farms Coop. She spent a lot of time on the phone with me sharing how the coop raises the grass fed beef, free range chickens and eggs and how the milk was kept raw, in its natural state. This was exactly what I wanted for my family.

As a mother, I spend a lot of time researching food and spend extra money to make sure my family is provided with as much local food as possible. Serving these good foods to my children at a young age, they are able to develop a taste for foods in their truest state. When we have bought pasteurized milk, they, as well as my husband, can taste the difference and they don’t like it.

One day I realized that something besides providing my family with nutritious foods had occurred when we buy our food from farmers we know. My two children made a comment to me that “it is kind of weird to buy our food from the store when we don’t know who made it.” They are growing up in a CSA learning from the farmer who grows our vegetables and is on a first name basis with the farmer that provides our meat, eggs and milk. This is an awesome health education for my children. They feel a connection to their food which I don’t see in a society that is suffering from disease and obesity and consumes food they know absolutely nothing about. My children are able to make educated decisions about the food they are consuming which will help them their entire life.

I feel that milk, like vegetables, was intended to be consumed in its natural state and that like fruits and vegetables, when we start processing them, we take away from what nature intended. I feel very fortunate to have the choice to buy food in a state that I feel is most nutritious. I feel fortunate to know the farmers who are producing our food. They have a sincere interest in providing the highest quality foods because they also know us. I feel fortunate to have met and become a shareholder in the Family Farms Coop. Food is very important to my family and we feel it is our right and privilege to be able to provide a healthier lifestyle for ourselves and our children. Thanks to Family Farms Coop and all the local farmers who help to make this possible for us! — glutenfreemomma

Providing the BEST for our Children
January 8, 2007—RAW milk and cheese have been such a wonderful thing for our family. Our four children are allergic to dairy and soy and we have struggled to provide them with calcium to make them strong and healthy. I read that RAW milk might not make them sick and decided to give it a try. I am also allergic to milk, so I tried it first. Not only did I not have any reactions, but I now have a great source of necessary vitamins and minerals that our growing children need. We have been drinking RAW milk for almost 2 years without any side affects or allergic reactions. Without Family Farms Co-op we would not be able to get the RAW milk and cheese we need for our children. If we truly live in a free country, we should be able to choose the kind of milk we provide our families. PLEASE don't take away our right to provide the BEST for our children. —Mary F. Soto, Elburn, Illinois

Supporting the Farmer
January 9, 2007—I have been ordering high quality dairy products from Family Farms for a few years now and have NEVER been disappointed. Their level of quality, dedication, care and devotion shows through in their contact with co-op members.

I have a son who wasn't able to digest pasteurized dairy, so we got his milk from Family Farms and he has NO problems wit digestion and LOVES his milk every day.

If we are no longer given the option to purchase fresh, healthy, raw milk in this "free" country of ours - I don't know what would be the next freedom taken away next. Should we all walk around wearing matching uniforms too?

I LOVE having the ability to buy our dairy directly from the source - it's nice to be able to support the farmer and to know him and his family personally.

I guess if the government takes away our right to choose fresh dairy, that leaves me no other option but to buy my own cow. BOY, will my neighbors hate ME! —Sincerely, Jeannie Krucek, Darien, IL

No More Eczema
January 7,2007—To whom it may concern; I am writing on behalf of the Family Farms Co-op. Our family has been a member of FCC for 2 1/2 years. We have enjoyed and appreciated the quality of food from the farm, on many levels. Based on our research and choice for healthy living, the fresh, local raw dairy has been wonderful. The taste if far superior and the health benefits are obvious. For example, our 5-year-old son has severe eczema. It was recommended that he try raw milk, and within a week his condition cleared up, while all other treatments failed.

We also are firm believers in organic foods. We totally appreciate the power to choose milk from animals that have been raised on natural greens and have not been injected with antibiotics and growth hormones. In addition we are supporters of local farms both animal and produce.

The situation at FCC feels like a blessing to us. Our family appreciates your support in whatever way possible, to help the FCC farmers and the co-op members, continue to nourish our families in the way of our choosing to benefit our health. Feel free to contact me at anytime with questions or further comments. —Thank you, Kelly McDermott, Whitmore Lake, MI

We Demand Our Right to Raw Milk
January 9, 2007— Our family has been enjoying the benefits of farm-fresh raw milk for a year or so now, and we are all healthy and thriving. I come from a farming heritage, and feel blessed to be able to enjoy the same healthful milk that my ancestors lived on. In addition to enjoying the health benefits of raw milk, we love the flavor of fresh un-processed dairy products. Our ten-year-old son is has been healthier this past year then the previous years. He has not even come down with the occasional and welcomed cold. He was unable to digest pasteurized milk, which caused major congestion in his little body. He consumes the raw milk with no difficulties and much excitement. We can no longer and will no longer drink "store bought-pasteurized dairy"...it does not taste or feel good.

I do believe that this is a country where our rights as citizens support our decision to provide whole, nourishing foods for our families....we have made this choice and desire to continue.....

We visited California last spring and were able to purchase raw milk at many large chain grocers from southern to northern California....It is LEGAL in the State of California and We the Citizens of Michigan are in Support of our small farmers who practice traditional farming techniques. After all they have fed this country and many others for centuries....We demand our right to raw milk. Thank You — Lori King, Southfield, Mi

Right to Choose My Own Foods
Jan, 7,2007—Genetically modified food. Growth hormones routinely fed to animals to make them bigger/faster. Antibiotics fed to animals not due to infection but to keep them from mass outbreaks that occur when animals are raised in dirty, overcrowded, stressful conditions. Mandated irradiated produce.
These are just a few of the mainstream practices in the politics of food that concern me. I take the time to learn the benefits as well as the risks and then choose the right foods to support my lifestyle.

It is not my intention, in this statement, to explain the benefits of raw, whole cow's milk; nor explain the risks and health dangers of pasteurized milk -- of which there are many. I feel fortunate to have access to the products offered by Richard Hebron and the small, local farms that comprise the Family Farm Cooperative and I just want to convey my strong desire to be allowed the right to choose my own foods. —Kathryn Spencer Hawks, RN, Gregory, Michigan 48137

Allergic To Pasteurized Milk, but Not Raw
January 1, 2007— As a park ranger, I thoroughly appreciate the many laws and regulations set forth by our government to protect and safeguard our society at large.
Like most folks I've encountered, both professionally and personally, I do not appreciate governmental legislation that is intrusive and unmerited into my life's liberties. The issue of regulated raw healthy milk, I believe, is one such liberty. Please allow me to explain...

I was born an asthmatic child with many allergies. One of the allergies I endured was a reaction to store bought pasteurized milk. As I grew older, I became more and more unable to tolerate it. The typical problems many suffered I too endured, included stomach pains and gases, diarrhea, as well as would cause breathing/wheezing difficulties. Not surprisingly, I discontinued all milk from my diet.

Two years ago, I reluctantly tried this new healthy natural milk. In other words, non-pasteurized, raw milk... I was more than skeptical. Though I finally tried it. To my amazement, the milk was rich and delicious with no side affects of the previously mentioned pasteurized milk. Wow! I thought. I must be cured. So I then, again, tried the commercial pasteurized milk. Big Mistake! I was not cured. It was quite simple and clear...Pasteurized Milk; very disturbing allergic reactions - Natural Raw Milk; no allergic reactions. I am not a chemist or a biologist. I cannot explain how this occurs. I can only testify it does occur.

This may seem like a very small insignificant detail in life. But, you see... my six-year-old son, Silas, has the same allergic reactions to pasteurized milk and no such reactions to the healthy natural raw milk. And my Silas, is no small insignificant detail in life.

The Hebron Family/Family Farms Co-op is our family’s only known resource for this valuable commodity. It would be a shame and a unnecessary hardship to hinder the Hebron Family's much needed and appreciated raw unpasteurized milk business. — Sincerely, The Plom Family, Milan, MI

Family Farms Coop Makes Our Lives Richer
January 7, 2007—I feel very strongly about how fortunate I am to be able to enjoy the many products that Richard and Annette Hebron and the other farmers of Family Farms’ Cooperative (FFC) provide to their customers. The variety of beef, poultry, pork, honey, maple syrup, and dairy products I have tried and continue to purchase are very high quality, and that's an understatement.

I support FFC not only because their products are very high quality but because FFC uses pastured/grass-fed methods to raise their animals. They do not use antibiotics, hormones, and steroids. Moreover, they do not apply herbicides, pesticides, and chemical fertilizers on their farmland. They are excellent stewards of their animals and their land, which I strongly support. What they do is the right thing to do and it is not easy. Farming to begin with is hard work. Doing it the right way like FFC means it is even harder. However, because FFC is doing it the right way means it is healthier for everyone. It is healthier for the animals. It is healthier for customers. It is healthier for farmers like the Hebrons. And it is healthier for people who are not directly involved because of the positive impact on the environment. Which means it will be healthier for future generations of farmers and consumers as well.

I believe FFC is important because they provide an example of what is possible to other farmers and consumers who are looking for alternatives to how food is produced.

I am hopeful and confident that FFC will be able to continue to provide all of their excellent products to their current and future customers. I consider my involvement with FFC an important part of my life not only because my family and I are able to enjoy their products, but also because in our own very small way, we are able to help support families that choose to do a very difficult, yet very important job. The families of FFC make our lives richer. —Regards, Jim Galow, Ann Arbor, Mi 48103

Freedom to choose healthy foods
January 9, 2007— I thank the Lord for my health and for the healthy food choices He has provided for me. I was not able to gain weight until I started using raw dairy products and found many other health benefits related to using raw dairy as well as other healthy foods. Thank you to all of your work hard to get me and many others quality foods.—Norman Chiodras

Low Risks of Raw Dairy
January 6, 2007—As a mom of a large family, it is my duty and expectation to try and find the most healthy and nutritious food for my family. I will search far and wide for non-irradiated, non-genetically modified, organic foods, and raw dairy products. My husband and I put our money where our health is rather than in all the material things others find so important.

Which brings me to the raw dairy product issue. If I have the right to find the most nutritious food for my family, why can't I include our raw dairy products? And why can one part of the country sell raw dairy products off the shelves in a grocery store, and here we are under scrutiny? The real question is, by purchasing and using raw dairy products, are we draining our government of funds such as say, a cigarette smoker, a drug user, or an alcoholic? Are we choosing a risky lifestyle such as a racecar driver, scuba diver or a skydiver? No, and yet these lifestyles will cost our government in medical and other issues in the long run. Raw dairy products will not do this, and in fact may decrease these costs by keeping us healthier longer. If the prior people mentioned are not inhibited to the style of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, why should a less risky raw dairy products purchaser be so inhibited? —Kelly L. Lentine, Mount Prospect, IL 60056

Wonderful Healing Food
January 13, 2007—I am writing in the hope that I will continue to be able to obtain the wonderful unpasteurized, unhomogenized milk that I have been enjoying for the past few months. My doctor recommended raw milk products as part of a health recovery diet last summer. I discovered that I could purchase a share of a cow through the Family Farms Coop and pick up my milk right here in Ann Arbor where I live.

Since I added this enzyme-rich, wholesome, nourishing raw milk to my diet, I have been feeling so much better, and I would really hate to lose this important food for my continuing health.

Please consider me and so many others who support and appreciate the people who help us obtain this wonderful healing food. Thank you for listening, —Eden Winter, Ann Arbor MI 48103

Rarely Ill
January 12, 2007—Seven years ago, my wife and I began discovering the value of making food choices based on the quality of the food and the resultant quality of our health. Throughout the subsequent years, we have done extensive reading and purposeful research into diet and have made a number of discoveries. Of these discoveries, the consumption of clean, naturally raised and grown foods is paramount.

We consider being part of Family Farms Cooperative cow share program vitally important toward improving the quality of food consumed in our family. Now, after almost two years of consuming raw dairy products we find it unacceptable to consume lower quality foods. The quality of the products from Family Farms is high for obvious reasons. They come from a farmer who understands not only how to milk the cows and process the milk but more importantly, how to raise healthy cows for the ultimate purpose of obtaining food with high nutritional value: clean and as nature intended it to be. Biodynamic farming is in agreement with the laws of nature, the needs of the land, the needs of the animals and the needs of people. When we serve these products to my family, we are assured that they get true, real food, the same food that has nourished the vitality and the physical and mental strengths of people for thousands of years. We cannot settle for anything less.

Why does everything need to be so set against what is normal and natural? Why can we not have the right of making an informed decision about our health and consume untouched and untainted milk? We don't know the answers to these questions. We are deeply troubled by the events perpetrated upon Family Farms Cooperative which seem to threaten the supply of first quality foods we have come to enjoy.

The belief that raw milk is unsafe is not scientifically based. I and my wife have improved health since we began using raw dairy products. Our now six-year-old daughter was commonly ill prior to us using raw dairy and would sometimes take weeks to recover from a cold. Now she rarely gets ill and recovers in days. Our four-year-old son has been sick two days in the last two years. —Love Pete and Patty
Prov. 16:9—The mind of man plans his way but the Lord directs his steps.

Better for My Body
January 13, 2007— Dear Sir or Madam, I urge you to allow the sale of unpasteurized or raw milk, specifically our local dairy farmers, to the general public without unduly burdensome regulations. As a consumer, I try to make careful decisions on what I think is best for my health. I have chosen to include raw milk in my diet because I am convinced that research shows carefully produced raw milk is better for my body than pasteurized milk.

I understand the reasons for regulating any food item, and of course labeling and quality requirements are helpful and would be welcome. Yet a blanket prohibition on raw milk seems not only unnecessary, but a disservice to me as a educated consumer. I know what I want, and it has historically been available for widespread consumption. It is no more dangerous to public health than unpasteurized juices or cheeses, both of which are commercially available, and is certainly less dangerous than many medications approved despite their harmful side effects.

With proper bottling and manufacturing guidelines, the availability of raw milk could create new marketing opportunities and contribute not only to better general health, but to economic growth. As a resident of Michigan, I would expect that you would seek to improve the economy by any reasonable means. Renewing a unique aspect of the dairy industry would likely contribute to new jobs and markets. Please carefully consider again allowing the commercial availability of raw milk without the onerous restrictions currently regulating this industry. —Justin Berger, P66373

Outraged
January 9, 2007—I have been a member of Family Farms Cooperative since May of 2005 after attending a seminar presented by Sally Fallon in the Chicago area. There I learned of the benefits of raw milk, and my 10-year-old son has been drinking it ever since.

I am outraged that a governmental agency can dictate what I can or cannot consume. I realize the government needs to protect its citizens against any type of criminal or civil activity perpetrated against the common American citizen. What type of crime did Family Farms Coop commit to be treated like a criminal? Why must the government, particularly the MDA or FDA, try to destroy small farmers who are meeting the demands of their consumers?

Family Farms Cooperative has the full support of all my friends who are members as well as my family. I will continue to support their business in every way that is necessary. —Monica Cheung Stevens, Chicago, Illinois

Superior Food
January 4, 2007— I am writing in support of Richard Hebron, Family Farms Cooperative and every other small farmer who has dedicated his/her life and livelihood to producing pure raw milk and other animal products as well as produce and other plant foods, where the goal is to raise farm products the way nature intended them to be raised. We as their customers are requesting the right to be able to buy food that meets our requirements of whole, unprocessed and natural. I believe that this is the best way to live. I have long been interested in health and nutrition and my reading has convinced me that many of our country's health problems are due to the distortion of our food from its original state as a result of the unnatural raising and the processing that denatures the product. There is adequate indication to convince me that the high degree of food allergies, and especially dairy allergies, as well as many other health problems such as obesity, and hardened and clogged arteries, are directly related to the altering of the fats and proteins of processed products through such processes as pasteurization and homogenization. These processes change the state of the food so that the fats and nutrients are not as readily utilized by the body, causing a wide variety of problems.

I, and others like me who are desire to buy unaltered products, are convinced of their superiority in every way, including the benefit to the earth. When animals are raised in the way that best meets their health needs as nature intended and food raised in a natural rotation, there is much less danger of disease and much less need for interference through the use of polluting chemicals and fertilizers. My desire is to feed my family with food as close as possible to its natural state. As a concerned citizen I request the right to be able to buy the food that I believe is superior, and I am also respectfully requesting that farmers are given the right and protection to produce food that their customers are looking for and be freed from any further government harassment. I am confident that any standards of cleanliness is more than adequately met by Richard Hebron and those in the Family Farms Cooperative. I would also hope that they would receive government support and protection in a nation where the bulk of the farms are large corporations that make it hard for the small farms to remain in business. —Very sincerely, Ann Berger, Howell, MI 48843

Wonderfully Healthy Foods
January 12, 2007—I am writing to lend my support for citizens’ rights to make their own personal decisions regarding nutrition and food and to eliminate restrictions in selecting their chosen sources of food and dairy products, such restrictions being an unconscionable elimination of freedom.

My efforts to gather information regarding health for the purposes of improving the quality of my life cannot be infringed upon. I am committed to support small farms and farmers, the source of wonderfully healthy foods, allowing me to continue on my path of improved health. To have availability of these sources hindered in any way is a dreadful intrusion on my civil liberties and has no place in a constitutional republic form of government. —Joan Hartzell, Sterling Heights, Michigan

Dramatically Improved Health, Humanely Treated Animals
January 14, 2007— My husband and I have been drinking raw milk for over four years. We have never received a bad batch of milk or experienced any ill effects from the raw milk purchased from Family Farms Coop. To the contrary, we have only experienced improved health benefits from consuming raw milk.

Both my husband and I have European ancestry that for centuries has consumed raw milk products as a major source of their diet. My parents both grew up on a farm and consumed clabbered milk, which is more nutritional and easier to digest than whole milk, on a daily basis until they moved to the United States. Although you can make certain cheeses and yogurt from pasteurized and homogenized milk, it is impossible to make clabbered milk from commercial milk sources. Since I’ve been purchasing raw milk from Family Farms Coop, my mother has passed down recipes for homemade cheese, yogurt and clabbered milk. And since I’ve been consuming these products, my health has improved dramatically.

Another thing I learned from my parents was the beauty of small farming and working in harmony with nature. Animals were treated humanely and received plenty of fresh air and sunshine. Absolutely, nothing was wasted. The humane treatment of animals is what attracted me to the products offered by Family Farms. My husband I have a strong desire to support independent farmers who work so hard to keep up the traditional farming practices that ensure the quality of life for their customers.

To deprive citizens the right to purchase these products that have sustained life for our civilization for centuries and have helped countless people with health issues is criminal and a violation of our human rights to choose our own food sources. I would suggest to our government officials to stop harassing raw dairy farmers and put their energy into studying the health implications of consuming genetically modified organisms before allowing America citizens to unknowingly or unwillingly participate in this unethical and dangerous experiment with nature which has irreversible consequences solely for the benefit of big business. —Sincerely, Janet Carissimi, Woodstock, IL

Revitalized by Raw Milk
January 8, 2007—I have been drinking your fresh raw milk and eating your fresh meats since the end of last February 2006. In this time many amazing things have happened. I have lost weight, gained energy and seen a remarkable revitalization of my body. I am 53 years of age and pass for far younger. For the first time in my life, my fine thick ‘stringy’ hair has body. It finally looks like hair. That would have been so nice to have as a young adult. My fingernails grow faster than ever, which means that I am healthy and well nourished. I also have a beautiful complexion thanks to the milk.

Of course there are the miraculous cures in my medical history as well. As a baby, I developed a lazy left eye at about six weeks of age. The problem has been there through out my life. One of the first things that I noticed after drinking the milking was that my left eye improved and functioned better. It was becoming a more usable eye. What a difference my life might have been if, I could have drank this milk as a baby or if my mother had drank it while pregnant. Maybe I wouldn’t have had the problem, as I would have had sufficient vitamin A to form and develop.

My kidneys are functioning better and my body is no longer retaining all the water, that it did – a common female problem as we age. My blood pressure is back to normal.

For many years, I have had severe asthma with up $400/mo of medications. The problem has gone partially thanks to the raw milk alleviating my allergies and partially to the elimination from my diet of a chemical food, Diet Pepsi. A phosphoric acid blend sweetened with FDA approved sweeteners, Aspartame and Acesulfame-K.

I am known to fall at times due to orthopedic challenges from old injuries sustained in an auto accident some 30 years ago. The amazing thing now, is that the bruises are gone in about a week compared to months before I started drinking raw milk. My body is finally getting the vitamins A, B, and C along with fresh enzymes that it desperately needs to repair itself.

How might my recovery from the near fatal car crash have been hastened if this wonderful raw milk had been easily accessible to consume?

As to my sacred leased cow, I can only give her my endless gratitude for providing this wonderful substance, her milk. As in India, the cows are sacred for they produce the substance which allow humans to sustain life, we Americans need to respect these animals and allow them lush green pastures to nurture their bodies. They in turn will help us win the war against the chemical food supply.— Sincerely, Patricia Buchanan, Registered Professional Chemical Engineer, State of Texas, License number #78995, West Chicago IL

Nature Provides if We Let Her
January 6, 2007—As the mother of two small children, I want my children to understand that nature can provide for us if we let her.

Food straight from the farm is a rare thing and I feel VERY fortunate to have Family Farms Coop as a dedicated provider of good pure food. Knowing how many chemicals we endear everyday, everything that we can do to limit what our children are exposed to helps ensure their legacy as healthy people.

I personally have done research into the raw milk movement and for the life of me, I cannot understand why milk has be treated with heat destroying all that nature has to offer. If the milking process and animals are treated with care all of us should be able to drink raw milk.

Raw milk is the essence of so many nutritious foods I can give my children. Please consider our children as the benefactors to have food that has not been chemically altered. — Sincerely, Linda Elms, Schaumburg IL

Allergies Disappeared
January 9, 2007—Raw milk contains enzymes which make milk digestible. When you pasteurize milk you destroy the enzymes. This is why so many people have trouble digesting milk. When the law requiring the pasteurization of milk was passed, the technology and hygienic standards were not what they are today. We have been consuming raw milk for the past 6 months and many of our allergies have disappe