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One of the strongest witnesses was Mark McAfee of Organic Pastures who traveled to
Colorado to describe the success of retail raw milk sales in California and noted that no
pathogen had ever been found in his raw milk.
AN ADULTERATED FOOD
Mark Anderson, the area Standard Process representative, focused his testimony on
pasteurized milk as an adulterated food. He pointed out that the Federal Food, Drug and
Cosmetic Act, as amended by the FDA Modernization Act of 1997 (revised 1/20/99)
defines any food as adulterated (1) if any valuable constituent has been in whole or in
part omitted or abstracted therefrom; or (2) if any substance has been substituted wholly
or in part therefore; or (3) if damage or inferiority has been concealed in any manner.
He then enumerated all the ways that commercial pasteurized milk is adulterated,
including enzymes destroyed (and their functions), protein alterations, homogenization
and its effect, synthetic vitamin fortification, and naturally occurring vitamin destruction.
Anderson finished by asking the Board whether they really wanted to be in the position
of mandating that the natural milk of 500 billion mammals on earth must be consumed by
humans in only adulterated form and may not be consumed without adulteration.
Fortunately, the word “adulteration” is a universally accepted term for vile corruption,
and the FDA has used the word in a way that strikes discord in the human psyche. He
observed that members of the board reacted visibly every time he stressed the
“adulteration” of milk.
THE VOTE
The panel voted 5-3 to allow cow-share programs to continue. Most of the women on the
committee changed their minds during the testimony, while the men remained staunchly
behind “sound science.” Visibly annoyed with the results, the chairman called the victory
“temporary.” He said that cow-share programs were just another word for sales and that
sale of raw milk was illegal in Colorado. He suggested that raw milk supporters get
legislation passed that would officially legalize cow-share programs and/or on-farm sales
of raw milk.
NEXT STEPS
A committee has been formed to do just that. James Dean will guide current owners of
current cow-share programs in the state along with interested volunteers in drafting
legislation and guiding it to a vote. Several state legislators have expressed interest in
sponsoring such a bill.
Meanwhile there are legal bills to be paid. Guidestone Farm has assessed a surcharge to
each cow-share owner in order to pay a retainer of $1000 per month to the law firm of
Dean and Stern, and several generous Colorado citizens have made substantial donations.
But although Mr. Dean has charged only half his usual rate, legal bills remain—and more
will accrue during the next phase. What happens in Colorado affects all of us. If you
would like to help out with legal bills, please send a contribution to A Campaign for Real
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