Are We Actually Ready for Change?

Because it really is up to us!

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It seems that a lot of people are really excited about RFK leading HHS.

Many people are hinting that he’s going to help change raw milk policy as part of his agenda.

But is he?

Sure, he’s making headlines.

Social media and internet chatter and gossip point to RFK’s support of raw milk, and that it should be more available.

Perhaps he’s creating turmoil and shifting people’s thinking. He’s making bold claims about policy changes, and cultural changes with his potential leadership of HHS.

I remain cautiously optimistic, as I’m sure many others are as well.

But, it’s not as easy as you might think. That old adage of turning a huge ship comes to mind.

On the one hand, it’s long overdue that someone carefully examined the federal policies that are dictating what foods We the People have access to.

But, on the other hand, there are serious and aggressive voices that don’t want Americans to have more choices, or to understand what is going into our food, or how it is produced and/or processed.

Raw milk could be the catalyst issue that will continue to divide us, or bring us together in local food security.

And I say this with tremendous trepidation…RFK/we have an opportunity in front of us to embrace Americans from all walks of life and political aisles rather than foment more vitriol, hate, and separation within our communities.

Here are the nuances that most people don’t want to hear.

#1 There are no saviors.

YOU are responsible for your food and your health. Yes, it’s a LOT harder for some of us than for others, and that is sometimes daunting.

But the claims that “Americans want to be healthier” only go so far as the soda pop, fast food, and candy that Americans reach for constantly.

Centralized control in the form of a state of emergency, or whatever it is that certain voices are calling for, will only serve to foment a black market, cult-like following for the foods that some people grew up on and take very seriously.

You think I’m kidding? Food and emotions are closely linked. The decision has to come from within.

#2 Raw milk can and *should* be regulated on the local level.

This is a statement that can cause extreme opposition from many in the “raw milk movement” who sometimes believe and preach incorrectly that raw milk is inherently safe and that there should be no oversight, regulation or standards applied to the sale of raw milk. That it is fundamentally a right for Americans to have access to raw milk and the government should stay out of it entirely. This is the rigid thinking that has kept us from expanding access to “legal” raw milk. This rigidity has allowed many of our small dairies to disappear from our landscape.

The option for completely “unregulated” products absolutely exists. You can produce, process and prepare your own food individually or with a community and that exempts you from most, if not all, regulation. The big problem is, most people don’t actually want to be responsible for their own food production on any level.

This means that states, coops, and communities, need to (and must) have a say in how they want to legalize raw milk and what considerations they want in place for consumer safety standards — this also guarantees diversity of options.

Locally, raw milk can and should have built-in accountability on a community, household and/or personal level that supports or even enhances state safety standards.

States have every right, as outlined and reinforced by the 10th amendment of the Constitution, to make, adjust, and enforce their own laws regarding food production and processing. This includes laws and regulations around the production and sale of raw milk.

It’s dangerous territory to demand that states not be able to set reasonable safety standards for the farms they oversee. It’s even worse to advocate for little to no enforcement on those farmers who are and will continue to take advantage of a reduced enforcement policy.

It does no one any good to allow the obvious corruption of some of these players to become the rallying cry forming around the new administration and RFK’s HHS.

That approach would likely end in failure and bring us back to the days of distillery dairies and swill milk.

It does not behoove anyone to undermine and subvert state’s rights; that will only lead to a continued unsafe black market approach to many things.

The obvious answer is clear:

The answer is not a “massive overhaul” of the current centralized system. The solution is to support state’s rights, and continued exemptions for micro dairies, farms, CSAs, etc that allow Americans to become fully empowered participants in their own food systems–including and especially raw milk on the hyper local levels.

I’m cautiously optimistic that the new administration can thread that needle with finesse, poise and compromise that benefits all. But not by blindly supporting the most blatant black market farmers that are using their new found fame and notoriety for fundraising scams. Nor by heavy-handed, draconian mandates.

Decisions and regulation must be returned to the states and to the individuals on a community level as outlined in the 10th amendment.

How do we do that?

It’s a path that only We the People can navigate…

The solution to a healthier America is NOT in super privileged elitists telling working class and poor families what to do while threatening to use force to mandate certain lifestyle choices. Nor is it in “the government” using centralized control to dictate what we can or cannot produce.

We the People need state-by-state sovereign food security choices and community-based food production as humans have done for millennia.

The solution is “We the People” doing what we do best… growing and nurturing our hyper-local communities in a way that overlaps with others to revitalize the strength and health of our great nation.

And that starts with you.

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