Goat and Sheep Farmers Push for Food Sovereignty

by Kimberly Hartke

Photo Credits: Dustin Jensen

Two weeks before the Rawesome Buying Club was raided on August 3, a flurry of cease and desist orders were issued to small farms operating cow, sheep and goat boarding programs around the state of California. The California Department of Agriculture is on a power bender, going after the private contractual rights of Californians choosing to source dairy foods outside of the state regulated food supply. The contracts in question are between livestock owners and farms that provide boarding services.

Direct, unregulated trade between farmer and consumer is a constitutional right, not a privilege. “We aren’t asking for our rights we’re claiming them,” says Dustin Jensen co-owner of Milk Mama Goat Farm. “We want our elected officials to know that the people of Santa Cruz are free to make our own decisions about food without government or corporate mediation.”

A Santa Cruz Food Rights Coalition was formed in response to the intrusion by the state officials. The group is pushing for a local food sovereignty resolution they are calling “Right to Grow Food”. They are currently seeking 2000 signatures to present in support of the resolution to the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors at a meeting on September 13.

To garner public support, the group plans a goat and sheep march to the downtown Santa Cruz Farmers Market and a milk-in protest on September 7 at 3pm. The milkers parade will begin at 2:30pm. At the market farmers will milk their goats and drink it and get signatures for a petition supporting the resolution.

At a time when joblessness is a big issue, and our economy is weak, it seems a no-brainer for the state to support creative business models such as herdshares, cow shares and goat shares.

Especially when, there are no food safety problems coming from these programs, in fact, they have stellar records for producing healthful, safe food.

Livestock owners have the right to contract with a farmer to shepherd and care for their goats, sheep, and cows. They also have the right to receive the milk from their animals and hire a farmer to milk their animals.

When a consumer becomes a livestock owner, it is his responsibility to ensure that his animal produces a safe quality milk; it is not the responsibility of the state. This can be accomplished by regular private testing for pathogens, and most importantly, direct accountability from a face-to-face relationship between farmer and livestock owner. Further, when the consumer becomes a livestock investor, and enters in to a boarding agreement with a farmer this contract is outside the purview of the state.

By allowing these programs the freedom to exist, California Department of Agriculture will be promoting free and fair trade, and raise up a whole new, younger, generation of farmers. It will strengthen the rural economy and the health of its citizens.

Kimberly Hartke is the publicist for the Weston A. Price Foundation, a nutrition education non-profit which supports sustainable agriculture and works for wider consumer access to farm fresh products, especially raw milk. See realmilk.com for details.

This post is part of the Fight Back Friday blog carnival, get food radical on Food Renegade.com.