Letter to Representative about Raw Milk, corporate control, and freedom.

The Honorable Evan Jenkins

United States House of Representatives
502 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative Jenkins:

I am sure you have followed the local legislation that was passed in West Virginia regarding herd‑sharing as a legal way of allowing unpasteurized dairy product distribution to consumers.  I am equally sure you are aware of the Governor Thompson’s veto neutralizing this legislation. The whole raw milk debate boils down to two basic questions:

Should the government be able to tell free citizens what they can choose to purchase and consume?

Should the corporate/industrial complex hold influence over the laws that control these choices?

 

A bipartisan group led by Congressman Thomas Massie (R–KY) and Chellie Pingree (D–ME) brought federal legislation forward last year addressing raw milk production and transportation freedom at the federal level. The two laws, the “Milk Freedom of Act of 2014” (HB 4307) and the “Interstate Milk Freedom Act of 2014” (HB4308) were written to remove federal impedance on the production sale and transport of unpasteurized dairy products.

I am writing to request your support of similar legislation-should you encounter it during your term of service as my congressional representative.  As one reviews the research available in regards to the risks and benefits of raw milk there is every indication that it is unhealthy and dangerous; however the research has been conducted by those with a vested interest in maintaining the status quo.  There have been bacterial infections and those are noted by the CDC, the FDA, and by studies paid for by the dairy industry.  There is money for lobbying and having “experts” fly to Washington DC and testify as to the public health concerns associated with unpasteurized dairy products. This money and negative propaganda is the industry’s method of maintaining control of the commodity and the consumer. 

Adult consumers can choose to drink alcohol, to use tobacco, to eat processed unhealthy fast food, yet they are prohibited from choosing to drink milk from a local farm. A local farm that is likely struggling to stay in business while the community around them drinks milk trucked in from a factory farm two hundred miles away.  The small producer cannot afford the equipment to pasteurize their products. The small producer can, however, provide a cleaner environment in which to milk, better forage, and less stress for their livestock- and in turn less medicated livestock.  Small farms are losing ground in our state, indeed in much of the country with factory based agriculture models becoming more the norm.  As this happens the quality and selection of our food is reduced and we are poorer for it.  Please support the cause of raw milk consumers and the dairy farms which produce and wish to legally distribute it.

Sincerely,

Russel Bragg
HC 74 Box 103
Hinton WV 25951    

Think I'll get to posting some more - let me know if you are following.

It has been that long wow!

So I havent posted for over a year.

Since then I started a facebook group for portable saw mill operators it has grown to 6500 members.  I have not been making much lumber because in August 2014 I started back to school, this time for a Masters in Social Work.  

Why you may ask would a homesteader want that much education? And social work of all things? And how does that tie in to producing lumber?

Well, what it boils down to is being able to recognise and develop value where others overlook it.

A homesteader can find a ragged brushfilled hillside and see value as a possible pasture, vineyard or orchard.  A homesteader can see dead and diseased trees in the woodland and recognise a source for valuable lumber to build barns and shed for the farm.  A homesteader can see a wino on the corner and possibly recognize a potential employee or customer.

Social workers are professional people helpers - that is their job - to help people cope with their problems through empowerment, advocacy, and helping them linkup with available resources.  A homesteader does the same for his livestock, neighbors, and,
to-an-extent his farm. 

A social worker's ultimate goal is to fight social injustice. For some societies, social injustice includes consideration of advantages and disadvantages in society that make it unequal. For others, social injustice may repress a society to where living a self-sufficient lifestyle is difficult.

Homesteaders are all about self sufficient lifestyles.

Cooking on the heating stove

On a cold snowy day I decided to cook breakfast on the heating stove. So I fried some Onions and green peppers, in some butter.

While they were cooking I washed peeled and grated some potatoes.

In the butter from frying the onions I added my potatoes and some more butter.

I opened the draft on the coal stove for a little extra heat.

Needed a little more butter they were trying to stick

I added a lid to hold in the heat.

Once they were mostly done I added the onions and papers back in.

And three store bought eggs- wrong time of year for country eggs.

Then I waited a while.

Then I fliped everythign over one last time and added pepper and a little salt.

Some store bought tomatoes and  Cheddar cheese and I was ready to eat.

Now I am ready for a nap - what a good breakfast!

Too much

Sometimes you get too much to handle

Workshop

http://www.youtube.com/v/XqepQW0_EwY?version=3&autohide=1&showinfo=1&autohide=1&autoplay=1&feature=share&attribution_tag=X1PQuCYclje3jAPHIcvbbg

Cedar Benches and chest

First cedar log I have had made 2 benches and a chest.

Catalpa Slab Project

Neighbor cut a catalpa tree out of beside his driveway. The lower 6ft had nails in it so was unusable. This left a little metal staining in the butt log.

Catalpa 

I left a 3 inch slab from near the center of the tre. I hauled it to work to show it to some prospective customers. Catalpa has a distinctive aroma, very spicy. It is quite light and even more-so once dried.

 Bar using live edge boards to match live edge of slab.

Pictures don't do it justice but it is a very nice piece.