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whole foods to stop selling raw milk your action needed

bluereef
14 years ago

Whole Foods is going to stop selling raw cow and goat milk in Florida, as of Sept 30, 2009 unless we get them to change their minds. Whole Foods could decide to remove raw milk from its stores in other regions, too.

This issue needs your help, EVEN IF YOU:

- already get raw milk easily

- don't drink raw milk personally

- don't shop at Whole Foods

- think only farmers should sell their raw milk directly to consumers

- don't drink raw milk personally

- live in a state where raw milk is not legally sold in stores

PLEASE NOTE that in FLORIDA, raw milk may only be sold when labeled as PET FOOD, and not for human consumption. Regardless of how it is packaged, there are no laws regarding how people may use the milk once they buy it and bring it home.

Perhaps if our efforts are successful at changing Whole Foods' decision, it can serve as a catalyst to making raw milk legal in all states!

Thank you,

Wendy Mathias

Founder, MiamiRealFood.org

Steve Moreau,

WAPF Chapter- Longwood/ Altamonte Springs/ Lake Mary Florida

ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN BY SEPTEMBER 25, 2009:

1. Sign the petition at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/wholefoodsrawmilk/.

Include any comments about why raw milk should be sold in Whole Foods stores. See our Talking Points for ideas. By signing this petition, you are sending a message to a major retailer that there is a strong demand for raw milk everywhere. We will submit the petition on September 25, 2009.

2. Call Whole Foods' Florida regional office at 954-489-2100.

Tell them you disapprove of their decision not to sell raw milk in Florida. When calling the Florida office, DO NOT MENTION THAT YOU DRINK IT YOURSELVES. Confine your remarks to economic and consumer issues like "I go to Whole Foods weekly to buy raw milk, and then do most of my grocery shopping while I'm there. If you stop selling raw milk, I'll have no major incentive to go into your store," or "Raw milk may legally be sold as pet food in Florida. Please continue to sell this 'whole food' wherever it is legal!"

3. Call Whole Foods' National Customer Service Hotline at 512-542-0878.

Tell them you disapprove of their decision not to sell raw milk in Florida. Tell them that Whole Foods should offer this "whole food" wherever it is legal. Mention any health benefits you've derived from it, or how much you rely on Whole Foods to get the best foods possible. Tell them how it might affect your decision not to shop there.

4. Write to Whole Foods' Customer Service Hotline at customer.questions@wholefoods.com.

Tell them why raw milk is important to you or why it should be available to the public. See our Talking Points or the petition for ideas.

5. Post this to the Internet

Post this Action Alert, the petition link, the action phone numbers and email addresses to everyone you know, and Internet networking groups like Yahoo Groups, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn pages, and any of your web pages and blogs.

TALKING POINTS:

1. Whole Foods' decision to remove raw milk from the marketplace sends the message that this whole food is not a valuable product worth selling. Many consumers look to Whole Foods for the "ideal" in nutrition. The absence of raw milk from the stores sends the wrong message that raw milk is not ideal.

2. Although there are raw cow milk dairies in Central and Northern Florida, they are too far from South Florida. The closest raw cow milk dairy to Key West is 460 miles away. The closest one to Miami is 360 miles away. These great distances make it impractical for consumers to obtain raw milk directly from dairies on a regular basis. Whole Foods brings this vital product to within a few miles of the consumer.

3. Removing raw milk from Whole Foods stores creates a financial hardship for average folks who would otherwise have to get it shipped in from afar. For practical purposes, the removal of raw milk from Whole Foods relegates raw milk to a purchase for the wealthy.

Comments (8)

  • skagit_goat_man_
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    This isn't to be rude but on this Farm Life forum the appropriate comment would be to buy a goat or cow. Tom

  • brendan_of_bonsai
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    1. Raw milk is not idea, Raw milk killed many people, pastuerization was invented to keep beer and wine from overfermenting but it became popular because it finally made milk safe.

    2.Its funny, your deffinition of vital seems to be the antithesis of vital

    3.The poor cannot pay for the medical care needed to save them from the horrible mistake of drinking raw milk, all animal products should be cured or heat treated.

    For those of you who do buy cows or goats please raise the milk to 165 f for 10 minutes, Mycobacteria bovis,E. coli O157:H7,Campylobacter jejuni, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella, Yersinia, Brucella will all ruin the experience of milk for you.

  • dethride
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Raw milk killed many people? Can you post a number and sources?

  • brendan_of_bonsai
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Are you seriously challenging that notion? Clearly you have done no research into the issue.

    The CDC has plenty of information on it, none of it is not about potentially deadly food poisoning occurring thanks to raw milk. The grocery store doesn't sell pasteurized milk because it is cheaper to produce (which it isn't).

  • dethride
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Yes, Brandon, there are many people smarter than you and me put together that are challenging the propaganda and dogma that is out there about milk. And "clearly" contrary to your assertion, I've done a lot of reading on this subject.

    The CDC has plenty of smart folks in it, but like any government/corporate/scientific entity, are subject to politics. And food is a biggie.

    I'll be back (I've got to run to a local dairy and pick up some fresh Jersey milk!)with some other information that challenges your reliance on CDC (the same folks that threaten us with annihilation from various flu's every year)as the only source of info out there. That's not to say they don't provide important and useful information, but many of it's conclusions are swayed by money and politics. It's how the US does business. Money first, truth second.

    Cheers! And keep up your poking and prodding on forums! You remind me of my bro-in-law with your research and strong opinions. Keep challenging with debates! It shakes out of our complacency!

  • brendan_of_bonsai
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    People have died from raw milk, I personally lost a great aunt to it, she got listeriosis and died, she was a vegetarian so its unlikely that she got it from meat. which is the other source.

    Please, take a course at your local community college on microbiology, learn how pasteurization works, and just what lives in the world.

    Also keep in mind that flu kills 35,000 people a year, its no joke.

  • dethride
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Yes, it has. And I'm sorry about your great aunt. Pasteurized milk kills people, too. So does meat, grains, and spinach. It's about cleanliness. Raw milk's benefits outweigh the risks. More later, brendon of bonsai. Interesting name. I used to be obsessed with bonsai!

  • gardengalrn
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I have done no research and know little to nothing about it. My thoughts, however, are that if I had a goat or cow I wouldn't have a problem drinking (at my own risk) the milk it produced. At least I would know the conditions under which the milk was produced and packaged. I would probably follow whatever safety guidelines were recommended if giving it to my family.
    Love it or hate it, the CDC issues guidelines and warnings for a reason. The flu DOES kill people not only here in the USA but around the world so many people die from it, along with TB, AIDs and all sorts of ailments. It is a blessing that we know what causes many of these diseases and how it is spread so we can at least take precautions. If the CDC didn't issue warnings, they would then be blamed for the first death that occurred. Plus, I'm pretty sure the media plays the biggest part in hyping stuff up, as they always do. Lori, who does NOT work for the CDC ;)

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