Unsurprisingly, they came up with helpful recommendations like only allowing 100 gallons of raw milk sales per month.\u00a0 And requiring that anyone selling raw milk get a Class A Dairy license.\u00a0 In other words, force raw milk producers to spend tens of thousands of dollars on equipment you don’t need if you’re not a feedlot, volume milk producer; regularly produce hundreds of pages of useless documentation; and then limit their sales to the equivalent of about one cow’s monthly output. Did I mention that seven of the committee members represented the interests of mega-dairy operators Dean Food and Prairie Farms?\u00a0 You know, commodity, low-cost producers who already have to have Class A licenses.<\/p>\n
Mad yet?<\/p>\n
As it turns out, even though IDPH couldn’t figure out how to find anyone involved with raw milk, Donna sure could!\u00a0 She embarrassed IDPH into adding some more raw milk producers and some consumers to the committee (n.b., that is the only way to get a bureaucrat to do something other than what they had already decided they were going to do).\u00a0 Also, it seems a BUNCH of people started contacting their alleged representatives, who started contacting IDPH asking them why they were making their constituents so mad.\u00a0 People were also contacting the bureaucrats directly.\u00a0 Smart people.\u00a0 Passionate people.\u00a0 Loud people.\u00a0 Bother, bother.<\/p>\n
Imagine what was going through the bureaucrats’ minds.\u00a0 “But, everyone from the FDA told us raw milk was bad, and just a few fringe lunatics drink it.\u00a0 And all of our swell friends from the big dairies had such good ideas — they don’t have any problem with 10,000 gallon chill tanks and separate milk parlors and monthly testing.\u00a0 That’s what they let us tell them they have to do!”\u00a0 Hilarious.<\/p>\n
The third meeting first got moved to a bigger venue (the Illinois Corn Producers’ building in Bloomington) based on the number of people saying they wanted to attend (danged Open Meetings laws!).\u00a0 Then it got rescheduled to add time for public comment because so many people wanted to direct a few words to our overseers.\u00a0 Here’s what it looked like when I got there Wednesday morning:<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fathead-movie.com\/images\/OlderBrother\/Parking.jpg\")
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That’s from about halfway back in the line of cars that were parked on the street. The parking lot was already full.<\/p>\n
Here’s what it looked inside the meeting room after they switched into an even BIGGER building next door after lunch.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fathead-movie.com\/images\/OlderBrother\/Meeting.jpg\")
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And as much as I hate being around, and watching, and especially listening to government bureaucrats tell us how much good they’re doing us, it’s almost fun when you’re in a room full of those smart, passionate, loud people who’ve had enough and don’t intend to take it anymore.<\/p>\n
Almost, hell.\u00a0 Turns out watching sausage being made can be fun — it just depends on who’s getting stuffed.<\/p>\n
Well, it’s getting late, and The Wife and The Oldest Son and I are off to watch a Cubs game tomorrow from one of the rooftops.\u00a0 I’ll give you the play-by-play analysis of the meeting later this weekend (I probably won’t be able to catch any comments until Saturday).<\/p>\n
Cheers!<\/p>\n
The Older Brother<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"