Bechard Family Farm Under Attack
I feel compelled to share this story with you, and to do all I can to get the word out, probably because this family could easily be my own, they could be any of our friends or neighbors. This is my fight just as much as it is theirs. And if you love natural food, if you love gardening, farmers markets, CSA’s, or raw milk, then this is your fight as well.
The Bechard’s are a quiet, simple family, living on 115 acres of farm pasture and forest land in Missouri. Teddi and her husband Armand have been busy raising 7 beautiful children, who all work together to make the Bechard Family Farm. True to homesteading nature, they converted a pole barn into their home, and lived completely off-grid there for four years. Though they have since installed a water heater and electric well pump, they continue heating their humble home with nothing but a wood stove.
On the farm they raise 5 different pastured meats: chickens, turkeys, beef cows, lambs, and pigs. Along with the meat, they sell eggs, breads, jams, soaps, and raw milk (which is perfectly legal in their state). They also run a food ministry in their town.
The Bechards have about 20 families who buy raw milk by the gallon from their farm. In the state of Missouri, the law says that consumers are allowed to purchase milk from a farm, and the farmer is allowed to deliver the milk to the customers; they are NOT allowed to set up a vending area outside of the farm to sell the milk.
The Bechards had designated a drop-off point for their customers to come and pick up their milk in the parking lot of a local natural foods store. They were not trying to sell the milk, simply distributing pre-ordered milk. On two separate occasions, two of the Bechard daughters (ages 17 and 21) were passing milk out to their customers, when they were approached by two Springfield-Greene County Health Department undercover agents, who asked if the had any extra milk that they could sell. By chance, on those particular days they happened to have some extra milk that had been pre-ordered but had not been picked up (which Armand said was highly unusual), so the girls allegedly allowed the agents to buy a gallon of milk on both occassions. The health department employees did not identify themselves. Now the father, Armand Bechard, is being charged because he is the producer of the milk, even though he was not there to supervise the teens during the sting.
Teddi and Berchard are now facing up to 180 days jail time, huge legal fees and fines, and the possibility of losing their precious farm. All because of what? Milk! This is infuriating!! Does Springfield-Greene county have no real criminals to be prosecuting? Are there no gang bangers, no thieves, no drug dealers or sex offenders to be watching, that their biggest concern is setting up a sting operation against two teenage girls distributing milk?! I’m sure the health department agents had nothing to do with the “mystery” order of milk which was never picked up. What a perfect way to set up such easy targets for their sting. Is this what the tax payers want their money funding? What a disgrace!
So, now the Bechards are being sued not only by the state, but by Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster who is representing the State Milk Board. (I find it interesting that the Supervisor at the Springfield-Greene County Health Department is also Chairman of the Milk Board.)
The Bechards aren’t giving in easily, though. They are prepared to fight. They are being represented by The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund. But they need help raising financial support for their case. This is the main reason for me writing this post, they need help. If any of you on Facebook would like to support this family’s legal defense, you can donate any amount on their Sponsor Bechard Family Campaign page.
Raw milk from healthy, pastured cows is not only safe, but it’s BETTER for you than its store bought impersonator. If you don’t know much about the difference between raw milk and pasteurized/homogenized, I urge you to research it for yourself. Dr. Mercola has written countless articles on the subject, which you can check out on his website, mercola.com. And although raw milk has been safely consumed since the beginning of time, the FDA has so thoughtfully decided that it is now unsafe.
Oh, and since I’m on the subject, check out what the FDA had to say when confronted with questions regarding the constitutionality of raw milk bans:
“…there is no fundamental right to consume the food of one’s choice or to give one’s family members the food of one’s choice.”
There you have it. We have no right to choose for ourselves what we use to nourish our bodies. Our government gets to choose for us. Aren’t we all so relieved to have them watching out for us?
This is why the Bechard Family’s fight is so important. This is why I wrote a letter to Attorney General Chris Koster expression my utter disgust with the way they have treated the Bechard family. Because the more they bully the small farmers out of business, the more powerful the big industry grows, and the fewer truly healthy choices of natural, local food we will have available to us.
I wish I could help them more. But all I can do is my small part. Here is my offer to you…
Any of you who either blog about what is happening to the Bechard Family, or who can donate even a small amount to their legal defense fund, will get an extra entry in my next giveaway, which will be for a $25 gift card to CSN online stores (I’ll get that giveaway up next week, as soon as my order from them has arrived for the review). Just leave a comment either here or on the giveaway post letting me know how you’ve helped this family’s fight, and a link to your post if you write one, and you’ll be entered.
I am holding my breath to see the outcome of this whole ordeal. May the Lord be with them, and preserve their home and livelihood.
Related Posts:
Here’s my link to my post pointing to your post! I’m just as outraged as you are! You put it well and I wish I could have read your letter to the weasel! May God give the Bechard family victory! If not, may He give them the grace to get through this!
http://realfoodhealthyliving.com/2010/06/05/support-a-farmer/
http://bythebushel.blogspot.com/2010/06/raw-milk-my-rights-to-drink-it.html
Thanks for this informative post. Good stuff- It reminds me of the families who try to homeschool & need HSLD. I’ll be checking into this famer’s legal defense organization. Be blessed, Laura
The words I have to express my anger about how this is being handled aren’t allowed on you blog so instead I’ve linked your post to my blog. Well said! Please keep up updated.
Jen,
Thanks for sharing! The letter I wrote to him was basically what I wrote in my post. I did copy it to myself though, so here is exactly what I sent him…
“Dear Attorney General Chris Koster,
When I heard that you were filing suit against the Bechard family I was absolutely shocked. Do the authorities in your county have nothing better to do than pick on a peaceful, hard working family? Are there not drug dealers, street thugs, or sex offenders in your community for you to go after? I cannot believe that you find it in the best interest of the tax payer’s money to set up a sting operation on two young girls simply distributing milk. MILK!! Give me a break! Thousands of families safely consume raw milk every day, including my own. I’d like to know what makes you think that you, or the State, or anybody else for that matter has the right to say what Free American Citizens can or cannot choose to drink. If we are willing to take that risk, then the consequences of that should be our own. We do not need a “nanny” to watch over us, any more than you yourself do. You ought to be utterly embarrassed for the behavior of everyone involved in this ridiculous scheme. Stop wasting time and valuable resources persecuting harmless people, and go after the real criminals who are the real menaces to society!
Sincerely,
A deeply concerned citizen, who has survived drinking raw milk to tell about it!”
I hope he actually read it, and has received a bunch of emails like this!
UNBELIEVABLE. This isn’t the first small family farm that I have heard similar stories about. And who’s next??? The families (like ours) who pick up the milk from these amazing families???
We are on vacation right now, and I have to get food in some bellies, but I hope to do something about this too on Monday. Thank you so much for passing on the info!!
Blessings,
tarena
Unbelievable!!! I posted about this on my blog and on Facebook. Let’s get the word out!!! Our rights as Americans are seriously under attack!!!
The FDA’s response to the raw milk question, doesn’t just disgust me, it disturbs me to the core!
I don’t have much but I will help with what I can. I found them on FB, I’ll be making a donation as soon as I finish this comment.
What is our nation coming to? Wow! This is absolutely appalling! I sent an email to the AG also. I hope this is soon resolved. Thanks for sharing this!
This is similar to your great post recently about how little freedom we really do have these days (and how much is at stake for the future). I’ve been pondering this and totally agree we should be able to asses our own choices and take risks if we choose to! Thank you for all the food for thought, I will certainly pass the message along about this family. Our nation has lost so much with each farming family that loses their livelihood!
Yes,I would like to help this family by sending them some money,But don’t no where to send It,Please let me no where to send It.The government wants to tell us what we can an can not do.We have to stop this government from trying to take over our lives.Please remember NOV we have a choice as of right now make count.May God Bless Your Family.
Cindy,
Here’s the link again:
http://apps.facebook.com/sponsor-me/campaign/help-support-the-bechard-family-farm?ref=mf
You have to be on facebook to do it though. Hope that helps!
Thank you Joe!!
Thank you for posting this. Clearly, the authorities took advantage of these teenage girls who probably didn’t know they weren’t supposed to let someone else have the extra milk. How can they blame these kids for breaking a law when they probably weren’t aware of the technicalities of the law? I am from Wisconsin, the dairy state, but after a long battle, Governor Doyle vetoed the raw milk bill which would have allowed the sale of raw milk on farms in Wisconsin. We need to keep pushing for what we need nutritionally and not give up. Is there a way to make a donation directly to this family without going through Paypal?
Laura
Grafton, WI
Thanks for sharing this!!!
Laura,
I don’t know. Maybe you can give them a call or something? On their webpage they list their phone number and home address:
http://www.bechardfarm.com/contact.htm
Disgusting…I’ll be praying for this family! Our state just passed a law last year basically saying the same thing, that you can only buy from the farm, etc…thank goodness we found our raw milk supply BEFORE this law was passed…he was at a Farmer’s Market. We couldn’t figure out why he wasn’t there this year, read this post, and looked up the laws. Makes me very angry. We are not stupid, if we are willing to take the “risk” of drinking raw milk, then it’s our responsibility, not the government’s. Spend our money on something real!
I’m going to speak up and say that I see things differently here. I happen to keep a couple milk cows, at least one of which we hand milk every morning and evening, plus some goats that we just milk seasonally to make some extra cheese, so it’s not that I don’t believe in what the Bechards are producing, but I think it’s foolish for them to get themselves into trouble like this. I think if people want to sell farmstead milk, they should keep quiet about it and not challenge/threaten the system. What are they doing distributing milk in a public place in the first place? They should be glad that they can sell milk off the farm and deliver to customers. That’s a lot better than most states. A seventeen year old should be more than smart enough to know that this is a hot button issue, and the parents surely know if they’re asking their daughters to handle this “explosive” stuff. Fresh milk carries food safety risks, and 98% of the US population wants the government to protect us from those risks. If fresh milk is healthier or conducive to better farming or if the food safety risks are grossly exaggerated is all beside the point. Like the Secretary of Health and Human Services said, “Families have enough to worry about. You shouldn’t have to wonder if the food you buy at the grocery store is safe.” I don’t agree, but that’s the reality the American public has chosen. Americans choose farms like mine or the Bechards’ for a piddling percentage of the food supply. Farms like ours can’t be allowed to threaten the mainstream food supply, which depends on the government overseeing food safety. I bet that most of you commenting on this post would choose the mainstream before paying $7/gallon (what the Bechards charge). Are you willing to put your money where you mouths are? How much of your food supply comes from farmers you know and trust, and how much comes from the mainstream system that relies on government oversight? When it comes time to pay, what do you believe in then? In other words, what do you really believe in? I bet most of you believe in cheap food.
Eric,
They probably have been selling their milk for so long that it didn’t even occur to them that it could be a problem to pass it out at a designated meeting place. It was probably no big deal to them. I think that if all of the farmers are “hush hush” about selling their farm goods, then less in society will be aware of the benefits of farm fresh food, and won’t be willing to stand up for their right to purchase such goods. I think it ought to be done out in the open, as long it’s legal. I know so many people who have never even heard of raw milk… it wasn’t that long ago when I was one of them! If it wasn’t dealt with so secretly, I think people would be more accepting of it. How would people like me who want to buy farm produce and milk go about finding it if the farmers have to conduct business “underground”? You are right, unfortunately, that most people would rather buy the cheap genetically modified food than seek out true nutrition. Maybe if we keep talking about it though, more and more people will start putting their money where their mouth is.
Hi Kendra!
With all the hooplah over “raw” milk lately, it’s entirely inconceivable to me that anyone using the words “raw milk” and especially someone actively direct-marketing milk — it seems clear that they’re not selling any milk through conventional channels — could think it was no big deal. The price they’re charging also says to me that they’re not selling within their community to their peers, but that they’re selling to fairly rich consumerites that don’t have a clue about farming and if really pressed would side with the supermarkets before they’d side with self-sufficient farmers. I think that’s asking for trouble. If the Bechards can’t even feed their own family without buying genetically modified crops — I’ll bet you anything their chickens, for instance, are fed GMO feeds — then they’re surely not yet ready to challenge the mainstream food system.
As for getting the word out about the value of small farms and small farm products, why start with highly contentious, marginally legal products like fresh milk? If you’ve already quit buying conventional vegetables and fruits and sweeteners and eggs and meat, then the word about small farms will surely have gotten to you; if you’re still dependent on those other conventional products, then my general recommendation would be to buy pasteurized organic milk in the grocery store. There are some lines of organic milk in the grocery store, by the way, that come from farms that I think have pretty impressive organic integrity (like the Organic Valley cooperative).
Hi Eric,
I must admit. I’m not totally “there” yet. I know how bad GMO’s are, and all of the other junk they put in “food” nowadays. And I do try to buy local milk, meat, and produce. But the majority of the stuff we eat is still from the grocery store. Either what I want is not in season, I can’t find anybody local who sells it, or, in all honesty, it’s simply easier to get it all from one place (the grocery store). We need to be more committed. I am anxious to be able to supply most of our needs here on our own land, though it will be many years before that is a reality. I love this time of year, ’cause a lot of things are coming into season, and I am able to get a lot of fresh, local produce from farmers in this area. I plan on getting as much as I can this year, and canning it to keep through the winter. It’s hard to break the bond with the grocery store, though we do get as much labeled “organic” as we can find. I appreciate your passion on the subject!
http://mae-kendofarm.blogspot.com/2010/06/very-upsetting.html
This is the link to my blog and the article directing viewers to your blog. This just makes me angry. I pray this family wins their battle.
Mae
If we all keep it at, and pursue the kind of goals you’re pursuing, Kendra, I think we can make real progress, and hopefully fresh milk from family farms will again be a lot more commonplace!
I live not far from Springfield, and another local dairy has run into issues here. The board of Central Equity picks up their excess milk to distribute to a company that cans evaporated milk. They have warned the dairy that they will face legal action and losing their contract if they don’t stop distributing raw milk (which like you said, is legal in Missouri!). Unfortunately this dairy needs that contract to operate at their current level to supply milk to their loyal customers. They are currently appealing in court and have been given an extension on their case, meaning they can continue to sell raw milk for the time being. It’s appalling to me that the gov’t and big corporations can bully small farmers who just want to support their families and provide healthy food to their community.
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