SPEAKERS

Prof. Dr. Anthonie (Ton) Baars  is a professor for biodynamic agriculture at Kassel University in Witzenhausen, Germany.  He holds a masters degree in biology with a specialization in ecology from University of Utrecht and received his doctorate from the Wageningen University. His nearly 30 year teaching career spans a diversity of topics in biodynamics - grassland, animal health and welfare, animal breeding, cheese processing and system development.  The focus of his research at Kassel include: milk quality and allergies, animal self medication, biodynamic preparations, human decision making and biodynamic animal breeding. 

Ted Beals, M.S., M.D. is retired from the University of Michigan Medical School and VA Health Administration.  A pathologist, teacher, researcher and administrator with personal interest in dairy testing and safety of milk, he has been presenting testimony on dairy safety in North America for the last several years.  He and his wife Peggy Beals live on 40 acres in south-central Michigan. They are members of the Michigan Fresh Unprocessed Whole Milk Workgroup.

Wayne Craig, B.S. and Kay Craig, M.S. and their son Rudy are the owners of 247 acre Grassway Organics, a diversified, managed rotational grazing farm, milking over 100 cows and providing raw milk through a farm-share and LLC.  They also sell chicken, turkey and beef from their members-only on-farm store. They were recently the target of a DATCP action and are pursuing their rights with the support of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund.  Wayne and Kay also are active volunteer Chapter Leaders for the Weston A. Price Foundation.

David E. Gumpert specializes in reporting and writing about health and food issues. He writes for a number of publications, including BusinessWeek.com and Grist.org. He is the author of The Raw Milk Revolution: Behind America’s Emerging Struggle Over Food Rights. He also writes a popular blog, The Complete Patient, which over the last four years has aggressively covered a number of health and regulatory issues. His prior book was about his family’s experiences during the Holocaust: Inge: A Girl’s Journey Through Nazi Europe. He has also authored or co-authored seven books on various aspects of small business. Prior to his book-writing and entrepreneurship career, he spent nine years as a staff reporter with The Wall Street Journal and seven years as small business editor of the Harvard Business Review. He was also a senior editor of Inc. Magazine. His bachelor’s degree is in political science from the University of Chicago, and a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.  

Pete Kennedy, Esq. is the President of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund and an attorney in Sarasota, Florida who works on dairy issues particularly, the right of farmers to distribute raw milk and raw milk products direct to consumers. He has represented or assisted in the representation of dairy farmers facing possible state enforcement action in Florida, Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan and Indiana. He has helped farmers get started in the business of distributing raw milk and raw milk products in many other states. He has written articles for Wise Traditions Journal on the interstate ban on raw milk products for human consumption and on the legality of selling raw milk interstate for animal consumption. He compiled the state raw milk laws and state raw milk summaries posted at www.realmilk.com. He is currently working with others to challenge the federal ban on the interstate shipment of raw milk for human consumption.

Emily Matthews, RN lives with her family on a 30-acre farm, where her daughter Laura raises rotationally-grazed Shetland sheep and angora goats. Products include hand-processed wools, live lambs--you buy, we deliver to butcher--and heritage Bourbon Red turkey poults (waiting list for turkeys).  Emily and Laura are chapter leaders for WAPF.

Mark McAfee is the founder and CEO of Organic Pastures Dairy Company. OPDC is America’s largest pasture based raw milk dairy and creamery and serves 400 retail stores and feeds about 60,000 people per week in California. He is a retired paramedic and health department medical educator having spent 16 years as a certified paramedic and serving in Human resources, health education, marketing, operations management and EMS Air and Rescue Operations.  Currently Mark is immersed in the political fight for food freedom in America with testimony and presentations at Stanford University medical school, Rutgers, Canada, Australia, and 30 states 60 times in the last six years. Mark is an author having written on raw milk subjects and has been interviewed on many TV and Radio specials on raw milk and will be featured in the upcoming Farmagedon Movie. Mark has concluded that educational outreach and the uprising of a healthy grass roots led by raw milk loving mother lions will be the source of the raw milk tipping point in America. It will be dollar voting that will bankrupt the current dead food policies and localize and reconnect the farmers and consumers in the market place. Where ever there is a thriving raw milk market place there are happy well paid farmers and happy well nourished consumers that love them. Mark lives with his wife Blaine and two grown children at the 650 acre organic farm near Fresno CA.

Sally Fallon Morell, M.A. is the author of the best-selling cookbook Nourishing Traditions.  She serves as founding president of the Weston A. Price Foundation, a nonprofit nutrition education foundation.  She is also the founder of A Campaign for Real Milk; in this capacity she has campaigned for consumer access to whole unprocessed milk from pasture-fed cows, Nature's perfect food.

Sylvia P. Onusic Ph.D. is a nutritionist and writer/journalist working in the area of traditional and whole foods.  She holds a B.S in home economics, foods and nutrition education, and is a certified teacher in the State of Pennsylvania.  She completed the M.S. in the field of Healthy Administration and Policy, and PhD in Public Health Education. She has completed dietetic studies at Penn State University. Sylvia was a Fulbrighter to the Republic of Slovenia in the field of Public Health and completed her research while working at the National Institute of Public Health of Slovenia. At the conclusion of the Fulbright she was employed at the Ministry of Health in Ljubljana for six years in the field of International Cooperation.  Slovenia joined the European Union in 2004 and in 2008 held the Presidency. Sylvia has taught at the university and high school level and worked for the US Army in Berlin as a German linguist. She visits Europe often and visited Poland on a food tour for several weeks in September 2009. 

Elizabeth Gamsky Rich, Esq. is a Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund board member and Wisconsin attorney who has practiced in the areas of environmental, land use and regulatory law for 25 years.  She works for clients who challenge the government.  She and her husband have lived on their 40-acre farm since 1995.  They raise goats for dairy products and chickens for meat and eggs.  They have a small herd of beef cows and over the years have kept dairy cows, pigs, ducks, turkeys, guineas, rabbits and geese.  They have a large garden and are working on fruit production, including apples, pears, peaches, plums, cherries, grapes, gooseberries, currants, mulberries, honeyberries, strawberries, blueberries, elderberries and more.  Elizabeth’s goal is to produce as much of her own food as possible, as her 25 years of experience with the governmental agencies charged with protection of our food supply has led her to the conclusion that she is not protected.

Michael Schmidt has been a biodynamic farmer with a master degree in Agriculture for over 33 years. Born in Germany, he came to Canada in 1983 and has been instrumental in massive changes towards the awareness of the cultural importance of agriculture. He was recently vindicated of all charges in his fierce, 16 year battle to legalize raw milk in Canada. A scholar of Gandhi and Martin Luther King he continuously promotes and urges others to adopt civil disobedience and the non violent approach in court and daily life. In light of the significance of this food rights battle he helps farmers and consumer to be fully prepared to make real sacrifices in order to win this crucial rights battle for the sake of our children. 

Tim Wightman is President, Farm-to-Consumer Foundation and a founding board member of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund and has been in agriculture all of his life. He has pioneered CSAs, organic cooperatives, farmers' markets, the Cow-share program, Farm-share program, Milk Direct raw milk testing program while living in Northern Wisconsin. Tim now lives in Western Ohio with his wife Carrie and their three children and is currently operating a small raw milk dairy. Tim consults worldwide with dairy farmers on raw milk safety and direct marketing. He also is a consultant for Midwestern Bio-Ag on enhancing the soil system to increase soil fertility issues and herd health management and nutrient density in food and feed. He is the author of the Raw Milk Production Handbook, creator of Chore Time DVD and instructor in Cow-Share College & Goat Share University.

 

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