Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/106392
people In your Community city of angels CauGHT In THe rAw MIlk CroSSHaIrS victoria Coulter Bloch was volunteering at a sustainable farm when she got arrested V the healthiest thing about my neighborhood is…the number of trees and gardens and birds and lowers and people who love them, and the wonderful Mar Vista farmers market. My favorite walking distance restaurant is…my kitchen. When i'm looking for a healthy snack, i'm most likely to choose…raw milk cheese, and/or crispy nuts (soaked and dehydrated to make them super crisp and delicious as well as digestible), and/or perhaps some seasonal fruit. if i had to name one food hero to emulate it would be…Sally Fallon Morell [farmer, blogger and co-founder of the Weston A. Price Foundation]. i think the raw milk commotion is motivated by…misunderstanding/ misinformation, fear and greed. Getting arrested was…shocking, I don't recommend it. But it was trans- formative to learn I could be arrested for handing over a bottle of fresh milk to someone who requested it, that I might not have access to the foods I 12 choose to eat, that a government agency is willing to throw me in jail without even discussing it with me irst, and that I could get arrested when nobody had been harmed. as an activist…my energies are dedicated to making information about food, farming, food rights, the interface between regulation and choice, and individual rights and public mandates available in public settings. the most recent usda-approved food pyramid in my opinion is… upside down. My greatest concern regarding my family's health is…pollution (air, water, soil), and maintaining access to the fresh, healthy foods of our choice. My greatest accomplishment to date is…keeping my heart open to lov- ing and compassion, and my mind open to new ideas. the most overrated virtue is…consistency. the single most important key to a long and healthy life is….love, gratitude, friends and good food. Photo: Thomas Bloch the part of la i live in is…West Los Angeles. ictoria Coulter Bloch was raised in West L.A. Inluenced by her progressive and spiritually inquisitive mother, she began exploring self-healing by the time she reached high school. Bloch's irst foray into cooking was in macrobiotics, and although it wasn't the right dietary path for her, it propelled her into an exploration of food and nutrition. In 2005 she co-founded Real Cooking nutritional coaching services, but a family illness caused her to sell her share. Her interest in sustainable farming led her to volunteer at Healthy Family Farms, known widely in LA not just for their excellent products, but for the ongoing witch hunt over raw milk that has repeatedly targeted owner Sharon Palmer (see July/August 2009 WLT, "Home on the Free Range"). Bloch was arrested and for reasons unknown was charged with felonies; as she tells it, her services had been limited to communications and graphic design to support the farm. She is a chapter leader with the Weston A. Price Foundation, a frequently criticized nonproit dedicated to restoring nutrient-dense foods to the human diet (including certiied raw milk) through education, research and activism, and blogs at www.forloveofood.com. Meet her in person at the Health Freedom Expo. wholelifetimesmagazine.com CofA_05_cx.indd 12 1/28/13 12:35 PM