NOTICE:

There are two (2) components to the sign-up process for membership in the PMA. You must 1. Sign up for the member area (first section below) and pay $5.00 and then 2. Fill out the form at the BOTTOM of this page to sign the contract.

If you fail to complete one or the other of these items, you have not obtained membership in this PMA.

THE BACKWATER AGRARIAN

PRIVATE MEMBERSHIP ASSOCIATION CONTRACT

In order to obtain food and other products and services from The Backwater Agrarian (hereinafter referred to as “TBA” or “the Association”), you must join our Private Membership Association, which protects your rights as consumers and protects the farmers, craftsmen, and cooks, et al. (i.e. the other “members”) who provide said food or other products or services to members. The lifetime membership cost of $5.00  must be paid before you place your first order with any member of TBA.

Summary of this contract:

• You are joining a PRIVATE ASSOCIATION, protected by the 1st Amendment, to obtain food and other products and services of the highest quality, including but not limited to fresh meats, raw milk, raw cheeses, and charcuterie directly from the farmers, craftsmen, et al. who produce them (hereinafter referred to simply as “the members” or “other members” or simply “members”).

• You are choosing for yourself the types of food you wish to buy and eat, and you have done your own research to achieve informed consent.

• You are choosing for yourself the other products and services available to members through other members, and you have done your own research on these products and services to achieve informed consent.

• You will not file a liability lawsuit against the Association’s director, staff, or the other members for anything pertaining to the foods or products or services you obtain of your own choosing.

• Your activities and the activities within the Association are private and not to be shared with the FDA, FTC, State Milk Boards, USDA, Agricultural Boards, or any other government agencies.

• You are not a State or Federal agent whose purpose is to regulate and approve food products.

Membership Contract for The Backwater Agrarian ("TBA")

I do hereby apply for membership to The Backwater Agrarian, a private membership organization operated by the members themselves under the leadership of the director. With the signing of this membership agreement, I accept the offer made to become a member of TBA and have read and agree with the following Declaration of Purpose from Article 1 of The Backwater Agrarian’s Articles of Association.

This Association of members hereby declares that our main objective is to maintain and improve the civil rights, constitutional guarantees, and political freedoms of our members as citizens of the United States of America.

We affirm and hold that the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America guarantees our members the rights of free speech, petition, assembly, and the right to gather together for the lawful purpose of advising and helping one another in asserting our rights under God, the United States Constitution, and any state constitutions and/or statutes that support and do not conflict with our God-given rights and those guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

IT IS HEREBY declared that we are exercising our right of “freedom of association” as guaranteed by the 1st and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution and equivalent provisions of the various state constitutions. This means that our association activities are restricted to the private domain only.

We declare the basic right of all of our members to give and receive counsel and advice concerning the need for - and availability and access to - products and services and to select for themselves from our number those members who are the most skilled to assist with and facilitate the actual production and delivery of said products and services.

We proclaim the freedom to choose for ourselves the types of food, products, services, and production methods that we think best for ourselves and our families.

More specifically, the mission of our Association is to provide members with the highest level of quality in the foods and products and services made available to said members.

The Association specializes in raw milk and cheese products, pasture-raised meats & other healthful meats, fruit and vegetable products, and prepared foods, and asserts the God-given right to access foods, products, and services of our choice. The Association offers to members these choices as a service and as a benefit to members.

The Association will recognize any person who is in accordance with these principles and policies as a member, and will provide a medium through which its individual members may associate for actuating and bringing to fruition the purposes heretofore declared.

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

I understand that the fellow members of TBA that provide products and services do so in their specific capacity as “fellow members” and not in the capacity as licensed wholesalers, licensed retailers, or other licensed providers. I further understand that within the Association no wholesaler/retailer-customer relationship exists but rather only a contract-based relationship between Association members.

In addition, I have freely chosen to change my legal status as a “public consumer/customer” to a “private member” of TBA. I further understand that it is entirely my own responsibility to consider the recommendations and products offered to me by my fellow members and to educate myself as to the efficacy, risks, and desirability of the same and the acceptance of the offered or recommended food and/or products and/or services, and that to do so is my own carefully considered decision.

Any request by me to a fellow member to assist me or to provide me with the aforementioned recommendations or food or products or services is my own free decision in an exercise of my rights and made by me for my benefit, and I agree to hold the director, staff, other working members, and the Association harmless from any liability for the results of such recommendations, products, and/or services except for harm that results from instances of a clear and present danger of substantive evil as stated and defined by the United States Supreme Court.

The members have chosen Ross James McKnight as director, being the person best-qualified to administer and facilitate the exchange of products and services between members of the Association, and the members entrust him with the authority to select other members to assist him in carrying out such activities.

In addition, I understand that, since the Association is protected by the First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, it is outside the jurisdiction and authority of Federal and State Agencies and Authorities concerning any and all complaints or grievances against the Association, any Director, members, or other staff-persons of TBA. All complaints or grievances between members will be settled by an Association Committee.

Because the privacy and security of membership records maintained within the Association have been held to be inviolate by the U.S. Supreme Court, the undersigned member waives complaint process. Any private customer/consumer records kept by the Association will be strictly protected and only released upon written request of the member. I agree that violation of any waivers in this membership contract will result in a no contest legal proceeding against me. In addition, the Association does not participate in any insurance plans.

I agree to join the Association, a private membership association under common law, whose members seek to help each other by providing each other with the highest quality food, products, and services.

I understand that the producers and providers who are fellow members of the Association are offering me food, products, services, and benefits that do not necessarily conform to conventional examples available in the public marketplace.

As a member, I accept that no product testing is foolproof and that the risks associated with private exchanges between private members of this private membership organization are solely my own and that I retain sole responsibility for undertaking the risks associated with such exchanges. 

My activities within the Association are a private matter that I refuse to share with State Medical Board(s), the FDA, FTC, State Milk Board(s), USDA, Agricultural Board(s) and any and all other governmental agencies without my expressed specific permission. All records and documents remain as property of the Association, even if I receive a copy of them. I fully agree not to file a liability lawsuit against a fellow member of the Association, unless that member has exposed me to a clear and present danger of substantive evil. I acknowledge that the members of the Association do not carry liability insurance.

The Association shall have the right to sanction a member upon unanimous vote of the director and an Association Committee after a hearing of the facts where the member may be present after notification. The sanctions include removal from active membership or imposing any other special and necessary conditions upon any member who shall discredit or bring harm to the Association in any manner.

I enter into this agreement of my own free will or on behalf of my dependent without any pressure or promise of products. I affirm that I do not represent any State or Federal agency whose purpose is to regulate and approve products. I have read and understood this document, and my questions have been answered fully to my satisfaction. I understand that I can withdraw from this agreement and terminate my membership in this association at any time. These pages and Article 1 of the articles of association of the Association consist of the entire agreement for my membership in the Association and they supersede any previous agreement.

I understand that the membership fee entitles me to receive those benefits outlined in the Articles of Association of TBA. I agree to pay consideration for those benefits that I receive that are declared by the director to be “special assessments”, per the Fee Schedule. I also understand that all personal information, credit card & payment information, intellectual property, images, and ordering systems are proprietary to the Association. The information contained in this document is intended only for the individuals and entities entering into this agreement and any dissemination, distribution, or copying is strictly prohibited.

Final Claim

The administration of this PMA is private and generally beyond the scope of authority and powers granted by “We the People” to either Louisiana or the United States, and this contract is protected by the national Constitution, Article I, § 10, and Amendments IX and X.

Membership fee

I will pay the sum of $5.00 (non-refundable) for lifetime membership, said term beginning with the date of the signing of this contract, and by these presents do hereby certify, attest, and warrant that I have carefully read the above and foregoing The Backwater Agrarian Private Membership Association Contract, and I fully understand and agree with the same.