Feds sting Amish farmer selling raw milk locally

[Warph]

The Fed cannot keep drugs out of the country try as they might.... and as Hillary Clinton informed us, there is simply too much money to be made in drugs.
Yes, well ...  but they can and will stomp down hard on family farms which raise milk cows and treat them as top nefarious criminals.  There is just too much money to be made in the processing of milk.  Always follow the money...that way it is all so very simple.  Jeez.... give me a break.

The weird thing is the way this has been politicized.  Comparing raw milk to medical marijuana is kinda strange.

Anyway, this whole raw vs. pasteurized dairy product war has been raging for some time between fans of "all natural" and regulators.  If the raw stuff had warning labels if might be OK, like "don't drink this if you are pregnant, a child, an elderly person, a person with serious illness, or someone who'd rather not get Salmonella, E. Coli, Obumaitus, Listeria, or various other Bacterial poisonings."  That would probably cover it.

Hell... I was raised on raw milk when I was a kid, as were many of my elementary classmates back in the day about a hundred years ago.  And like Steve said, it tastes so much better than the crap you buy today.

Oh... and BTW... this Amish farmer was warned last year about what he was doing by the Gestapo.  A quick Google search reveals that the FDA sent them a warning letter about this a year ago: 

http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/ucm209276.htm

[Anmar]

The milk containers were unmarked?  yeah I'd have a problem with that.  Whatever you believe in, you have to admit that not marking the containers as Raw milk is a little weird.

[pepelect]

They couldn't heed the warning because it was sent by email.

[srkruzich]

The milk containers were unmarked?  yeah I'd have a problem with that.  Whatever you believe in, you have to admit that not marking the containers as Raw milk is a little weird.

why is it wierd???  A lot of farmers don't mark their containers.   A lot of people use glass jars to get their milk and swap out glass jars for milk.  You give the farmer a 1 gallon jar and get one back with milk in it.  No labelling at all.

[Diane Amberg]

That's how Mary Ann's Mom did it too. She used 1 gallon glass jars. But we knew what is was and it wasn't sold to "strangers"at a farm market or store, plus it was still in PA, it wasn't sold across state lines. Mr .Allgyer got in trouble as Maryland doesn't allow any raw milk to be sold there, period. We would have the same problem here. Del allows raw milk sales directly from  permitted  Del. farms but wouldn't allow PA milk to be sold here without a Del. permit. Technically ,if I drive up the road to PA and bring raw milk  back home (unmarked jars)l I'd be breaking the law unless I could prove it was for my personal use and not for resale here. Not that anyone would enforce it.

[srkruzich]

That's how Mary Ann's Mom did it too. She used 1 gallon glass jars. But we knew what is was and it wasn't sold to "strangers"at a farm market or store, plus it was still in PA, it wasn't sold across state lines. Mr .Allgyer got in trouble as Maryland doesn't allow any raw milk to be sold there, period. We would have the same problem here. Del allows raw milk sales directly from  permitted  Del. farms but wouldn't allow PA milk to be sold here without a Del. permit. Technically ,if I drive up the road to PA and bring raw milk  back home (unmarked jars)l I'd be breaking the law unless I could prove it was for my personal use and not for resale here. Not that anyone would enforce it.

You know what it appears to be is the feds went to his farm and brought it back with them.  Now if the farm delivered across the line then that is a bad no no on their part. BUT the simple fact is, why are we spending tax dollars to regulate the milk when there is current law that covers any problems with the milk.  IF you as a producer, sell milk that is tainted, then you are liable for any and all expenses related to that tainted milk.  Secondly there are civil laws that allow for any damages.   IF i as a producer of milk, sell tainted product, you can be rest assured tht i would be out of business real quick if someone got sick and all that i had would be siezed to compensate the individuals that got sick

[Diane Amberg]

I think they may be trying to solve the wrong problem. If Maryland people down in the DC, Silver Springs area want raw milk they should petition to have the Maryland law changed to allow raw milk to be sold by permitted Maryland raw milk farms, or the folks should go buy the milk themselves and take it home. As you know, raw milk must be kept quite cold for safety or must be consumed right from the animal. As a permitted organic farm, I'm sure the milk was just fine for sales at the farm, but transport to MD just isn't allowed, especially in unmarked containers with no dates or information on them.

[redcliffsw]

It looks like the gov't is the only one blaming.

If two parties agree on a "milk deal", it's their business.

[Diane Amberg]

Ok, time to setup the ol' still so I can sell alcohol to whomever makes a deal. If somebody dies from it, too bad.

[srkruzich]

I think they may be trying to solve the wrong problem. If Maryland people down in the DC, Silver Springs area want raw milk they should petition to have the Maryland law changed to allow raw milk to be sold by permitted Maryland raw milk farms, or the folks should go buy the milk themselves and take it home. As you know, raw milk must be kept quite cold for safety or must be consumed right from the animal. As a permitted organic farm, I'm sure the milk was just fine for sales at the farm, but transport to MD just isn't allowed, especially in unmarked containers with no dates or information on them.

quite cold?  It requires no cooler temp than pasturized milk.  You see the thing about raw milk is that if it warms up above 51 degrees it ferments.  Raw milk does not rot like pasturized milk does.  it only ferments.  It is a live culture.  Thats the difference in the two.   AND if you have raw milk that does not contain listeria, tb, brucellous, ect you cannot get those in raw milk from it not being refridgerated below 51 degrees. Its simply impossible.  

If you understand the process of making cheese and yogurt you introduce bacteria to the milk. That makes it turn into cheese or yogurt.  Same principle with the bacteria in the raw milk.  The good bacteria makes it ferment and it makes it much better for the drinker of the buttermilk.  the proteins break down into a much easier protein to digest.