I cant believe this was worth sending in AGENTS! Seriously! This is a waste of money. If people want to buy raw milk, let them. To spend scarce resources on this type of thing is the height of misplaced priorities.

Another case of the federal government butting in where it is not wanted or needed.

Busting an Amish farmer is alot easier than making sure that all of the generic prescriptions that are made in China,Pakistan,India and god knows where else are safe and actually have the right ingredients and are of similar strenght as the name brand meds.

They "Infiltrated" the buying club? And so many people don't believe that we are losing our freedoms every damned day. I am more than willing to bet that, the bigger milk producers were upset about this and paid some lobbyist to send in the feds and shut down a small profitable farm, after all, no competition, is no competition. More and more every day, we are heading head long into a police state with actions such as these, simply pathetic.

this might be a wake up call to those of you unaware of how far the feds will go to prevent you from exercising basic freedom which was completely taken for granted by mankind up until a few decades ago (and of course still is in many places). the US government is a disgrace

People have been buying this farmer's product for at least 6 years with NO deaths, illnesses, etc and yet you are worried that some someone who can't read is going to get sick? This was a BUYING CLUB that was purchasing this milk. It was not out on the shelf for anyone to purchase. Why is it the governments problem who joins this club and where they get their milk from? Not ONE person has become sick! How many hundreds or thousands of regular consumers get sick EVERY DAY from milk on the shelf at the grocery store? Milk that is PASTEURIZED. That doesn't guarantee the milk is any good. Seriously? When are you good citizens of the USA going to realize the government is not our FATHER or MOTHER. We can take care of ourselves. The government has it's limited responsibilities and then it should stay the h*ll out of our lives!

Hopefully he'll be able to draw unemployment for next 99 weeks.

Horrors! Unpasteurized milk must be the bane of all civilized and upwardly evolving mankind.

Unlike that disassembled then reassembled, dehydrated then rehydrated, ULTRApasteurized white stuff in supermarkets that has a shelf life of weeks!!

Yeah, that's just gotta be really safe. Except is not even recognizable as FOOD!

Is there anything too mundane for the government to worry about?

Why do these people not feel embarrassed?

I see that the truth is not allowed to get in the way of a good rant (read the many above). The reality is that several hundred people get very sick every year from non-pasteurized milk. And I believe that 4 people died last year (2011) from drinking it.

So - if you are going to post - try using actual facts (not just the made up ones that FOX publicizes). I recognize that my request is a stretch, but please try...

... What about people who don't know it's raw or can't read a label? Shopping shouldn't be a trip to the roulette wheel, There is no reason not to pasteurize product...

Your comment is illogical, given that a similar opposite reason comes from the same government offices. Consumers have asked for genetically altered foods, foods which havebeen irradiated (for longer shelf life) and milk from cows who were given hgt (a chemical which causes them to increase milk production) be labeled as such, so consumers can make knowledgiable choices over what they want to provide to their familes.

The FDA stated they would not make that requirment - it was unnecessary, since the products are exactly the same. Needless to say, they did not mention that Corporate food lobbists were the source of the information upon which their decision was based ... curious or does it smell as foul to you as it does to me?

Raw milk does have its dangers, but what really is at issue is the fall out if one supplier is legally allowed to sell what is the equivalent of "Organic" milk. The big operators will demand the right to stop adhering to the federally mandated pasteurization and vitamin enhanced amendments now required in all milk sold interstate.

The point of this product was the milk, raw milk was only sold to subscription buyers - obstinately, they were informed of the risks and made a conscious choice to secure this product ... even after being informed. Second, many Doctors have long advocated raw milk for babies suffering from a myriad of allergic and intestinal disorders. These are outside of AMA dogma, but are not illegal - as long as the product is not sold across state lines. This precludes sales in larger Super Markets ... but is not an issue for small subscription buyers, of a boutique product. Surely exceptions are possible, its not that difficult to draft accommodating regulations, with sufficient safeguards for both consumers as well as indemnifying the producer from legal repercussions. You notice that we have laws against suicide, but waivers protect outfitters who supply mountain climbing gear, snow skiing gear to idiots who over extend their meager abilities by climbing mountains above their skill level or attempt to ski Black Diamond slopes after one or two lesson.

You can't protect idiots and you should not prevent people from making decisions on what they eat, if they accept the consequences. Ever wonder how many people die, in this country, after eating wild mushrooms they picked from the forest. Fishermen who consume what they catch in waters list as contaminated by mercury? Its based on a choice they were allowed to make - after being made aware of the probable consequences.

Jeffrey, how dare you say the Amish ( why do you call them Germans ? They are U.S. citizens and have been for generations. Trying to get your ounce of prejudice in ?) So - how dare you say that these Amish would not care if our children died of Salmonella poisoning. How dare you ? Shame on you !

This whole issue has NOTHING to do with the comsuption of raw milk which anybody can do at anytime. It has everything to do with the storage and distribution of raw milk. Drinking raw milk from freshly milked cows may be a real lift for some, although, being a cold-milk drinking suburban kid, I had some aversion to drinking warm milk with its various flavors of the field. Nonetheless, there is no prohibition to drinking raw milk in the good ole USA. And you can buy it wherever you like and take it where ever you want for personal consumption.

However, raw milk is easily contaminated with only slight changes in temperature or sitting open. The mass storage and subsequent distribution of raw milk beyond the farm quickly provides untenable opportunities for contamination with each passing minute, each passing mile and each handling of the containers of raw milk.

There is no way that the commercially profitable storage and distribution of raw milk could be expected safe delivery to the consumers in distant locations to the degree that fresh meat, vegetables, fruits and poultry can be expected safe delivery.

Those folks drinking unpasturized milk for thousands of years were getting fresh milk from the cow. That milk was not being shipped or stored to any extent. It was milk-the-cow, drink-the-milk. It wasn't crossing state lines, national boundaries or probably even community boundaries.

It's all about distribution and nothing about consumption and nothing about individual purchases.

Or - mixed with thousands of gallons from who knows where... as long as it comes from a single batch, single source- it can be traced back to a particular farm maybe even the field that the cows were in on that day.

Once the truck takes it large distribution, processing center - all bets are off. They had the same issue with blood plasma... for years they used to just pour it all in large communal vat . Then the AIDS/HIV epidemic hit and they could tell where all the blood products came from. At the time, they weren't sure that all blood products could transmit the virus.

now they know and its not done that way anymore. Its all about accountability and tracking.

THE WAR ON UNPASTURIZED MILK! as soon as you legalize it- the criminal element will disapear as well as the young peoples desire for it.

The war on drugs must be over... Thank you FDA and FBI - go getem!

funny how how that Amish farmer could have stayed out of trouble if he sold cigarrettes instead- something known to cause cancer.

One more freedom that is being taken away..... Where will it end?

http://www.realmilk.com/where01.html

Rockyroad, milk pasteurization for commerce has been the law for over a 100 yrs. Those wanting raw milk had to seek out a local source to buy direct. It could not enter into the commercial distribution system. The government's general health and welfare protection role is just as important as its common defense role. Why don't you or others desiring access to raw milk approach the FDA with a proposal to test the milk for contamination prior to distribution along with requirements to acknowledge the risks of consuming raw milk and release from indemnity (you or your family can't sue the producer or the government if you get sick or die from consuming raw milk). That would be fine with me and most people, but do not blame the government for looking out for the best interest of the public in preventing food bourne disease outbreaks. That is its job.

New reality TV show coming to Discovery this fall - Milkshiners

With his wagon loaded up with full glass jars, Jebediah hitches up his fastest steed, puts on his black hat, and makes for the Maryland border where he will make some hard cash on his contraband - unregulated raw milk! He just has to evade the law - the special FDA taskforce setup to put the kabash on this dangerous trade. Watch as the cat and mouse game unfolds...

You know this is laughable. I started out at the ripe old age of 6 hand turning a milk/cream seperator in my grandfathers milkhouse.

The milk was being delivered to me by a boy of about 10..that was his job..the milkers 10 of em all boys ranging from the age of 15 to 26 milked those cows by hand into stainless milk pails.

The cream that was seperated off. Was put inot cream cans, loaded onto an old 5 ton truck and driven 21 miles to town...Now what happened after that I have no idea.

However back at the farm, that milk was put into the refrigerator or place in a butter churn and made into butter, cottage cheese..etc..etc...etc

In short 16 of my grandparents children and grandchildren ate,drank and otherwise consumed an unknown amount of "Raw" milk and raw milk products.

Of course there were precautions...everything had to be washed with scalding water and an iodine solution, my grandmothers butterchurn was cleaner than anything else in this world, and Woe unto the creature that touched that piece of equipment without her consent. (lol)

In short, "Raw" milk is not the problem at all. If certain standards are met and as someone else mentioned it has many benefical bacteria and enzymes in it that work with the human body to ward off allergies and the like of...just like "Raw" honey. (Pasturization by the way kills all bacteria. Even the good ones).

So for myself. I feel sorry for this poor farmer. I know why he doesn't produce anymore, what half of this country produced not 60 yrs ago.

I know why lettece,spinach,strawberries and other products enter this country from other countries contaminated with all forms of bacteria, disease and pest's.

and it sickens me to no end.

I wonder if he had of labeled this "product" as "NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION" would he be in the situation he is in now? What if he labeled it "Pet Food"?

Well I guess I will go on wondering. As for me...I think I will buy a cow, I miss homemade butter's rich and creamy flavour, I miss milk that had taste, I miss my granddad, who by the way passed on at the young age of 86. He consumed these wayward products and homegrown eggs, ham, turkeys and chickens all of his life.

Well that's my two cents worth on the subject, take it or leave it.

I wish you all health and happiness.

Farmboy12.

The article stated: "The FDA says unpasteurized milk can contain a variety of harmful bacteria, including listeria, E.coli, salmonella and campylobacter." In truth, the MAJOR reason for pasteurization of milk is to prevent "tuberculosis, brucellosis, diphtheria, scarlet fever, and Q-fever."

Pasteurization does not "kill" the cited bacteria, it just reduces them by around 90% and extends the shelf life of milk. But the advent of pasteurization is highly correlated with drops in the incidence of the "Big Five" milk-borne diseases, especially TB, Scarlet Fever, and Diphtheria. Cows are extremely susceptible to TB and other diseases, probably because of the crowded conditions in which dairy cattle are kept. But the cows can transmit the diseases, via unpasteurized milk, to infants and young children who are both the largest consumers of milk (duh) and the most susceptible to the Big Five diseases.

When I was growing up (I am 68) these diseases were much more prevelant than today and the reason was primarily unpasteurized milk. When I was a kid, scarlet fever, diptheria, and TB were "scare words" that parents used to get children to attend to personal hygeine. Dairy farmers will not allow theor own families to drink unpasteurized milk because they know about the milk-disease link. "Raw" milk is a staple of farm families only in the movies.

This one example of how a nut-case like Paul is dangerous in his radical left-wing rants. TB is increasingly drug-resistant. One reason for that drug resistance is the amount of antibiotics given to cattle (though not necessarily to dairy cattle.) The bottom line is that cows are a serious vector for drug-resistant TB and pasteurization is a comon sense and scientifically proven way of reducing the transmission right at the point where it is vectored into the public food supply.

It is always surprising when the Luddite anti-science and anti-education movement try to undo one of the major public health triumphs in history. Public health departments all over the country watched in the immediate post WWII period as the rates of the Big Five diseases plummeted. The first to decline were the urban areas where the diseases were often rampant. But then it declined in rural areas as more and more farmers became aware of the dangers of unpastrueized milk.

Americans are always nostalgic for times past that never actually existed. I, for one, do not want to see us go back to widespread diseases that targeted and killed children. I do not want the "freedom" to consume milk that might give me drug-resistant TB.

And for @farmboy12 --- I too, am an old farmboy and I can tell you for a fact that if your grandmosther's milk churn was as clean as you profess, it would never have produced a single pat of butter. The churning of butter actually requires that the churn not be sterile. Clean freaks find that in non-wooden churns that if they are more clean than rinsed our with water, the milk won't clabber. Commercial milk processing used acidifying bacteria and citric acid to do the job.

Thank you for your perspective Farmboy12. I have personally asked people in my area if they drank raw milk growing up and if it ever made them sick. Never to their knowledge did they get sick from it and drank it all the time.

Here is a basic biology lesson: you would die without bacteria. After killing all the good AND bad bacteria in milk products, some bacteria has to be added back into the milk to ever have cheese or yogurt, etc. You know those "probiotics" they are touting on the yogurt commercials that are so good for you? Yes, bacteria.

You can get those good probiotics in raw milk without the added preservatives, artificial colors and flavors in commercial products. Many of us are trying to get back to natural foods to reduce the enormous chemical load on our bodies that is killing so many of us.

One more thought: One of the main reasons for pasteurization is to make the milk more profitable. They can ship it and store it for much longer. But if you get your food locally it is much fresher and much more nutritious. Big industry (who control the FDA) does not want us to buy local. They want us to buy from the huge factory farms who routinely poison our food. It's all about the money....and there is a lot of money involved.

Grass fed raw milk is far more healthy than that stuff they pass of as milk at the grocery.

interested observer wrote: "The reality is that several hundred people get very sick every year from non-pasteurized milk. And I believe that 4 people died last year (2011) from drinking it."

That may be true - I didn't bother to check. But here's another stat for you; between 40 and 50 people die in the U.S EACH YEAR from being struck by lightning. Maybe we can get the Dept of Energy working on banning lightning strikes, after all, they've been so effective at their primary mission - getting us off foreign oil.

This is a perfect example of exactly what this country doesn't need - more governmental intervention into personal lives and consensual transactions.

The first thing I remember happening to the milk when it came in from the barn was it was strained, to remove all the pieces of straw, dirt, etc. that was kicked into the milk bucket as the cow was being milked. My dad's first job after he returned from WWII was testing cows for TB. Do they still do that? And how big is the government team implementing those precautions?

@will - rotflmao

Milkshiners

Pitch it to a studio, it can't be any worse that most of the crap they broadcast.

For all you who rant and rave about the Gov doing this, do you feel the same way about gov inspection of meat plants? Veggies? Seafood? By your reasoning, the Gov should just let you buy whatever and whenever you want and to stay out of things. Yet, you will be the first to throw a fit if there is a huge Salmonella outbreak and the Gov didn't catch it? Can't have it both ways. While they haven't had any complaints, it can still kill. As for the story and the person saying these people need milk and they will be hard pressed to replace.... try Kroger....

I would certainly not drink raw milk. I would not allow my kids to drink it. The big five are now well under control, and I want my kids to live in a world where that sort of think is unthinkable.

But I am really not sure I want to force anyone out there to NOT drink raw milk, just like I wouldn't want to stop them from bungee jumping, or hang gliding. As long as it's properly labeled and the proper warnings are in place, I don't see why the government needs to infiltrate milk drinkers groups...

Really? really now? Billions of dollars in narcotics come into the US every year, and you are worried about an amish man selling raw milk?! I get it, the law is the law, and no one is above it, but wasn't there a more efficient way to deal with this other than setting up the use of manpower and doing a sting?

The Amish farmer wasn't bribing (excuse me) donating to the correct politician. That was the problem all along.

Udderly terrible. A bag of tricks paid for by taxpayers milked of their very last dollars.

Seriously though many of my farm relatives kept a milk cow or two and it didn't kill them. If the animals are healthy and happy and you exercise some clean habits handling the milk your chances of getting sick are less than when you drive your car to the dairy to buy the milk.

We are witnessing a 'local food' movement in this country. People are interested as to where their food comes from. Once they begin asking questions buying local becomes their goal. I'd urge you all to buy at least some of your food from a local producer. You can get fresher healthier stuff and support local agriculture rather than the oil industry and trucking companies.

Congratulations to the "jack booted thugs" of the FDA, who're starting to make a habit of armed raids of farming cooperatives and other small fries to save adults from the "deadly scourge" of drinking or serving their children raw milk while ignoring the THOUSANDS of Americans who die every year from reactions or improper administration of narcotics pushed on them by Big Pharma !!

Thanks for protecting us from this Amish menace, now go shine your boots, clean your guns and get ready to terrorize more innocent Americans who wish to live a simpler and more honest life.

farmboy12 (and rd),

Having drunk modest amounts of milk fresh from the cow as a child from my grandfather's small family dairy farm (no more that 2 dozen cows), I fully understand that fresh milk is quite safe and healthy, and may even be better than pastuerized milk.

Since you each speak with a confidence that projects realistic knowledge of the subject, I ask you about the differences between pastuerized and unpastuerized milk'

How long can each be properly stored and shipped before becoming unhealthfully degraded?

What is the temperature range (high to low) at which each can be safely stored and shipped?

How frequently would a quart of each type of milk have to consumed before unhealtful degradation?

My last question requires a value judgement to which I hope you can offer some enlightenment: Do you think that the federal government has any role in establishment of standards for the safety of milk (either pastuerized or unpastuerized) sold to consumers?

For all of you who rant about how safe it is "as long as it is handled correctly", what about the farm that ISN'T so clean??? We have had many deaths from so called approved farms even with pasturized milk/cheese so why not require them to at least make it as safe as possible? US has one of the safest food systems in the world. I have traveled Europe and they are not as lucky. Just think of how many more deaths we would have without the rules and regs? How about it was YOUR baby who died from an infection caused by unregulated food????

I see nothing wrong with unpasteurized milk. Then again I drink it. It is funny most people forget about that little "scare" about our spinach being "tainted" because it came from a "farm" where all the FDA's regulations were "supposedly" followed. Point being... do you really know where your food is coming from? I know where mine does... my backyard and a co-op from where we get farm raised pastured grass fed beef and chickens and pigs. I know those farmers personally. I also have gotten milk from a few sources and we (kids included) have made butter and drank the milk.

So long as the person knows where they are getting the "source" I see no wrong. The only thing that this Amish man did was he did not pay taxes on it.... that made the gov't mad. Can't stiff them of their nine pennies!

Yeah, I feel the same way about drugs.

I mean, really....what is wrong with Mexico bringing drugs over the border to willing buyers....

I grew up drinking raw milk. It was completely safe.We also made our own butter from the cream.This article is just another government scam to extort money from the public.

I grew up next to a small dairy farm and actually knew the cows whose raw milk I drank. Never made me or anyone else in my neighborhood sick. If the operation is clean and the animals are healthy I don't see what the problem is. Label it properly. Done.

Raw milk is harmless, so long as it is collected and handled with proper hygenic practices. The only reason anyone, including you, think it is stupid is because you have been misinformed about how raw milk contains "bad" bacteria. Real milk, that has not been pasteurized and homogenized, is perfectly safe and nutritious, and includes great quantities of "good" bacteria, as well as the enzymes that aid in the proper digestion of the milk. It only gets "bad" bacteria when it is exposed to dirty environments.

Hell, people, raw milk has been consumed by humans since before recorded history. Uhhh, I think we survived just fine, thank you. And they didn't even have the understanding of hygiene that we have today!

The entire purpose of government-sanctioned bans on raw milk is an attempt to co-opt local producers of food in lieu of mega-agribusiness. It is nothing more than a means by which our government f--ks over the masses in support of big business interests.

The bucket you collect the milk in has more bacteria than the milk that comes out of the cow's teat. But leave it up to the Federal Death Administration to support laws that actually diminish health.

Raw milk is HEALTHIER than commercially produced milk! As long as the cows and the area they are in is clean!! What do you think our great grandparents drank on the farm?? They had much strogner immune systems as well, there is beneficila bacteria in raw milk.

Here is what I found:

http://www.marlerblog.com/lawyer-oped/85-of-outbreaks-and-illnesses-from-milk-products-were-traced-to-raw-milk-or-60-day-aged-raw-milk-che/

and does that give you the right to feed it to your kids too?

the FDA makes it extremely difficult for small farmers to provide consumers with safe, organic, pasture fed meat and dairy products. their MO is to shut the little guy out so that the big 4 gets 100% of the market share.

if this pisses you off then make the extra effort and buy directly from the farmer. don't just complain-do something about it!

I also grew up drinking raw milk from our own cows. The only times I couldn't handle it was after the cows got into some bitter weeds or wild garlic . Other than that, no problems !!

@ wants to know

Yes, it does. Stay out of other people's personal business.

Nobody has a problem with selling milk in your local store or even your home state. This is an interstate issue, not a big/small issue, read the article for Christ sake, The Farmer was breaking the LAW! You'll fight for a farmer breaking the law, yet a woman's right to chose gets no attention...Go figure huh?

OK, so you eliminate the ban on interstate sale of raw milk. Sales pick up. More people start buying it. More people start producing it. The market booms.

How soon would it take for one bad batch of raw milk to get into the market, and make a family sick or dead, or a couple of families?

How far do you think the arguement for that the seller of the bad milk will have to either fix his distribution, or people will stop buying his milk - at least until he starts selling it under another name. How many panicked individuals would stop buying any milk altogether.

A law is really working well when its whole reason for existing goes into hibernation and is forgotten or unnoticed.

This is true of any properly executed function. Good remedial maintenance makes maintenance seem unnecessary. If you think acting is good, it isn't. Good acting makes you forget it's a play. Any good golfer makes driving and putting look like anybody can do it. The better clothing fits, the less you realize that you even have clothes on.

Distributing raw milk beyond the farm becomes problematic, as the milk travels father and father prior to consumption. The non-existance of illness from raw milk in spite of the proven vulnerability of raw milk to infestation from harmful bacteria is a sure indication that the interstate ban is working well.

Those who have grown up drinking raw milk should know this well, and are doing no service to their fellow man by not talking about it. I also drank raw milk from cows I personnally knew when I was a child. But that milk was handled very carefully, to an extent that I was not even aware.

Come clean, raw milk advocates.

Did you even read the article? The people buying the milk were a BUYING CLUB. They weren't drug dealers. They were buying it for their own personal use. How is that limited purchase and usage being exploded into massive interstate commerce with absolutely no regulation? As far as breaking the law, yes the farmer was breaking the law. But sometimes laws need to be broken in order to bring change. How many ridiculous laws ar still on the books that we break everyday? Who is enforcing those? Why enforce this one very tiny operation? Ridiculous waste (AGAIN) of MY money!

Sorry folks, gotta go with food safety on this one. An earlier post stated that our grandparents and earlier generations survived just fine without this kind of interference. No they didn't, the rate of childhood mortality before the 1940's was horrible, especially in the rural areas where it hovered around 40%. It's because out these "terrible laws" that we have the safest food in the world. What would happen to these people if he had one bad batch? These peoples kids could die. All it would take is one slip, because there are no checks on the distribution. That's what the laws create, a system of checks. Read "The Jungle" sometime and you'll understand why we have food safety laws.

My grandmother was a public health nurse in the 20's and 30's of the last century when people routinely sickened and sometimes died of "undulant fever" (brucellosis). As a child, I would have been given raw milk when hell froze!

It is easy to pasteurize the milk yourself. The advantange you have with raw milk is that it is not homogenized, which is the way nature made it and which is easier for us to digest. o.k. so law forbidding interstate trade with raw milk was broken. I admit that.

But have you heard of Federal Agents taking away children's lunches because they did not conform to the standard Mrs. Non-nutrionist Michelle Obama has demanded ? That is a bigger scandal.

This is a sad day in America! I certainly wish that Amish farmer hadn't shut down his milk- what a sad day.

... But have you heard of Federal Agents taking away children's lunches because they did not conform to the standard Mrs. Non-nutrionist Michelle Obama has demanded ? That is a bigger scandal...

Demanded ..., since when?

All I've heard is she advocates that fat, obese kids are unhealthy and that adults should take the time to A. be a good example, wouldn't hurt if kids saw Mom 'n Dad in a healthy state either. B. suggest what to feed kids - other than pizza, pop tarts and soda... there are aternatives which kids will eat, if you present it right.

Way too many choices out there, when I was a kid the dialog was short and to the point:

- Ma, what's for dinner... Son, whatever it is, you'll eat it, 'cause that whats for dinner. you may not enjoy it, but that's what I made. Yes, maam...

That evil woman, she should just shut up and worry about keepoing her own kids healthy (which they are) teach them good nutrition (which she apparenly does - none of them are the least bit "chunky"). Its hard to see when someone is trying to help... if out close your eyes and imagine what you want to see rather than what is actually happening.

Wow, soon, people won't be able to milk a cow or goat on their own farms.

How many Americans milk cows on their own farm and drink the non pasteurized milk? Someone noted there were maybe 4 deaths a year from people drinking non pasteurized milk.

Here's an excerpt from 1 article

Pasteurized milk is milk which has been heat-treated to kill pathogens which cause disease. Not all pathogens are removed during the pasteurization process, so pasteurized milk is not 100% sterile, but many people consider it to be safer to drink than raw milk which has not been pasteurized at all. The bulk of the milk sold in commercial grocery stores is pasteurized, and much of it is also homogenized to prevent the cream from separating.

from wisegeek com what is pasteurized milk

shouldn't it be up to us as individuals to determine what we should eat/drink. What if some scientist decided meat and pork was dangerous to our health. What if lettuce was found to carry some bacteria that affects you blood. Guess what, there have been scientists/doctors that have found common foods to have possible ill effects on our health.

Meat-

Poultry

Pork

Lettuce(howw many recalls have we had?

Basically everything we use potentially causes cancer. Why dont we just let this man sell his non pasteurized milk. or better yet, since he can't sell across state lines, maybe the buying club can become a coop and he can produce the non pasteurized milk "in state" thereby not in violation of federal laws.

If the Government lets Dan and Rachel Allgyer sell raw milk across state lines they have to let anyone and everyone do it too. Do you want to buy raw milk from Joe Sewerpit's farm? Then they will start mixing raw milk from different farms together and we won't know where the bad milk is coming from. The estate of first person that dies from Dan and Rachel Allgyer's raw milk will own a dairy farm. If I were a dairy farmer I don't think I would want the liability for someone drinking raw milk when there are safer alternatives. That farmer can be hit with a law suit even if the people know they are doing something that is dangerous to their health. The tobacco lawsuits set the president on that.

The Food Police are very good at going after little businesses. Note how busy they were at packing plants. Seems the argument against the 'crossing state lines' is the fact that the farmer wasn't selling to the public at large.

I agree with Docsuby from what I've read quite a few people died from drinking bad milk back in the old days. One of Abe Lincoln's sons died from bad milk.

The FDA is the most corrupt agency we have. Just take a look at the drug industry. There's hundreds of dangerous narcotics out there, but the FDA leaves those manufacturers alone.

Is this not obvious? The FDA and our Justice Dept. working together to bust a f***ing small time milk dealer. This is what we call fascism. Get a big whiff, cause it's coming to a town near you.

must be lots of "idiots" on here today. - moron....

Yep there are thousands of people getting sick.......Not like all that great food that comes from china! even the dogs can t eat that without a chance of dying. Good job keeping us safe FDA from those amish....Not.

If you drink too much water, you can die. If you drink too much alcohol, you can die. If you stand in front of a moving train, you can die. Now, if a person is informed of the risks inherent in certain activities, if said person goes ahead and does participate in certain activities, shouldn't that be the business of the informed person?

Monsanto went to federal court and won a lawsuit against a group of dairy farmers who refused to inject their cows with Bovine Growth Hormone and had the audacity to state such on their milk labels. The judge ruled that the farmers could state that they didn't inject their cows with BGH as long as it was also stated that the FDA had mentioned that there was no harm in drinking artificial hormone enhanced milk. Then there is the case about all the antibiotics injected into livestock meant for human consumption, along with the hormones injected into said livestock and not much mention is made about the perils to humans when they consume excessive antibiotics and hormones.

Perhaps there should be a call to reason here. Monsanto and Dow and ADM own the FDA, along with big Pharma. Said corporations have huge and powerful lobbies and they exert a massive interest for legislation that benefits the agri-business. The consumer is told of the horrors of eating non-processed foods via the new Food Safety Act which, oddly enough, does not address the perils or dangers of excessive pesticides, herbicides, hormones and antibiotic uses in the food supply. Rather, it goes after anyone with the audacity to want food as close to nature as they can get it. Organic farmers and food co-ops are targeted for food safety issues, e.coli and other diseases in packing houses and food processing plants tend to get a pass except in massive outbreaks where people, many people die.

Sooo the milk is "contaminated and full of bacteria" and its okay to sell it just not across state lines? What am I missing? Does the imaginary state line make it even worse?

I mean, give me a break.

This is a prime example of the law creating the criminal.

State lines figure into Federal powers to regulate interstate commerce. It's one of the enumerated powers of the Federal government, therefore putting the milk issue under the purview of the FBI and FDA.

TFJ, the interstate commerce clause was put into place to ENCOURAGE commerce between states, not stop it. The Feds are wrong on this one, like so many others. Just another power grab. An immoral and unethical one at that.

The federal government shut down a clandestine lab. Was it meth, heroin, cocaine ? No for unpasteurized milk. I wouldn't drink it, but those who want to, let them. Remember the saying " let the buyer beware"? Besides, I don't really think Monsanto is worried about our health ! We need a new organization for this cause. I propose " Moo On " Dot Org. Other suggestions include " The Teat Party " '' Occupy All Teat " or '' UDDERLY NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS ". All of us should have a little libertarian streak in us. Conservatives, as well as liberals, don't seem to mind the government telling us what to do. They only have different messages.

What dolt came up with the term "Raw milk" anyway. What we buy at the grocer is a pasteurized homogenized milk product, often with added sugar. Fresh milk comes straight from the udder. I was raised on fresh dairy as well as wild fish and game. The only time(s) a visit to the doctor was in order was for a cast or stitches. However, the law was broken and I imagine plenty of campaign contributions are attributable to the dairy industry, so the fresh milk caper is probably toast.

FDA wants to protect you from bacteria that we have been living with for thousands of years but synthetic growth hormones and antibiotics are aokay, whose interest does the FDA represent, you decide

I don't think their agenda includes my personal welfare, michael, yours either.

The Feds have a very poor track record when it comes to these things..remember Prohibition? Last year we spent $15B on the war on drugs, over 1/2 the people in prison in this country are there because of drug related offenses, yet virtually any drug you want is freely available in the U.S.

Ms. O'Boyle,

You said, "the interstate commerce clause was put into place to ENCOURAGE commerce between states, not stop it." What is your source for that? Did Madison claim this in his papers? Did Hamilton say this? I'm not saying you're wrong, but a lot of people say things about the Constitution that simply are not true. If you can show me where your statement comes from, I'd really appreciate it.

It was my understanding that this clause was put in the Constitution to create consistent regulations of commerce between the states and not a hodge-podge of different regulations that vary from state to state. Perhaps I am wrong.

Die of brucellosis if you wish...just don't subject your kids to it!

If you and your ilk would stop taking drugs, there would be no war ! duh !

girliemen need drugs to face life.

don't vote recklessly # 3.12,

Don't speak recklessly. What has drugs and Prohibition got to do with uncontaminated food? We're talking about raw milk here, one of nature's most perfect foods, which happens to be more vulnerable to bacterial attack the longer it sits with only slight changes in its storage and/or distribution environment (temperature, open air, etc).

As to the Feds record on maintaining a safe food supply, to say that its record is poor is the most untrue, unfounded and ridiculous statement one could make about food safety in this country. The US record on food safety as enforced by the FDA the Dept of Agric, and other Fed agencies is the most exemplary in the world. When is the last time any food produced in this country caused any kind of sickening outbreak?

The fact that you cannot imagine a salmonella or e .coli outbreak in the the US population is due ENTIRELY to the federal regulations on the food supply, from fresh meat, vegetables and fruit to canned and packaged foods.

Raw milk just is far too easily contaminated to even attempt safe interstate distribution.

This has has nothing to do with recreational drug use and everything to do with access to the biological requirement for uncontaminated food.

umm Greentimer. Where were you when lettuce and other produce were being recalled for bacterial contamination? This all happened in the past 5 years.

Look it up. I dare ya

i agree, i have a friend that owns a dairy farm, a special treat to drink the milk right after milking, when the cream rises to the top. nothing better on miniwheats.

Well, let's not forget that mankind has been drinking raw milk for 1000s of years before this and we seemed to do just fine.

This is big agribusiness not liking little organic farmers cutting in on their turf so they use their "hired guns-FDA" to strong arm the little guys and frighten consumers about drinking raw milk. You will get far more bacteria in your taco at Taco Bell, than in a glass of raw organic milk. Can't these feds find some REAL criminals, not some Amish farmer trying to make a living?

Pathetic.

The thing is, you guys are talking about drinking raw milk within 24 hours of collection. After 48-72 hours I would not consider drinking it. And when it's being sold to you, you are never sure how long it has been around for.

As I said, I think it is the individual's prerogative, but generally I think its a bad idea for most people who don't have direct access to a fresh supply.

It says the Judge said, stop selling across state lines. If the people who bought his milk like it so much, then drive across state lines and get it from the source.

Drinking the lactate of another animal is disgusting. Just saying.

Back in 1943 my mother contacted ‘Valley Fever’ [Coccidioidomycosis]
a severe and most often fatal sickness caused by unpasteurized milk. We, like a
lot of small farmers kept a few cows for our and friends milk, my mother
survived after 22 years of expensive treatment. No one else in the five member
family was affected.

After the war we expanded the herd to 800 head and I can
remember going out to the milking parlor’s refrigerated two thousand gallon
tank and dipping out a gallon or two for home use. That super cold whole milk
is a wonderful memory but my mom’s sickness isn’t. It seems most of us has a
resistance to certain milk bug caused sickness leaving some to death or long
term illness. My mother went back to untreated milk after regaining her health
and drank it whenever available until her death at 92. Foolish?, maybe, shorten
her life, maybe but I’ll take 92 years of a happy life eating well to living in
fear anytime.

As far as Mat Maid being a large diary is pure ignorance,
Mat Maid was and is a creamery and owns no cows. They bought from small herds
all over Alaska. Back at their peak they were a Farmer Co-op, and then the
state of Alaska destroyed the creamery in a mass of regulations and loan money
with conditions they couldn’t meet. This pleased outside creameries to no end.

By the way certain farmers/creameries sell milk for pets
that is as whole as God intended.

Alaska Farmer

Cool! That's what we were meant to drink! (as far as milk goes!) I love it! WE should all SUPPORT as many local raw milk farmers as possible!!

Coccidioidomycosis is a fungus found in soil. Infection is caused when winds pick up the spores and they are inhaled. It has absolutely nothing to do with unpasteurized milk. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coccidioidomycosis)

Personally, I don't drink unpasteurized milk. But if someone else wants to, why would I care?

EngEsq, and many other poster are right I believe. We have as a specie drank milk for thousands of years. Fresh milk is OK if consumed before bacteria develops. Bacteria splits every 30 mns i believe, in the right conditions. if you start with one bacteria on the cow's utter or in the container, after 1/2 hour you'll have 2 bacteria, say in a gallon of milk. starting conservatively with just two bacteria after 1 hour : after 2 hours, 8. 3 hours 32, 4 hours 128, 5 hours 512( say 500), 6 hours 1000, 7 hours 4000, 8 hours 16000, 9 hours 64000, 10 hours 256,000, 11 hours 1,024,000, 12 hours 4,096,000. anyhow you can do this calculation with exponents on a calculator but I wanted to break it down for confusing clarity.

It probably would not happen this fast in reality, but you got to understand that your immune system would rather fight 20 undesirable bacteria than 2,000.

With this in mind and milk transportation far away by truck, maybe in full sun, with a substandard or failing air conditioning system, I personally understand the regulation in place, because if the child gets sick(or dies) from it in the neighboring state, well it's sad, and we get a more complicated interstate lawsuit.

The problem in this case I believe is scale of operation needed for profit, and a need for distribution territory for that minimum scale of operation. Or poverty as a farmer, like in the good old days.

@save You are entirely correct. It's all about the scale and number of people effected. And btw you don't start out with 1 baterium, you start out with 10,000 or more. But the same idea remains, if you use it quickly you would be fine, pasturization was developed for storage purposes, same reason beer is pasturized. It can be transported and stored. Would you really want Budweiser selling contaminated beer? (which it would be without pasturization)

The sound you hear is hardening of the arteries. Got the cholesteral problem fixed, do you? Pastuer was a fake. Yeah right.

The idea that people have been drinking raw milk for thousands of years and it is perfectly safe is nonsense. All you have to do is look at religious dietary laws --- especially Jewish and Muslim --- and you will see that bacterial contamination of milk was a problem at least 3500 years ago.

Raw milk is NOT safe. Cows are incredibly nasty animals when they are crowd-herded as dairy cattle. They literally live in filth. There is no way to "sterilize" a teat without killing the cow. Just wiping it off with an alcohol-based gel does not kill sufficient bacteria to even be vey worthwhile. If you look at safety numbers you will see that "fecal matter" is found in 100% of unprocessed milk.

I grew up on and around farms and have drank my share of raw milk. But I also grew up with the warnings, especially TB, Scarlet fever and other diseases that could be caught from unprocessed milk. When I was young a lot of people thought polio was caused by unpasteurized milk. While it is true that raw milk is unlikely to kill you, "unlikely" is not very good protection. Rural families drank raw milk because they could not afford pasteurized or because they were completely mal-informed as to the dangers of raw milk.

The absolute last thing we need in a world with emerging strains of drug-resistant TB is to take one of the most notorious TB incubators (cows) give them massive amounts of unnecessary antibiotics in their feed, and then stop pasteurizing the milk before giving it to the most vulnerable people (children.) Any significant reduction in the rate of pasteurization could have very dire consequences.

Wow, so you really don't seem to like cows. Note: the animals are subject to the environment in which they are kept. Hogs are not filthy animals if left to their own devices. Ditto cows. Factory farming on a massive scale is the problem most of the time. I lived near a dairy farm in France when I was a kid. We drank the milk from the cows immediately after it was milked, everything was clean, boiled and sanitary. If the milk was not consumed immediately, then it was boiled or cooked at a certain temperature to keep the bacteria at bay. Note that Pasteur was French, so the dairy was most aware of improper hygeine.

There are lots of new and puzzling allergies and illnesses these days, probably because the immune system of many children hasn't been exposed to bacteria and other little items that can help it develop immunities. As to your TB scenario, yup. But most herds are routinely inspected for all manner of infectious diseases, in this country anyways. The drug resistant TB that is rearing it's ugly head these days comes as a result of poverty, non-compliance with following proper drug therapy and crowded living conditions, filthy living conditions as experienced by the homeless and some of the OWS camps.

sharktopussie...people have NOT been drinking raw milk for centuries "without concern". People frequently were sickened and often died of "milk fever" (what historians call the cause of death of Abraham Lincoln's mother) AKA "undulant fever" AKA brucellosis. Pasterization was devised by Pasteur to combat this pervasive illness. Sheesh...don't make such claims without researching whether the claim is true.

I grew up on a small dairy farm in Michigan and drank raw milk for the first 17 years of my life ('m 28). As a kid, I rarely got sick, never had allergies and never had sinus issues.

When I went to college, I started getting sick all the time, and now I have allergies and sinus issues every spring and fall like clockwork.

Why should state lines matter? How do you like your steak? Rare? Medium Rare? Meat is more dangerous than milk! If farms are kept clean, like they should be then we shouldn't have to worry of any contamination!

To the objectors of raw milk, don't buy it, it's always clearly labeled.

It's not the federal government's job OR business to regulate raw milk. It would be the government's job to step in and fight for raw milk drinkers rights IF it were illegal to consume it in the citizens state. Because it's the federal government's job to protect the citizens of The United States of America liberty, freedom, and civil rights !

Pirate C- You can drink the pasteurized (read: Dead) milk if you want, but you should at least inform yourself as to the great benefits of drinking milk the way nature intended. Granted, there is an argument that adults should not be drinking milk at all, especially of another animal, but that is another issue.

Raw milk is perfectly safe as long as it is collected and handled correctly. Please go to www.mercola.com and www.naturalnews.com for more info.

Oh, and when you leave RAW milk out in room temps, with the cap on, you know what happens??? It CLABBERS, that is, it naturally separates into its curd and whey components. And when you gather up the curds, and drain the whey out completely, you know what you get?? CREAM CHEESE!!!! Enjoy!

State line matter because there are laws regulating trade across state lines. Therefore it is easier to prosecute. We are promoting worldwide free trade but restricting state to state. History makes sense, but we are stuck with historical laws. It may be easier to send raw milk to China and import it to another state, than shipping it across state lines.

We also control bacteria in drinking water. Unlike milk water is not an effective medium for bacterial growth. Think why water chlorination and pasterization of milk were introduced. Go back to "natural" and 50% infant mortality will come back.

Indy Patriot--curds without the whey are not cream cheese; dry curds are farmer’s cheese, pot cheese or yogurt cheese. Cream cheese, on the other hand, is quite difficult to manufacture and has a smooth texture.

Fresh milk--if produced in healthy conditions by healthy cows and handled with extreme caution--can usually be fine if drunk within a few hours. However, there are so many ways for the milk to become contaminated, that people used to die from the consumption of raw milk, in large enough numbers that pasteurization was hailed as a life-saver.

Pasteurized milk has not been sterilized--it has just be pasteurized so that pathogens are killed. There are still micro-organisms in it. I don't have an objection to milk from Pennsylvania cows being sold in Pennsylvania--but it is a bit more problematic selling it across state lines. If the people in DC want milk from Pennsylvania, then they can just drive there (it's about 100 miles from DC to Lancaster) and buy it. There's no need to drag the poor farmer into the issue that the people in DC have--if they are having trouble distributing it after it is bought, that's their problem. If they want their own milk, buy a small cow (they come in "mini" sizes about the size of a Great Dane)--move outside city limits where the cow is legal.

There is a good reason for the law--though this particular case seems to be a bit over-the-top. Still, if these highly litigious people in DC came down with a milk-borne illness, I'm pretty sure they'd be the first to sue the poor farmer. I think it might be in his best interest not to sell to them--though why he has to close his dairy isn't clear, unless there weren't enough people in Pennsylvania buying his milk. I'm just puzzled as to why he is closing down as it doesn't sound like he was selling that much milk to DC.

Well, unless he had a lot of legal bills--and, again, it's my opinion that the people in DC who wanted the milk should bear the burden rather than the poor farmer. He was just doing business.

Drink milk the way that nature intended, right from your mom's tit. Otherwise, nature didn't intend for you to hunt down a cow (not a bull) and suck an udder. Yech! You ever look at an unprocessed udder? The feces that are attached to it? I mean these cows aren't walking around in a open pasture. They are usually fenced in with their own feces.

Good luck with raw milk. Not one of natures dumb ideas.

P.A.G.A.N. People against goodness and normalcy.

feel better? now that you have let that hot air out? useless typing going on....

like yours and mine eh - windbag??/

Word !

And you know what's worse, if this guy did have some kind of bad batch or whatever, he would be SHUT DOWN. But ANYTIME a big corporation has some sort of contamination, they NEVER get shut down, just BS recalls.

So riddle me this Batman, how is that American ?

Leave my President out of this.. I don't want him worrying about milk either.

Finally a sensible answer.

I'm sorry, but his opposition to the First Amendment and the Civil Rights Act aside, I don't trust Ron Paul in a crisis situation. I wouldn't trust him with commanding the Salvation Army, much less the US Army.

I've been drinking raw milk since I was 3 days old, and I am a healthy 65 years old now. all this is a crock I do not like the taste of Milk bought in the stores, and if you watched milk being processed and how they make low fat milk it would make you puke. When i want some milk to drink i go to a farm right here in CT. and get it from a family farm. If you have ever taken a drink of milk from a bulk milk tank at the dairy farm ( It's a taste you will never forget ) best milk that there is.

So what is all the fuss the milk company's sell and transport Raw milk to Canada, but the government doesn't stop that. Oh I get it now there's no kick back or graft, If this Amish farmer contributed some to the cause. Don't get me wrong corruption is a way of life and it all starts at the government level, but lets be real with all the people out of work what's one more. farming is no easy job and the average person wouldn't be able to do it. Who wants to work seven days a week 12 to 14 hours a day and get paid about 30 cents a gallon from the major milk company's. That's right it's about all they get, and they pay for all the feed and housing, harvesting the crops and whatever it takes to produce that milk. So when a farmer builds a business where he can make a profit like selling raw milk, he should not have government interference. Why can't they stop drug traffic, and criminals. And leave honest farmers alone

When kept refrigerated at 36-38 degrees, it will keep about 7-10 days.

Meaning everyday.

Un-homogenized whole milk will do, and is available in many health foods stores.

Actually, it's the cream you have to have. You can make your own butter out of even pastuerized cream, for what it's worth.

yea... what you get in most placestoday is 2% milk. It the "left overs" after they take the Cream off and make cheese, butter. Strange thing about this new improved, heart healthy 2% milk, they still charge consumers full price ... no reduction for skimming off the cream and butter fat.

When I was a kid, my Dad was giving us one of the "DAD" moments, whe he was showing us how butter was made from milk. He made the lesson come alive by churing up a few flakes of butter from the milk he took from the fridge. Try doing that today with 2% milk.

And they are charging you for the butter ! This is what happens when Government gets involved in the personal lives of citizens . The price doubles and and quality goes south . People used to drink directly from the cows tit .

Love the "Dr. Strangelove" paraphrase there! Man, I have to repeat what you did there in an upcoming conversation.The scenes between Ripper and Mandrake are some of my favorite.

People have been consuming raw cow"s milk , goat's milk , mother's milk etc. , since man was created , so whats your point zupercram ? If all beef disappeared , people would be eating Deer , Bear , and Turkey along with the Hunters of America , without Government inspection .

Yep, and they were dying from doing it for centuries until Pasteur figured out how to stop that.

Ron Paul 2012! Tired of government invades my private life. Wait I don't have any more private.....

Ron Paul is an idiot, a unrepentant bigot, an anarchist and worse. There is no redeeming value in his seeking the presidency (again and again) - other than to be a spoiler, preventing consensus on the candidates who do have a reasonable chance at being elected as President of all United States citizens, not just the ones he resembles. He is or rathere comes from a long line of dinosaurs, most o whom had the good sense to accept that the nation they lived in ha outgrown that brand of partisan politics. He remains of the few who refuse to accept that his kind died out a long time ago... and for good reasons!

wow, so you're on the side of exaggeration. i believe this farmer is not in prison and being sodomized for several years.

Actually Brando, crack dealers often get no jail time. Nice try though goober.