View Full Version : Amish Terrorist Ring Busted!
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/apr/28/feds-sting-amish-farmer-selling-raw-milk-locally/
A yearlong sting operation, including aliases, a 5 a.m. surprise inspection and surreptitious purchases from an Amish farm in Pennsylvania, culminated in the federal government announcing this week that it has gone to court to stop Rainbow Acres Farm from selling its contraband to willing customers in the Washington area.
The product in question: unpasteurized milk.
...
Your tax dollars at work. I feel so much safer now.
(Hmmm - I wonder if this unpasteurized cheeze I'm having on my home-made bread for dinner tonight will kill me?)
Wow. What a waste of time. We are super lucky here that since January 1st, 2011, there are farms in SK that are allowed to sell shares in their cattle, and then the shareholder is entitled to the raw milk. It been a huge battle, but my family now has raw milk every day legally.
It just makes me sick to think of how many choices have been taken away from people in regards to the food and drink that are (or aren't) allowed to consume. Yikes.
flowerseverywhere
4-29-11, 11:46pm
simple solution: have packaging state that (insert legal wording) that you drink this at your own risk. Want to do the soy milk, almond milk, pasteurized plastic packaged milk or raw milk? Go ahead. Just understand your risks.
PS are you positive your plastic gallon milk containers deliver a safer product?
the raw milk rampage has gone amok. seriously.
raw milk is healthy. cow share, thank jesus.
It depends on the dairy. In the central valley of California when you look at the poor cows up to their udders in mud and manure at many of the dairy's, you would not want to drink the milk unless it was pasteurized.
So I would say their should be a certification process for non-pasteurized milk but I would not just ban it.
I buy my milk from a fellow just a couple of miles from my house. I can look him in the eye, see his animals and his procedures, and see who else is buying from him.
Now, for him to sell "certified" milk would be more-or-less impossible, as I suspect no inspector would ever wander out to this neck of the woods, nor would it make economic sense for him to ship his small volume of product to the mainland for certification, then bring it back.
there are practice guidelines and regulations for raw milk dairies in states where the milk is legal. Most of these dairies exceed standards, but the raids and seizures usually stop operations that are running on a barely-balanced budget, and thus run them out of business in doing so.
goldensmom
4-30-11, 6:38am
I grew up on a Grade A dairy farm and drank raw milk. There were strict rules to be Grade A including type of equipment, equipment sterilization process, workers hygiene, procedures and product used to clean udders, milk storage and refrigeration, cows had to be vet checked, no chickens or pigs, etc. I see some farms now, Amish and non-Amish, and the conditions of their equipment and cows and I would not want to come near their milk. I've not known anyone, however, to get sick from raw milk and if someone wants to buy and drink it, it should simply be at their own risk. It works for calves.
simple solution: have packaging state that (insert legal wording) that you drink this at your own risk. Want to do the soy milk, almond milk, pasteurized plastic packaged milk or raw milk? Go ahead. Just understand your risks.
PS are you positive your plastic gallon milk containers deliver a safer product?
Agree. You can walk into any diner, restaurant, etc. and see those disclaimers stating the risk of eating undercooked eggs and meat. They don't force you to get your steak well done and refuse to sell soft boiled eggs.
Gingerella72
4-30-11, 12:37pm
Unpasteurized raw milk is only safe and healthy when the cow has been fed a grass-only diet, in a field, in the fresh air and sun as the maker intended.
Milk from a conventional dairy HAS to be pasteurized because the cows are fed a corn and grain diet (which their stomachs are not able to digest properly because cows were not designed to eat grain) and are commonly given growth hormones in able to produce more milk. They live in cramped quarters, walk around in their own feces and get sick because of these conditions. Of course, under those conditions, the milk has to be pasteurized!
I am pro-raw milk, but only from farmers who raise their cattle as nature intended: grass fed, humanely, and sustainable. Thank goodness Nebraska allows raw milk sales direct to consumer on the farm. The only caveat is that the farmers aren't allowed to advertise, and the containers have to contain wording like "not for human consumption."
Know your farmers. Ask to see their barns and processes and how they treat their livestock. If they are "doing it right" they should have no problems with this transparency. There are farmers out there who are jumping on the raw milk bandwagon but only to cash in on all the "real foodies" who are wanting to buy it, and they don't care about the most important part - how they feed and care for the cows. So some people are getting sick buying milk from these no-integrity farmers, and the FDA is jumping on these cases saying, "see? raw milk isn't safe" and giving the whole movement a bad name. Raw milk IS safe and IS healthier, but ONLY from grass fed cows.
::steps off soapbox:: :)
Well said Gingerella72.
Edited to add: I just looked at your blog and I like it.
our cowshare has regular farm visits -- i think every 6 weeks. They also allow "drop bys" if you want, but they're a fair distance from us, and it's easier for us and them if we go on the visitation days. THese days are really set up for families -- you get to see the farm, meet the various animals, learn about how milk is made by the cow's body, and is really just a lot of fun. why have a hay-bale maze that I particularly enjoy. LOL There is also usually a presentation about the legalities -- what the process is, what is going on in politics, what risks there may be to us as cow-share-ers, and also situations on the farm (do they need a new delivery truck? what is the situation of barn 3? etc).
It helps us understand where our money is going, and see the farm and so on and so forth. it's really quite nice. we also are shopping CSAs next spring. fun endeavor, the CSA.
Cow shares, very groovy.
We have a goat share. The goat lady delivers milk, cheese, yogurt, etc. twice a month to our community garden group. One of the best things we ever did. Of course it's more than one goat....so it's more like a "goat herd share" I guess.
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