RE: OT-Raw milk

[Guest guest]

I wasn't aware that you can't buy raw milk in 24 states. I guess I am just

happy we live in CA where we can get it!

C

_____

From: Vaccinations [mailto:Vaccinations ] On

Behalf Of SaraShaughnessy@...

Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2006 7:12 AM

vaccinations

Subject: Amish Farmer Says Milk Law Opposes Beliefs

While the thought of drinking the milk from any animal is disturbing to me,

I do see the point in drinking it raw vs. cooked, although the stuff from

the factory farms is probably safer to drink if pasteurized as the

conditions that those animals are kept in are deplorable. I also think that

charging this man is ludicrous!

http://www.comcast.

<http://www.comcast.net/news/national/index.jsp?cat=DOMESTIC & fn=/2006/06/28/

423058.html & cvqh=itn_amish>

net/news/national/index.jsp?cat=DOMESTIC & fn=/2006/06/28/423058.html & cvqh=itn

_amish

Amish Farmer Says Milk Law Opposes Beliefs

By JOE MILICIA, Associated Press Writer

35 minutes ago

MOUNT HOPE, Ohio - Arlie Stutzman was busted in a rare sting when an

undercover agent bought raw milk from the Amish dairy farmer in an unlabeled

container.

Now, Stutzman is fighting the law that forbids the sale of raw milk, saying

he believes it violates his religious beliefs because it prohibits him from

sharing the milk he produces with others.

" While I can and I have food, I'll share it, " said Stutzman, who is due in

Holmes County Common Pleas Court on Friday to tell a judge his views. " Do

unto others what you would have others do unto you. "

Last September, a man came to Stutzman's weathered, two-story farmhouse,

located in a pastoral region in northeast Ohio that has the world's largest

Amish settlement. The man asked for milk.

Stutzman was leery, but agreed to fill up the man's plastic container from a

250-gallon stainless steel tank in the milkhouse.

After the creamy white, unpasteurized milk flowed into the container, the

man, an undercover agent from the Ohio Department of Agriculture, gave

Stutzman two dollars and left.

The department revoked Stutzman's license in February. In April, he got a

new license, which allows him to sell to cheese houses and dairies, but

received a warning not to sell raw milk to consumers again.

" You can't just give milk away to someone other then yourself. It's a

violation of the law, " said LeeAnne Mizer, spokeswoman for the department.

Organizations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to the American

Dairy Association have said that raw milk contains health risks because it

has not been heated to kill bacteria, such as E. coli.

Regulators want Judge D. White to formally order Stutzman to comply

with dairy laws. Stutzman said he is fighting the request on principle,

saying he should be able to share his milk.

Stutzman's Amish faith places an emphasis on the community. To preserve

their lifestyle, the Amish avoid the use of electricity and automobile

ownership, which would allow the outside world to enter unabated into their

culture.

The Amish typically do not get involved in politics, unless laws impede

their ability to make a living or follow their religious beliefs. Stutzman

said he is getting some community support.

" It shows he's not going to be intimidated and he's going to do what he

thinks is the right thing, " said his attorney, .

State officials said they sent the agent to his farm because they received a

tip from an anonymous neighbor about raw milk sales.

Stutzman, however, said he believes he was targeted because his cows are

partly owned by a group of 150 families in what is known as a herd share

agreement. Members pay him a fee for the cows and are entitled to a portion

of the milk.

Sales of raw milk are illegal in Ohio and 24 other states. But herd share

agreements take advantage of a loophole because the group is buying the

cows, not the milk.

Groups such as the Weston A. Price Foundation, which is dedicated to

restoring nutrient-dense foods to people's diets, advocate the consumption

of raw milk, saying pasteurization diminishes vitamin content and kills

beneficial bacteria.

For Stutzman, the herd share agreement gives him an outlet for his extra

milk. He also enjoys sharing his product with others who would otherwise not

have access to it.

" We know people are deprived of this real food, " he said.

___

U.S. Food and Drug Administration: http://www.fda. <http://www.fda.gov/>

gov/

Weston A. Price Foundation: http://www.realmilk <http://www.realmilk.com/>

..com/

--

Sara

Find out what stinks in Genesee County!

http://geneseecount <http://geneseecountystinks.blogspot.com>

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