The War Against Raw Milk....

[Guest guest]

An Action Alert from the WAPF...

Once generally supportive of raw milk, Pennsylvania authorities have been making

life very

difficult for raw milk farmers and consumers during the last few weeks. This

email will

provide you with details about what has been going on and describe an action

plan. As

what happens in Pennsylvania affects the raw milk situation throughout the

country, we

are sending it out to all members. We ask that you PLEASE READ THIS ALERT

CAREFULLY

and join us in carrying out the actions proposed. (We apologize for the length,

but it is

necessary to provide you with all the facts and a careful explanation of what is

going on.)

Also, please forward this alert to your own email groups.

RAID ON MARK NOLT'S FARM

" All truth passes through three stages, " wrote Schopenhauer. " First it is

ignored, then it is

violently opposed and finally it is accepted as self evident. " Unfortunately

the transition

from the first to the second stage has fallen on a gentle Pennsylvania Mennonite

raw milk

farmer, Mark Nolt, described by many as the " Parks of farmers rights. " On

April 25,

Mark's farm was raided for the second time, and this time he was arrested in

connection

with five citations for selling raw milk without a license. He was taken in

handcuffs to a

magistrate in Mount Holly Springs where he refused to make a plea to the

criminal charges

against him. A trial has been scheduled for May 5.

The first raid occurred last August 10, when the Pennsylvania Department of

Agriculture

(PDA) seized over $25,000 worth of product, equipment and supplies. This

occurred after

a Commonwealth Court found Nolt in contempt for violating an injunction

prohibiting him

from selling raw milk and raw milk products without a permit.

In the second raid, the agents descended on the quiet farm, " like Vikings "

according to

Mark, in six police cars and at least five unmarked cars, presumably belonging

to PDA

officials. The agents were personally led by Bill Chirdon, Director of PDA's

Bureau of Food

Safety and Laboratory Services. Mark tried asking one policeman what the state's

authority

was for being on the property but the policeman kept cutting him off, seemingly

trying to

provoke a confrontation. The police threatened to arrest anyone who attempted

to set foot

on Nolt's property; even Nolt's father and brother who live on the same lane

were denied

access .

Imagine the position of Mrs. Nolt, enduring the sight of her husband being

driven away in

the back seat of a police cruiser. The officers refused to tell her where they

were taking

him. Then she and her ten children had to stand by once again while the

officers went

through their cheese shop and store, taking food meant to feed many families,

including

their own. Fortunately, Mark was released after the hearing and returned to the

farm on

foot rather than accept a ride in a police car.

In a supreme act of arrogance, Chirdon stole a book off Nolt's shelf— " All I Ever

Wanted to

Do is Illegal " by Salatin. According to a PDA spokesman, Chirdon will

return the book

at Mark's trial.

Mark let his permit drop several years ago because it did not allow him to sell

value-

added products such as butter and cream. Mark's position is that he has a

constitutional

right to enter into contractual agreements without a permit, that is to sell raw

milk and

raw milk products directly to customers.

Mark told Gumpert that the product PDA confiscated (mostly cheese) was

worth over

$30,000. They also took supplies and equipment. PDA agents were particularly

malicious,

taking valves, parts to a cream separator and pieces of cheese-making equipment

so this

equipment could no longer be used. The warrant PDA received from the magistrate

states

that PDA may search and seize " any equipment, containers or supplies used to

bottle or

package for sale milk and products manufactured from milk. " Obviously cream

separator

parts and cheese-making equipment have nothing to do with bottling or packaging

products, thus making PDA guilty of an illegal seizure.

At a time when millions of people all over the world are starving, PDA has no

qualms

about throwing away perfectly good and nutritious food—the cheese was carried

away in

an unrefrigerated truck. According to the PDA website highlighting PDA's

Blueprint for

Hunger, " nearly 1.2 million Pennsylvanians, almost 10% of our population, live

in

households at risk for hunger and about 335,000, almost 3% of all households,

have

someone who has experienced hunger. " The dumping of Mark Nolt's cheese in the

face of

widespread hunger in the state of Pennsylvania can only be described as obscene.

Even the legality of the product seizure can be called into question. According

to PDA's

Guidance Document (3/20/08, " Permits Allowing the Sale of Raw Milk for Human

Consumption " ), the department can seize raw milk, " Whenever, in the opinion of

the

Secretary of the Department, a given supply of raw milk or illegally produced

raw milk

products is considered unsafe or a menace to public health, the secretary may

seize,

condemn, denature, or destroy the milk or milk products, without compensation to

the

owner of the milk or milk products. " In the affidavit submitted in his

application for a

search warrant against Nolt, Bill Chirdon made no allegation that the milk was

unsafe. No

one from PDA has provided evidence that Nolt's milk was a danger to the public.

NO

ILLNESSES HAVE BEEN REPORTED from the consumption of Mark Nolt's cheese.

In an appearance April 30 before a magistrate at the Newville Magisterial

District Court,

Mark Nolt was informed by the judge that he was facing two additional charges

for selling

raw milk without a permit. A trial has been scheduled for Monday, June 3 in

Newville.

Nolt refused to enter a plea to the charges claiming he was in court under

duress and that

he was not subject to the court's jurisdiction. The court entered a plea of

" not guilty " on

his behalf.

Nolt's May 5 trial at the Mount Holly Springs Magisterial District Court will

take place at

9:30 a.m. He is being tried in that case for five citations of selling raw milk

without a

permit. A rally in support of Nolt will be held outside the courthouse that

morning.

_____________________________________________

If you are not yet a member of the WAPF, I highly encourage you to join now.

This is the

time! go to www.westonapricefoundation.org, it's easy and it's some of the

best money

you will ever spend!

Will Winter

[Guest guest]

 Greetings to all who care and support raw milk farmers,

I am sending the direct web site for the Farm-to-Consumer Legal defense fund. 

This is a fantastic and critical time for them and they could use any and all

support.  I will also share a request made at a conference by Sally Fallon for

all of us to do every day.  She recommends at a meal taking a few minutes to

just send out light to all the farmers who are caring for our food, our land,

our precious cows and other animals and to, in that moment, visualize our

radiant earth/soil healed by the good work these farmers are doing for our

health and the health of the next generation.  Sally's vision is to bring back

the small farms, and for as many people as possible to " know their farmer! "

http://www.ftcldf.org/

Thanks

Maureen - a new member to this truly inspriring group

The War Against Raw Milk....

An Action Alert from the WAPF...

Once generally supportive of raw milk, Pennsylvania authorities have been making

life very

difficult for raw milk farmers and consumers during the last few weeks. This

email will

provide you with details about what has been going on and describe an action

plan. As

what happens in Pennsylvania affects the raw milk situation throughout the

country, we

are sending it out to all members. We ask that you PLEASE READ THIS ALERT

CAREFULLY

and join us in carrying out the actions proposed. (We apologize for the length,

but it is

necessary to provide you with all the facts and a careful explanation of what is

going on.)

Also, please forward this alert to your own email groups.

RAID ON MARK NOLT'S FARM

" All truth passes through three stages, " wrote Schopenhauer. " First it is

ignored, then it is

violently opposed and finally it is accepted as self evident. " Unfortunately the

transition

from the first to the second stage has fallen on a gentle Pennsylvania Mennonite

raw milk

farmer, Mark Nolt, described by many as the " Parks of farmers rights. " On

April 25,

Mark's farm was raided for the second time, and this time he was arrested in

connection

with five citations for selling raw milk without a license. He was taken in

handcuffs to a

magistrate in Mount Holly Springs where he refused to make a plea to the

criminal charges

against him. A trial has been scheduled for May 5.

The first raid occurred last August 10, when the Pennsylvania Department of

Agriculture

(PDA) seized over $25,000 worth of product, equipment and supplies. This

occurred after

a Commonwealth Court found Nolt in contempt for violating an injunction

prohibiting him

from selling raw milk and raw milk products without a permit.

In the second raid, the agents descended on the quiet farm, " like Vikings "

according to

Mark, in six police cars and at least five unmarked cars, presumably belonging

to PDA

officials. The agents were personally led by Bill Chirdon, Director of PDA's

Bureau of Food

Safety and Laboratory Services. Mark tried asking one policeman what the state's

authority

was for being on the property but the policeman kept cutting him off, seemingly

trying to

provoke a confrontation. The police threatened to arrest anyone who attempted to

set foot

on Nolt's property; even Nolt's father and brother who live on the same lane

were denied

access .

Imagine the position of Mrs. Nolt, enduring the sight of her husband being

driven away in

the back seat of a police cruiser. The officers refused to tell her where they

were taking

him. Then she and her ten children had to stand by once again while the officers

went

through their cheese shop and store, taking food meant to feed many families,

including

their own. Fortunately, Mark was released after the hearing and returned to the

farm on

foot rather than accept a ride in a police car.

In a supreme act of arrogance, Chirdon stole a book off Nolt's shelf— " All I

Ever Wanted to

Do is Illegal " by Salatin. According to a PDA spokesman, Chirdon will

return the book

at Mark's trial.

Mark let his permit drop several years ago because it did not allow him to sell

value-

added products such as butter and cream. Mark's position is that he has a

constitutional

right to enter into contractual agreements without a permit, that is to sell raw

milk and

raw milk products directly to customers.

Mark told Gumpert that the product PDA confiscated (mostly cheese) was

worth over

$30,000. They also took supplies and equipment. PDA agents were particularly

malicious,

taking valves, parts to a cream separator and pieces of cheese-making equipment

so this

equipment could no longer be used. The warrant PDA received from the magistrate

states

that PDA may search and seize " any equipment, containers or supplies used to

bottle or

package for sale milk and products manufactured from milk. " Obviously cream

separator

parts and cheese-making equipment have nothing to do with bottling or packaging

products, thus making PDA guilty of an illegal seizure.

At a time when millions of people all over the world are starving, PDA has no

qualms

about throwing away perfectly good and nutritious food—the cheese was carried

away in

an unrefrigerated truck. According to the PDA website highlighting PDA's

Blueprint for

Hunger, " nearly 1.2 million Pennsylvanians, almost 10% of our population, live

in

households at risk for hunger and about 335,000, almost 3% of all households,

have

someone who has experienced hunger. " The dumping of Mark Nolt's cheese in the

face of

widespread hunger in the state of Pennsylvania can only be described as obscene.

Even the legality of the product seizure can be called into question. According

to PDA's

Guidance Document (3/20/08, " Permits Allowing the Sale of Raw Milk for Human

Consumption " ), the department can seize raw milk, " Whenever, in the opinion of

the

Secretary of the Department, a given supply of raw milk or illegally produced

raw milk

products is considered unsafe or a menace to public health, the secretary may

seize,

condemn, denature, or destroy the milk or milk products, without compensation to

the

owner of the milk or milk products. " In the affidavit submitted in his

application for a

search warrant against Nolt, Bill Chirdon made no allegation that the milk was

unsafe. No

one from PDA has provided evidence that Nolt's milk was a danger to the public.

NO

ILLNESSES HAVE BEEN REPORTED from the consumption of Mark Nolt's cheese.

In an appearance April 30 before a magistrate at the Newville Magisterial

District Court,

Mark Nolt was informed by the judge that he was facing two additional charges

for selling

raw milk without a permit. A trial has been scheduled for Monday, June 3 in

Newville.

Nolt refused to enter a plea to the charges claiming he was in court under

duress and that

he was not subject to the court's jurisdiction. The court entered a plea of " not

guilty " on

his behalf.

Nolt's May 5 trial at the Mount Holly Springs Magisterial District Court will

take place at

9:30 a.m. He is being tried in that case for five citations of selling raw milk

without a

permit. A rally in support of Nolt will be held outside the courthouse that

morning.

_____________________________________________

If you are not yet a member of the WAPF, I highly encourage you to join now.

This is the

time! go to www.westonapricefoundation.org, it's easy and it's some of the best

money

you will ever spend!

Will Winter

[Guest guest]

Thanks, Will. Go to http://www.westonaprice.org/ to become a member.

>

> An Action Alert from the WAPF...

>

> Once generally supportive of raw milk, Pennsylvania authorities have been

making life very

> difficult for raw milk farmers and consumers during the last few weeks. This

email will

> provide you with details about what has been going on and describe an action

plan. As

> _____________________________________________

> If you are not yet a member of the WAPF, I highly encourage you to join now.

This is the

> time! go to www.westonapricefoundation.org, it's easy and it's some of the

best money

> you will ever spend!