Personal Injury Law

Raw Milk Crowd Is Gathering of Strange Bedfellows

By Marler Clark

What were the Amish in Pennsylvania doing to celebrate the 4th of July this year?  Inviting over their political allies of course to plot strategy for the raw milk crusade.  Or something like that.

The Lancaster Intelligencer Journal had a delightful story about the gathering.   Here's how it started:

Hundreds of people gathered under a yellow-and-white-striped tent on a windswept Christiana farm Friday afternoon to celebrate the right of all Americans to drink raw milk.

The crowd, some from as far away as California and New Mexico, also would have liked to celebrate America's independence from government regulation of the sale of unpasteurized milk.

But about half of all states ban raw milk sales, citing safety concerns. Many others impose strict limits on producers.

Those restrictions spurred the creation last year of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, which celebrated its first anniversary Friday with a picnic on the farm of Jake and Barbie Zook, who produce and sell raw milk.

We especially liked this line:  The diverse crowd included Amish and "English" milk producers and other farmers, health-conscious consumers and civil libertarians.

Who said the Amish cannot be part of some strange bedfellows!

Those who were not invited to attend got this throwaway line:  Proponents of raw milk claim pasteurization — the long-practiced process of heating milk to kill bacteria and pathogens such as E. coli and listeria — destroys good bacteria, enzymes and raw fats that boost the immune system, aid digestion and fight disease.

Yea party-poopers!   It's a good read, however, and can be found here.

Full post as published by Listeria Blog on July 07, 2008 (boomark / email).