Acting under the belief that raw milk should never be consumed, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is taking a Pennsylvania Amish farmer to court to prevent him from selling unpasteurized milk.

 

After a yearlong investigation that including covert operations and a pre-dawn inspection, FDA officials decided that Dan Allgyer of Rainbow Acres Farm had to be stopped from selling raw milk to buyers in Maryland and Washington, DC, where the product is illegal. Similar laws exist in 10 other states.

 

Raw milk advocates say the FDA is unnecessarily butting into a business that hasn’t caused any problems.

 

“I look at this as the FDA is in cahoots with the large milk producers,” Karin Edgett, a DC resident who buys directly from Rainbow Acres, told the Washington Times. “I don’t want the FDA and my tax dollars to go to shut down a farm that hasn’t had any complaints against it. They’re producing good food, and the consumers are extremely happy with it.”

 

Raw milk supporters say that several million people drink unpasteurized milk in the United States. Retail sales of the food are permitted in 10 states and farm sales in many more. Natural foods advocates argue that raw milk is healthier than the pasteurized kind.

 

The FDA insists raw milk can carry harmful bacteria such as salmonella, E. coli and listeria.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

FDA Agents Launch Covert Ops against D.C.-Area Raw-Milk Buying Club (by David Gumpert, Grist)

Feds Sting Amish Farmer Selling Raw Milk Locally (by Stephen Dinan, Washington Times)

FDA Raids Amish Farmer Dan Allgyer (Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund)