Raw Milk In The News

Some updates on what's been happening in the raw milk world. In Wisconsin, Vernon Hershberger was acquitted of selling milk without a retail dairy license, because his milk sales were not retail. This is a Big Deal for folks who choose to buy their food directly from a farmer. As I understand it, it is consistent with basic principles of contract law. For its own reasons, the State of Wisconsin is still trying to jail Hershberger for continuing to sell food after they ordered him to stop, but since the jury has found that the state had no basis for this order, there is no legal reason why he should be jailed. On Food Safety News…on The Complete Patient…(and here)…on Reason.com…on Health Impact News.

In Maine, my classmate and friend Rep. Craig Hickman has been working hard to create sensible regulations for small farmers. Despite the best efforts of Rep. Hickman and many others, and despite a local food sovereignty ordinance, Maine farmer Dan Brown was convicted of selling raw milk without a license, in a ruling that seems to me to defy logic and common sense.

Right now there is a lot of motion in the raw milk universe. If you are interested in following it, I'd recommend keeping an eye on the following people and organizations (in addition to Feed Me Like You Mean It!):

• David Gumpert: His blog, The Complete Patient, and his new book, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Food Rights.
• Rep. Craig Hickman of Maine. He is one of the top lawmakers in the fight for food rights and civil liberties. If you don't know him yet, please check him out.
• The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund. This is a critically important organization. They represent the legal defense for pretty much every case related to raw milk, and for many or most of the important food freedom-related cases these days.