Soapbox: Raw Milk is Awesome for You

To: consumer@fda.gov

To whom it may concern:  

I’d like to voice my support for Amish farmer Dan Allgyer, who was the subject of a recent FDA “bust.”

I wholeheartedly disapprove of the FDA’s interference with voluntary, private contracts between farmers and private citizens. It is a waste of my tax dollars to “bust” farmers and members of private food groups.

Furthermore, I drink raw milk exclusively and feel that the FDA’s regulation of milk does not, in fact, serve the best interests of Americans nor does it protect Americans from the purported evils of a food that is no more unsafe than spinach.

Thank you for your time,

Lyssa

OK, there’s a lot going on out there in the world, and perhaps raw milk isn’t the biggest issue, so I shouldn’t be wasting my time writing the FDA a letter it’s probably not going to read. BUT even more than I shouldn’t be spending my time on raw milk, the FDA shouldn’t be spending ITS time on raw milk.

So I wrote the above email. Feel free to copy and paste and send from your account too. The email is in response to an email I got from the ACLU (yes, they’re biased. no, I don’t agree with everything they do. I don’t agree with everything anyone does, for that matter.) Moving on, the ACLU says [edited for brevity and what I find relevant]:

Dear Liberty Activist,

Covert, year-long sting operations. Early morning raids. Relentless interrogation and harassment. These describe the tactics of the Food and Drug Administration against everyday Americans like Amish farmer Dan Allgyer.

What “crime” is the FDA finding him guilty of? “Providing unpasteurized milk from healthy, grass-fed cows across state lines to members of cooperatives seeking unprocessed food.” These busybodies are misinterpreting the commerce clause to cite Allgyer’s violation. Originally, this clause was intended to prevent states from prohibiting individuals from doing business with one another across state lines.

Please, call your representative and senators today to urge them to rein in the reckless FDA by stopping it from interfering with voluntary, private contracts between farmers and private citizens. Tell them to stop wasting your tax dollars on raids and spying operations on peaceful Amish farmers and members of private food groups. Tell them to end their unjust civil suit against Amish farmer Dan Allgyer. Tell them to do something more productive with their time. The FDA has conducted many sting operations and raids against US farmers over the years, with this year-and-a-half long sting on the buying club connected to Allgyer only the most recent. And now the food police are filing a civil suit against this Amish farmer for introducing into “interstate commerce” raw milk intended for human consumption and are giving him notice of a pending request for permanent injunction.

It is an obscene overreach of federal authority to try and shut down the private transactions between honest farmers and their willing consumers.

So maybe the raw milk crusade doesn’t galvanize you. But at least know what your tax dollars are paying for. A year and a half?!

Need more, less biased info? Check out this article from the San Francisco Chronicle exploring the issue.