Posted on 09/17/2012 8:18:48 PM PDT by smokingfrog
The trial of a Sauk County dairy farmer accused of crimes stemming from the sale of raw milk has been postponed until January.
Previously scheduled to begin next week, Vernon Hershberger's trial will be closely watched by raw-milk advocates who have argued for the right to buy unpasteurized dairy products straight from the farm.
Hershberger, an Amish farmer near Loganville, has become the poster child for a controversy that's pitted farmers against state government and has boiled over to other states where raw milk sales are illegal or restricted.
"It is a shame to see him prosecuted as a criminal," said Kimberly Hartke, spokeswoman for the Real Milk Campaign, a Washington, D.C. based advocate for raw milk products.
State Department of Justice officials have charged Hershberger with misdemeanors including operating a dairy farm without a license and running an on-farm retail store without a license.
He has argued that people should be allowed to buy unpasteurized dairy products from a private buyer's club operated through an individual farm.
"I feel very strongly that individual families should have the right to choose what they want to eat without the government keeping track of everything," he said in an earlier Journal Sentinel interview.
With the exception of limited, incidental sales, however, Wisconsin prohibits the sale of unpasteurized milk to the public because it may contain bacteria that cause food-borne illnesses.
(Excerpt) Read more at jsonline.com ...
Thou shalt not displease the (King) Government
What are you in here for? Murder, domestic violence, rape, fraud, drugs?
Milk! Unpasteurized milk!
We MUST return to a system of law that criminally prosecutes individuals ONLY for acts which are “malum in se”, and SCRAP the entire concept of “malum prohibitum”! (Plus, getting rid of the ambulance chasers would help quite a bit;)
OMG!
That MILK may be healthy!!!
Holy Crap! We gotta put some hormones/antibiotics/ and GMO fed... otherwise corn in your Cows !
Otherwise Michael Taylor ( former VP of Monsanto (foodinc) now head of the FDA is going to be pissy.
As a Kid the only thing I knew was milk straight from the cow. We drank it by the gallons. One time though, my brother came in with some green milk and Mom shucked him right out the door with it chasing him with a stick.
This will not please The King.
Excuse my ignorance, but why was the milk green?
When I was a kid, my mom used to buy raw milk from a farm down the road. Good Jersey cow milk with about 3 to 4 inches of cream on the top. We made our own butter sometimes and there’s nothing better than whole milk on some cereal in the morning. I don’t recall that anyone ever got sick.
Nothing wrong with it if the cow is healthy... Pasteurization is just what allows safe consumption of milk from sick cows... That being said, as a matter of personal principle i prefer paseurized, but this is a matter of liberty..
Now THAT is whole milk. This stuff they sell now as whole milk is false advertising...
If a cow gave only 3.5% butterfat milk, it would be known as HAMBURGER tomorrow... But what do cityfolk know ;-)
Would anyone here advocate going out and purchasing fresh raw human milk from unknown humans for their children?
Of course I would. AND we do give to our children. And I get at least one glass per day. I would say you have to know the farmer personally though.
Unfortunately, I was the oldest son, so I was the one who got the milking duties. I hated milking before school.
Uhhh, maybe the cow was on spring grass, you figure the rest out!
My stupid brother spilled the can over in the gutter and simply scouped it up and brought it in. He thought it was a joke...mom didnt.
I work for a local farm just so I can get unpasteurized milk for cheese making. Its a 150 year old farm and i am on the books as their “arcaeological surveyor.” Might as well use that anthropology degree for something. But i would never drink raw milk, my taste buds revolt at the thought!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.