I've blogged on the topic of decriminalizing drinking milk before. It's time for an update on one of the cases. It seems that a jury in Wisconsin mostly did the right thing last week. I say "mostly" because they didn't go far enough:
Jurors in Sauk County Circuit Court deliberated about four hours, until nearly 1 a.m. Saturday, before returning a verdict of guilty on one charge of violating a holding order placed on products on the Hershberger farm following a raid there in the summer of 2010.The good news is that Vernon Hershberger isn't going to jail on 3 out of 4 charges. What happens on the 4th charge is still up in the air. He still may have to do a year in jail and pay $10,000. The reason? He violated a "hold order".
Earlier in the day, the farmer testified that he felt betrayed by state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection officials who raided his farm in June 2010 and intentionally destroyed 2,000 pounds of milk.
He was afraid that DATCP would destroy other food as well. Hershberger said that is why he violated the hold order, taking some food for his family and allowing members of the buying club to remove items for their use.
"I prayed and meditated a lot," he said about the decision, which he described as an act of civil disobedience.Good for Mr. Hershberger! He should have violated that order. It was his property and the property of those who had paid for the food. The order was an illegal taking of property, even if they technically left it in his possession.
Lets hope the judge can see his way clear to let Mr. Hershberger off on the last charge. Vernon has suffered enough.
I applaud Mr. Hershberger's action, and hope he serves no time for such a ridiculous "crime".
ReplyDeleteThe CDC reports that of all the dairy-related disease outbreaks between 1998 and 2011 where it was reported whether the source was raw or pasteurized, 79%were from raw milk and cheese products. But the flip side of this is that (apparently) 21% of those disease outbreaks were from pasteurized milk and cheese products, which blows away any idea that pasteurized milk is totally safe, either.
If there is risk in drinking pasteurized milk, too -- even if it is an overall lower risk -- then states need to acknowledge that acceptance of that risk is up to the consumers, just as it is when they participate in other risky activities and behaviors.
The risk comes more from the handling and care of dairy products than of the actual product as it comes from the cow. The number one reason people want the raw milk is for the bacteria in it. They believe that it is more beneficial for them. I have no idea if it is or not. Raw milk tastes bad as far as I’m concerned but to each his own.
ReplyDeleteDrinking is bad for you. Smoking is bad for you. Voting democrat is bad for you. Too much food is bad for you. Too much TV is bad for you. Living in big cities is bad for you. Living in the country is bad for you. Manual labor is bad for you. A desk job is bad for you. It goes on and on. Let people make their own health decisions and leave them alone.
Our country is moving towards decriminalizing pot so now we have swat teams busting dairy farmers. This crap makes no sense.
I look at the millions that die, daily in Europe, from raw milk and unpasteurized cheese, and thank God for the bloated bureaucracy that we have protecting us.
ReplyDeleteAs a child, I'd sleep over at a friends in the country and in the morning, we'd have raw milk from a nearby farm with our breakfast. There'd be a gang and we'd play no holds barred monopoly where cheating, anti-cheating, argueing and negotiation skills would be honed. Great times, great friends and so many were lost to whole milk that I'm so traumatized that I can't remember a single friend who died.
I bet you ran with scissors too.
ReplyDeleteOne other thought...
ReplyDeleteMr. Hershberger may have escaped conviction on the other three charges this time...but it will not surprise me to see the state continue to persecute him if he continues his enterprise.
If they can't find a way to charge him under the current laws/regulations, they will create some new ones.
I tell as many people as I can about this abuse of power and waste of taxpayer money. Wish I had a cow. And some chickens. Can't wait to have the time to call on Veedad for advice on chickens and growing tobacco on the high plains in the wind.
ReplyDelete"growing tobacco on the high plains in the wind."
ReplyDeleteI'm gonna guess that the answer there would be "greenhouse".
Greenhouse... funny! And true.
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ReplyDeleteDead post, but you'll be interested to know that the jury regretted the guilty verdict. The judge/prosecutor withheld information the jurors later found out and said would have changed their minds. Some of them decided to become Hershberger's customers.
ReplyDelete