Udderly Mad

In Missouri, a farm family was put under surveillance, then prosecuted, for selling...raw milk from its own cow, Misty. Naturalnews.com notes that the contraband is nothing more or less than

...the bovine mother's milk, unpasteurized, unprocessed, non-homogenized and wholly pure, natural and innocent. The stuff America was raised on. The stuff your parents fed you when you were a kid, if your family was lucky enough to have a cow. In Missouri today, selling such a natural product is now apparently a criminal act. What's next? A ban on farm-fresh eggs because the Dept. of Health doesn't control their quality?

[thanks, Sylvia!]

Comments

[Marty]

being from missouri can be so embarrassing at times...

[Marty]

I love how the author throws people who sell things he doesn't approve of under the train- 'In case you're not yet sure what you're reading here, note carefully that these daughters were not caught selling crack, meth or crank...'

it's the classic 'my crime isn't as serious as their crime' bullshit. he wrote this nonsense without a hint of irony. of course, selling milk shouldn't be a crime. just as buying and selling recreational drugs shouldn't be a crime. back the govt out of all of it.

[Sylvia]

:)

[Phelps]

Damned lipidleggers.

[Ahcuah]

You know, there's a reason pasteurization was invented. It is because raw milk often contains various dangerous. Here's a link to the FDA's info page: http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm079516.htm.

Now, one can argue that it ought to be the right of a fully informed consumer to take that risk upon himself, but that's not particularly what is going on here.

[Ginger]

The reason pasteurization was originally enacted is no longer necessary. It is possible to raise healthy animals and drink clean milk without harm. We have access to reliable refrigeration in this modern day and knowledge of the importance of cleanliness.

The reason pasteurization persists is to lengthen shelf life of the product. To make it easier to ship and sell with lower risk. Follow the money.

[Vedrfolnir]

When are the nannies going to fuck off? When can we risk killings ourselves when we want to? I notice that skydiving is still legal, so what the hell?

[WWE]

Repubs get a bum rap for invading "the bedroom." Dems are in every other room. They want to tell you what lightbulbs you can use, what kind of car you can drive, what kind of food can be in your fridge, what logs are in your fireplace, what kind of washer dryer you can have.. Get out of my life!

[freedomLVR]

@ WWE
"bum rap" you say? Ok. You call your repub reps and tell them to stop bullsh*ting us with their fear that homos marrying each other will somehow undermine my marriage and I'll call mine and tell them to let you buy whatever milk, lightbulbs and appliances you want. Fair?

[weeeeeeee]

@WWE - "bum rap"
Are suggesting repubs don't deserve the criticism for invading the bedroom or that legislating the rules of intimacy is somehow a more appropriate subject of law than the potential health threats in food. I like raw milk and think it should be available by the way.

[Dude]

@WWE

I am going to use a ridiculous example to explain the importance of meaningful regulation. Let's pretend I am you next door neighbor. I have purchased a coal burning clothes dryer as it was the cheapest model available. Of course, I am not mechanically inclined and can't be bothered to vent the appliance correctly. Oh, and I have started a furniture stripping business in my garage, but it's too expensive to dispose of the chemicals correctly, so I will either keep them on site or pour them into the ground. Plus, I will be accepting asbestos, PCB's, and industrial solvents from anybody that wants to dispose of them. I will store these items in rusty barrels that line the fence between our properties.

[K. Dale Boley]

"...I will store these items in rusty barrels that line the fence between our properties" While this is a good example, I think you're missing an easier way to solve these sorts of issues. Private property rights allow me to behave any way I wish on my own land. However, your property rights allow you to be free from me poisoning your lands with run-off. It's an extension of the whole "Your rights end where mine begin" argument. No regulations are needed in your example at all. If you poison me or my property, I should be allowed to seek restitution through the courts. I have the right to shoot guns in my back yard (I live in a rural area). But I do not have the right to shoot those guns from my property and hit yours. If I do, I'm rightfuly culpable.

[Vedrfolnir]

Damn right Boley. Succinct and to the point.

[Joe]

Don't commercial farms actually sell raw milk to people nearby? Why shouldn't a working farm be able to sell it's produce?

[Don]

"Dude" is being mentally held hostage by 19 ninja's.

(if, but, what if....silly little gurl ad nauseum)

It needs to be dragged as it is a poison to all it encounters.