I don’t know whether to be amused, disgusted, or angry, but any politician who says we need higher taxes is crazy so long as the federal government is squandering even one penny on sting operations designed to interfere with the freedom of consenting adults to busy and sell unpasteurized milk.
Here are some excerpts from a story in the Washington Times.
A yearlong sting operation, including aliases, a 5 a.m. surprise inspection and surreptitious purchases from an Amish farm in Pennsylvania, culminated in the federal government announcing this week that it has gone to court to stop Rainbow Acres Farm from selling its contraband to willing customers in the Washington area.
The product in question: unpasteurized milk.
…“It is the FDA’s position that raw milk should never be consumed,” said Tamara N. Ward, spokeswoman for the FDA, whose investigators have been looking into Rainbow Acres for months, and who finally last week filed a 10-page complaint in federal court in Pennsylvania seeking an order to stop the farm from shipping across state lines any more raw milk or dairy products made from it.
…“I look at this as the FDA is in cahoots with the large milk producers,” said Karin Edgett, a D.C. resident who buys directly from Rainbow Acres. “I don’t want the FDA and my tax dollars to go to shut down a farm that hasn’t had any complaints against it. They’re producing good food, and the consumers are extremely happy with it.”
…Raw-milk devotees say pasteurization, the process of heating food to kill harmful organisms, eliminates good bacteria as well, and changes the taste and health benefits of the milk. Many raw-milk drinkers say they feel much healthier after changing over to it, and insist they should have the freedom of choice regarding their food.
…the FDA uses its regulatory powers over food safety to ban interstate sales of raw milk and has warned several farms to change their practices.
…By crossing state lines the milk became part of interstate commerce, thus subject to the FDA’s ban on interstate sales of raw milk. The court papers note that the jugs of milk were not labeled – another violation of FDA regulations.
This story isn’t quite as outrageous as the case of the despicable dumpster-diving IRS thug, which was discussed in March, but it’s a clear sign of a government that is far too big and with too much money to spend.
