Free Talk Live

Four weeks after the government moved to shut down Amish farmer Dan Allgyer for selling fresh, unpasteurized milk across state lines, angry moms who made up much of his customer base rallied on the Capitol’s grounds Monday to demand that Congress rein in the food police.

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.

A Minnesota man accused of violating the state's raw milk laws was just the middle man in a voluntary arrangement of people sharing food, his attorney argued Wednesday.

Alvin Schlangen, an organic egg producer in central Minnesota, is charged with three misdemeanor counts including distributing unpasteurized milk, operating without a food handler's license and handling adulterated food. Minnesota law prohibits raw milk sales except directly to consumers on the farm when it's produced.

They came to Washington DC from cities and small towns, from near and far, to break the law. Their crime? Selling raw milk and lemonade without permits nor licenses. Fortunately, the civil disobedience went well. Unlike last year the police didn't interfere and the protest went off with no one arrested.

Lemonade Freedom Day, will take their raw milk and lemonade to the lawn of the US Capitol to celebrate their right to “voluntary exchange.”

By offering raw milk and lemonade for sale or barter, which is illegal in many places including Washington DC, these mothers and other activists risk criminal charges, and possibly jail.

California 'milk man' subjected to extreme torture, hypothermia, raw sewage in LA County jail

Louisiana Milk Police Combat Prices That Are Too Reasonable

Last week, state regulators cracked down on a grocery store that was engaging in a “disruptive trade practice,” selling milk at a price that could “injure, reduce, prevent, or destroy competition.”

It's not unusual to spot metaphorical cash cows around Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., but real-life dairy cows aren't so commonplace in Congress. On Monday, however, an adult cow was on hand to provide fresh milk and a spectacle, as part of a rally in favor of legalizing the interstate sale of raw milk.

Government, public health and dairy industry officials want to restrict the sale and distribution of raw milk, citing safety concerns. But small dairy farmers, organic consumers' advocates and raw milk drinkers say that safety isn't the real issue -- it's control of the dairy market. The FDA and CDC have been particularly aggressive recently in their efforts to crack down on raw milk under the pretense of public health safety.